I've done a few of these threads in the past, and they seem to be pretty well received, so here's another go. I'm back in the states now, so I've got a chance to finish up editing some of my photos and reflect on the trip. I actually started in Bangkok to meet up with a Chinese girl who I traveled with in SW China, then hit some of the southern islands that I'd never been to before, felt underwhelmed, and then went to Indonesia, a country I really enjoy. I did some traveling and diving around Raja Empat, which is a pain to get to as its a small island chain in Indonesian Papua, but highly recommended! Then I made a fairly impromtu decision to fly to Cape Town, rather than doing more of the philippines, vietnam, western china and mongolia, as I had originally planned. I know, I know, all of those places sound really cool, but I've spent quite a bit of time in Asia but have never been to Africa, so I thought I'd switch it up a bit.
So I flew from Bali to Cape Town via Dubai, spent a week around Cape Town, which is a freakin gorgeous city, and then went to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and back to South Africa, where I flew home from Joburg. So not a complete loop, which I would have liked to do, but close enough. I had an important wedding to get back to, so my timeframe was somewhat limited at the tail end of the trip. Even though South Africa is loaded with cool stuff to do, I guess I preferred the feeling of the more 'African' countries, travelwise, and for a lack of a better term. I did an overland travel truck from Cape Town to Victoria falls, which is a fun way to travel, see all the highlights, and you get to meet lots of people and really get to know them, which is really great. However, the pace of the truck and lack of any type of cultural interaction did leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Fortunately I had plenty of time to travel independently for the rest of my trip. And since it was low season, at times I really missed that type of camaraderie you find on an overland truck, but at the same time you really feel like you're in Africa, waiting for hours at bus stations and getting crammed into hot, sweaty, minibuses, filled way over capacity.
I don't consider myself a great writer, and I feel like the photos speak louder than words would, so let's get started! We'll start with Cape Town and around...
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This was my first night in Cape Town. I basically checked into my hostel and hiked up as high as I could on signal hill and was rewarded with some fantastic post-sunset colors.
The very colorful muslim bo kapp neighborhood.
Loved how his white clothes matched perfectly with the house.
Friendly group of people on the waterfront, I was secretly hoping they'd invite me to smoke their hookah, but it sadly didn't happen.
There really aren't many cities I've been to that can compare to the pure aesthetic beauty cape town has. Downside: crazy income inequalities and racial tension.
Penguin colony along the cape
Like a boss.
Everywhere along the coast is just freakin gorgeous. Random sidenote: I had a little plastic baggy with 500 pounds in it (basically $750usd) that got moved to the top of my backpack while I was rummaging in it and the crazy winds somehow picked it up and blew it over the cliff into the ocean. That sucked.
baboons just wandering around in the botanical gardens
Fishermen in Muizenburg
Coastal rocks in the little town of Hermanus
The real reason people go to Hermanus: The sharks!
Spent some time in the cage. It's cold and the visibility sucks, but still very cool seeing the great whites that up close and personal
I rented a scooter to drive around the Cape. Excellent roads, fantastic scenery, and much higher winds than I would have liked!
Lots of wind and a cool mix of cultures
My favorite part about this fishing scene was all the village kids running in and trying to steal some fish from the nets and the big boss guy getting super pissed and constantly chasing them off.
had to include some killer asscrack
she spotted me
Some muslim school took a field trip to the aquarium the same day I was there, you could tell from their faces it was the first time they'd ever seen anything like this before. Their reactions to the aquatic life were definitely the most rewarding part.
The view from Lion's Head at night
Just some random couple who wanted me to take their photo.
Okay, so that was Cape Town! I'll get to Namibia tomorrow.