Today was another great day! We woke up to another day of sunshine, which we hear is rare to have day after day in winter. It actually got up to 80 degrees by the afternoon.
We got our rental car yesterday afternoon, so we left the hotel early for our “ bucket list” adventure of tandem hang gliding off of Signal Hill. We had barely gotten out of the hotel parking lot when I got a text that the wind was from the wrong direction and they had to cancel our “flight.” We were so disappointed because it was a warm beautiful morning. We decided to head up to the Table Mountain Aerial Cablecar and go to the top of the mountain. It was about an hour’s wait, but well worth it. The views were spectacular. We heard a guide tell his tour group that there are more species of plants on Table Mountain than in all of Britain. Can’t verify that fact, but it sounded good.
We left the mountain and went to the District 6 Museum in an former Methodist Church, which is a memorial to the forced movement of 60,000 inhabitants of various races in District Six during Apartheid in South Africa between 1966 and 1980. It was an eye opening experience to look at the pictures, read the testimonies of former residents and see such a horrible injustice that happened during our own lifetime.
Next was our tour of the South African Parliament. It was interesting to hear about their government organization. It is in a beautiful old colonial building that was build by the British before South Africa became an independent country in 1910.
We hurried to the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel for a high tea. The hotel is a beautiful hotel on sprawling grounds in the middle of the city overlooked by Table Mountain. It was built in 1899 and still today stands as one of the top hotels in Cape Town. It has hosted celebrities and the likes since it opened. We had a precious server named Margaret. She had worked there for 31 years and served a number of famous people over the years including Oprah, Nelson Mandela, and Bono of U2 One of the best stories we heard about “Mt. Nellie” was when a guest complained about a vagrant lying in the gardens on the hotel grounds. Turns out it was John Lennon and he was out meditating!
The high tea was fun and delicious. I think the guys even enjoyed it, but they do not want their pictures at tea going viral. I don’t think they believe the old saying that “real men eat quiche”!
About the time we were finishing tea, I got a text that the winds had changed direction and that we could jump at 4pm. So we hopped in the car and head to Signal Mountain. He said that they only had 3 pilots that afternoon so only 3 of us could fly. Carol jumped at the opportunity to “watch!” The other 3 of us felt bad she wasn’t going to do it, but she said she actually felt very relieved. We met the guys that were to be our tandem flyers and after filling out some paperwork – I’m sure it was a liability release that I didn’t read – we were outfitted in paragliding gear, tethered up to the sail and off we went. Oh my gosh it was fabulous! Once you were in the air it was peaceful and quiet. I expected it to be noisy and windy, but it was like floating in still air….. The ride lasted 7 minutes, but it felt like only 2! The view was spectacular! We sailed over a beautiful residential area on the coast and after taking a couple of passes at the edge of the water we landed in a park by the ocean. It went by way to quickly for me!
It had been a very full day so we headed back to the hotel and decided to cancel our dinner reservation and just order room service and relax.
We’re off to Stellenbosch in the morning. We’ve all agreed that Cape Town is a fabulous city and we’re glad we had the opportunity to be here for 4 days.
Mark and Freda's Wanderings 
Love the pics! Thank you for sharing your adventures with us!