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gamingandeducating · 6 years

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XCOM 2: War of The Chosen

When I bought XCOM 2 (probably 2 years ago) on sale I didn't really know what I was buying. The name carried the weight of being “good” and I didn't even think to watch a video or read a review before buying it heavily discounted via the xbox store. Since then there have been numerous failed campaigns, uninstalls and reinstalls. Soldiers I have fallen in love with, named and then stupidly gotten killed, hence the number of uninstallations. I guess it would be fair to say that my time with xcom was tumultuous and while in my head I adored the permadeath aspect of it, in reality I hated it as every time I was faced with the consequences my response was a trip to the manage game section before I played something else. I would say that every time I played again I felt a little bit more competent than the last, but I would never say that I had any level of expertise towards the game. So why did I reinstall this game again? There was a sale on the expansion of course! At a certain point going back to xcom 2 was boring for me, I would have to go through the same early levels and the same early research projects and the same early VO before I hit anything new and then bounce away as soon as it got too difficult (yes this is a problem of my own making but still). The expansion however meant that I could experience enough new things while making my way through the old and so my playthrough began anew.

The turn based strategy of xcom is deceptively simple and I have no doubts in thinking that I played it with as much grace as a dog pouring a tea into fine china, but I loved trying to be tactical. Moving my rookies into position before shooting that first shot into the Advent and beginning the chaos. This was made more interesting for me with the addition of the faction specialist soldiers called the Reapers who stay concealed even when they have fired or the squad is revealed. For me an element of the grand tactitian was lost in xcom 2 when the first shot was fired and the enemy got their free move away before the rest of your fireteam could strike. I would have much preferred some system by which I could synchronise attacks while hiding to give that true feeling of a small number tactical operation taking place. The Reapers allowed for this a little more. I also played a lot with a new class type called the Skirmisher which felt underpowered by the midgame because of the equipment that I had doled out to my other members and not Mox the skirmisher, after that point he never stood a chance. There was a third new type but I never played with it because it sounded confusing to hell and I didn't see the obvious benefit and so sunk my experience elsewhere. The addition of these classes made a welcome change to the 4 archetypes that come with the base game.

While the set story missions were nothing special and the overarching story was also pretty paint by numbers the narrative in this game comes from the story between the soldiers that you send into battle. Its the meta-story that is produced by a missed shot from your sniper leading to their MEC troopers decimating your ranger who gets healed, but the squad is still in a precarious position, but then the sniper who missed the first shot takes aim again and this time his aim is true. While this might mean nothing to most people this story meant something to me and that is why that sniper earned the nickname “Second Shot”.

The main introduction in the war of the chosen was the 3 Chosen that serve as protectors in certain regions on the world map. They offer some difficulties that make you approach each level in a different way. The computer can be as risky as it wants to be with the alien forces and the chosen because it has an unlimited supply of them, whereas if one of your soldiers takes a hit then it is a real hammer blow for the rest of the mission and might scupper some of your plans for the next few missions. I liked the Chosen specific missions, although I would have preferred some unique factors in each one as they felt pretty samey after the first. As soon as the first Chosen was dropped and I reaped the sweet loot benefits then I made an effort to get all of their amazing and overpowered weaponry that made me feel like a superhero.

Xcom works best when there is a pressure. When the soldiers send out have worth to them and when the mission timer gets remarkably close to zero. The random missions and mapping heighten the pressure, but once again I felt that there was only so much in terms of variety that I could find here. During the late game I just ignored certain mission types because I was bored by them and I could do so without penalty. In my meta narrative I reasoned this away by saying that XCOM only had certain amount of resources to use and while I was told that this wasn't recommended I never felt penalised. For a game that stresses decision making, it felt like this was an oversight and an exploit that covered up the lack of options for mission types. I will give a shout out here to the Lost Missions. The zombieish, third faction was super interesting to play and the new dynamic of another threat made me reconsider all of my moves. While shooting and killing them granted you another action their ability to bog down advent made them more useful alive.

