FLYING IN TO CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Flying to South Africa is not for the wimpy traveler. It requires a 10.5 hour flight to London, a layover, and a second 11.5 hour flight to Cape Town. If there is a faster way to do it, we couldn't find it. Cape Town is also 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles. Very challenging.

I am not a very good plane sleeper, and during that 22 hours of flying, I managed to watch FOUR movies.

As we approached Cape Town, however, my attention was riveted on the stunning landscape below us. Can you believe these pictures were taken through the window? The light was perfect.

In my trip notes, I wrote that with the views of farmlands, mountains, coastlines, and cities, this is the most beautiful airport approach we've ever experienced:

Cape Town is situated on the east coast of South Africa, almost (but not quite) at the tip of the continent.  Until this trip, I thought the Cape of Good Hope WAS the tip of Africa, and I was surprised to find that the true tip of Africa is 90 miles to the southeast:

The Cape of Good Hope is the left tip of the two legs in the picture below:

As we flew in, we got an incredible look at the two capes:

We also had a good view of the western shoreline above the Cape of Good Hope with the iconic Table Mountain in the background:

Coming in for a landing:

It was a relief to finally arrive at the Cape Town Airport in our huge double-decker Airbus

When we disembarked and passed by THIS plane, however, we felt a strong dose of airplane-envy: 

Okay, so I don't usually dedicate a lot of space in a post to an airport, but the Cape Town International Airport is just so darn charming. 

We arrived in the middle of one of the worst droughts in Cape Town history, and the airport was our first exposure to the intense water conservation efforts that South Africans were making:

The airport also gave us our first exposure to elephants on this trip:

Later on, when we were in Botswana, we learned that elephants LOVE to eat the nuts that grow on marula trees. These same nuts are used to make a South African liqueur called "amarula." The distiller uses elephants in the marketing of the liqueur, and they also donate to elephant conservation.

One of the unique things in the Cape Town Airport is this "Flybrary," a book-swap place where travelers are encouraged to bring their gently used books and swap them for another read.

It is the first library of its kind in the world.

If you fly through Cape Town, make sure you stop at the Flybrary for a look.  I had plenty of books with me on my iPad, but it was fun to see what was available.

Another thing I loved about the airport was the "presence" of Nelson Mandela, my newest hero. This isn't the best photo, but it is a sample of what we saw everywhere--positive images of a man who changed the course of history, not just in South Africa, but in the world:

The airport even has a model of his Robben Island prison cell with an accompanying video:

The car rental place was just across the street. This photo is looking back at the airport:

Yep, that steering wheel is on the wrong side right side of the car. No worries. Bob is a pro at driving on the left side of the road.

 . . . but it didn't help my nerves to see these cows grazing alongside the freeway, and with no fence between us and them:

Next up: Cape Town Fauna and Flora