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Published: September 27th 2006
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After a full vegi breakfast we caught 'Rikki's' taxi for a manic drive up to the Table Mountain cable car station. We queued in hot sun which thankfully went down quickly. The large cablecar (holds 65) rotates as it ascends to give everyone a panoramic view. We could see some people taking the precipitous short route up the mountain. Immediately on exiting the cable car station at the summit, we saw abseilers stepping off into the void - very scary looking. The views were stunning - it being crystal clear. We followed a marked trail around the stop. It was busy but there is enough space to get away from the cowds. We spent ages just admiring the scenery from various viewpoins. We photographed lizards and hyrax. The mountain exceeded our expectations and the cale car trip was well worth the 115 Rand return fare. We descended reluctantly because we could have spent much longer but we had other plans for the afternoon. We sped back down to the Lodge care of the efficient Rikkis taxi service (its cheap and cheerful and fares are based on zones within Capetown). We were picked up by minibus from the Lodge for our
afternoon tour Our African guide, Thamsi, was from the township that we were visiting. First we went to the District 6 Museum. It records the destruction of a community which was moved away from the centre of Capetown to make room for whiltes under the apartheid regime. It is shocking to see old photos of the vibrant community which was bulldozed. Bizarrely the land was never used by the whites, except for a college. Compensation is now being paid to the displaced people. We moved on to the township which is situated near the airport. It felt a bit intrusive at first but the friendliness of the people and having a township born guide overcame this awkward feeling. We were taken along a narrow muddy and smelly path between shacks to a 'shabeen' an illegal but openly tolerated drinking den. It is run by three women and is simply an earth floored tin shack. There was hardly any lighting and just a few benches lining the walls. The locals welcomed us and as the three women owners shared a plate of mashed pumpkin, our guide explained how the bar worked. It's a kind of social club/meeting place withy informal membership.
He produced a large tine can of home brewed maize beer which was passed around until all us visitors had taken a sip. Once we had finished, the locals polished off the rest. It was okay but a bit fresh and yeasty. A young child played on the dirt floor. The local I sat next to was a very eloquent gentleman who asked me what I thought of the current political situation and the legacy of colonialisation- I told him that I thought South Africa had a bright future. Unfortunately as the conversation was getting interesting, our guide said it was time to move on. The government seems to be making strong efforts to rehouse these people - but the problem is huge. Some more substantial brick buildings have already been built and occupied. We moved on to a stall which sells just cooked sheep's heads which is run by a wonderful young lady whose face is plastered in calomine lotion to protect her from the sun. She is intelligent, eloquent and amusing. If she lived in the west she'd be a rich and successful entrepreneur but is condemned by her place of birth to cook and sell sheepheads for
a pittance. She said she would like to travel but realised that this would probably be a dream. We also spoke to a group of boys. I told them that England would beat South Africa when the football world cup is held in South Africa. We next visited a former hostel building now used by families where a lady proudly showed us her humble but obviously loved family room. Afte this we moved on to a more ramshackle settlement which is slowly being cleared. Even these shacks have an electricity supply and even the poorest seems to have a TV. A lady showed us her tiny hovel (again proudly). Her daughter was called Primrose. We left the township with an impression of inspiring prouf people - certainly not downtrodden by their circumstances. As we travelled back our guide entertained us with stories of the initiation rites he had to go through on becoming a man - it was very interesting. We'd had a wonderful day and back at the lodge feasted on tasty kingfish.
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