I was ultimately disappointed with the finale of the campaign as it emphasises the save the world aspect more than the band of brothers I had created, but truly the last mission sucked, it was nothing more than a trip down memory lane with every creature you’d fought up until that point and three of the bosses from the missions prior thrown in for good measure. This paled in comparison to the sneaky, three man mission that went before that was an incredibly interesting and unique mission.

In my head the problems with the last mission could have been solved by having some sort of b team mission that sets up the final venture and depending on how well your b team does dictates the bonuses for your A-team. I picture it similarly to mass effect 2′s suicide mission. The fact that members of the B team might have to die would really add the drama and motivation that the final mission lacked.

Xcom 2 has the potential to be played over and over again as I have proven, however the end game feels too grindy and likes the spartan, outnumbered feel of the early and midgame. I would recommend xcom 2 to anyone who wants a backdrop to tell their own stories of war, but warn them that their attachment will only bring them heartbreak. RIP Second Shot

#xcom 2: war of the chosen #xcom 2 #turn based strategy #xbox one x #xbox one #ps4 pro #ps4 #video game review #gaming

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ssenvs3000 · 7 years

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The Happy *Broke* Hiker

October 13th, 2017. 10:53pm

I love hiking. Long distance hiking to be exact.

I’m not entirely sure what it is about hiking that I love so much… but honestly, it’s my favorite thing. There’s no better feeling to me then carrying all the things necessary to live inside a 60L backpack.

Trail head of the La Cloche Silhouette Trail in Killarney. All we need for 7 days is found in those 60L packs.

Now a-days though, I seem to be spend my time, as I like to call it anti-hiking. What do you think when you hear anti-hiking? Is it someone lazing on a couch watching Netflix? Playing video games? Someone trapped inside with closed blinds? Because, that’s not what I do at all. Instead of getting outside and actually hiking, my nightly routine consists of endless google searches with key words like “Best Backpacking Trails Canada” and “Women’s Hiking Boots”. I spend HOURS every single day trying to find new trails and new gear to go hiking, and very little time actually hiking; hence, anti-hiking.

Files for all the trips I hope to one day go on. Time to start saving...

I know I’m not the only person who does this. And, I know why. All over the forums I read, people will comment saying “I wish I had enough money to do this,” or “why do permits have to be so expensive and unattainable?” And oh-my-lanta are they ever right. Being outside is hecking expensive! Especially the outdoors I want to surround myself in. I have an extensive bucket list of backcountry trails I’d like to hike. In fact, my FLAG (fearless life-altering goal) is to hike 3 different backcountry trails in 3 different countries. I’ve got word documents and excel spreadsheets laying out itinerary specifics for numerous trips that I am longing to go on. These dreams seem so far away, however, because I’m broke. Flat out broke… I am a student remember?

So how can I, a nature enthusiast, get outside? And how can we expect those “less-enthused” with nature to give it a go?

Well, nature doesn’t have to be expensive. Money should not be a barrier for someone to experience the beauty and positive health effects nature allows humans. So, how do we overcome this problem?

I believe, as Nature Interpreters, the cost is a significant factor in program success. When developing programs, it’s important to first think about how much does this program actually cost? Once park entry, permit and camping fee’s are all totaled upm the bill can be pretty hefty for a potential client. Add employee wages and company profit, and you’re looking at some high-end pricing for an outdoor, muddy, less than luxurious, adventure. In addition to program cost, the clientele are expected to come prepared with garments for every weather situation. When I add up the dollar amount of my “prepared for anything” MEC wishlist, all I can say is ouch. So how can we mitigate cost as program creators?

I think, for starters, we need to stop creating a romanticized image around the word “adventure.” Sure, everyone wants adventure in their lives, but adventure does not need to be an extravagant trip to the mountains with lots of expensive gear. Adventure can be a trip to the University of Guelph Arboretum for a round of disc golf or a visit under the cold waters at Webster’s Falls, then to the top of Dundas Peak. Except for transportation (which carpooling/club involvement and group planning can help mitigate), these adventures are relatively free. There’s still all the same health benefits of being outside, with less bank account pain and stress after the fact. So let’s stop making the outdoors sound like a high-end vacation, and more like an everyday, accessible thing for all to enjoy!

