This morning we rose early to catch the bus once again to Simon's Town. All five of us met with the kayak tour guide, Derek near the dock. Our group got a private guided tour, as nobody else had signed up for the trip. Being the fifth wheel, I got my own single kayak while the two couples both rode double-seat kayaks. It was a beautiful day, probably getting up to 75 degrees during our trip. I really enjoyed kayaking for my first time, and hope to do it more in the future. We kayaked along the rocky coastline of Simon's Town toward Boulder Beach. Along the way we were extremely fortunate to see a Southern Right whale probably 300 meters away. The whale was very impressive as it surfaced maybe 10 times before moving out of range. The tour guide challenged us to not say "awesome" until the trip was finished, but I failed just minutes in. It's difficult to not say the words "awesome", "incredible", "amazing", etc. when you are kayaking in crystal clear False Bay under the warm sun amongst great friends, whales, and penguins. The surrounding scenery was breathtaking as well. All of the impressive mountains around False Bay from Simon's Town to Cape Town were visible today. The water was so clear as we kayaked along the coastline and through the kelp at some points. After watching the penguins at Boulder Beach we parked the kayaks up on a beach and enjoyed picking up seashells for a while. Eventually we made our way back to the starting point, the trip in total lasting about two and a half hours. Derek was a very entertaining tour guide which added to the enjoyment of our trip. Kayaking is definitely something I could really enjoy in the future, although I can't imagine many trips equaling the joy of this one.
We ate lunch in Simon's Town and wasted some time at a very interesting South African Naval Museum. Then, later in the afternoon, the five of us took a boat tour out to Seal Island where Dave and I had done shark cage diving yesterday. We were hoping to see whales, dolphins, or sharks, but had to settle for seeing the 40,000 seals on the island, more penguins, and lots of seabirds. I was disappointed not to see whales or dolphins (as they often do on this particular trip), but still very much enjoyed riding on the 14 seat motorized raft called the Rubber Ducky.
Today was another exhausting day full of great new experiences, and I'm expecting more of the same tomorrow. Tomorrow we are catching the 4:30am train in to Cape Town where we have a car rented to take to the safari, Fairy Glen. I'm extremely excited and looking forward to sharing that experience as soon as I can!
Sounds like a great day. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
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