One American's trip to Africa for the biggest sporting event in the world.

Hi. If you're reading this, you probably know me. I hope you enjoy some of the updates from across the globe as I and three of my friends attend games at the World's Biggest Sporting Event™

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Let's have an impromptu safari

ostriches at the Cape of Good Hope

After skipping my morning run due to torrential rain here in Somerset West (a suburb of Cape Town), we all decided to head down to Cape Town to go to historic Robben Island, the site where Nelson Mandela was held during the apartheid era. Upon arriving at the Robben Island Ferry, we were told that we could not purchase tickets for today, and would have to come back tomorrow.

At this point, we decided to head for the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwest point on the African continent. Along the way there were some truly magnificent views, as the rocky terrain of the landmass dropped precipitously into the ocean below. When we got to a place called Simon's Town, we saw a sign alerting us that there were penguins to be seen nearby. We had to go down and have a look. Without paying the extra fee to get closer, we saw a number of individual penguins on the walkway down to the beach. They're pretty cute in person.

A little bit closer to the Cape, we started to see signs warning us about the presence of baboons. We drove on, and as we drove, we decided we would feel cheated if we did not get to see baboons. We had almost reached the Cape when we finally saw a few. A couple of the baboons were clutching babies and there was another baboon in a tree acting like a lookout. It was very cool, but monkeys are a dangerous lot, so we moved on.

Soon we had reached the Cape of Good Hope. When we got there, we were greeted by ostriches. These ostriches were very impressive in person. They looked fit to be descendants of the dinosaurs. It was cool to be at what is sort of an end of the Earth with my friends at the Cape.

It is not my priority on this trip to see animals. The main priority is football. That having been said, the chance to go "on safari" in an unplanned context was very rewarding. There is a lot to see here in South Africa in the way of animal life, and I was happy to appreciate a tiny bit of it today. Until next time...

The gang at the Cape of Good Hope

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