So, what do you think? How can we lower program costs to ensure that finances are not a barrier to experiencing the outdoors?

*Also, if you have any suggestions for backpacking trails, I’d love to know!*

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financevisionary · 8 years

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My strategy for turning $15,000 into $200,000 every month

Let me inform you the tale of 2 companies that are specifically the same-except for one simple difference.

Each business begins off with $100 in capital.

One has a one-month sales pattern (i.e., people go from possibility to client in one month). The other business has a four-month sales cycle.

Not remarkably, the slower company adds much less over time. But do you recognize exactly how much less after one year?

It just generates $800 in income, while the faster company sees sales increase to $204,800.

That's 256 times much less, merely because it has a slower sales process!

With the slower sales pattern, the proprietor can reinvest his or her earnings merely four times rather than 12 times.

In many means, this is the story of my company. It used to take months to close a $279 sale.

Now, it takes merely 48 hours to close a $5,000 to $25,000 sale from a complete stranger.

This sales-cycle distinction transformed everything!

When I made the change from a 'slow-sales' design to a 'fast-sales' version, my company jumped from $120,000 each year to $2.4 million per year.

The fast-sales model is certainly better. Nobody would certainly choose a slow-sales design on objective. Yet many individuals accidentally wind up stuck there.

In my case, I fell under 2 dangerous as well as typical holds:

1. Content-first marketing. The belief that I have to produce blog posts, videos, and also social-media posts for months or perhaps years prior to I can offer my consumer anything.

2. Ascension model marketing. The idea that I should begin selling customers inexpensive products before I can sell them more costly ones.

Here's what I learned:

You do not should create months of content prior to an individual will certainly buy from you.

You don't need to construct a tribe.

You don't should offer a low-price product to at some point get someone to purchase a high-price one!

All you require is a properly developed sales system that actually works.

In this short article, I discuss my exact sales system along with certain numbers and also hacks you could promptly make use of to begin to obtain sales fast.

First, to provide you context, here is just how my sales channel performs in a normal month. In a given month, we'll spend $15,000 on marketing as well as bring around 20 to 30 customers right into our high-ticket programs. It appears like this:

Problem-First Marketing: My System for Developing Rapid Sales of Expensive Products

One big please note: Prior to you can get results from the funnel above, it is absolutely crucial that you recognize, speak with, and also fix the customer's core trouble in each step of the sales channel. I clarify exactly how to do that in 'Business Ideology That Grew My Company From $120,000 to $2.4 Million In 30 Days.'

Step No. 1: Target My Exact Consumer on Facebook and also Twitter

Every month, I spend $15,000 to $20,000 on Twitter and also Facebook ads.

There are a million ways to target people on Twitter or facebook, but exactly what's functioned best for me is problem-based targeting. I target individuals based on whether they have the certain issue that my product resolves. I clarify the power of the problem-first approach in my previous Inc.com article.

While Facebook as well as Twitter do not yet have a means to clearly target clients with the issue you resolve, there is a method to do this indirectly. You can target people by the particular Facebook Pages they follow.

Why does this work? If somebody adheres to a niche firm that just deals with the precise problem that my firm concentrates on, then I could be positive that this fan has that problem also. On the various other hand, if they follow a very general Facebook page, say a prominent musician's, then I do not actually recognize if they have that issue or not.

Step No. 2: Create the Ad

Our concentration here is driving individuals to sign up for a totally free webinar.

In order to do this, we focus the ad on the result that potential consumers want. This might be an objective they wish to accomplish, an issue they intend to prevent or address, or both. The a lot more eye-catching the result is for that prospective customer, the much more powerful the ad will be.

Clearly showing what people get is one of one of the most crucial aspects of an effective headline. MEC Labs has conducted 10s of thousands of heading tests over 15 years, as well as they came to the same final thought when they discussed their five essential findings.

Here is among my old advertisements, to reveal you just what one of my Facebook advertisements resembles:

Note that the result is clear: double the variety of new clients you get weekly. That's a wonderful hook, as well as it's appropriate in line with exactly what we provide for the people we work with.

