Barbara&John in South Africa Feb/Mar 2011

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Barbara and John’s Newsletter from the Cape


So there is such a thing as warm weather. So far temperatures have ranged from 25-30 degrees, centigrade! The Cape is fantastic, so say us from day one to day six. The initial impressions, apart from the townships you see on the way from the airport, are one of great scenery and an ambiance of everything being so laid back. Our stay in the Cape has been memorable with some of the most impressive mountain and ocean/beach scenery you can imagine. We stayed in a large apartment in Clovelly, called A Room with a View. From our balcony the apartment lived up to its billing; worthy of a Sundowner (G&T) or two. Thanks to Heather and Rocky for such a warm and helpful welcome

Our first day was leisurely for acclimatisation and shopping. It was a very nice warm day ending up with a sit on our balcony soaking up the sun and then watching the cloudless sky become pink then orange as a backdrop to our fabulous view.

The following day we started with the scenic Chapman’s Peak drive. The toll road is quite spectacular with some fine views of the sea and cliffs/mountains and ends at Hout Bay; a pleasant town with a sandy beach and vibrant harbour area. From here we carried on along the North West coast (Atlantic side of the peninsular) and spent some time on the glorious sandy beach at Camps bay, sitting under the amazing twelve apostles’ peaks. These series of peaks rise up almost vertically and are so colourful in the blazing sun. Late on in the afternoon we headed for the nearby Botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch. While these gardens lacked much in the way of vibrancy of colour the setting was again fabulous sitting below an impressive mountain. We only spent about an hour walking around several areas which we found of interest, before going to the Concert stage area for the usual Sunday summer concert. I had anticipated a classical performance but we nonetheless enjoyed 90 minutes of rock music from two South African bands. The setting was better than the music and overall it was an enjoyable experience.

The following morning we headed for Cape Town for an unguided tour of the town’s highlights, incorporating The Grand Parade, The Old City Hall (where Mandella made his first speech after 27 years of incarceration), District 6 Museum, Slave Tree, Groote kerk , Slave Lodge, Parliament, Company’s Garden, St George’s Cathedral and ending up at the Castle of Good Hope. Most of these places were of some interest but none captured the imagination as much as the backdrop of Table Mountain. The history of Cape Town is fascinating but the historic buildings do not really do it justice. There has been so much upheaval with political experimentation and capitalist fervour for the now that history and heritage seem to play a minor role in the day to day life of Cape Town. The City is disappointing but the setting is amazing. The photos I took probably illustrate this with all the interesting pictures showing a mountain background. No wonder then that we spent the last few hours of the day on Table Mountain. The rotating Cable car ride was excellent, surpassed only by the views from the summit. From all points of the compass there were wonderful views of mountains and the sea, both Atlantic and Indian oceans. The wonderfully clear and warm day meant that it was a perfect setting for photos and a walk. Our afternoon here cemented our affection for the whole area simply because the scenery is so appealing. Wonderful mountain scenery and lovely sandy beaches are a combination that will always win our souls, despite there being no waterfalls.

The following day was devoted to the southern part of the Cape. Our first stop (Indian Ocean side) was at Boulders, just after the naval base at Simon’s Town. This place Rocks, with penguins! They are clearly used to people and do not seem at all phased by photographers or children. Further south we quickly encountered a group of Baboons by the side of the road. We took several ‘photos but stayed in the car in response to the many warning signs about them being dangerous. Our first stop in the National Park was at Buffels Bay where we not only encountered more Baboons but also a group of Ostrich. This was quite weird, particularly since they just disappeared while we were having a cuppa and so I missed the photo opportunity. We then headed for Cape Point after a brief diversion to Rooikrans, where I was able to get some fine ‘photo scenes of both the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Cape Point is very tourist orientated, but it did not detract from the quality of the scenery. We opted for the Funicular (return) rather than the steep walk, but we still had lots of steps to reach the lighthouse summit. The views were stunning, again of both sides of the peninsular, including clear views to the Overberg. From here we made our way back to Buffels Bay to have our picnic salad lunch. We sat on the beach with our newly acquired chairs and warily ate, keeping a lookout for Baboons. Fortunately there were none about. After lunch I sat back for a rest while Barbara had a walk along the beach. After about 10 minutes I heard Barbara scream out, which jolted me from a slumber, only to see a large Baboon undoing the zip of our chill bag. I jumped up and shouted and shooed, but to no avail. Melvin, the Baboon then made off with our plastic salad bowls, despite them being empty. We did not tarry after this but headed for the Cape of Good Hope, the most south westerly part of Africa. Our previous disappointment about missing out on the photographic opportunities with the Ostriches were soon forgotten since we encountered two on the roadside just before getting to the Cape. We got several great close ups, which was quite thrilling; they are huge and magnificent birds. We think they may be escapees from a nearby Ostrich farm. The Cape of Good Hope is generally a little disappointing, from a scenic point of view, despite Barbara disagreeing with this, but it does conjure up magical images from history. Having seen Penguins, Baboons and Ostriches in one day gave us a great sense of what a Wow day it had been. Added to the wonderful scenery and being at the most southerly point in Africa made it a very special day.

Our last day in the Cape started with a township tour in Hout. Our guide was named Africa and he lived in the township. He lives in a very small brick built 2 bed roomed single storey unit, which like most of the township replaces the even smaller tin shacks, which now only form about a third of the complex. These brick built units have sanitation, electricity and basic facilities whereas the tin shacks still rely on communal blocks. These units were built by an Irish philanthropist, with the aid of Irish tradesmen, who ploughed in £1million to generate 500 units within just a few months. Our guide showed us his unit which acts as a museum to the Irishman and Chris Eubank, who also helped in the building work. While it is far better than the tin shacks it is still what we would consider as very sub standard, more in keeping with working class accommodation pre 20th Century. Unemployment in SA is 25% but in the Township it is 40%, which is staggering. Education is clearly the key to the future of the next generation and we saw evidence of the priority that is given to this. We met a couple of aid workers who are doing a six week stint to help with medical and educational needs, but like so much here this sort of aid is short term in nature which while helping immediate needs does not address the long term development of the residence. Their fundamental need is better housing and hope and aspiration of long term work; there are clearly some entrepreneurial residents but many are caught in the cultural trap of institutional third rate expectation. This was a somewhat depressing way to start the day, but it was not as bad as we expected since we have seen worse conditions in Laos and India. We returned to Camps bay for lunch before heading for the Waterfront area of Cape Town. This is a very swish and upmarket area combining a large Bluewater type complex with a St Katherine’s Dock. What a comparison with the Township we saw earlier! We made our way to Nobel Square via the newly built Ferris wheel but were disappointed in the statues of the four prize winners, but that was all. The rest of the waterfront was very impressive, again partly because of the backdrop of Table Mountain, which continues to amaze us.

And so to Tulbagh and the start of route 62, the wine route, but not before a brief stop at Muizenberg, a major surfing destination who’s beach is more impressive than the surfers we saw performing. They clearly did not do justice to the sand, sea and mountain setting.

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