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Published: October 1st 2018
Let's go swimming boys
They waddle, dive and swim. Who doesn't love a penguin? As a bit of background, this is part of a very special trip as we are celebrating MJ’s milestone birthday (albeit a couple of years late). As a result, we’ve gone and made it even more special than some of our others. We enjoy using a travel agent to assist us when traveling as they have a wealth of knowledge we’ve never been able to glean from other sources. Angeline, who was our travel agent for many years and seemed like a good friend, ran off and retired. We are happy for her but will continue to needle her about her retirement.
Nadia our new travel agent lives in Seattle but South Africa was her home during her youth. We had brunch with her in Seattle not long ago to discuss this trip and as luck would have it she was in Cape Town on business so she picked us up after our arrival and took us to lunch at the Twelve Apostles. The views were spectacular and we enjoyed our first sampling platter of South African foods and a Pinotage wine that had been recommended by our friend Linda who is also South African, now living in the UK.
The trip is off on a grand start….. thank you Nadia, and if this trip is any indication we will have a long and lasting friendship.
Even the most experienced travelers will tell you that on occasion, some wacky things can happen on the road…..and usually do. The solution? Smile, laugh and move on…after all, you’re travelling, not working. Our first full day in Cape Town provided such a scenario.
We were still a bit fuzzy from 23 hours of flights over two days and had already had a wonderful morning tour which included visiting Khayelitsha, the largest black township in Cape Town. It was a fascinating tour where we learned more about how the townships evolved during apartheid to the present-day challenges of the denizens. We were privileged to visit a pre-school, a community center which teaches skills to women and a senior center. At each stop we were greeted warmly and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Dave even got to participate in a djembe drum jam-session. The djembe looks like what most westerners might call a conga drum. The children were full of joy and the seniors loved sharing tidbits of their life with us.
Poverty is
Bo-Kaap
Known as the Malay Quarter ever present in some of these smaller communities. The houses are mere shanties of corrigated metal that appear to be leaning this way and that connecting walls to ceilings. We are told most of these shanty areas got power and plumbing in the early 90’s. Strings of power lines drape from power poles hand full at a time.
The newer communities are made of stucco and brick and seemed to have had a development plan. It is evident people are trying to find jobs to make a better life for their families. This area of the world has a high crime rate in part due to the 25 percent to 40 percent unemployment rate, depending on who you talk with.This is in part due to migration from other African nations to South Africa. Throughout the Cape Town area, we are pleasantly surprised by the lack of graffiti and the cleanliness of the streets. Even the shanty areas had a cleanliness and neatness about them. They must take great pride in their residences, despite the poverty.
Kidnapped in Cape Town After a quick lunch, we were picked up for our afternoon tour by Cecil. We had anticipated a
African Dancing
Performer at Gold Restaurant city tour of Cape Town, but Cecil started driving us south on the coast road and began to speak of penguins. We didn’t think much of it as we had been told that based on the weather, the order of the tours might be adjusted. It was a dry but windy day and Table Mountain was covered in a white “table cloth” of clouds. Somewhere south of Hout Bay, Cecil took a call from his tour company. He then asked us what our name was……only to discover that he had picked up the wrong couple for a tour! Our name was not Walton and the front desk staff had mistakenly told him we were his afternoon tour. Several phone calls ensued before all of this was sorted out. We retreated back towards Cape Town, where we met our “real” guide Faizel and the real tour began. We had quite a laugh over this. We’ve learned that not all plans work out as they should and you have to go with it….Next time we will attempt to get our guides name so we know who we are looking for.
Our plans definitely changed the next morning due to weather. We’re
in Cape Town in early spring and the weather can be quite challenging. Almost everyone will tell you that there are four seasons in a day in Cape Town. This morning, it was windy seas and fog that changed our plans. We were scheduled to go to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years. We really looked forward to it. Mandela of course, is well….. Mandela and this prison is on an island just a twenty minute boat ride from Cape Town. We’ve been to Alcatraz and also the prison in Tasmania and were keen to see this one as well. Former political prisoners guide some of the tours, so the chance to hear their stories would have been great. Rough seas cancelled our ability to visit Robben Island.
