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Published: July 23rd 2010
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Arrived at Cape Town airport to be greeted by the least Afrikaans cab driver imaginable - his opening gambit, once seated and unable to get another car, was to explain that we were now in the hands of a former San Diego ambulance driver. After a few moments of normal (ish) banter we began to question our chauffeur's sanity (internet bride brought him to SA / tales of gory incidents he had attended) but the main thing was he got us to our destination for the first 3 nights - Long Street Backpackers!!! If you imagine London, think of Chelsea / Kensington. Then think of getting on a tube and leaving for Camden... it was the heart of Cape Town crustiness, but awesome fun. The backpackers was really cool, and we found "opportunity" at the bottom of an 80% Austrian spirit which the staff loved giving away. We had a private double (Posh, we know!) which when the staff asked where we were, kept commenting "oh, that's a nice double - a good doona / duvet etc". And it was nice - it also smelled suspiciously like the inside of a hoover bag - which is somewhat ironic....
Anyway, we
decided that we would climb Table Mountain on the Sunday, given that the weather was perfect - not a cloud in the big blue sky!! We got directions to wander up and set off full of energy and grand ideas. After about an hour and a half of walking, sweating and swearing, we manged to arrive at the bottom of the cable car. It was at this point Megan decided perhaps we should just pay and catch the cable car.... we would like to point out, it was a REALLY steep walk to the bottom.... The views from the top (no matter how we arrived there) were stunning! And we think we were extremely lucky to get up there on such a perfectly clear day. It's well worth the trip up if you do manage to get to Cape Town, with uninterrupted views all the way down the Cape of Good Hope, and brilliant views back down over the city.
We pottered about down at the V&A waterfront on the Monday, and saw how the other half of Capetonians live. A beautiful area, with loads of watering holes and very civilised restaurants. We didn't feel anywhere near as 'at
Handy map of Africa
Puddle on top of Table Mountain. home' there as Long Street though, so made a quick beeline back....
Cape Town truly is a beautiful friendly city, the people are great, the food is ok, and the beer is cheap (!). Sadly not enough vuvuzelas for our liking, but am sure we will find some somewhere.
We rented a 2 door Vauxhall Corsa (aka Holden Barina) and have Christened her Lulu. All 3 of us bid a fond farewell to CT and are currently on our way down the Garden Route. Our first stop was a tiny little place called Hermanus, which was meant to be the perfect setting for whale watching. To be fair, it was the perfect setting - lovely roads, loads of boulevards to stroll along with bench seats everywhere to gaze out over the beautiful blue ocean.... just not a whale to be spotted... sigh.
On our way out of Hermanus with the "whales" behind us, we headed for Cape Agulhas (L'Agulhas), which is the southern most point on the continent. Not alot going on there apart from some rocks, some waves and a fair amount of wind. We didn't stay long, as Lulu was calling to get us back
on the road.
After a short drive we then stayed at a place called Mossell Bay (read Mussel). We had some awesome accomodation there, called the 'Santos Express'. It is an old train, parked up on the beach in the middle of town, and we slept in one of the old cabins. It had enough room for a double bed, and that was about it. There were 2 pull-down beds on the walls above us that we were able to stash our bags in. In the morning, we could lie in bed and watch the sun come up over the water, all while we waited for this Frenchman to finish in the shower - how much can you possibly do in a tiny cubicle, the mind boggles.
We then moved onto Wilderness, a village further down the Garden Route where we stayed in a Rondavel (round hut) in the Wilderness National Park. In the afternoon we went for a good 3 hour walk - which included some steep uphill sections, a river crossing over some stepping stones spaced out for giants, so we had to take our shoes and socks off and walk through the water (we remembered
it was Winter at this point!) and another river crossing on a pontoon. Unfortuntately, the 20 odd French exchange students we had come across on our trek had moored their canoes to the pontoon, so when they got back they would have found their canoes on the wrong side of the river. We're pretty sure they got back ok though...
A quick stop at the local butchers provided us with some firewood, a packet of sausages, a loaf of bread, marshmallows, some local ketchup and a six pack and we settled in for our first braai (BBQ!). It was a pretty smokey affair, but the snags were delicious, the beer cold, and the marshmallows sticky. All in all, the braai was a success!!
We are soon to hit the road again, where we think our natural calling to surf will rise up again - who knows how much time we will spend in the green room, but am sure it will be extreme all the same?!
Now onto the important stuff. Forgive me father for I have sinned. It has been 10 days since my last shave (James not Megan!), and I am feeling truly crusty.
Am not sure how much more of this I can take, but I had to shampoo it this morning, as there was a distinct smell of braai following me around?!
We have the car for another week, she should take us down as far as Port Elizabeth we hope and then back to CT. When we arrive we will fill you all in, and perhaps have a snap of the face fuzz.
Until then - The McCheekos
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Thomas McLeod
non-member comment
Beaut.
The photos look beaut and it sounds like you are having a beaut time. I am really extremely jealous. Keep trekking. I'm going to a festival this weekend dressed as a book, i thought you should know. xx