Cape Town

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Two Hours after leaving Durbs I found myself in CT where the weather was pleasently hot but no where near as humid as Durban. Ahhh I wouldn't need to wash my clothes every 10 minutes on account of them going damp with sweat.

Ahhh. Cape Town. So many things to do. Robben Island. Table Mountian, Cape Aguilar (Africa's southern most point) Cape Point (where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet), Shark Diving...

First up was baggage claim then the trip to Ashanti where I was to spend the next three nights.

Unlike the other places I had stayed at this was bigger and had more of a party atmosphere. The place was also and old converted colonial mansion house and had a 'funky' look to it. Also out of the back Bathroom you could see Table Mountian. They had even chained a pair of binoculars to the wall so you could look at the mountian while in a 'sitting position'


A Quick History Lesson About Cape Town And Robben Island

Cape town was initially a Dutch colony until the 19th Century when a British commander decided to sail his battered (and only just floating) fleet into CT for repairs. The Dutch Govenor saw the fleet and thought it was an invasion force. He surrendered CT as soon as he could and so started the British rule of South Africa.

As for Robben Island the name means Seal Island. It used to be part of the mainland however that changed at the end of the last ice age and is now a half hour boat ride from the mainland . Through out its history it has always been used as a place to exile people and there has only ever been one successfull escape and that was using a raft. Every one else drowned trying the swim.


First Impressions

CT is VERY British/European. Its colonioal past can be seen every where from the design of the buildings, the layout of the public places and the style and attributes of the monuments and museums. It was almost like being in Bristol or Liverpool, except for one thing. The wether was actually pleasant.


The first afternoon there I spent walking around, getting a feel for the city and where the supermarket/internet cafe was. I even bought fish and chips and ended up eating it in the botanical gardens.

I then started to plan how I would spend the next two days.

The plan was:

Day 1: Robben Island and Table Mountian
Day 2: Cape Point Nature Reserve

That was the plan. Then life happened.

I awoke early on the first morning and quickly booked a trip around Robben Island. They had tickets for 2 tours that day: 10.15 and 4pm. I managed to get a slot on the 10.15 tour. It was 9.15. The walk was an hour. I walked quickly. On my way there I got lost and ended up catching a taxi to the Waterfront (a very meditereanian looking shoppinf/lesuire place that is geared towards tourists and the place where the boat to Robben Island departs). On the way to the Clock Tower I realised that I really badly needed the bathroom. I even broke into a run as departure time was approaching.

I saw the boat and ran towards it. A security guard stopped me and asked me for my ticket then pointed towards the building behind him. I ran into it. Upto the X-ray machine, handed my bag over and asked if I could have my ticket.

They sent me further into the building. Time was running out. At a rate of 60 seconds per minute.

I qued for my ticket. Gave them my name. Received my ticket and ran back to the X-ray machine. The X-rayed my bag. I grabbed it and looked at my watch. I still had a minute and this is Africa, home of Africa time where nothing leaves on time.

I ran, full pelt, onto the pier, waved at the security guard that had stopped me minutes ago. I kept runing. I stil have time. I still have time. I was just about to hit top gear when I looked up. The moorings had been untied and the engine started to work just as I reached the boarding point. I had missed the boat.

I begrudgingly walked back to the ticket office. The clerk recognised me from earlier and issued me with a ticket for the 4pm trip. He was just as shocked as I was that the boat actually left on time.

When I walked back to te backpackers I timed my walk so I knew exactly how long it would take and the route aswell. I know had an awkward space too fill before the next tour.

Whilst making breakfast/lunch I came accross Sarah again who told me that she wanted to find the fire station and talk to some one about the fire on Table Mountian that occured at the end of January. I asked if I could join her out of pure curiosity.

At about 1.30 we set off. After about half an hours walking, uphill (why do I always end up walking up hill?) we found it and asked for an interview. After abit of umming and ahhing some one came out and spoke to us about fire hazards to backpackers. When the questions about the Table Mountian fire started we were refered to some one more senior. I beleive he was Area Commander Sebastian Roe, Once the areas of the interview were established we started to talk about the fire and how the CT Fire Service had responded.

The fire was massive. It started with a British tourist flicking thier cigerette butt into a very dry bush. It set the dry vegitation on fire. He tried to beat it out but beating a bush fire only fans it. Unfortunately some one died because of this mistake.

The fire spread from the slopes of Table Mountian to Signal Point about 2 kilometers away (1.6 km = 1mile) in an hour and a half and the area was not declared safe for 4 days!

Sebastian told us how the brigade responded, how they were supported by othe fire services and how various community groups helped and the physical ordeal of the men under his command.

He then started to talk about his role in the fire service and the colleagues he had lost aswell as his hopes for the future. The one thing that came accross was his love of his job and the respect and trust he had for his colleagues.

It was truely an honour to speak to some one who enjoyed a job as important as his.

I looked at my watch. It was 4 o'clock. Doh! Fortunately I managed to get a place for the next day.

Inspired by speaking to Sebastian, Sarah and I decided to head up to Table Mountian to take a look at the damage, so when we got back to Ashanti Backpackers asked how much a taxi would cost. As the wind was picking up they called the cable car operator to find out if it was still open. It was closed and our trip there would have to wait until the following day.

I would say that this was a day wasted however the interviewing at the fire station swung it.

As with everything in life there is cause and effect and unfortunately the effect off missing both Table Mountian and Robben Island on day 1 meant that I now had to make a choice between these two and Cape Point Nature Reserve. The reserve was a whole day trip and cost alot more. Descision made even though I really wanted to see the Indian and Atlantic oceans side by side.

