Day 42 of the trip and since 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, then today should be a pretty good day.
Was so exhausted after yesterday that I slept seven and a half hours (that’s two more than normal for me) and only woke up twice.
Rob was up soon after, and we walked around the corner for brekkie at “Egghead”. I had forgotten how much I like rooibos tea.

Did a bit of a walkabout in the neighbourhood around the hotel.

Magda picked us up at noon and whisked us off to Paarl, in the wine region. We made a stop at the monument celebrating the Afrikaans language, which turns 100 years old this year. It’s quite something.

The view of the wine region is nice from up there, too.

We stopped at Rhebokskloof wine farm for a bite to eat. The crispy fried brie with berry sauce was delicious and the grounds were beautiful.

But wait… thunder in the distance? We finished our lunch and shortly after leaving the winery, the rains came down. A few spectacular bolts of lightning gave us a thrilling show and after the rain subsided a bit, Table Mountain peeked out from behind some hills in the distance, sporting some interesting pastel colours due to the moisture in the air, the various distances, and the sun being a bit lower in the sky.

We stopped at Blue Peter for dinner and to watch the sunset. Managed to catch a rainbow in the photo as well.

Had a “heatwave” pizza (beef, jalapeño, chillies), Rob had fish and chips. All good. The sunset was the big show, though. An interesting anomaly at this beach is the waves come from different directions - at almost 90 degree angles. They form a criss-cross pattern in the surf that’s fascinating to watch. I’ve only seen this at one other place and it was also in South Africa.

The leftover clouds from the rainstorm blocked all but a few slivers of fire as the sun dipped to the horizon.

In the opposite direction of the setting sun, Table Mountain was putting on its own show across the bay. I had to wade out knee-deep in the frigid water to get these shots, but it was worth it!

The paddle boarder in that first shot above was out there without a wetsuit. He’s braver than I am. Just being knee-deep in the water was all the cold I wanted to deal with.

It was a really good day today.

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