世界文化遺產中滑索／李明熙
雖道是看鯨魚季尾，來到 Hermanus 這個被 WWF 列為全球 12 個看鯨熱點之一，在岸邊拿著望遠鏡苦苦守候都看不到，確是有點失望。本想到全球只有 4 個可以跟大白鯊潛水地點之一的 Gansbaai，但雷雨交間，水溫亦低，便打消下水念頭。
不能往水裡去，只好往山中走。我們不管晴雨，訂了開普敦巿最大型的滑索（Zipline），離巿區只有 1 小時車程，在屬於世界文化遺產的 Hottentots Holland 自然保護區之內，共有 11 條滑索，飛越千米高的山谷，最長的有 320 米，歷時超過 30 秒。
我們報到後先坐半小時四驅車，山頂烏雲籠罩，冷風蕭蕭，下著毛毛細雨，幸好下車後還要走一段登山徑熱身，才到第一個滑台。一團有兩名領隊，一名先行滑到對岸接應，另一個殿後為我們上鐵索。
- 滑索挑戰度不高，對沒畏高的人來說，最大的挑戰是自拍。
第一次玩滑索，以為簡單的掛在鐵索上滑下便可，其實每條鐵索的長度和角度不同，每次都有不同的竅門去控制速度。我們的手套有一層厚厚的保護皮，用來扶著鐵索，看到領隊的手勢，拉下鐵索減低速度去降落。若鐵索角度不夠深，手則放在滑輪上，身體盡量收縮減低風阻。滑索挑戰度不高，對沒畏高的人來說，最大的挑戰是自拍。
玩完滑索，我們開車到開普半島的 Simon’s Town 看企鵝。非洲企鵝只在南非及納米比亞出沒，我們未步入 Boulder Beach 保護區，已經聞到鳥糞臭氣薰天，並不是所有企鵝都會到這保護區棲息，在 Simon’s Town 的其他沙灘上，都不難發現企鵝蹤影。而離 Simon’s Town 不遠的 Hout Bay，則是非洲毛皮海獅的出沒地，可乘船出海到海獅島看，但不少海獅亦會游到碼頭，跟人類打招呼。
Coastal Weather／Kimberlogic
Since we spent our first few days inland exploring vineyards and mountain passes, it was time to drive to the coast to see the beautiful beaches and the marine life that Cape Town is well known for. We decided to stay in Hermanus which is a great place to see Southern right whales just from the shore.
Although it was near the end of the whale season, everyone we spoke to was sure we could still catch a glimpse of these ocean giants. Unlike the warm, sunny weather we had in wine country, the coast was cold and rainy, which left us with very little visibility. We tried walking along the coast a few times to spot whales, but the wind was so powerful and cold that it drove us back indoors within a few minutes.
Besides seeing whales, another reason we stayed in Hermanus was to be close to the town of Gansbaai, where they offer Great White Shark cage diving. I have always wanted to see these predators up close and was so excited to be in the Great White Shark capital of the world. But again, the weather stopped us from getting the chance to do a shark dive.
After a couple days of having our plans thwarted by weather, we began to go a little stir crazy sitting indoors and not being able to see this area of the Western Cape. Instead of continuing a losing battle with mother nature, we jumped in the car and headed South.
We headed down to Cape Agulhas. Cape Agulhas is the southern most point on the African continent. This was the longest drive we took to a single destination on our whole trip; it took almost two hours to get there. We kept hearing from people that there was nothing there and really nothing to see, but being so cold, wet and battered by the wind for the past few days, we needed to get out of the house and do something.
The drive to the cape was stunning. We took small country roads that passed through farms and small towns and we actually got to see bits of sunshine along the way. When we reached the light house, although still windy, we had some sunshine to walk along the coast.
The Southern African coast is rugged and powerful. This is the place that the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. The seas are fierce due to the different directions of the currents of the two oceans, the different temperatures of these currents and the strong winds. It is said that there are hundreds of ship wrecks here and sailors have always feared this cape because of its notorious rouge waves that can reach 30 meters high.
Although there wasn’t much to do at Cape Agulhas, we enjoyed the sun and the sights. We also learned that planning a trip around the Western Cape of South Africa in the Spring takes patience, flexibility and clothing for all seasons. If we would have had more time to wait out the bad weather we could have done much more, but we had to get over to the eastern side to see penguins and other towns in this amazing country.
我們的 #Home2HomeTravel
