Cape Town

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We flew into South Africa along 2 sides of an intercontinental triangle,with the briefest of stops on a patch of sand called Qatar.

Most of our first day was spent at the Department of Home Affairs in Cape Town as I wanted to extend our visas and get the admin out of the way as soon as possible. After 3 hours queueing we had our moment at the front desk with the clerk. Having filled in the forms, proved my net worth and handed over a not insubstantial fee we were told we could have our extensions.
" Come back here to collect them in 30 days" was the unwelcome instruction.
"Can't we have them now?"
"No, you must wait 30 days." End of subject.

I had expected to spend a couple of weeks around Cape Town so I reasoned that we should be able to stretch it out without too much trouble, but it does seem mad having to spend 1 month waiting for a 3 month extension.

We had a basic room in central Cape Town consisting of a bunk-bed and, er, thats it. We slept on the bottom bunk and kept our stuff on the top. At least there was a sash window which we kept fully open unless the wind was too strong.

There's loads to see and do in Cape Town and we fitted quite a lot into a week there.

We took a water taxi to the revamped docks area, now a trendy waterfront. I was hoping that the boat would do a sweeping arc through the bay but in fact it nipped through some back waterways and we were quickly there. We admired the price list at the Robben Island ferry (£14 each), went around the aquarium and caught the public bus back to the town centre.

The District 6 Museum commemorates the expulsion of 36000 local residents from an area of prime real estate by the city council in the 1960's. Apparently, before we came here Linda had never heard of Apartheid, so this was the beginning of an education for her.

At the Slave House we found ourselves walking around a very strange display of notable people worldwide who had made videos extolling their "messages of wisdom for the next generation". Non-gripping. Finally we found a small section about slavery as we had expected. It is interesting that the Dutch East India Company actually imported slaves from elsewhere in Africa and Asia rather than antagonise the locals, leading to even more of a Rainbow Nation than I had previously thought.

On Sunday we joined the Cultural Elite by going to the Stellenbosch gardens to attend a concert by the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. The concert was good fun but only lasted an hour, which seemed to belie all the effort taken to set the thing up. Fortunately we had already spent the whole day in the Gardens, which are lovely set as they are on the Southern slopes of Table Mountain.

Going to the top of Table Mountain was the highlight of the week. From the cable-car station at the bottom it looks a long way but it whips you up there in no time at all. From the top there are wonderful views in all directions as you walk around the tables edge. We had dinner in the restaurant there, just so that we could say that we had.

Once we had finished at the mountain I thought it might be nice to walk back into town. And so it would have been were it not for the 12 foot high electric fences and signs saying "Warning - Attacks have taken place in this area", which, in the end will be our main memory of Cape Town. Not so much crime as the fear of crime. Every house has a sign "protected by Armed Response Service", every shop doorway has an unwelcoming metal grille. Policemen and security guards abound. This is an attractive city in a dramatic setting, but it has an uncomfortable edge instead of a 'happening' atmosphere.

Rather than go out walking in the evenings we sat on the hostel balcony watching the antics of the street kids.

We'd had enough of the city centre after a week so we moved to the small town of Kalk Bay a few miles along the coast on False Bay, the largest bay in Southern Africa.

Kalk Bay consists of a harbour and a short stretch of antique/curio/bric-a-brac shops along the coast road. We stayed for 9 nights initially, but spent most of our time in the nearby towns.

A couple of kilometres along a pleasant coastal walk is Muisenberg. This is a magnificent beach backed by a non-descript town. The first day we were there was a Saturday and the surf was up. There were 1000 plus surf dudes vying to stand up on the waves (ideal for beginners). The waves come thick and fast. I counted up to 10 wave fronts trundling in behind each other at any one time. We went to Muizenburg a number of times (it had an internet cafe) but we never again saw waves this good or this many people and it was always soo windy.

Fish Hoek, our favourite town in the area, boasted a sandy, sheltered beach, a lovely coastal walk and a good collection of cheapo shops and restaurants.

The hostel owner dropped us of at Simonstown, where we passed a further 9 days. Simonstown is a nearly-pretty town which serves as the home port of the South African navy. Our hostel was well equipped with reading material, mainly 'lads-mags' with with interesting articles like how to integrate your sex life with your exercise regime (squat thrusts yes; star jumps no). Also Readers Digests going back to 1975 allowed us to marvel at the wonders of inflation.

Simonstown is close to the mouth of the bay and the last town before Cape Point. At the hostel we befriended an English couple with a car and they invited us to go with them to the Point, which is set in a National Park. We had a great day covering large amounts of ground which would never have been possible had we gone on the bus. We got our first close up look at the local wildlife, seeing baboons, emus, antelope, tortoises, and the disappearing arse of a sea otter. We had dinner at the restaurant at Cape Point and then went down to the Cape Of Good Hope to have our photographs taken with the sign.

A colony of African penguins live on the Southern fringe of Simonstown. The area is enclosed under the National Parks, but nobody has told the penguins and they loiter within nearby bays as they see fit. They are neither bothered by nor interested in us human beings so it is perfectly possible to share a bit of rock with them or go swimming while they arrive and depart around you. On land they spend most of their time stood stock still so it easy to get close and have your photo taken with them. Too close and you might get a nip.

We spent 9 days in Simonstown, though I can't remember doing anything else although we did sit on the beach on a couple of occasions when the wind died down. The town has 4 museums, none of which we visited so we must have been sufficiently occupied.

Eventually we wound up back in Cape Town. Another 3 hour wait at the Department of Home Affairs allowed an official to place a sticker in our passports and we were all set to go. Hooray. Heading out of Cape Town we passed thousands upon thousands of wood and corrugated iron shacks, home to much of the citys' black population.

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