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Published: January 30th 2009
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Camping by the Orange river
Final duty before arriving in Capetown was cleaning the truck. It was sad as we crossed over Blood river into South Africa, as it was the last country to visit on our overland trip.
After a short drive, we reached Fiddlers Creek campsite on the Southern bank of the river. That afternoon we had the option of a half-day canoe trip some bird watching or just a scenic and relaxing paddle. Our option was to take in the scenic view from the campsite, and relax with a rum and coke and play with the resident campsite dogs! Laziness soon caught me out and I was tasked with helping Giteau the driver clean the truck before we arrived in Cape Town.
By late afternoon the canoeists arrived back to find the rest of us had started the party without them. After dinner and a deep indepth talk with Todd about Africa's ill's, we continued the festive party at the bar down by the waters edge. With the overland coming to an end most of the night was spent reminiscing about the trip, lifting stools, downing cans or slugging back Jager bomb's.
The Irish boys were in full cry early in the morning as they stumbled back to their tents,
Fiddlers Creek
Enjoying the sun! only to find their tent zip cabled tied together, courtesy of Lys. The ensuing chaos wasn't heard by most of us thanks to the copious amounts of rum drunk that night, and it was only when 5 people and a Labrador dog climbed out of one tent in the morning that we realised something was up!
It was an early start travelling from the Orange River to Cederberg. We travelled south through Richtersveld reaching Namaqualand, well known for its prolific display of Namaqua wildflowers that occur each spring. Stopping in the town of Sringbok was a blessing and most of us tucked into pies from the local supermarket helping line our queezy stomachs. It was also my first chance to by decsent biltong since Swakopmund.
The Highlander campsite, where we were staying that night, is surrounded by the local wine farms tucked away in the Cederberg mountains. A couple of us declined the Wine tasting event that evening,choosing to buy a bottle of wine instead, and played cards as the evening sun set over the mountains. The wine tasting cost US$10 which I thought was far too much, and anyway, we were going to be drinking the wine
Irish support!!
Although they may have been spitting on me during the table tennis competition. that night anyway.
The food that night was amazing; the potjie stew prepared by the camp owner, including freshly baked bread and homemade jam, was flattened in minutes. Other than an amazing location the rest of the camp was basic, but, did come with table tennis and dart board. Surprisingly myself and Number 4 (Brady - was the 4th Irishman on tour who only started in Vic Falls) were champion table tennis players and the men to beat; I can't really claim much on the dart board other than the dubious honour of not scoring with 3 throws in a row!
The evening was long and loud and came to an abrubt end when Max attempted to throw a dart between his legs, arse facing the dart board, and successfully planting it into the ceiling. If this wasn't bad enough Rooney lifted Max onto his shoulders in a vain attempt to retrieve the dart. Well, needless to say we were all chucked out the bar!!
Day 45: Cederberg to Capetown is a beautiful trip through the rich fruit growing area of Citrusdal. Crossing the Piketberg Pass we travelled through more vineyards before sighting the Mother's City. The
Squeezing into a wet suit
Just about to climb into the shark cage view of Table Mountain across Table Bay is a classic view and makes a great welcoming entry to the city.
After getting lost in Cape Town, Giteau eventually found his way into the centre to Ashanti Lodge. Situated a short walk to Long Street in the city, it is perfectly situated to enjoy the best of Cape Town. That afternoon after settling into the dorm, together with Todd, Erin, Max, Vicky, we walked down to the nearest Ocean Basket (seafood restaurant) . Planning on ordering a light snack, we ordered a meal fit for a king,and which took 2 hours to make.
After lunch, having missed our planned rendevous with the rest of the group, we walked around the city centre feeling very safe in the process, something rather unusual for a South African city. Getting back to the hostel late from our walk, we had a quick shower before heading out to dinner back on Long Street. Although the meal wasn't the best, Long Street itself is very festive, with many places of interest to visit on a Friday night. Our choice was the Dubliner, a rather tacky establishment altogether, but with a live band and Kilkenny
The massive brute upclose
They are even bigger than you think!! on tap the perfect place for us lot. Dancing and singing late into the night, Todd and Erin decided to leave before the rest, and it wasn't long before they came panting back to the bar; they had been robbed! The story goes: Todd, being easy going asked a local guy to take a photo of him and Erin; Christmas came early, the guy takes off; Todd runs after the guy; Todd catches guy and reclaims his camera!!! Brave or foolish, you decide. That sort of put a damper on the party, and with the thought of a full days shark diving ahead of us we walked back to the hostel.
The next morning we said our goodbye's to many of the group who weren't joining us, before heading out to Gans Bay for the Shark Dive. This wasn't part of the organised trip but many of us had wanted to go Shark diving. A controversial topic in South Africa, shark diving is often blamed for the spate of shark attacks that have occured on South African beaches. I can kind of understand this as we were probably no more than a mile off shre when we put down
anchor.
Gans Bay is about a 2 hour drive from Cape Town further along the Southern Coast. The drive takes you through stunning scenery which you almost come to expect in this beautiful part of the world. The drive was a welcome rest for Oz and No.4; keeping with their tradition, the 2 Irish lads hadn't bothered going to sleep at all the previous night!
Needless to say they were the first on the boat throwing up their breakfast, but, to their credit persevered and thoroughly enjoyed the cage dive. I suppose a great white 2 feet away from you will cure any hangover.
Now Kathryn is as scared of sharks as I am of spiders; she wasn't looking forward to this at all. As scared as she was, Kathryn really enjoyed the experience and if anything it allowed her to admire these facinating creatures. It's hard to explain just how big a great white is. We were lucky enough to see 7 different sharks ranging in size; big, bigger and biggest. It was the girth that struck me the most; large barrels with many teeth on one end is a rather pathetic description, but the best I can do.
To finish off a perfect day, we stopped off at Hermanus, a world renowned spot to view whales not 10 minutes from Gans Bay. There must have been over 10 whales floping around in the water, their big tales protruding out the water before sinking back into the cold depths only to reappear a moment later.
Singing and laughter accompanying us back to Cape Town, with each nationality taking turns to sing their anthem. As cheesy as it was, it reminded me how so many people from different backgrounds could be so similar, all with an adventurous spirit. The only thing I hope is that we have a chance to meet up with our fellow travellers at a later date, drink a few beers and remember the good times we had.
And to finish off I quote Rudi, our friend from Holland - I hate you all !!!!!!!!
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