Step No. 3: Release a Landing Page

From my promotion, I link to a landing web page for my webinar.

There are four crucial tactics I use on this page to transform 20 percent of its site visitors:

Only one connect to click the entire web page. Most Website supply a navigating bar as well as bunches of different paths for visitors to comply with. Good landing pages are designed to get site visitors to do just one point. That thing can be buying a product, offering an email address, or joining to a webinar.

This free Landing Web page 101 training course strolls you through suggestions on creating a landing web page. If you're just starting, I advise using LeadPages to produce your landing web page. It totally automates the process.

Goal-based and also problem-based headings. There is no replacement for deeply recognizing the problems your audience faces and also the objectives they desire to reach and speaking to them.

That's why I make use of the adhering to formula for headlines:

How to [AWESOME] Without [SUCK]

Or, put another way:

How to [INSERT GOAL] Without [PUT ISSUE]

Over 10,000 research studies by psycho therapists in the last 20 years show the power of approach and avoidance as main motorists of motivation. So, the power of this formula is that it talks with each of these.

Extensive Testing. I spend weeks examining the headings on this web page. With a tool like LeadPages, you can very easily A/B test different headings. I'm always amazed at the outcomes of testing. The examination that wins is usually one that I had not been anticipating. That's why it's crucial for even the most skilled online marketers to continuously test.

I added a countdown timer. There is a timer that counts to the next proving of the webinar. This provides a 10 percent to 15 percent bump in conversion for me.

The concept of a launch procedure timer has actually been embraced in several put on the Internet, consisting of one of the most prominent event administration system online-Eventbrite-and Amazon's Daily Deals.

Academic study by respected scientist Robert Cialdini, author of Influence, shows that individuals value things a lot more extremely when they are much less available. Having a target date is one powerful method to produce this scarcity.

LeadPages makes it very easy to include a countdown timer to your landing page.

Step No. 4: Hold a Webinar

I initially found out about the power of webinars in 2012. I obtained a call from my pal, E. Brian Rose, writer of Millionaire Within. He had seen a sales page I had developed for my previous business, and he primarily told me, 'I believe this offer would certainly do considerably better if you attempted to do a webinar. I'll place a number of individuals on it. You can run it, and afterwards we'll divide the profits.'

He explained ways to do it. He helped promote it.

It drew 110 people.

I remember being truly terrified. It was the very first time I had actually done anything like it. However I simply focused on talking from the heart. Fortunately, it resonated.

Half of the 110 people purchased.

From that day on, I have actually been completely convinced that webinars are magical. They do the work of an entire content advertising and marketing campaign while making a direct offer.

You can't do anything else online as well as obtain a 50 percent conversion.

Here's why webinars work so well:

Viewers invest even more time on webinars compared to almost other form of online web content. The standard short article takes merely a couple of minutes to read. As well as that's presuming people check out the entire article-55 percent of site visitors to short articles just invest 15 secs skimming them. On the other hand, my ordinary webinar is 45 mins and over 30 percent of individuals remain to the end as well as routine a telephone call with somebody on our group. That's the matching of 15 short articles of time.

Webinars help you develop a much deeper connection compared to a post can. With a webinar, you could guide listeners with your voice and also photos, as well as interactive tools like Q&A, group chat, etc.

Webinars give you with wholehearted attention. Most individuals concern an article considering that they saw it in their social-media newsfeed. Webinars are various. If they're watching your webinar, it indicates that they have actually taken time out of their routine to turn up and also focus on what you're doing.

All of these factors make webinars the perfect location to inform possible clients and make a deal for your product.

In the webinar, I supply real value. I hand out as a lot of the option as I could in the time that I have. Wonderful cost-free content will certainly obtain you before even more people, and also it will develop a deeper level of count on with them.

At the end of the webinar, I invite individuals in the viewers to have an individually telephone call if they feel my product is a good fit. People publication sessions with us with the scheduling software application, Set up Once. Then, we call them at the time they select.

Keep in mind that our objective isn't really to convert every person. Throughout the webinar, we repetitively claim which our program is EXCEPT. We can possibly obtain 60 percent of individuals to arrange a telephone call if we allowed simply anyone. If we did that, however, we 'd be losing our time in meaningless conversations with individuals that aren't a good fit. That wastes their time and also ours.

