Cape of Good Hope

My mom never believed she would ever get to visit the Cape of Good Hope, and she kept crying whenever she realized that she was actually going to be there..  Now I get all sniffly and sentimental just looking at the picture.

That's the cape, seen from the nearby Cape Point.

The currents from the Indian ocean and the Atlantic ocean meet just off the Cape of Good Hope, making for some very impressive surf. As a side note, every single seaside postcard you've ever seen could have been taking somewhere along this pennisula.  Cliffs, lighthouses, roaring waves -- it's got it all.

Rule #1 of amateur nature photography:  Whales do not photograph well.

Wild ostriches live in the nature reserve that surrounds the Cape of Good Hope.  They generally stay out of the ocean unless there is a severe drought, in which case they go in to bathe.

Baboons run wild along the southern coast of South Africa.  They travel in small families, and live in areas with lots of low scrub (but not many trees, which surprised me greatly)

These pictures were all taken from inside the car with the window rolled up.  They are definitely wild animals, and can match Koalas for their VLB (Vicious Little B***ard) quotient.

This is how the young Baboons travel.  It's amazing more mother baboons don't have back problems.

We also visited the local penguin colony.  As you can see, we were discouraged from making friends with the penguins, especially by plying them with alcohol.

Rule #2 of amateur nature photography:  Penguins pretty much always photograph well. Also, between these guys and these guys, I've come to believe that the whole "penguins love ice" thing is an urban legend.