Over the course of a few days in Cape Town, Faizel was able to take us to all the places we missed on the day we were kidnapped by the wrong guide. We are really enjoying our time with Faisel. We’ve heard so much about Cape Town over the years so it is great to finally visit. A smaller city than we were expecting nestled in the
Fog rolls in
Cape Town waterfront foothills of the surrounding mountains and stunning bay. Due to recent rains the city has become green again which adds to its beauty. Cape Town is on a craggy coast with zig-zaggy roads and million-dollar mansions over-looking public beaches. A lot of the action is on the waterfront where you’ll find multiple hotels, malls and over 80 restaurants.
As promised the weather was ever changing because of the location, winds and such. The mountain and water views never the same moment to moment. The fog rolls in and out the way it does in San Francisco and adds an air of mystery.
Malay Quarter The Bo-Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town is often referred to as the Malay Quarter due to the blend of Malaysian, African, Indian and Sri Lankan cultures. The area is full of vibrantly colored houses and businesses. We felt like we were back in the Caribbean. We are told that Dutch imperialists brought a mix of cultures with them to assist in development.
Cape Town is multi-cultural, so it will not surprise you to find various churches and mosques within the city. We visited the historic Castle of Good Hope which is not
Brutus visits South Africa
Yes.....he's along with us again! really a castle by our definition but an old fort. We enjoyed walking the grounds and visiting the museum inside.
District Six We visited two other museums, The National Museum and the District Six Museum which was our favorite. District Six is the heart of the city and has historic significance because the land was taken from an entire community and they were displaced. It is a small museum but packed with historical information which takes time to absorb. The residents of this area (some 30,000) were literally just told to pack up and leave over a dozen or so years after an apartheid decision was made in the mid 1960’s. It was determined that it would be a “whites only” part of town. Turns out, after they moved all the people and razed all the houses, hardly anyone wanted to live there, so even though it has become somewhat of a “hip and trendy” neighborhood, the past still looks them in the face.
Table Mountain Table Mountain is a famous flat head mountain that stands over the city. Our first few days it didn’t make an appearance for more than a couple of minutes at
Full of personality
Visiting his pre-school a time. Our last morning, she was visible and we headed to the mountain to take our planned tram ride to the top. Often the trips are cancelled due to high winds. The trips had been cancelled all week so when we got to the top we joined several thousand people in the line. As it turned out the views of the city were pretty terrific from the line so we enjoyed taking pictures. We soon learned that our place in line would be more than two hours until we made it to the top. We decided to forgo the tram ride and called Faizel to rescue us from this wait. He took us to the top of nearby Signal Mountain where we took many city photos and watching a couple of people take flight from the top of the mountain on parasails.
Penguins! Our favorite day in Cape Town was our full day Cape Point & Peninsula Tour…. For two reasons… the weather cooperated and we saw penguins!!!! And lots of them.
In coming to South Africa, we knew that our knowledge would be broaden by all the history, development and racial strife this country and
Speak to me
He had a lot to say. people have endured, and this turned out to be true, but in all honesty, we came to see animals and the penguins were on the list. We (MJ)literally squealed in delight over these flightless birds, who stumble around out of the water, but can swim up to about 15 miles per hour under the water. “Torpedoes in tuxedos” we were told.
Sunny beaches, amazing coastline and beautiful nature preserves filled our day as we went from venue to venue, drinking in the amazing sights. The western Cape is chock full of wonderful things to experience…… Outdoor activities abound as we saw a few bicyclists, motorbikes and weeks of hiking could occur if you had the time.... nature abounds.
Foods and Wine It was suggested to us to go to the Gold Restaurant in Cape Town for a sampling of African foods and entertainment. In between dinner courses they provide African singing and dancing. Yes, this is commercial and aimed at the tourists but it was enjoyable. The dancers were full of energy and the costumes colorful. We were given a taste of two appetizers, four different African street foods, five entrees and two desserts. Sadly, we wasted
a lot of food as we could not eat even half of what they gave us. The foods were a cornucopia of selections from Zanzibar, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Morocco, Kenya, the Congo and Nigeria.
Where we stayed: Victoria & Alfred Hotel, Cape Town
Contact us if you want Nadia Eckhardt's contact information.
Restaurants recommended:
The Twelve Apostles
Gold Restaurant – local foods and entertainment
Truth Coffee House
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Marsha
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Glad your trip has started off so spectacularly! The penguins are funny and charming and I too was surprised to see ostriches . Wait til you come upon hundreds of flamingos! Enjoy!