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Published: January 16th 2011
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Hello from Cape Town!
We made the short trip down from Stellenbosch a few days back - our last official leg of the trip!
We arrived at our hostel Ashanti Lodge - very flash with amazing views of Table Mountain from the bar. Without too much hanging around we thought we would make the most of the day, and the weather, and head for the mountain. We took the cable car up which, to our surprise was absolutely rapid! By the time we had got to the top and our ears had stopped popping we had time to savour the stunning view. We had some ice cream and took in Cape Town from above - has there ever been a more perfect setting for a city?! Claire looked into an abseil down but unfortunately it was booked up by a massive Indian family for the whole day. Very annoying seen as most of them were wimping out of the climb anyway!
That night we went to a restaurant for one last meal with the whole group. No expense was spared as we toasted our tour over beer, prawns and ostrich burgers, yum!
The next day...shark dive!! After
haggling with a tour guide I was able to tag along with Josh, Amy and co. for a reasonable price. It wasn't until we were splashing through big waves and looking out over deep shark infested waters that it really hit home what I had signed up for. After anchoring the boat the guides thew massive tuna heads into the water to attract the Great Whites and after half an hour we got our first glimpse. At this point there was no hanging around and the cage was dropped. As I was at the front and ready to go I was one of the first group in the cage and under the water, baltic!! A few seconds later I was below the surface watching jaws open his mouth and munch on some tuna! Instantly the fear disappeared and, in a strange way, I wanted to get out of the cage and get even closer. Luckily I didn't act on that instinct! It was amazing being so close to these wild animals, absolutely loved it and a big thanks to the Golf Tavern staff for the generous gift!!
Meanwhile Claire spent the day visiting some of Cape Towns top attractions
with Maddy and Kate from our group. First stop was Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens. Very peaceful apparently and she even discovered a plant called "James" - no doubt an absolutely smashing looking shrub! Claire also visited District 6 - an area during apartheid where huge black communities were cleared to make way for the wealthy white populations. Naxt stop Clifton Beach and Camps Bay. Apparently there was no shortage of buff guys in small shorts for the girls to ogle at, time for me to cut short the dive and get back to Cape Town! Throughout the day we both passed by a number of townships around the Cape Town area. Seeing the poverty we both became aware of the racial prejudice that is still very apparent throughout South Africa. That evening was spent down at the waterfront where we had a few drinks and caught up with the guys from the tour.
The next day due to limited funds we thought we would spend at the beach...big mistake!! The wind was unreal and was wipping up the sand making it completely impossible to sun bathe. Was little kids crying everywhere! So after grabbing a picnic it was back to
Girls day out!
Me, Kate and Maddy on the Cape Town tour bus! the hostel to chill out by the pool.
We said our goodbyes to 5 of the group today. All really nice folk and sorry to see them go!
Tomorrow we hit the Garden Route. We have arranged to stay on with Chris our driver for a few extra days. Just can't get enough of our time on a truck!
Hope you are all well and have a cracking new year,
James and Claire x
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