Golden Book Traveler

My Favorite Place in The World7/16/2010

I’m and just now winding up my 3 month Euro trip that has turned into 3 months + 4 months of unplanned adventures, including parts of Africa. I left a young pup unsure of my decisions; I am now a seasoned backpacker with a world of knowledge.

People ask me on a regular basis,

“What’s your favorite place you have visited so far?”

I am now convinced that there is no better place on this world than Cape Town, South Africa.

Africa was definitely not on my agenda. My trip was only supposed to include the continent of Europe. On a whim I decided that the cherry on top of my ice cream cake would be visiting South Africa to support the U.S. soccer team at the World Cup.

Cape Town wasn’t even part of my plans.

I was to visit Johannesburg for a few days, watch the USA vs. Slovenia game, and then fly back to Turkey.

Then something funny happened. I kept hearing story after story about the wonders of Cape Town. When a local told me that I’d have the opportunity to cage dive with GREAT WHITE SHARKS!, I knew I had to go!

Why Cape Town of all the places I visited?

**4 Reasons**:

The World Cup, Spectacular Scenery, Unique Wildlife, and Adventure Capital of the World.

The World Cup

The whole world is here. I actually miss the sound of horns waking me up in the morning as an overzealous fan blows feverishly into his vuvuzilla on the day his country will be watched by the world. The World Cup is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. The excitement, the pride, the joy, the despair, you can see all these emotions on the fans faces.

You can see it in the streets, bars, super markets, hotels. Everywhere you went, someone was waving their country’s flag with pride.

I remember vividly the Portugal vs. North Korea game played at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. Even though, I watched the game on television, every time the Portuguese scored, I could hear a loud boom that resembled something between a thunder strike and an oncoming locomotive. And Portugal scored a lot that game, 7 times!

Spectacular Scenery

Cape Town is a nature lover’s heaven. The Indian and Atlantic combine at Cape Point, Table Mountain is one of the most amazing mountains that God hath created, nature reserves, cliffs overlooking the sea, islands, and that’s everything above sea level.

A professional photographer I am not, but I know great scenery when I see it. Here are a few photos I took.

Wildlife

In the air, sea, and land Cape Town is also a wildlife lover’s paradise. The most vicious, beautiful predator in the world, The Great White Shark calls Cape Town home. As the king of the sea, the Great White has no equal. I feel honored to witness this creature first hand.

Humpback Whales, Fur Seals, and African Penguins also call the Cape Town waters home.

In addition, Cape Town is home to one of the world’s largest bird sanctuaries, lions, tigers, mountain goats, monkeys, frogs, and various other jungle creatures.

Adventure Sports and Activities

I do not know of another place in the world that has more adventure activities than Cape Town, an adrenaline junkie paradise.

Safari trekking, cage diving with Great Whites, whale watching, wine tasting, mountain climbing, surfing, scuba diving, paragliding, sky diving, bird watching, world’s highest bungee jump, sand boarding, and my fingers are now going numb!

My favorite part about Cape Town, what really put me over the edge, were the adventure activities I participated in. I still feel I didn’t see half of what there is to do out here even though I stayed longer here (8 days) than any other place on my trip.

I went sky diving for the first time in my life here. The jump sent me into a different reality. At 120 MPH, time and motion seemed to stop, for 30 seconds.

I climbed the beautiful Table Mountain. The panoramic view provided instant satisfaction to my adventure.

I went scuba diving in False Bay. Yikes! This is where Great Whites have been known to visit. Luckily for me they are more interested in seals then men in scuba gear.

Lastly, I dove with the Great Whites, where I witnessed the most impressive creature that these two eyes have ever seen. I know those sharks could have torn that cage and myself into pieces if they wanted to.

I want to give one last shout out to Tim who runs Atlantic Point Backpackers in Cape Town. The accommodation was one of the top 3 best hostels I’ve ever stayed in. For $20 USD a night, I could not find a cheaper place during the World Cup than Atlantic Point. You rock and I’m going to open up that hostel in Austin! Someday.