The Tourist Smorgasbord Special

Apologies for the delay between blog posts; lack of internet access, coupled with an incredibly busy last two weekends, has meant that I have just not found the time. Rather than give a day-by-day summary of the last ten days, here is the highlights reel:

District Six Museum

A trip to Cape Town would not have been complete without a visit to the District Six Museum, which stands as a beautiful tribute to the lives and stories of the ex-residents of District Six who were uprooted and forcibly evicted during apartheid. The museum is set out such that one can wander throughout the historical exhibits, almost as if walking through the streets and homes and shops of those who lived there before 1966. The attention to detail and the amount of thought and planning that has clearly gone into this heritage project really blew me away. I went on a Friday afternoon with Rachel and Sam. We were greeted at the Museum by Noor, an ex-resident of District Six and one of the curators. He was very kind and allowed us in for free, as we had arrived an hour before closing time. Noor chatted to us about growing up in District Six, what it was like when he and his family were removed and his feelings about going back home, now that they are slowly relocating ex-residents back to the area. He spoke candidly about his apartheid experiences and, like Iris, without any bitterness or resentment. Because one of the Projects Abroad volunteers was working at the Museum, we were then invited out the back to have afternoon tea with all the staff! This is the kind of hospitality and warmth that I have come to associate with Cape Town.

Philisa Abafazi "Ladies Night" Fundraiser

You may remember the Lavender Hill legal clinic that I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts; the organisation we work with (Philisa Abafazi Bethu) is opening another shelter for women, and so they had a fundraiser to raise money to furnish the house. A group of us from PAHRO went along to Club Galaxy to support the event, which turned out to be a great night out.

With Josie, Sam and Rachel

Maria, Dan and Megan

Who would have thought that clubbing in the Cape Flats would be so much fun?

The Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock

The last two Saturdays I have become a solid convert to this day-long, gourmet food market located in Woodstock. The stalls stock anything and everything worth eating, as well as clothing, crafts, flowers and drinks.

Bethia (my little sister) would have loved these cakes

Florist stall

 Chocolate tart: perfectly acceptable for breakfast at the Biscuit Mill!

The only problem is that I don't think I have enough weekends left in Cape Town to be able to sample everything on offer.

Diwali Festival

Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is celebrated in Cape Town with a big bash in Ratanga Junction. Omar (a PAHRO volunteer from Scotland) and I went with Sanjay, his boyfriend, Siya, and his family (Ajay, Elaine and their two adorable little boys).

With Omar...and my roti chicken wrap!

Indian dancers

There was plenty of Indian food, music and dancing. Even the little ones were getting into the bhangra.

Siya and Aron

Afterwards we had a braai at Aj and Elaine's house, where it was agreed that I have to go back at some point at utilise their huge kitchen to make an Indian feast! (Aj's mother is a cook and even had her own show on the BBC, so their spice rack is very well-stocked.)

Elaine and Ajay

Muizenberg Beach

I could have sworn I was back in Cottesloe, amongst the trendsters and surfers, when we headed down to Muizenberg to enjoy the sunset.

Siya, Sanjay and Omar at Moyo

Robben Island Ice Tea

 Fresh wild oysters - so good!

Sunset at Muizenberg Beach

V & A Waterfront

I have now been down to the Waterfront a few times; once to watch the rugby on the big screen, once for dinner after our Robben Island tour and again on Saturday (just for kicks). It's an entirely different Cape Town to the areas I usually frequent: very "white", very upmarket and full of tourist traps. However, it has its own appeal (i.e. nice views and fine dining). I enjoyed a commiseration steak after the Wallabies lost to the All Blacks (the weekend before last); which I definitely deserved after being booed by all the New Zealand fans at the big screen (I was decked out in my Aussie flags):

Not happy: post-rugby blues

But by far the highlight of my Waterfront experience so far has been my meal at Balthazar's: pork ribs, followed by this "baby" seafood platter (consisting of calamari, mussels, king prawns, half a lobster, sardines and a tuna steak):

Possibly the best decision I have ever made...

Table Mountain

Due to a last-minute change in plans, Rachel and I decided a spur-of-the-moment trip up Table Mountain would be the perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. We caught the cable car to the top of the mountain, where I felt like we were going to be blown off the edge (generally it is also about 6-degrees cooler at the summit).

At the summit

 View over the edge

It was so cool experiencing the clouds blowing around us (no pun intended), and the coffee and cake at the summit cafe went down a treat. I would definitely like to head up again, although I am hoping to set aside the day and hike up next time.

Robben Island

Probably most famous for being the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years, Robben Island is now a heritage site with daily tours of the prison and surrounds. Rachel and I took last Wednesday afternoon off work and caught the ferry across to the island.