In a future article, I'll discuss my formula making a high-converting webinar that's incredibly valuable for attendees and effective adequate to generate regular sales right into your business.

Step No. 5: Talk With Prospective Consumers One-on-One

The 35 to 45 minute discussion serves 3 functions:

It removes people that aren't a good fit. Although it's appealing, I've learned by hand that you never ever need to take cash from the wrong people. If your item can't absolutely aid an individual, then you're doing them a disservice. Second of all, if people are NOT genuinely encouraged to take activity, after that they're doing themselves an injustice. If you have a firm program, like I do, then even one bad apple can throw off the entire team's mechanics. In the short term, this causes millions of bucks less in earnings each year. I have no question that it's the appropriate decision.

It offers the additional mentoring that we promised in the webinar. We aid callers establish the excellent rate that they must be billing, who their suitable customer is, and the very best way to reach their ideal visitor. This reveals customers we could address their problem, makings them most likely to deal with us.

It provides us an opportunity to supply a sales offer to potential customers that we assume are a good fit. When we genuinely think that we can help someone and they're a great fit, we make a solid case for why they must relocate forward.

Take Action

Over the years, I've aided hundreds of entrepreneurs create sales funnels that are compelling adequate to produce constant $5,000 to $10,000 sales. Some of these business owners have developed companies simply as huge and even bigger compared to mine. Others have failed to get any traction.

So... just what is the distinction between the two? It is not intelligence or skill.

It's fear.

Fear of being rejected.

Fear of stumbling upon too 'sales-y.'

Fear of charging too much.

Fear of stating no to visitors who typically aren't an excellent fit.

Fear incapacitates people and also stops them from acting and picking up from their mistakes.

Fear makes individuals go for sub-par profit, average visitors, and an average product.

I'm not effective considering that I'm the smartest man in any room.

I really did not go to an Ivy League school. I began my occupation as a bartender, not a venture-backed entrepreneur.

But what I do not have in pedigree, I have actually make up for in boldness.

I invested $61,423 as well as numerous months in 2013 only doing full-time designing, screening, as well as refining of my sales funnel. It was only after months of aggravation as well as denial that my sales skyrocketed from $10,000 a month to $200,000 a month in November 2013.

Over the last two years, I raised my rate by 100 times. Nobody asked me to enhance the price. I looked at the value of the info I was providing, and I knew it deserved more.

I rejected $2 million in profits this year by stating no to potential clients who I didn't think were a good fit. I asked some visitors to leave the program and also refunded tens of thousands of bucks if I got a feeling that they ultimately weren't an excellent suitable for the program. I had high requirements, also when I actually required the money.

Most entrepreneurs merely typically aren't going to go via this struggle or make these tough decisions in the beginning.

So, before you begin, ask on your own two questions:

Are you willing to deal with that fear as well as require what you're worth?

Are you ready to do numerous examinations until points 'click'?

Look yourself in the mirror. Be sincere with yourself.

If you're not prepared, then stop now. You will certainly save on your own years of false beginnings and also sub-par results.

If you prepare, after that start currently. Every hard choice and every examination will bring you closer to the success you're looking for.

Russ Ruffino is the designer of Clients on Need. Using his approaches, instructors, professionals, thought-leaders, and also solution professionals attract the excellent customers, at the best rate, anytime they desire. For more information, see his complimentary webinar.

#credit #Debt

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mollydpowellus · 7 years

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5G Security Updates - March 2018

Its been a while since I wrote about 5G security in this fast changing 5G world. If you are new to 3GPP security, you may want to start with my tutorial here. 3GPP SA3 Chairman, Anand R. Prasad recently mentioned in his LinkedIn post: 5G security specification finalized! Paving path for new business & worry less connected technology use. 3GPP SA3 delegates worked long hours diligently to conclude the specification for 5G security standard during 26 Feb.-2 Mar. Several obstacles were overcome by focussed effort of individuals & companies from around the globe. Thanks and congrats to everyone! All together 1000s of hours of work with millions of miles of travel were spent in 1 week to get the work done. This took 8 meetings (kicked off Feb. 2017) numerous on-line meetings and conference calls. Excited to declare that this tremendous effort led to timely completion of 5G security specification (TS 33.501) providing secure services to everyone and everything! The latest version of specs is on 3GPP website here. ITU also held a workshop on 5G Security in Geneva, Switzerland on 19 March 2018 (link). There were quite a few interesting presentations. Below are some slides that caught my attention.

