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Published: July 12th 2008
It is perhaps a measure of the depth of the appreciation we have developed over the year for efficiency, having learnt to make do with precious little of it, that the excitement of our hassle-free and very fast check-in for our domestic flight from Johannesburg almost overshadowed our arrival in Cape Town, probably the most beautiful city I've seen so far.
Buoyed by this, the lovely sun with its dry heat and the ability to explore the streets safely, we spent the first full day in Cape Town wandering Long Street, with its book shops and funky little clothing stores. After the purchase of even more books (I think Brigid is up to 13 and I have 5) and the first items of clothing (other than happy pants and Banjuka tu t-shirts) we'd bought in over 8 months, we placed an embargo on further reading-related purchases and settled in firstly for our first milkshakes since April (delicious mars bar milkshake.......) and then some beers on the balcony in the sun. The choice of available restaurants for dinner was somewhat overwhelming, and we took almost an hour to make a decision about what we actually wanted. An early night followed dinner
- we had planned to see a band but, with the age of entry to many bars/clubs being 21, Conor's insistence that she IS 18 didn't hold much sway with the bouncers!!
The following day, after breakfast down at the V+A waterfront, we took the ferry across to Robben Island. The 45 minute journey across to the island affords spectacular views back over the coastline and Table Mountain, with its magnificent tablecloth of cloud rolling in as we rolled out. The ferry pulls into a wharf, loud with the cries of thousands of birds, and it is hard to believe that this spectacular place has even a hint of a dark past. Robben Island (Robben is dutch for 'seal') has been a place for the isolation of unwanted people since the 17th century, initially housing prisoners from various dutch colonies, and later was used as a leper colony. From 1961 until 1991, it housed over 3000 political prisoners jailed for their involvement in the struggle against apartheid, including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. Our tour of the island began with a guided bus tour, being shown the leper graveyard, the old houses of the prison guards and other staff
The Western Cape
From the walk to Maclear's Point on Table Mountainwho worked on the island (now used by museum staff and those involved in conservation on the island) and the tiny cell in which the PAC leader Robert Sobukwe was kept in solitary confinement for 9 years, initially on a 3-year jail term for 'incitement' after leading a march to the local police station in defiance of the pass laws, and then for a 6 more years without further charges or sentence - in what became known as the 'Sobukwe clause', the government passed a law allowing sentences to be reviewed yearly at their discretion. Tellingly, the dog cages next door are larger than his long-term cell. The last stop on the bus tour was the limestone quarry in which the prisoners toiled barefoot day after day, suffering permanent damage to their hands, feet and eyes and risking further punishment by taking extended 'toilet breaks' during which, 2 at a time, they would visit the 'classroom' - a nearby cave - where, in secret, they would tutor each other to further their education and break up the monotony of the day. A small pile of stones lies in the centre of the quarry, left there since a reunion of political
prisoners here in 1994. At the end of the formal ceremonies, Nelson Mandela is said to have walked to the edge of the quarry, picked up a stone and placed it on the ground at the feet of his friends. The others reportedly followed suit wordlessly, creating a symbol of their incarceration to add to innumerable memories they share. Back at the prison proper, we met our guide - former political prisoner Michael Mbatha, an inmate on Robben Island from 1986 to 1990 for his involvement in ANC activites. Michael showed us round the prison, taking us through F block where he had slept, telling stories of the atrocious conditions of the prison (many prisoners didn't even have a bed until Red Cross intervention in 1981) and the permeation of apartheid ideals even into dictating how much a prisoner was given to eat. It is testament to the camaraderie and humanity of the prisoners that the non-black (indian, coloured etc) prisoners would share their more plentiful rations with the black prisoners. Walking through the prison courtyard to B block, we had the opportunity to see the single cells where notable prisoners were kept. The many cells down a long corridor
are now empty save for Nelson Mandela's cell, which is sparsely furnished as it was when he was imprisoned, with a small mat and blanket on the floor and a small table with his cup and plate. Robben Island has been kept as a museum since 1997 after the last (non-political) prisoners were released in 1996. The tours are a magnificent tribute to the spirit of the people imprisoned here and a stark reminder of how much people suffered under the apartheid regime. We ended the day with dinner and some music at Manenberg's, a jazz club back at the V+A waterfront. Here, people of all colours danced and let their hair down. While all is not rosy in South Africa, it is certainly a country that has made massive changes for the better in the last 15 years.
The rest of our time in Cape Town focused less on its history and more on the natural wonders. One of the highlights was climbing Table Mountain, the piece de resistance of Cape Town's many spectacular features. Our ascent was delayed by a day due to bad weather but, luckily the mountain was tablecloth-free the next morning. Prepared for hot
weather, sudden change to cold weather, hunger, thirst and the much-warned-about threat of muggers, we caught a taxi to the base of the mountain. Finishing a drink before we started the climb, our worries about muggers increased as we encountered a sweaty and slightly crazy-looking man pacing back and forth near us. As it turned out, he was not a mugger, rather a trail runner who had raced some friends to the top and then back down (and was waiting for them to finish), making the round trip in less than half and hour - talk about fit!! We completed the climb at a far more leisurely pace, taking a couple of hours to get to the top, stopping many times to rest weary legs and take in the spectacular views. We'd initially planned to hike back down the way we came, rest for the afternoon and then return to the summit via the cable car in time for sunset, but the day was so spectacular, we stayed up at the top for the whole afternoon. We leisurely hiked across the top to Maclear's Beacon, the highest point on Table Mountain, returning to watch the brilliant colours of the sun
setting over the western cape, before taking the cable car back down. We went on a winery tour, and visited Kirstenbosch botanic gardens, Camps Bay beach and Boulders beach, where fierce winds prevented our planned kayak trip, but we were still able to see the large colony of African penguins with their crazy mating calls. We were also fortunate to catch up with Dani, one of the other girls who had volunteered at Upendo earlier in the year, who lives near Cape Town. She picked us up in town and we spent a lovely day driving round the coast, enjoying fish and chips and dipping our toes in the freezing Atlantic water at Hout Bay, then heading out to the Cape of Good Hope - the most southerly point of Africa - and the vertiginous 200 metre-high cliffs at Cape Point.
We headed back to Johannesburg for the last 2 days of our trip, spening our last day finishing the Christmas shopping and the last night going to see The Lion King at the theatre. It was an amazing production that topped off an amazing year, and the combination of the wonderful singing and thinking about the magnificent experiences
we've had this year nearly made me teary a couple of times (but no, i did not cry!).
The next day, we boarded the plane home and, after a long (and very very turbulent - I've never seen Brigid look so terrified) flight, we arrived back in Melbourne and were met at the airport by Justin, Mum, Dad and Liam. We've just spent a fantastic Christmas all together with our extended family, and had Boxing Day drinks to catch up with friends. It's lovely to be home, and it's amazing how quickly everything feels normal again - although I expect to be delighted by prompt restaurant service and bewildered by the massive range of products in the supermarket for some time yet...
So, until the next trip - hopefully there will be many, although work and study will prohibit anything big for the next 18 months at least - this is the end of my blog. Thanks for reading. K x
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Brigid
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i love how you've written this in the present tense...more than six months after it happened!! nice try! you do have a phenomenal memory though. I recommend that people don't watch fight club while on a plane - plane crash scenes while experiencing turbulence does not make for a happy trip. word