View of Cape Town (and Table Mountain) from Robben Island

The tour was about three-and-a-half hours (including the journey there and back), which included a bus tour and a prison tour with a former political prisoner as a guide. Our guide was imprisoned there between 1984 and 1991, and was a great source of information about life on the island. Once again, I was struck by how much strength people like him seem to have. I cannot imagine what it would take to be able to return to a site of such trauma and be able to see it in a different light. What really stumped me is how the former prisoners - including our guide - now live on the island, some of them alongside their jailors (former prison guards who also live and work on Robben Island). Our guide tried to explain it to us in the following terms: "Apartheid was not a struggle against the whites; it was a struggle for human rights".

 Our guide in his former prison cell (a dormitory-type room)

We also saw Nelson Mandela's cell and were able to wander in and out of the cells of other former prisoners. There are photographs in many of the cells of the men who were jailed there, as well as excerpts of stories about how they came to be imprisoned and what happened to them on Robben Island. It was completely surreal, and I felt like I had been transported to a different world.

 Nelson Mandela's former prison cell

Wine Tour

Despite starting off cloudy, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day; which was just as well, because 13 of us set out to do a wine tour of the Cape wine region. We made it through Paarl and Stellenbosch, stopping first at Fairview (where we all fell in love with the goats cheese, even more than the wine), Asara (lunch and more wine) and then Uitkyk (brandy and chocolate).

Wine and cheese tasting at Fairview Estate

View from Asara

Four Seasons pizza with wine pairings at Asara

 Dozing on the lawn at Uitkyk Estate

I am having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that I have little over three weeks left in Cape Town. I feel like there is still too much to do, both at the office and outside of work. In addition to everything, I am trying to figure out if there is some way I can get the Fairview goats cheese shipped (in bulk) to Perth. Otherwise, I am afraid that my only option may be to stay in Cape Town (sorry Mum).

The Lion By Moonlight

Tuesday saw the long-awaited Mock Trial down at the Wynberg Magistrate's Court. The children from Athlone, who have been preparing for this for a while now, were very excited and nervous to be playing "real" lawyers. They even got to dress the part in robes (which looked super cute)!

 Inside the Wynberg Magistrate's Court

This young chap wanted to emulate Jacob Zuma

The children received certificates for their brilliant efforts

Dion (the advocate) judged the Mock Trial

PAHRO volunteers with Dion

The children did such a great job; it was hard to believe how young some of them are. We were all extremely proud of them.

By far the highlight of this week was my full moon hike up to Lions Head peak. We set out shortly after 5pm and made it up in about one hour.

View on the way up

Angelo and Dan

The hike was fairly straightforward, for the most part, although the last fifteen minutes consisted of ladders and actual climbing (on a mountain - who would have thought?) Once up the top, we soaked in the stunning views of the city as the sun set.

Meschak with some of the volunteers

 This really needs no words

Enjoying life!

The full moon shed some light on our descent back down the peak, although it was the torches we had brought with us that saved us from stumbling off the edge. Seeing the city lit up below was a sight to behold; it's views like this that make me fall that little bit more in love with Cape Town.

We nicknamed this "Pride Rock"

View from the peak

As it was Angelo's last night, a group of us headed out to Long Street (in our hiking gear finery) for what was meant to be "a cheeky beer" but soon turned into a bit more than that. I think we'll just blame the full moon.

Garden Route Express

An Australian, an Italian and two Brits walk into a bar...

...no, it's not a joke. Just one of the many things that Dan, Rachel, Angelo and I did on our (condensed) tour of the Garden Route this last weekend. And what a fantastic weekend it was! Although we had barely two days, we managed to fit a lot in the 1200-odd kilometers that we covered. Thankfully we had Tyron, one of the drivers recommended by Projects Abroad, who is an absolute champion. The route went something like this: Cape Town - Albertinia - Mossel Bay - Oudtshoorn - Plettenberg Bay - Tsitsikamma - Knysna - Cape Town (yep, that last leg was a stretch).

We set out at 5:30am on Saturday morning, enjoying the now-familiar drive down the N2 and out of Cape Town. Our first port of call, some four hours later, was the Garden Route Game Lodge (in Albertinia). We were the only four people there for the morning game drive, which was pretty cool because we got the open-top Landrover (and guide!) to ourselves. Amongst various South African antelope and bird species, we also spotted a giraffe (born on the day of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, and named "Vuvuzela"), two lionesses, a cheetah, three rhinos, zebras (including two foals, born only days before), buffalo and the two resident elephants.