Major 5G Security Issues via Min Zuo, China Mobile #RANSplit #NetworkSlicing #SBA #NFV #SDN #CloudComputing #MEC pic.twitter.com/GD8EMNP1Fk

— 3G4G (@3g4gUK) March 20, 2018

The picture in the tweet above from China Mobile summarises the major 5G security issues very well. 5G security is going to be far more challenging than previous generations. The presentation by Haiguang Wang, Huawei contained a lot of good technical information. The picture at the top is from that presentation and highlights the difference between 4G & 5G Security Architecture.

New entities have been introduced to make 5G more open.

EPS-AKA vs 5G-AKA (AKA = Authentication and Key Agreement) for trusted nodes

EAP-AKA' for untrusted nodes.

Slice security is an important topic that multiple speakers touched upon and I think it would continue to be discussed for a foreseeable future. Dr. Stan Wing S. Wong from King’s College London has some good slides on 5G security issues arising out of Multi-Tenancy and Multi-Network Slicing. Peter Schneider from Nokia-Bell Labs had good slides on 5G Security Overview for Programmable Cloud-Based Mobile Networks

Sander Kievit from TNO, a regular participant of working group SA3 of 3GPP on behalf of the Dutch operator KPN presented a view from 3GPP SA3 on the Security work item progress (slides). The slide above highlights the changes in 5G key hierarchy. The ITU 5G Security Workshop Outcomes is available here. ETSI Security Week 2018 will be held 11-15 June 2018. 5G security/privacy is one of the topics. There is also 5GPPP Workshop on 5G Networks Security (5G-NS 2018), being held in Hamburg, Germany on August 27-30, 2018. In the meantime, please feel free to add your comments & suggestions below. Related Posts & Further Reading:

Introduction to 3GPP Security in Mobile Cellular Networks - 3G4G

5G Security Updates - July 2017 - 3G4G

3GPP 5G Specifications - 3G4G

Tutorial: Service Based Architecture (SBA) for 5G Core (5GC) - 3G4G

from My Updates http://blog.3g4g.co.uk/2018/03/5g-security-updates-march-2018.html

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travelexplorerepeat · 8 years

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Good Morning Fellow Explorers,

Every year I select a country to go and explore for about two weeks to a month, this past year was South Africa. I went October to November of 2016 visiting Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kruger National Park. There is so much to see and do in Cape Town that seven days hardly seemed to be enough time. Here is my seven day itinerary.

DAY ONE AND TWO

The best way to get to know Cape Town is to get on the red double deck hop-on/off bus . It is probably one of the best tours that I have been on. There are four different lines: red, yellow, blue and purple. Red is an outer city tour stopping at the V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain, Camps Bay and much more. The Yellow line takes you around the downtown area of Cape Town stopping at a number of different museums and historic areas such as District Six. The blue line is the mini peninsula tour stopping at 14 different locations including Kirstenbosch Gardens and there is a spectacular view of Table Mountain from all sides. Last but not least the Purple line which is the wine tour bus. It stops at three different wineries and is accessed through the blue line. I recommend getting a two day pass to visit all the locations and really get the full Cape Town experience. Also, when you purchase the two day ticket it also includes a sunset and cruise tour for free.

