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Published: June 22nd 2007
And yes! I've made it to Cape Town!
Cairo to Cape.. what does 'Cape' really mean to me? Cape Town? Cape of Good Hope? or Cape Aguillas, the southernmost tip of Africa? To be truthful, I have not really thought about it.. 'Cape' was just so far away at the start of my travels.. and before I know it.. I'm here.. I'm thinking 'Cape' would be the Cape of Good Hope for me, which I will be visiting in a rented car this Sunday.. Cape Aguillas doesn't hold much allure to me other than being the southernmost point, and since I did not start at the northernmost point, visiting the southernmost point does not hold much meaning..
For now, Cape Town is 'Cape' enough for me.. It was pretty special for me as I saw the Table Mountains coming into view on the horizon this morning.. and as I see the city of Cape Town getting nearer and nearer, and eventually driving into it, I got pretty emotional... I guess it has been a long journey, and when you are so close to the finishing line, you are just overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions that you yourself can't put a finger to.. yes, I did shed more than a few tears as I was arriving into Cape Town.. I hoped nobody saw that... haha... Opened the window real big and hopefully the wind rushing into my face will dry the tears quickly enough...
Have not been able to update my travels since Swakopmund.. On the last day in Swakopmund, I did some quadbiking in the giant dunes south of the city (town?).. my first attempt at quadbiking.. during the first half, i was still uncomfortable with controlling the ATV.. but by the second half, I am already begruding the guide at the front for not going fast enough.. and cursing the ATV in front of me for slowing down whenever we are nearing a rise in the sand and thus not allowing me to get enough air time.. but ok, first quadbiking experience, don't be too garang.. next time, CHIONG!!!
Left Swakop on Monday for Sosulev (spelling?).. where there's yet another sea of giant sand dunes.. and it boast the world tallest sand dune - Dune 45.. You can choose to do a desert walk tour with an experience guide for US$30.. but i opted to just head out into the sea of dunes and explore the place myself.. Ryan came along and accompanied me.. It was pretty nice giong out to the Dunes on our own.. being immersed in it.. and chilling out and the top of a dune and listening to the silence all around you... It brought back memories of the day in Mongolia where we were out in the Gobi.. and I told Ryan about that experience, and how we found a nice soft slope that we can jump into and get some really good air time.. and guess what, we found one slope just like that.. well, maybe not as high as the one I had in Mongolia.. but it's still fun enough.. took some good pictures of Ryan jumping off the slopes.. The sand in Mongolia is a lot finer that the ones at Sosulev though.. Sosulev's sand is coarser, and more reddish in colour.. we climbed up Dune 45 to view the sunset, which was pretty cool..
After sossulev, the next place we went to was the Fish River Canyon, supposedly the second largest canyon after the Grand Canyon... largest.. what do you mean by largest? deepest? widest? longest? I dunno.. it was pretty nice.. but we can only view the canyon from the lookout point on the rim.. and after that we departed for the South African border..
The days of driving across the wilderness of Namibia are really great.. Namibia is really a special country.. the landscapes are so varied.. so amazing... if you get a rental car to explore Namibia. i have no doubt you'll enjoy the drive.. I did not sleep a wink during those journeys on the bus.. just enjoy the scenery...
Crossing into South Africa was pretty sad for me.. my last border crossing... 11 countries in Africa.. close to 4 months.. I've crossed the Tropic of Cancer.. I've crossed the Equator.. and I've crossed the Tropic of Capricorn... and the overland border crossing's ending the minute I cross into S.A... we stay at a campsite near Orange river, the natural border line separating Namibia and South Africa.. Ryan and I took a walk around the farmlands near the campsite.. there were cattle and sheep ranches.. orange orchards.. grave vineyards.. pumpkin fields... etc etc etc.. it's weird.. immediately after crossing the border, you are greeted by so much more green on this side of the river.. and the green's really luscious.. it's like emerald..
after staying one night at the border.. we stayed another night at a new vineyard just started by an ex-overland truck crew.. we had some wine tasting by the river... yuo get your usual pinotage, shiraz, chardonnay.. but of cos, drinking South African wine in South Africa does have a special feeling compared to drinking it back in Singapore.. haha.. One bottle of port stood out.. it has roobus tea in it.. and you get so much enjoyment just taking in its nose.. more than drinking the port itself... wanted to get a bottle for you guys back home to try, but it'd sold out.. will keep a look out in the bottle stores in Cape Town or at the airport.. hopefully can find some..
That was last night.. and this morning, it was four hours of driving before we arrived in Cape Town.. Cape Town.. still emotional as I think about the drive in..
Cape Town is a nice city.. on the peninsular.. nestled against the looming Table Mountains.. we checked into the Ashanti lodge around noon (I'll be moving out to Long Street Backpackers tomorrow..) After settling in and repacking my stuffs.. I decided to take advantage of the excellent sunny weather today and do the Table Mountains in the afternoon.. decided to trek up to the top instead of taking the Cable Car (70 rand each way i think.. 1 USD = 6.8 rand).. but i didn't realize the trek would take 2.5hours! haha.. but it was a good climb.. good for my butt.. good for my butt... i kept thinking as i was panting up the slopes.. haha.. it was a really good climb (at the end of it)... you feel good... you are rewarded by the exceelent view of the mountains.. of the peninsular.. of Cape Town below you.. and of the Atlantic Ocean.. stayed up there till sunset.. and took the last Cable Car down.. i paid only 45rand.. my Iinternational Student Identiciation Card is of cuse again! =) hehe...
Shared a cab with some other people to Long Street.. where I'm meeting up with Ryan for dinner.. when I saw him, Ryan revealed to me that he had been robbed at knife point just 15mins ago... oh shit.. luckily the robber was happy with the 200 rand that he threw at him.. so he escaped with only a loss of 200 rand.. and this was at around 6pm (just after sunset) at a street off Long Street.. the main busy street... scary.. we met at Long St Backpackers.. and it is indeed a very very nice place.. cool.. after Ryan's story, i left my camera backpack at the storeroom of the backpackers before heading out to the street for dinner and drinks.. am now back at Ashanti (took a cab back of cos).. and will check out tomorrow at 8am and move to LSBP..
That's about it.. long update.. internet's here expensive.. maybe photos when i get back to Singapore =) end of trip.. lazy.. ;p.. So Cape Town! I've finally arrived..
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congratulations!!!!
You have finally made it! We are proud of your achievement, I don't think I can do that, but I am sure I can do it at a much shorter time than you did, kekeke. 3 months, time really flies. Be careful in SA, that may be the most dangerous place in your entire journey. Unlike the other ulu places you have visited, where people are more simple in their lives. Cape Town is like New York in the past, or the present Shenzhen, people are hungry yet they have no other avenues but to do vices to achieve what they want. On the homepage, its really amazing to see that red region you had travelled on the African continent, crossed the Tropic of Cancer, crossed the Equator and crossed the Tropic of Capricorn... very well said. BRAVO! OK, see you soon. Do be extra careful.