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Rain Stopped Play … not quite!
Up bright and early this morning once again for the Robben Island Tour … but the weather was looking decidedly iffy so we weren’t convinced the tour would actually be going ahead. We grabbed a quick breakfast and went to catch the shuttle … only to find it doesn’t start running until 9am as that’s when the shops open!
Nothing else for it but to walk. It only took 10 minutes to reach the Waterfront and another 5 minutes to get to the Robben Island ferry terminal. Alas the weather had beaten us – we were informed that no tours would be running today as the weather was so bad – #disappointed. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to reschedule so a refund was issued (well, they said it was).
We needed a new plan … we headed over to Mugg and Bean to contemplate what to do next. This place took Starbucks and Costa to another level! We decided what to do next over a mug of deluxe hot chocolate, choco cherry milkshake and a latte (which came to £5 … including a tip!). Decision made – Aquarium and the Springbok Museum.
After coffee, first on our hit list was the Two Oceans Aquarium and we arrived there before the ticket office opened! A very impressive aquarium – not huge but the tanks were all immaculately clean and no problems seeing the fish. There was a lovely display tank full of nemo fish. It was designed with a viewing hole in the middle for kids to pop their head up. Other tanks were filled with brightly coloured tropical fish all found around the coast of Southern Africa. There were lion fish, star fish, sea horses, anemones, eels, crabs, crayfish and other crustaceans.
The highlight was the penguin camp – African Penguins and Rockhopper penguins! By the time we’d done the rounds once, it was nearly time to for the penguins to be fed, so we headed back there to wait. They didn’t disappoint. All very cute and very possessive over their fish. The funniest part was one penguin building it’s nest from materials scattered about their zone … as soon as food time drew near, s/he disappeared to be in line for food whilst another penguin moved in and removed all the nesting material into his/her own hut!
A huge tank recreated the sea beds around Cape Town so you can visualise what is happening in the sea around Cape Town. You see blobs of seaweed seemingly float on the surface of the water … with the tank, you see they are anchored to the seabed and are long strands about 5 metres long.
The final tank was Callum’s favourite – the Predator tank. Ragged tooth sharks swam with other fish (one had had a chunk bitten out of it!), rays and a loggerhead turtle.
After the aquarium, next stop was back to our “local” and lunch. Sirlion steak rolls for Callum and I and a piri-piri chicken burger for Jon. The piri-piri had a real kick to it … just as well Jon had a large glass of Castle Beer to quench his thirst.
Next up was the Springbok Museum which houses the rich history of Rugby in South Africa, including the apartheid era. Lots of trophies, shirts and caps donated by players to museum. Again, it’s not a huge museum but it is very well done. Lots of interactive bits for Callum to try and test his skills. His throwing needs more practise but scored a conversion on first attempt. Jon and Callum also had their photos taken in the Springbok line up.
A quick drink at Mitchell’s Ale House before heading back to the hotel via Toy Kingdom to appease Callum. Mostly similar toys and gadgets to back home so nothing purchased!
Back at the hotel, a glass of Jack Black was brought over to Jon as he sat down. Abigail still didn’t know if I was in the mood for beer or wine!! The barman had a surprise mocktail in store for Callum – a Kiwi & Passion Fruit Dacquiri – very yum.
We headed back to the room to check in for our flights tomorrow and start the packing. The big question was would everything fit into our cases!!
Bit of confusion on the check in front, as we thought the flights were at 6pm … but weren’t until 7.30pm so we had to wait for a bit before we could check in! We’d be eating a little later this evening then as we wanted to try and get 3 seats together (else Jon will have a very relaxing flight back). We cracked open our bottle of OldenXXXX – a 5* wine according to the wine house.
Eventually, we checked in … we’re at the back of the plane but at least we have three seats together. Time to head out to dinner. Decisions, decisions about where to eat tonight. Tasca, Bethazar or Den Anker.
In the end the wine list at Belthazar won us over – over 600 wines and 200 wines could be had by the glass (wine menu was the size of The Times newspaper albeit with loads of ads!).
Starters chosen: Callum the ribs, I had the Grilled Calamari and Jon chose the Avocado and Prawn salad. For mains, Callum chose the Ribeye steak and Jon and I went for the Game Kebab – wildebeast, impala, kudu and ostrich.
As for the choice of wine were so vast, Jon and I chose wines to complement our courses – Chardonnay for Jon and a Chenin Blanc for me. For mains a Pinotage for Jon and a Cabernet Sauvignon for me (ordered before I realised this was the same wine we’d been drinking back at the hotel!). It was all really filling and needed to walk back to the hotel to work our meal off.