The rest of the evening involved me relaxing on the balcony at Ashanti and talking to any one who happened to be around.


Day 2



I woke early met Sarah and caught a taxi to Table Mountian. There was no wind so hopefully we could catch the cable car and not have to walk up.

We got there and bought our tickets and walked up the stairs to the rather full looking cable car.

That's when my fear of falling from high places kicked in. Fortunately the cable car operator heard me say that I'm sort of scared of hieghts (because I dont like the thought of falling to my death) and made me stand next to him on the way up.

Also on the way up he made me stand in the middle of the car (as the floor was a rotating one) and look at him while he talked to me. It went by quickly and I didn't even freak when we reached the bit where the car is suspended in mid air with nothing on either side.

The view at the top was fantastic. You could see CT, the port the surrounding hills, the ships sailing in and out of port and Robben Island.

While I was up there it also occured to me that less than a few miles thousand miles south of where I was stood was the Antarctic continent. I whipped out my binoculars to see if I could see it. I couldn't. :-(

I spent a couple of hours walking around and taking in the scenery and then decided that I needed breakfast so back to the cable car it was.

On the way out I rewarded myself with an ice cream and thanked my lucky stars for getting there first thing in the morning as there was now a huge que.

Back to town for beakfast and then Robben Island mid afternoon.

I arrived at the Waterfront half an hour before boarding and stood there waiting for the person who bought my ticket. Ten minutes passed and they werent there. Fifteen minutes until boarding. Still not a word or sight.

Was I going to miss the boat a third time?

Eventually they did show up with ony minutes to spare and we joined the que for the X-ray machine then boarded.

I was actually going to go too see the place where Nelson Mandella was held for 27 years. Now if only I could hold back my fear of deep water (well its more a fear of drowning) for the 30minutes it took to get there. I mananged this by somehow falling asleep.

In the blazing afternoon sun and heat I set foot on Robben Island and walked onto a bus where the tour guide introduced himself and proceeded to amuse us with the the quirks of the appartied system as well as how every nation on Earth has influenced Robben Island over the last 200 years.

Robben Island is a fascinating tour from both a historical and biological point of view.

We started out by visisting the smallest prison in the world, built for the person who started the political campaign against appartied in the 50's. Unfortunately I've forgotten his name. However he was held there, in solitary confinement for 3 years and had difficulty speaking when he was finally given a medical exam and sent to prison on the mainland.

Then it was onto the lime stone quarry where Nelson Mandella and other political prisoners had to mine. As we stood there we all began to squint our as the white lime stone reflected the sun.

Here we learned that the island became known as The University as political prisoners would teach other inmates how to read, write to the point that they actually left with two or three university degrees. The guards realised what was going on and actually took the opportuinity to join in leaving their guns behind in the process!

We also learned the reason why you cant use flash photography to take a picture of Nelson Madella. The reason is down to the fact that the light was so bright and they had no eye protection that the retena's became damaged. More damage was caused by the dust from the lime stone.

Next up was the former guards accomodation, which now belongs to the administrators of the Island, the remains of the lepper colony and the insane asylum that they had and the colonial church for the christian mission.

It also has an amazing view of CT and Table Mountian standing over it.

Towards the end of the trip the guide pointed out the ambulance they have. He also mentioned that there was no hospital for the ambulance to go too.

Then came the tour of the prison by a former political prisoner. He took us around the prison and we stared in wonder at the cramped and basic conditions that the inmates were kept in. We saww Nelson Madella's cell and we saw the dorm cells they had that housed a hundred people at a time. We saw the type of work they had to do (breaking rocks) and the lies told to the rest of the world about how they were being treated. We also saw the ID cards that classified them into race types which in turn determined the treatment and food they received.

Once the prison tour was over we walked back to the departure point and left the island with alot to think about and be thankfull for.

So Many Things I Didn't Do But So Many Other Things To Look Forward Too

My 20 hour bus to Windhoek in Namibia and out of South Africa was at 10 am the following morning and I resigned myself to an evening of packing. If I didn't do it properly this time then I would be unpacking and repacking avery few days for the next 2 weeks. Four hours later (there was a 2 hour dinner break in the middle) I was ready to go to bed. I said good bye to every one who I wouldnt see in the morning and went to bed abit sad that I didn't/couldnt do some of the things I wanted to, but then again there are so many other things to do so the thought didnt linger that long.

The following mornig the taxi I booked was almost hijacked by the other three people going in the same direction and off we set through the desert for the border post.

Next stamp in passport: Namibia.

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Photos

Signal Point
The reason its brown is because of a fire started by a british tourist not disposing their butt correctly

Robben Island Viewed From The Top Of Table Mountian
Please see a later picture for the reverse picture

Just incase you've forgotten what I look like
That smile is from nerves. I have a fear of falling to my death.

Along The Coast
Yet another view from table mountian

Looking Inland
from table mountian

Table Mountian From Robben Island
Please see earlier photo for reverse view

Courtyard in The Prison
Many a rock was broken in here, despite the appartied regiem having us believe otherwise

Nelson Mandella's Cell
Very small, but at least he had his own space

Comments

[Summreen]

What a nice account of SA and Cape Town. Shame you missed out the on the nature reserve though there will be opportunity to go back in the future. Keep us updated on your adventures.

[Sheila Noble]

WHATS UP
Glad you are having a good time. ENJOY!!!!! Keep in touch!