After a short two-hour flight, we arrived in Cape Town where we would spend five days touring the city and its surroundings.

The first day, we took the cable car up Table Mountain and had the chance to see amazing views of the city. From the lookout, we were able to see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of Africa and even the new soccer stadium that is being used for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Tournament.

The following day, we drove along the coast of the Cape and stopped at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, one of the main working harbors of Cape Town, and wandered through the many shops and historic streets.

Next, we drove to Stellenbosch, the second oldest European settlement in the province after Cape Town. While we were there, we saw many vineyards, as Stellenbosch is the center of the South African wine industry and even the site of the first school in South Africa that accepted girls!

The next few days were spent exploring the rest of the city and parts of the Western Cape. —Emily Black