 Vuvuzela, the giraffe

Kudu: a species of South African antelope

The bull elephant

The beautiful lionesses

Nothing like riding in an open-top vehicle!

 This little fellow got a few "aaaws" from us

The drive around the reserve itself was good fun; the backdrop of the mountains and the carpet of green, purple, red and yellow foliage provided a wonderful setting in which to view all the animals.

Oh it's a marvellous day for a game drive...

After two-and-a-half hours on the drive we ate lunch at the restaurant situated on the reserve. (It was here that poor Dan learned the outcome of the England-France rugby game.) I was told that the springbok shank I ordered was not the product of any of the animals on the reserve, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Oddly enough, this was not the only animal I would see AND consume that day. But more on that later.

Soaking up the sun, and the views

Springbok shank: the only kind of springbok I can stomach

The drive to Oudtshoorn was one of the most scenic routes that I have taken. It seemed that the landscape was shifting with every turn we made: rocky outcrops gave way to glimpses of the ocean and views of towns we left behind...which soon changed to the sight of rolling hills featuring patchwork farmland (which then became pine plantations). The road would sometimes stretch out ahead of us, straight and flat, like a never-ending invitation into the purple shadow of the mountains; then suddenly we would spiral up a narrow road and emerge, above clouds, to be greeted by a breathtaking view into cavernous valleys created by sunlit hills. Truly spectacular.

 "Quick, Tyron, before that bus runs us over!"

A short stop off at Mossel Bay, en route to Oudtshoorn

Because we were short on time, we did not go to the Ostrich Safari Farm. However, every local farm around Oudtshoorn seemed to house these creatures, so we didn't miss out on anything. Despite my crippling fear of birds, I felt emboldened (possibly by the springbok I had consumed?) to approach the fence perimeter:

We spent Saturday night at a backpackers in Oudtshoorn. It was a really laid-back hostel, reminiscent of an Australian backpackers. We chilled out, waxed lyrical about the day's events and enjoyed a braai of ostrich steak and sausages.

 It's a tough life for some

Gavin: master of the ostrich braai

Ostrich steaks, sausage, jacket potato, homemade bread and Greek salad

Even Lyndon (social justice coordinator at PAHRO), who was nearby at his parent's house, stopped by for a while:

Sunday morning was bright and clear, with weather that reminded me of an Australian summer. Perhaps this contributed to my good vibe about the rugby match. Crammed onto a sofa with the South African owner of the backpackers and countless other Springbok supporters, I screamed myself hoarse as I cheered the Wallabies on to victory (much to the chagrin of everyone around me). Celebrating your team's win in the country of the team they beat is not so fun (even Tyron threatened to throw me out of the car), but I felt that the outcome of the rugby was the cherry on my weekend.

Between Oudtshoorn and Tsitsikamma National Park we passed through a couple of towns and enjoyed views equally as stunning as those on the previous day's drive. Less stunning were the baboons that live in the mountains, but they provided some amusement nonetheless!

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

Once at Tsitsikamma we deposited the boys at the Bloukrans Bridge, home to the world's highest commercial bungee jump. Although they didn't look nervous, as Angelo explained: "the war is inside". (Note: English is his second language, which often makes for hilarious yet somehow philosophical translations.)

Contemplating their leap of faith

Not feeling so brave (or perhaps not wanting to take the chance that an enraged Springboks fan/employee would cut my rope), I opted for a canopy tour in the forest, along with Rachel. And that is how we spent our afternoon: two hours of sliding from tree to tree in the forest, suspended in the canopy on a zip-line.

Walking over a suspension bridge in the treetops

Take-off!

Yippeeee!

The photos don't do justice to some of the longer (and much faster!) cables. It was such an exhilarating experience, made all the more special due to the fact that some of the platforms were on huge, shady Outeniqua Yellowwood trees (one of them over 600-years-old). Which is probably why, despite the scorching 37-degree-day, we kept relatively cool as we zipped around the forest. Those in favour of eco-tourism will be pleased to read about the engineering behind the concept, here.

I do want to make quick mention of the cute little village in the area, which included (somewhat bizarrely) a 1950s-inspired diner, dedicated to Marilyn Monroe - and apparently home to some sort of Elvis competition!

You could be forgiven for mistaking this for small-town USA

After collecting the boys again, it was pretty much a straight journey back to Cape Town. However, we managed to entertain ourselves with car dancing (a very specialised sport) and playing LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" virtually on repeat. Because we left late in the afternoon, we were able to witness a beautiful sunset on the road. We eventually got back after 10pm - exhausted, but all in agreement that it had been a perfect weekend.

"...to the next crazy venture beneath the skies"