DAY THREE

Hiking Table Mountain can be tricky not because of the trails but the mountain best hiked when the winds are good and the sky is clear. There are about 12 different trails to hike up to the top of Table Mountain ranging in different price and skill level. For the first time I would recommend India Venster as it has some scrambling and great views. Starting from the base of where the cable car is making our way to the back of the mountain and up to the top. It will take about 3.5 hours and leaves really early in the morning as the temperature is a lot cooler then and winds tend to be low. You will definitely want to have at least two litres of water with you and some light snacks. I picked up a pack of GOO from MEC, which gave me the boost I needed to finish the hike. DO NOT try and hike Table Mountain by yourself many people have gotten injured/lost and there are a number of guides that can take you up for a reasonable price. The company I used is called Hike Table Mountain just click the name for other routes and prices. I was really happy with the level of service I received with them. They were very knowledgeable about all the routes, history and pointed out some dangerous plants. If you do not like to hike there is a cable car that goes up to the top and it is open dependent upon the strength of the winds – it is more satisfying to hike up though.

If you didn’t get a chance to visit some of the places you wanted to on the hop-on/off tour like the aquarium or museums within the city after the hike is a good time to go. Finish your day with dinner at the V&A Waterfront.

DAY FOUR

KIRSTENBOSCH GARDENS

It does not really matter which you do first. I decided to spend my morning at Kirstenbosch Gardens and my afternoon at Robben Island. There are many different paths to take when you enter Kirstenbosch. The cost of entry is R40 for adults and R10 for children. They have a variety of sections from fragrant plants, to healing plants, ancient plants and a tree top walkway with a view of Table Mountain. All-in-all dedicate an hour or two to really get around, if you choose to have lunch here add another hour.

ROBBEN ISLAND

I had my tour for Robben Island around 1500 and it lasts about 3-4 hours. When you arrive there is a bus tour that takes you around the island and gives you an idea of what it was like to be an inmate. Then when you arrive to the jail there is a former prisoner that takes you around the jail and gives you the history from a first person point of view along with some information about Nelson Mandela and his time there. One thing about Robben Island is to book as soon as you can if you want to have your choice in tour time as it does fill up quick, tickets can be purchased in advance online. Tour prices are R320 adults and R180 children.

DAY FIVE

Wine tours! This is an absolute must if you are visiting South Africa and be close to one of their oldest wine regions. I booked through the hostel I was staying at and the company they use as called Wine Flies. The guide we had was absolutely awesome. Getting picked up around 0730-0800 visiting five different wineries trying about twenty-five different wines paired with cheese, meats and chocolate. There are opportunities to purchase wines at each location and each winery has shipping information and costs for every country they deliver to in the world. Lunch is also included which features a true South African Braai – which is like a BBQ but never tell a South African that. One of the coolest features about this trip is tasting a wine that is finished but has not been bottled yet. It is astounding how different it tastes. The cost was R750 adults only, booked through my hostel.

DAY SIX

There are only a few places where you can do shark cage diving. Some of the best places are Mexico, Australia and South Africa. During the time that I was there the closest shark diving experience was in Gansbaai just a couple of hours outside of Cape Town. I believe the company we were with was called Marine Dynamics which is a Fair Trade operator and they are an ecotourism and conservation company. It was a really cool experience at no time did I feel like the shark was going to come into the cage as you may have seen on a youtube video. However, looking back on this trip I might have not done the shark diving experience as I felt that is was unnatural to bait the shark to come to the cage just so a bunch of tourists can capture a few pictures. Also, I saw more of the shark and its beauty outside of the water which I could have done a simple marine boat tour for that. This was R2400 adult, also booked through my hostel.

DAY SEVEN

This day I did not have much time to do any activities as my flight was really early in the morning however if I had a full day here are some other things that I wish I could have done:

Cape Point Tour

Hike another Table Mountain Route, i.e. Lions Head

Wine tour in the Paarl region

There were opportunities to do a Safari in this part of South Africa as well. I never did it here as I was going to Kruger National Park to do it. I had also heard that the safaris in this part of South Africa were not good as they do not treat the animals well. However, I have no factual information to support that.

As always I look forward to any questions or comments you may have. If you have been to Cape Town please let me know of places you went to and enjoyed. Bo-Kaap in the picture below.

Time to take-off,

Amber Leigh @travel.explore.repeat

Cape Town, South Africa Good Morning Fellow Explorers, Every year I select a country to go and explore for about two weeks to a month, this past year was South Africa.

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