Cold in Cape Town

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Cape Town July 13 - 17 and July 21 - 24

It was strange being alone after more than a month surrounded by people 24/7 and without a guide telling us to be up at 6am we decided to treat ourselves to a few lie-ins in Cape Town. We stayed in a lovely hostel called A Sunflower Stop for the first three nights. We had our own room and there was hot water in the bathrooms all the time! Lush.

But it was hard to motivate ourselves to do things as we had got used to being told what was on the agenda for each day. It was odd not to be doing something all the time. Of course we got used to the slower pace of life and went shopping. This was more out of necessity than want though as it was so cold (it's winter in Cape Town in July) so we needed some warm clothes to stave off the hypothermia. We also went to the cinema (twice) because it was very fancy and very cheap compared to the UK.

Cape Town is a fabulous city. The waterfront area is a haven of good food, great bars and shops. We spent a fair bit of time there as this was also where we caught the ferry to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years. We also met up with Fern and Nic from the tour who were in Cape Town at the same time and went for a 3 course Italian meal on the waterfront which cost just £10 each. Bargain.

The people, like in the rest of Africa, were all very friendly towards us. Although one taxi driver did ask us if Princess Diana had been murdered by the Royals which I thought was a bit odd. How would we know for one and secondly that was how many years ago now?!

There is a major line between the rich and poor in Cape Town and the first sight for visitors coming from the airport is of a shanty town made up of thousands of huts. These people have no running water or sewage systems and it is such a contrast to the rest of the city which is very modern. It is unfathomable to think people still live in such basic conditions in the 21st century.

Our trip to Robben Island was really interesting in a macabre way. The tours around the island are done by former inmates which makes it all the more real. They obviously remember vividly the horrors of their captivity and this really comes out in the way they talk of it. Very moving.

Unfortunately we never got the chance to climb Table Mountain because for the first three days we were there the weather wasn't great and then when we returned to the city after hiring a car for five days the weather was even worse. I guess we'll just have to go back one day.

We managed to gatecrash a school party's outing to the World Cup stadium which was surprisngly interesting. The stadium is being built so we couldn't see much but the majority of the tour was a live theatre experience featuring one very talented man who told us all about the history of the site through many different characters. Much more interesting than football.

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Photos

World Cup stadium
We were assured it would be completed by 2010

Robben Island
The prison where Nelson Mandela was kept

Pick up one
Penguins at the Cape Town aquarium