As the young girl travels to Africa, she faces many challenges and has many new adventures.  From getting lost on a mountain to trying new foods, this is by far the best vacation ever.

Molly’s parents chose to go to a place where her summer is their winter. 
It was freezing. The wind howled and stung her eyes  as she walked from the airport to the hotel’s van.  She would rather stay at home with the wifi and her chargers.  When she finally got to the hotel, she was happily sipping the hot chocolate the kind bellboy gave her as her parents checked in.  When the adults were finally done talking, she tore the room key out of her parents hands, and ran as fast as she could to the elevators without knowing what floor her room was on.
“Stupid jet lag,” she thought as soon as she found her room.
She was exhausted and glad the hotel employees brought her hot chocolate to her room.  As soon as she finished her hot chocolate, she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep. 
“Wake up!”, her older brother was shaking her.
“What?!”, she was too tired to get  out of bed. “Leave me alone!”
“Time for dinner.” her brother replied.
“Good night.”she said instead.  After the 9 hour flight from Dubai to Cape Town, all she wanted was sleep.  Instead, her brother dragged her out of the bed and walked away.

Her parents made reservations at a seafood restaurant called BAIA near the V&A Waterfront.  It took them forever to find the restaurant because they didn’t know the way.  Thankfully, a nearby security guard knew the where BAIA was and gave them directions.
At the restaurant, one side of their table was a couch while the other side held three chairs.   Her younger brother fell asleep on the couch while she forced herself to stay awake.  She was so tired, she fell asleep too.  In about 25 minutes, they were ready to go.
“Huh? What?” Molly asked.
“Wake up! It’s time to go” Her dad told her.
“Ughh!” she groaned as she dragged herself off the couch.
It was pouring outside.  They ran across the parking lot until they found a taxi.
“Cape Grace please.”Her mom told the taxi driver.
At the hotel, Molly walked up to her room.  Inside the room, she ran then collapsed in her bed.  She was too tired to do anything else. That night, the room was filled with peace and quiet as she and her brothers slept. Safe from the thunderstorm outside.

Her parents made reservations at a seafood restaurant called BAIA near the V&A Waterfront.  It took them forever to find the restaurant because they didn’t know the way.  Thankfully, a nearby security guard knew the where BAIA was and gave them directions.
At the restaurant, one side of their table was a couch while the other side held three chairs.   Her younger brother fell asleep on the couch while she forced herself to stay awake.  She was so tired, she fell asleep too.  In about 25 minutes, they were ready to go.
“Huh? What?” Molly asked.
“Wake up! It’s time to go” Her dad told her.
“Ughh!” she groaned as she dragged herself off the couch.
It was pouring outside.  They ran across the parking lot until they found a taxi.
“Cape Grace please.”Her mom told the taxi driver.
At the hotel, Molly walked up to her room.  Inside the room, she ran then collapsed in her bed.  She was too tired to do anything else. That night, the room was filled with peace and quiet as she and her brothers slept. Safe from the thunderstorm outside.

A few hours later, their tour guide came to pick them up from the hotel. Molly’s parents chose to pre-order tickets to go up to the top of Table Mountain. 
“Up there to the left is Table Mountain.  I have your tickets right here, but it might be closed because of the wind” said the tour guide.
“Yes!!” Molly thought to herself.  She wasn’t in the mood for a ride in a cramped cable car with strangers.
The cable car rides were closed so she went to a township called Guga S’thebe. Her parents bought two decorative, handmade plates.  While driving through the township, she learned that the townspeople considered sheep heads a delicacy.  She looked away as soon as she started feeling sick.

“You went for the half day tour.” The guide mentioned as they were leaving Guga S’thebe.”
Her dad checked the table mountain cable car website.
“They’re open.” he said.
“It’s a good thing you checked.” The tour guide replied. “Your tickets can only be used today.”
“NOOOOOO!!!!” Molly screamed in her head.
“Can you take us there?” asked her father.
“Of course I can.” the guide replied. “I need to go that way for my next tour anyways.”
Molly really didn’t want to be cramped in a cable car.  Sadly, she had no choice.

Up on the mountain, there was a sign telling visitors about how Table Mountain is one of the “new 7 wonders of nature”.  Molly was so hungry, she went running for the restaurant.  Soon, she had no phone and no idea where the rest of her family was. 
Molly was totally lost. She didn’t even know if her family was going to eat before riding the cable car back down the mountain. She knew that if she left, she might go the wrong way, which would be like walking away from her family. Molly had a feeling that her family would come to the restaurant later, so she stayed.  After waiting for about fifteen minutes, she was so bored that she started reading the signs on the wall.  About five minutes later, her family came.

“I’m saved!” she told herself.
“Who’s ready to eat?” her dad asked.
“Me!” replied everyone in her family.
In the restaurant, her parents found a table before going into the buffet line.  Her younger brother ordered a chicken pot pie while she ordered a cheese pizza. She was going to get ostrich meat, but thought that pizza would be better at the last minute. 
In the end, she swapped with her younger brother and ate his chicken pot pie while he ate her pizza. 
After eating, she asked her dad what he ate.
“It feels like beef but tastes like chicken.” he noted.
“It’s ostrich.” she replied.

On their way home, there was a bee in the backseat of the taxi. If you were close enough, you could hear yelling as the taxi drove on.  When they was back in their hotel room,  none of the kids felt tired, so they made up a card game with the creature cards the hotel staff gave them. Molly won.

After a good night’s sleep, she woke up refreshed and ready for their next tour around Cape Town.  They had the same breakfast buffet.  Molly decided to order poached eggs and pancakes instead. 
After breakfast, her family went on an all day tour from the V&A Waterfront down South to the Cape of Good Hope and then back up North to their seaside hotel with many fun stops in between.

Their first stop was at Boulder’s Beach where an African penguin colony roams.  They stopped by and took a few pictures of the adorable penguins getting used to the cold water after shedding and regrowing their waterproof feathers. Molly even had a few glances at some penguin eggs.

They went for the long drive south to the Cape of Good Hope after visiting penguins.  Molly’s family split into three groups. She ran off ahead with her older brother while her dad took the tram and her mom and younger brother walked slowly behind them.  She got to the top before the rest of her family.
“Ha! I beat you.” she teased her older brother.
As soon as the rest of her family joined them, she went running up the stairs ahead of her.  She was tired from running uphill earlier, so her brothers beat her to the top.  At the top, they walked to the southern-most tip of Africa. She saw a sign that told you how far a city was from the exact location of the post.  On their way down, she ran ahead of her brothers until her younger brother went running ahead.

As soon as everyone was in the car, they went off to lunch at a restaurant with windows instead of walls around the room so guests can see the rolling waves and tired animals resting on the nearby rocks.  There was this seal who had to wait for a big wave to wash it off the rock. When Molly’s family finished eating, the guide showed them this really fat seal who couldn’t get off a nearby dock.

Their next stop was at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. They have a new skywalk attraction where you stand above the treetops.  At one end of the skywalk, there was a section of the garden used to talk about prehistoric plants and what dinosaurs may have eaten them.

When Molly’s family was done exploring the Kirstenbosch gardens, they went back to the hotel to pack before dinner.  Molly’s family booked the vacation at a travel agency specialized in vacations in Dubai and Africa.  Her family had a few more inland stops in Africa before going back home. The next morning, they were going to go inland for their next adventure at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve.