Solo 6 was 128km. UK to Cape Town for me totalled 24,755km and for the truck totalled 22,595km. It took 160 days. (Truck Odo: Gibraltar = 432652, Cape Town = 455247).
17 PLACES VISITED: SOUTH AFRICA: 1) Springbok, 2) Klawer, 3) Oliphant River Wine Region, 4) Porterville, 5) Cape Agulhas (most southern tip of Africa), 6) L’Agulhas, 7) Struisbaai, 8) Stanford, 9) Hermanus, 10) Kleinbaai, 11) Bettysbaai, 12) Cape Town, 13) Stellenbosch Town & Wine Region (Zevenwacht Winery), 14) Franschhoek Town & Wine Region (Marianne Winery), 15) Walk to Freedom Mandela Statue (outside Victor Berster Prison), 16) Paarl Town & Wine Region (Laborie Winery), 17) Citrusdal.
10 OVERNIGHTS: SOUTH AFRICA: 1-2) Facility Camp & Rooms “Highlanders”, Trawal (Elev 44m), 3) Facility Camp “L’Agulhas Caravan Park”, L’Agulhas, 4-5) Hostel “Hermanus Backpackers”, Hermanus, 6-10) Hotel “Hotel on St Georges”.
6 RUNS: SOUTH AFRICA: Hermanus (2), Cape Town (4)
5 UNIQUE WILDLIFE: SOUTH AFRICA: 1) Sea Otter, 2) Stingray, 3) Dassie (Rodent), 4) Great White Shark, 5) African Penguin (Jackass Penguin),
BLOG POST TRAILER:
Welcome to SOUTH AFRICA. Clearly the best country from an infrastructure stand point. It is my second favourite country just a touch behind MOROCCO since I feel that the later is more exotic and has more to offer in all the departments especially food and culture. Having written this, I would come to Africa to see the rest of SOUTH AFRICA so I could compare “the Cape” region with the east. The whole Cape region and “Garden Route” is stunning - cliffside drives, white sand beaches and plenty of quaint towns with character. Cape Town (Pop 4m) itself is gorgeous mainly because of the outstanding backdrop of Table Mountain, Lions Head and Signal Hill - all very rugged and sudden. Cape Town has a myriad of activities and things to see, the key being the wineries and Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent the first 18yrs of his 27yr political incarceration.
To top things off, Cape Town is cheap because of the continuing devaluation of the Rand. For these reasons, Cape Town is my favourite city to date and I could easily do a project here. This blog sees us travel to the southernmost tip of Africa from the northern Namibian border, then to Cape Town for a 5 night Solo 6 break and then back up north again into NAMIBIA. This blog post completes the milestone of the end of the second major Trans-Africa leg of Accra to Cape Town which took a total of 160 days. It also completes the milestone of my 150 days and 5 calendar months away from home and on the truck. I spent the first and last night in SOUTH AFRICA on the same vineyard - Highlander Estate in the Oliphant River Region near the Namibia border - how fitting is that! The winery is run by an ex-army, ex-overland driver and electrician called “Sparky”. A fabulous guy who has turned a simple farm into a 4 hectare Chenin Blanc wonderland complete with bar, tasting room, overland facilities and individual guest rooms.
Diversified and nested amongst 64 other micro family wineries supplying a single “cellar” or wine maker company that they all have shares in. A good set up. Sparky also took me to the local doctor to treat an infected mozzie bite on my right heel. Lucky we stayed here for two nights and I was able to see a doctor without disrupting the group. Sadly I was not able to run through all the vines but did so on our return. From here we drove directly to the southernmost point of Africa called Cape Agulhas. There is a stone marker at the exact point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. We stayed at the small town of L’Agulhas near this geographical wonder. Enjoyed fresh calamari and some local wine. Our next two nights were at Hermanus, a fantastic quaint seaside haven of mainly tourists and retirees but very well equipped with a range of good restaurants, cafes and shops.
I liked it better than Swakopmund because of its magnificent coastal boardwalk which is identical to the Bondi to Bronte to Coogee walk. There are not as many adventure / adrenaline style activities here as in Swakopmund but I did manage to meet Jaws and his mates! Yes. I went cage diving with six Great White Sharks. What an experience. We drove 45min from Hermanus to Kleinbaai where a large speedboat took us 7km out to a channel between two islands where the Great Whites hunt seals.
The way it works is like this. A rectangular 5-person stainless steel cage sits against the side of the boat submerged just below the surface, You put on a supplied thick 4mm wetsuit with booties and head cap and googles and climb inside keeping your head just above the water and holding on the an inner rail inside the cage. On the way the crew throw mashed up tuna into the water to create a slick that attracts the sharks.
The crew then cast two tuna heads into the water just in front of the cage and watch out for the white pointers from on high. When they spot an approaching shark they yell “down, down down” and you immediately take a deep breath and push yourself under water to see those jaws one wide to try to consume the tuna heads. I wore my Hero4 Session GoPro on my head. You can also hand held units. I was the third set since I wanted to film the sharks from above and observe how they move so I knew what to do underwater. The water is cold - 12C but the suit is good and you get used to it. I went in 3 times and spent close to 30min in total. This was good considering there were 25 on the boat and 20 diving. The view from below is terrific. A total of 6 Great Whites visited us - one male, five females and all adolescents measuring around 2.5m. Fully grown they reach 3.5m to 4m (female).
When you first see one up close they look huge. When I was under many brushed their bodies against the cage and hit the cage with their tails. The sharks are not there to attack us - they do not see us as food but as competition for the tuna heads. The sharks think that we are there for the tuna heads - thats why they go for the snatch immediately - to ensure that we do not get the food before they do! Interesting. But the best was yet to come. On my second dive, a shark came straight at us for the tuna heads - fast. Luckily for us the crew puled the tuna heads up and out of the water just in time for the shark to misjudge the move and slam its head into the cage in front of me! The sharks nose was IN THE CAGE NEXT TO ME!!! Its mouth was just outside and open! What a sight. I felt like bending over and kissing the nose but i remembered the rules - touch any shark and its game over - the whole boat returns!
When I climbed out many people on the deck above saw the nose in the cage and the shark thrashing about to get that nose out. From below this was an awesome sight! It was a great adrenaline rush! I remember taking about for days after. The routine in Hermanus was great. I would see my sites in the morning, run in the middle of the day and then spend the arvo walking, visit my favourite internet cafe and then enjoy calamari back in my room - I think this is why liked Hermanus so much - it was an easy going place and well equipped. Hermanus is not far from Cape Town and we stopped by two coastal towns to see a giant 20yr old resident stingray and hundreds of African Penguins which sound exactly like donkey when they squeal or call each other - this is why they also known as “Jackass Penguins”. The great news is that you can sit yourself down in front of them and they will happily just walk up to you - millimetres away! For those who had not seen penguins before it was a terrific experience. The coast and towns here are very nordic and reminded me of Iceland and Norway. Colourful weatherboard homes, wild cliffs and deep blue waters.
Seeing Cape Town (Pop 4m) for the first time is a breathtaking sight. The city centre nestled at the feet of 1000m high Table Mountain with the sharp pointy “Lions Head” on one side and a threesome of sharp rugged peaks on the other side. The suburbs of Cape Town reach out for 40km and a very industrialised. Between the city and airport are many hectares of shanty towns, called “townships”. I spent 6 days and 5 nights in this great city away from the truck with Riza, her husband Robert and Doug in my sixth solo. We stayed down town in a tall skyscraper that housed the hotel plus a number of offices. My roomhad terrific views of Table Mountain, especially at sunset.
We spent the first day visiting the nearby “Waterfront” complex (also called the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront). It is like Sydney’s Darling Harbour on steroids. Super busy and buzzing with the sous of people from all over the world. A huge shopping mall, two cinemas, a huge viewing wheel, tons of cafes and restaurants and private and ferry boats everywhere. This is where you catch the public boat to Robben Island. More on this later. It was Saturday when we arrived so we thought Sunday was the right day to visit the nearby wineries of the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl wine regions. A minivan picked us up at 8am and we did not return until 7pm. We visited only one major winery in each region because we spent a lot of time touring and sampling more wine in the three small towns that each region is named after. There are 16 wine regions in SOUTH AFRICA and 150 wineries in the three regions that we visited.
The wine industry started in 1652 and the most common grape is Chenin Blanc and Pinotage, the latter being distinctly South African, invented by a University Professor by crossing Pinot Noir with Hermitage. I was also surprised to find that the Zinfandel has lost favour and that South African’s like their Rose sweet! The three wine regions we visited had spectacular backdrops. Rolling green hills against very sharp, rugged peaks and ranges.
The weather was perfect. Sunny, hot, blue skies. The wineries we visited are very large and modern and diversified with wedding reception halls and B&B style accommodation. Most have restaurants inside 19th Century “Cape Dutch” architected buildings with thatched roofs! The three towns were also idyllic. Clean, quaint buildings, nice cafes, opulent restaurants and lots of African curio shops selling everything from tea to teeth to zebra skins! I had easily the best coffee of the trip here and saw my first African Lamborghini - a white 1984 Countach LP4000!!!
There is certainly money in Cape Town. This is also evident when you visit the coastal beaches on the Atlantic side of Cape Town heading down to the Cape of Good Hope. Did not reach this far due to time but caught the hop-on, hop-off bus to Camps Bay and back to several beaches to the city. The homes here are palatial. Camps Bay is like Beverly Hills on the ocean. One home even had a Greek Flag hoisted out front! The day after the wineries, Doug and I walked the entire city. It is a city with many different architectures, materials and colours. Old and new sit side by side. We visited the Natural Museum of South Africa which does reasonably good job outlining all the flora, fauna and terrain of SA. The highlight was life-size models of the sharks and whales of SA. I also learned that Shaka Zulu was real and the most fiercest of all warriors only to be murdered by his brother in 1828. I also learned that the Killer Whale is related to the Dolphin family, not whales. There are two malls in the city but the central plaza is bleak with nothing in it! We took a 3pm tour of Robben Island which I recommend since the sunset from the island back to the city is a great sight.
The Robben Island is now a museum owned by the government and it is this authority that runs the tours. A 135 person ferry covers the 10km out to the island in 45min. You then spend another 2hrs on the island itself with a surviving inmate of the prison! This was the best part. Hearing fro an actual prisoner. Three big buses took us around the island showing us the local community of 230 who look after the tours and the lime mine where all prisoners were required to work. Apartheid laws were passed in 1948 and abolished in 1990.
Finally a walking tour of the prison itself with a visit to Mandela’s cell and the exercise yard that he made a garden in. Our guide “Sparky” was excellent. Loud and clear. Our guide was 63 yr old “Sparky”, who was incarcerated in 1970 for 7yrs at age 17. He was arrested at a political rally and remembers Mandela. It was a terrific visit. (Picture Below: Sparky and I share freedom)
My favourite morning was my run to the base of Table Mountain and my non-stop 52min ascent to the top via "Platteklip Gorge" which is published at 2hrs! Unfortunately the clouds and wind rolled in as I got to the top and I was unable to photograph the city below and could not surprise you with paragliding photos from Lions Head! Yes! I was booked to after my Table Mountain climb and it was cancelled due to the sudden bad weather which is typical of the Cape Crusader!!! Our favourite restaurant was called “The Greek Fisherman” in The Waterfront. Enjoyed their speciality of the mixed seafood souvlaki and the oven roasted lamb! Both excellent but best of all washed down by Stellenbosch Gewürztraminer - delicious! Even spoke with the owner, Georgina, a first generation South African Greek, born in Joburg but with both parents born in Greece. She was my age and came to Cape Town to escape the dangers of Joburg. She also confirmed what I had seen on the city streets, lots of homeless and people constantly asking you for money. This is stark contrast to the comfort of a cinema movie and my easy fix of one of my cameras, new joggers and a visit to the dentist of a very convenient, international and well organised city. This is a city and country that I could easily work in and would probably visit again...
BLOG POST DETAIL:
DAY 151 of 273, Mon 11APR16, 417km, Facilities Camp “Felix Units” 10km west of Noordoewer (Elev 215m) NAMIBIA to Facility Camp & Rooms “Highlanders”, Trawal (Elev 44m) SOUTH AFRICA. Today was the first day in SOUTH AFRICA (my 77th country) but not the last day in NAMIBIA. We would return on the second major leg of our journey as we headed north fro Cape Town to Cairo. I woke up at 6:45am, packed up my air-conditioned office and mozied along to the truck only to be faced with a horrifying scene - everyone’s packed up and filling their water bottles ready to leave? WTF??? Last night we were told to advance our watched forward by an hour to SOUTH AFRICA time and use this to wake up and depart at 8am. No time to understand why I was late so I went to action.
Went to the toilet in record time, splashed some water on my face and took my drugs on the truck when it left. After this frenzy I then figured out what happened. My watch sets its own time automatically by using GPS to figure out where it is. It also calculates sunrise and sunset on this principle. I manually advanced the time last night from Namibian to South African time, as instructed and went to sleep on South African time. During the night my watch picked up its GPS signal and calculated that it was in NAMIBIA and RESET the time from South African time back to Namibian time, hence I woke up and hour late since my watch alarm was set to South African time! My watch is too smart for my own good! Thank goodness I woke with 15min to spare! I have never been late for a truck departure in 151 days! To add to the morning drama, I noticed that my foot had swollen more but the wound itself was drying up and not red.
Still, I was keen to see a doctor just in case and to get another course of antibiotics since I would be out by the end of today. Lucky that we were staying two nights at our first camp facility in SOUTH AFRICA so I would try and visit a doctor during this time without impacting the truck schedule. I told Andi/Grant. The border crossing was the quickest to date. No VISAS required for anyone - just a stamp that acts as the VISA. The sun was VERY hot and it was oven dry. The landscape remained desert but there were more darker scrubs making the distant hills look dark grey. The road was sensational - in many parts it looked brand-new. There would be no dirt or gravel roads or bush camps in our whole time in SOUTH AFRICA - fantastic!
We made a morning stop in a town called “Springbok” and did two cook shops in huge “Super Spar” supermarket. I asked about a local doctor or medical centre but you had to drive to other side of town and I would disrupt the group. Andi/Grant would ask about one at the place we were staying at tonight. My whole foot had now swollen - more than yesterday and I was worried. The good news was that the pain was less and the wound itself was not pussy or red or warm. I was also going to run out of antibiotics today. It was another 2hrs driving to get to our destination and the scenery along the way moved from desert to semi-arid with high ridges / spurs and irrigated farms around valley rivers. We reached our facility camp at around 6pm and was greeting by the owner “Sparky” by nickname (Mike was his real name). He was in his late forties and quite fit.
The site we were camping at was actually a vineyard and Sparky was a vigneron. He also had guest rooms overlooking the “Olifants River Valley” (Elephant River Valley), a fantastic view dominated by a high ridge and plateau. Typical wine country. Roberto and I upgraded to the rooms as soon as we saw them. We would be here two nights and I need to rest my foot and keep it clean. Sparky told us that there were two doctors in the town of Klawer only 12km away and he would take us there for a 9am appointment tomorrow morning - what a great guy! Roberto and I settled into our room, showered and I dressed my foot. It and I then proof-read and corrected my completed blog Post 20. I decided to rest my foot so I retired to bed and watched “Invictus”, the story of Mandela’s first days in office as SOUTH AFRICA’S first black President starring Morgan Freeman with a view of the vineyards under a new moon just outside my window. A terrific and fitting introduction to SOUTH AFRICA.
DAY 152 of 273, Tue 12APR16, 0km, Facility Camp & Rooms “Highlanders”, Trawal (Elev 44m) SOUTH AFRICA. I woke to the sound of knocking at my door. It was Sparky and it was 8:15am. He told me that first appointment was at 9am and to meet him at his car in 20min. What a great guy. What a relief. I would not disrupt the group since we were sleeping here tonight and today was a free day. I managed to convince Doug to come with me since his leg was also infected but his swelling was gone but he had a large nasty open would that would not heal. It was only a 15min drive to Klawer and on the way, Sparky told us his remarkable story of how he got to be a vigneron in 2003 in his late thirties. Sparky was born “Mike Nuttall” in Cape Town. After high school he was called to military service for two years as was the requirement during apartheid. After standard training he was assigned for a further year to serve in Angola against the guerrillas. He then returned to Cape Town to train as an electrician.
He used this skill to travel the world for two years including overland truck travel where where he met a Swedish girl and spent a further two years in Sweden. This did not work out and he returned to South Africa where by shear chance the overland company he had travelled with asked him to work for them as a driver and leader. He did this for four years so he understands this industry very well. Another chance meeting with a friend in the movie business invited him to do electrical work for film sets for Twentieth Century Fox! Since the movie business paid so well he was able to save enough money to consider buying a property where he could host overland trucks. This led him to a vineyard farm at Tawal in the “Oliphant River” wine growing region which he bought in 2003. His first harvest was in 2004 and he learnt his craft from his next door neighbour, who’s philosophy in life was “never teach others what you have not done yourself”. \
Sparky has 4 hectares under vine with an annual quota of 65 tons. It is all Chenin Blanc but he is planning to introduce Pinotage, a variety invented in 1925 by a South African doctor by crossing Pinot Noir with Hermitage to suit the specific conditions of SA. Sparky is one of 65 growers in this region who all have shares in a “wine cellar” which produces, sells and distributes wine. It is in the nearby town of Klawer. We arrived at a small house in Tawal that featured two general practitioners at 9am. Dr Charle E van Wyk saw me at 9:30am. A very nice lady with a strong accent who examined my heal and was glad that I had consulted a doctor when I did. She confirmed the infection and judging from the amount of swelling and the fact that my existing antibiotics had not worked that it was an aggressive strain of staphylococcus bacteria. She cleaned the wound and put me on a strong IV antibiotic for 30min, injecting it a little at a time.
She also dispensed a 5-day course of a very strong antibiotic called “Bindoclav", a huge 1000mg tablet of Amoxillin and Clavulonic Acid that looked like it was intended for an elephant! It was good that she had her own supply of pharmaceuticals on site since the nearest chemist was another 25km away and I did not want to inconvenience Sparky further. Dr van Wyk told me that the swelling should disappear in 3 days and that if it did not or advanced up my leg that I should go to hospital immediately. She then saw Doug and by 10:45am we were on our way back tot he farm with Sparky. Dr van Wyk issued a letter and receipt to both of us for insurance purposes. I paid $AUD32 for the standard consultation and another $AUD32 for the IV, drugs and bandages. Very cheap. On arrival at the farm everyone was near the end of the big truck clean, where all seats and gear is removed and the floors, walls and ceilings cleaned. I told Andi that I wanted to contribute last night since I knew I would be at the doctors in the morning during this activity.
I then cleaned all the windows inside and out. After this I decided to watch a movie in my room so that I could keep my leg raised. This was so relaxing. I had a view of the vineyards and valley through the window next to my bed and a nice air-conditioned room to enjoy the movie. It was very warm outside. At 3pm we all assembled in a covered area outside a sizeable dwelling that contained a bar, pool tables, fireplace and overlooked the valley at the same level as the rooms. There was even a pool outside.
Sparky led a wine tasting of a selection of wines produced by his “cellar” along with a cheese platter to suit the selection. It was simply terrific. A real highlight of the group enjoying a moment together. Our last taster was a bubbly so we toasted to today’s milestone of 150 days on the truck! After the tasting we all kicked on, buying and drinking our favourite wines with more cheese platters. Most of us laid on the soft lawn just outside this “recreation centre” that could have easily made an excellent cellar door given its fabulous views. We watched the sun set as we sipped youthful, easy-drinking Chenin Blancs, Viogniers and Chardonnays. It was an unforgettable afternoon.
Roberto and I decided to revisit our classic “room picnic” from our private stash of canned fish, lentils, chickpeas, mushrooms and veggies when we found out that the truck was cooking lamb offel mince and potato! We also wanted to run down our can stocks ahead of our exit in Cape Town. It was great. We put on our signature James Bond film and ate and sipped our local wine well into the evening. Cannot remember even going to sleep...
DAY 153 of 273, Wed 13APR16, 376km, Facility Camp & Rooms “Highlanders”, Trawal (Elev 44m) to Facility Camp “L’Agulhas Caravan Park”, L’Agulhas SOUTH AFRICA. Both Roberto and I had been attacked by mozzies during the night but the damage was limited and we quickly forgot it when I arose to todays HUGE MILESTONE of FIVE CALENDAR MONTHS AWAY FROM HOME! Simply unbelievable. Every day beyond this one will now be a record absence for me because I had now equalled “Ai Caramba”, my five month trip to Antarctica and South America back in 2010/2011. It was a mixed feeling. Five months is a long time when you are working but seemed quick with travel. On the other hand because this type of travel is hard work, especially in West Africa, it seems justified and places like Morocco and Mali seem like they happened a lifetime ago - separate trips, many years ago… Strange.
Given the long time involved and that I had another four calendar months to go I look at this whole experience as “another life” or existence, separate from the “working life” I left back in Australia in November 2015. It is like a duplicate existence - a parallel Earth. It is almost like there is a John Golfin travelling through Africa writing this blog and another John Golfin back in Australia working and the two will fuse together again in August 2016. I thought about this during our morning drive down south towards Cape Town, only 300km from the Sparky’s farm. We would pass the city and head to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African continent to stay tonight. We would also return to Sparky’s vines on the first day of our Cape Town to Cairo trek - this was welcome news.
The drive south was cold but scenic. All rugged up with a blue sky above and scraggy, edgy mountains on both sides with vines and irrigated farm veggies and orchards most of the way. Roads were excellent. We made a stop in Porterville at 10:45am and I was able to find a strong WIFI at the local guesthouse. It was not long enough to post blog 20 but enough time to get half of it up and call mum. Like me she was glad that we were in SOUTH AFRICA. The drive further south continued the theme of craggy mountain valleys with vines and orchards under a clear sunny sky. When we got closer to the southernmost peninsula of Africa the landscape changed and looked very much like the Cantebury region of New Zealand or countryside around Bowral NSW - rolling green hills, plenty of sheep, lots of agriculture. The best thing about the drive were the little towns that we passed. So clean, so neat, nice shops, nice houses - they could be anywhere in the first world! We reached “Cape Agulhas” at 5pm - this is it!
There is no more Africa south of this point. There is a stone monument marking the spot and officially where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet! There were plenty of tourists there and it took ages to get photos on my own. The truck’s do read 454967km. It would find out what it read in Gibraltar and calculate the truck tota; for this epic north-south milestone. We then walked along a wooden path to the southernmost light house and drove to our facility camp in the town of L’Agulhas itself. It is a lovely town full of fancy holiday homes. It looks just like any town along the Great Ocean Road near Gelong in Victoria. It was offseason so they were all locked up but the local shops were still open. After setting up our tents, Roberto and I visited the local fish and chip shop armed with a bottle of Sparky’s Chenin Blanc to enjoy calamari and chips as an entree before tonight’s Kudu Burgers. The owner even gave us wine glasses to use. The calamari was very tender and nicely crumbed. Doug joined us and we had a great chat in the small village square - every shop had written on it "the most southern xyz in Africa”! By the time we got back to the truck the Kudu Burgers were ready and delicious. It was too chilly that night to sit out so Doug and I decided to watch a movie in our tent until more of Sparky’s wine put us to sleep...
DAY 154 of 273, Thu 14APR16, 131km, Facility Camp “L’Agulhas Caravan Park”, L’Agulhas to Hostel “Hermanus Backpackers”, Hermanus SOUTH AFRICA (Run1). The morning was cloudy and cool. It was a good sleep because you could hear the ocean and the cool ocean breeze kept everything comfortable. Our first stop today was only 10min away and quite unusual. It was a small fishing bay in the town of Struisbaai that has a resident stingray that is almost 20yrs old and huge! We saw him just 10min before we had to leave despite the fact that there were no fishing boats coming in, when he usually appears. We also saw a Sea Otter in the water.
From here it was a very scenic drive to our destination of Hermanus. Once again, rolling green hills cultivated with veggies and fruit, even with Eucalypts, so very reminiscent of Australia’s coastal areas. We arrived at the idyllic town of Hermanus (Pop 40,000) at 11am. Our hostel was neat and clean and only a short walk to the centre. I shared a room with six others guys from the truck. First thing I did was to go for my first run since my heel infection and my first for SOUTH AFRICA (72nd run country). It was a great run. Swelling had gone down so the shoe was not causing discomfort.
There was only slight pain but bearable and not a bad sign. I was happy with the views of the sudden mountains hugging the coast and with the whole run. After a welcome wash I headed out to tour the town alone. What a fabulous place. Another holiday town full of very modern, very well-kept homes and streets. Looked like a mix of Europe and Australia. Lots of rendering. The town itself is gorgeous. Overall, the whole place was better than Swakopmund because it was cosier and busier with a spectacular ocean walk that looks EXACTLY like the Bondi to Bronte boardwalk (Photo below). For a split second I thought I was back in Bondi and thought “unreal,
I will have lunch with mum and go back to the truck in the evening”!!! “Marine Drive” curls around the outside of the town ending up in “Markplein”, a big plaza full of shops, cafes and restaurants. In the distance another town at the foot of two huge mountains that literally climb out of the sea. That scene reminded me of Northern Greece around the Corinth Canal. The water was very blue and the haze and cloud hanging around the mountains is certainly reminiscent of Greece. Wow. Greece on one side and Bondi on the other! Perfect! What more could I ask? Blue sky and plenty of warmth. Sat down at a cafe with views of Greece and emailed away… What a relaxing time. Unfortunately the cafe internet was very slow. Too slow to post blog 20 so I took off and found a proper internet cafe. Bingo. It was unreal.
Blog went up in minutes. What a relief! Also answered a myriad of emails and made several payments to complete my Q3 bookwork. Magic. Time saved here means more time in Cape Town. After a successful session at the internet cafe I just had to celebrate with some Calamari from the shop next door. A typical “greasy spooner” but it was flooded with people. Camped myself on my top bunk bed and enjoyed my calamari and South African Sav Blanc until the pizzas arrived at 7pm for a “fun” dinner! T
he hidden gem about this was NO COOK GROUP because it was our turn tonight! We escaped! It was another fun evening of group “bonding” around the pool table with 1980’s music going on from the background TV. Even spoke about how “soiled” our clothes looked and who was going to buy what to replace them in Cape Town. I tried to explain that the dark marks on my armpits, crotch and crack were the result of the antiperspirant spray reacting with the nylon!!! Can’t even remember what time we went to bed but whenever it was it was truly enjoyable!
DAY 155 of 273, Fri 15APR16, 90km, Hostel “Hermanus Backpackers”, Hermanus SOUTH AFRICA (Run2). It was shark time! Pat 6:30am with flippers on to make the 7:15am collection. Nine of us joined another sixteen in a mini-van that made the 45min drive to Kleinbaai. “White Shark Ventures” put on a nice brekkie looking out on the bay. We arrived at 8am and would be out on the water from 9am to noon with lunch back here and back in Hermanus by 1pm. All this for $AUD122. A “cheap thrill”! Our twin 250HP vessel “Megalodon II” did a fine job taking us to a narrow channel between two small off-cost islands approx 7km away. At 50km/h we were there in 15min. Very strong swell and low fog but no wind. The fog would burn off later to reveal a clear blue sky.
For the last 5min of the ride we slowed to 15km/h and dropped a slick made of sea water soaked with mackerel and sardines to attract the sharks. We dropped anchor and the five-person cage was attached to the port-side of the boat. The starboard-side was cleared for vomiting. We all then put on 4mm wet suits with booties and head mask designed to keep the 12C Atlantic at bay! I decided I would film 3 lots of dives before going in myself since I would be dry and it would give me an opportunity to see how the whole thing worked for filing ideas inside the cage. The first five people climbed inside with included goggles and optional hand-held GoPro Hero4 Silver ($AUD25 to rent). I had my own Hero4 Session. A crew member then casts a rope with two big tuna heads attached and presto.
It took only 5min before the first 2.5m long adolescent female “white pointer” appeared. For all of us it looked big but our leader “Gavin” advises us that fully grown females are typically 4m and males 3.5m in length! The world record Great White measured 6.4m in length and weighted 3 metric tons! Jaws, eat your flipper out! The pointers we saw were grey in colour with a white underbelly. Most of the sharks we saw came in from the side to snatch the heads but some came up from the bottom with jaws open and eyes rolled back! These made the best photos and film.
In the meantime, the people inside the cage float vertically with their heads above the water and holding on to an inner rail inside the cage (for obvious reasons). Hold the outside, pat the shark or stick a camera out of the cage means instant return for the whole boat! Another crew member who places you in the cage then shouts “Down” when he or any other crew member sees a shark. The people inside the cage then duck under water to observe the world’s most fiercest predator at work. The reason why this whole thing works is that the shark reckons that the people in the cage are about to snatch the tuna heads so the shark feels challenged and “goes for it”.
If there were no people the shark would “investigate” and “play with the heads” to confirm they can eat it and then go for it. Also, this narrow channel has seals and other large fish in it so it is a common “boulevard of food” for these nomadic creatures who always travel and never stay in one place.
It was now my turn. I put on my goggles and attached the Go Pro above them and turned it on. There is a small shock of cold when you first lower yourself in the 12C water but it is surprising how quickly you adjust. I observed six attempts at the heads. The last one was the best. The heads were in front of me and the shark came towards the cage to get them. The crew then pulls the heads out of the way and the shark smashes into the cage putting his nose INSIDE the cage right next to me on the left side. I leaned sideways to kiss the nose but I remember the rule and pulled back. The shark wriggled around and took some precious film seconds to get his nose out! Perfect! At the time of writing I had not yet checked the film - fingers crossed. I had a total of three dives but none of them beat the “nose incident”. Even people in the craft looking down said that it was a great moment.
There were however close shaves where the shark body rubbed against the cage or the tail whacked the cage. Unfortunately no biting of the cage - this rarely occurs according to Gavin since the shark is not there to attack but to claim the heads before he thinks we will! I was satisfied! It was a great sunny day and everyone had a great time. Full marks to the crew who managed to give everyone (except three, who were sea-sick and did not want to suit-up) a good show. We saw a total of six different sharks (one male, love females). The ride back was nowhere near as up-and-down as the ride over. Lunch was great - a chicken lasagne in individual ceramic squares.
After a closing cup of coffee we were back in the van and at our hostel at 1pm. The coffee and a short nap was enough to revive me for my run. Went off as soon as I arrived. Another good run with still some slight pain from the heeling heel! After my run I decided to pack for Cape Town. There was no one on the truck and I could spread out my contents and devise a more efficient system of packing to support Cape Town (Solo 6) and future solo trips.
The answer was to store anything I did not need in my big 90L pack and have the smaller orange 45L pack empty and ready for content in the large canvass bag which I used when on the truck - a simple transfer that would take 5-10min and presto - ready for solo action! On return it would be just a simple transfer back from orange pack to canvass bag. If I needed anything from the big pack then I would take it as required. The re-pack took 45min and was followed by a shower before making my way to my favourite internet cafe in town. Googled the location of the Apple Store and authorised Panasonic and Sony dealers so that I could visit them tomorrow. Picked up my calamari next door and completed my blogging in the room. Tonight was an extra special treat. Andi/Grant set up a huge cheese and olive starter along with beer and wine whilst the hostel staff cooked us up a rump steak BBQ. It was terrific. Like a huge version of our own “culture club”. We toasted Andi/Grant and our impending entry into Cape Town the next day. The BBQ was very tender and very tasty. Served with roast potato and salad it was very satisfying. The night kicked on with more drinks and reflections on what we had experienced in the last 5mths. I could not recall going to sleep, although many told me the following morning that I sang a few numbers to close what was otherwise a fabulous stay in Hermanus.
DAY 156 of 273, Sat 16APR16, 130km, Hostel “Hermanus Backpackers”, Hermanus to "Hotel on St Georges”, Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA (Solo6, Run3). Today was Cape Town day! Cannot believe it! Cannot wait! Everyone was early for the 8am departure to prove a mutual feeling! On the way to Cape Town we stopped at a small coastal town called “Bettysbaai”, home of the “African Penguin”, otherwise known as the “Jackass Penguin” because it sounds and looks like a donkey when it squeals or yelps!
Totally unique. It reminded me of my "Chinstrap” penguin mates in Antarctica but let me tell you they sound nothing like them. The African Penguin is the only one that breeds on African soil in SOUTH AFRICA and NAMIBIA. They were first spotted here at “Stoney Point” in 1982. There are about 4,000 of them in this area. The good news is that you can get right next to them. They are used to people and come very close. The town and surrounding cliffs remind me of Iceland and Norway - very remote, craggy cliffs, pastel coloured weatherboard houses. From here, Cape Town was another hour drive through spectacular cliffside roads that hug the coast and then all of sudden there it is - Table Mountain emerges. Cape Town suburbs extend 40km from the centre. Lots of overhead electrical lines, industrial areas and modern homes. There are many “gated” communities for the middle class further out and then all of a sudden you have large areas of shanty towns on the approach to Table Mountain. What a contrast.
The city itself is very tight and surrounded by the spectacular geography of Table Mountain (a huge flat granite spur) with Lions Head and Signal Hill being the other two stand-out shapes. We arrived at the Ashanti Hostel (where the group would stay tonight) at 11am and met Riza and her husband Robert in the lobby - a great reunion. I had met Robert at Luton airport, 5mths ago when he farewelled Riza and this seems like a lifetime ago. We had a common thread in this. Riza, Robert, Doug and I then walked 20min to our hotel through the botanical gardens in the centre of town. It was a great intro to Cape Town. A city of old and new, of many different styles of architecture and also many different nationalities. There are black Africans from all over Africa here as well as Dutch, French, Germans, Greeks and Italians. The cafes and restaurants are fancy and remind you of any modern city in the world. This is a civilised place.
Our hotel room on the 8th floor of the ABSA building (left photo) overlooked the city and Table Mountain in the background. It was huge and very American in style. We settled in and I rang the authorised Panasonic and Sony repairers - no answer - they were closed weekends. I then rang the Apple Reseller in the nearby Waterfront Shopping Centre and they had stock of my MAG2 Adapter. So off we went. Doug and I caught a cab there and I bought three more of them since I lost one and had only one left. Without it I cannot charge from the truck or my battery. We then looked around the enormous shopping complex and went outside to feast our eyes on myriads of seafood restaurants, bars and pubs that lined the waterfront complete with a huge observation wheel. This place is called “The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront” or simply “Waterfront” and is twice the size of Sydney’s Darling Harbour.
It was awash with people. I would suggest that we come here for dinner tomorrow (Sunday) to enjoy the throng of a big crowd. After picking up some supplies at “Pick and Pay” we got back to the hotel in time for my 4pm run with Riza and Robert. It was terrific. We ran along the main road that connected the city with Lions Head and Signal Hill and Table Mountain. We got to the bottom of Lions Head at there 5km mark and turned back. There are myriads of fancy restaurants and cafes along the way.
There were also many units reminiscent of seaside suburbs in Sydney. After a quick shower we invited Riza and Robert to enjoy local wines, cheese and olives in our room as we watched the glow of the setting sun on a thin cloud rolling over Table Mountain like it was liquid nitrogen! Awesome site. Awesome wine. We all set out for dinner at around 7:30pm - Long Street was the recommended place to go for city centre eating. I picked out a nice micro-brewery pub which had an upstairs open balcony just like Bourbon Street in New Orleans. We enjoyed cold local beer and more wine and the specialty of the house - curly fries with melted cheddar cheese.
Our pub was not too far from St Georges Cathedral which has a jazz club called “The Crypt” literally in the crypt of the church. It was almost a full house. Lucky for us we got a table immediately, right in front f the band as if we were their relatives or the press! The music was terrific. Piano, double bass, trumpet / trombone and percussion. The singer was slim African lady in her forties with a rugged, rustic voice. The combination of Jazz and Chenin Blanc set the scene of a great night. The other was the lead singer inviting me to sing Happy Birthday to the double bass player. The whole place loved it. It made us life long friends. Let me explain. The table behind us was occupied by a retired couple of 59yrs marriage. Their children have taken over their 200-person plumbing business. She is 85 and he is 82. Veronica and John. She wanted me to sing several numbers. She called out to the manager and said in a heavy SA accent “put him on”!
The best accolade I have ever received from a perfect stranger! She even shouted us some drinks. What a great scene. South African whites and blacks enjoying an evening together! Then mayhem. A fast lazy number that brought THE STAFF out and we danced with them. Girls with big butts! Yes. Not rude. Just fact. This was easily the best night of entertainment for all of us. Our table was so popular that they invited us back for a Tuesday show. We were going to be there….
DAY 157 of 273, Sun 17APR16, 128km, "Hotel on St Georges”, Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA (Solo6). I wanted to get up to run at 6am. But I was too pissed and it was dark until 7am. Our day-long wine tour was starting at 8:20am, so it was too late to pack a run in. I decided that this was rest day and Monday would replace Sunday as my 4th run day in a week under infection - pretty good! Breakfast was amazing. Included in my $AUD40/room rate was a massive English Brekkie for myself and Doug.
Lucky Doug. Gobbled it down and made it in time for pickup at 8:15am by Bruce from “African Eagle Day Tours” in a shiny new 17 seat diesel Toyota Mini-van for our 3 wine region tour. What a day. Our journey took us east of Cape Town towards the legendary wine region of “Stellenbosh” (Stellen = a Dutch governors surname, bosch = bush or forest). There are 16 wine regions in the whole of SA, the most popular of which is Stellenbosh but not the first. That was “Constantia” established in 1652. There are 150 wineries in Stellenbosch.
SA os the 9th largest wine grower in the world. Our first was “Zevenwacht". One million bottles a year production. Not bad. Chenin Blanc is now the most popular variety in SA. It used to be Zinfandel. Why is wine like fashion? I think because it is totally subjective. There is no such thing as "a good wine", but “a wine that you enjoy”!!! Like most wineries in Australia, the wineries in SA have diversified to generate alternate incomes and are growing olives, providing wedding reception facilities and services and B&B style accommodation packages. And it is just as well, since there has been a 4 year drought in these parts and yields are down. The 2016 harvest was particularly bad. Zevenwacht winery was idyllic. Set in rolling green hills with little lakes and an 1800 Cape Dutch style home with thatched roof as the main restaurant. The tasting was exceptional. All seated with a wrapped mini cheese to go with each tasting. We sampled Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Pinotage.
All lighter styles with not a lot of tannins. I learned that most South Africans now like to drink their wines immediately rather than putting them down so many of the reds are lighter. We then travelled a short distance to the town of Stellenbosch itself. Gorgeous. Like a huge Double Bay or Beverley Hills. Immaculate shops, tree-lined streets, fancy cafes and restaurants and lots of high-end souvenir shops. I saw my first super car in Africa here - a convertible Aston Martin DBS.
After 30min we were off again to the wine growing region of “Franschhoek”. The drive in between was breathtaking. “Hells Pass” separates Stellenbosch from Franschhoek. Rugged, sudden cliffs of granite with vineyards extending to their base on slopes that would exhaust most farmers! I have seen many beautiful wine regions in my life but this one is rugged and confronting. The town of Franschhoek was like a mini-Steelenbosch and therefore nicer. One main road with the best of everything on it, cafes, restaurants and shops. I parked myself in a little cafe that served up the best coffee I had to date - a blend of three different beans - Ethiopian, Cameroon and Kenya. 1.5hrs of bliss. On my way back tot he van I saw a white 1984 Lamborghini Countach LP4000S. Only in SOUTH AFRICA. I was wondering if it would happen. It did and I was glad.
For a split second I thought I was in Bowral on a joy ride in one of James Arkoudis’s cars! Our next winery would be in the wine region of “Paarl”. Our winery in Franschhoek region would be the last. Three wineries in three regions named after three towns. Paarl was the smallest of the three and had the same type of set up as the others. The Paarl winery we visited is called “Laborie”. It is huge and old. 59 hectares start in 1691. Very commercial and highly organised. Set against a hill it soaks up the sun like sponge. Sat up high near a balcony overlooking an entire hill of vines. We sampled some bubbly here, made in the classic “champagnoise” style and priced at $AUD10 but tasted like a $AUD50 bully at home. No wonder SA wine is so popular. The other surprise here is the “Alambic Brandy”. A cognac made from double-distilled chardonnay grapes and set on French Oak for 5yrs! Incredible taste.
I could actually taste the chardonnay despite the wood age and spirit. What a unique drop. I bought one for Sparky to thank him for my heel - we would be sleeping there again on our first night towards Cairo. Our last winery “Marianne Estate” in the Franschhoek was the best. The tasting room was very large and modern with excellent views out to the vines and the now setting sun. Yes, we were late but that was good. This winery served "Bintang" or “jerky”, different dried meats to go with each wine: kudu, beef and oryx. The reds were easily the best and the 2012 Pinotage was something else. We all purchased a full glass of this one. Our drive back was in the dark and we arrived at around 7:30pm. Riza and Robert were not hungry so Doug and I decided get some Nando’s and eat back in the room over a couple of movies on the TV and sip the wine that we had bought today...
DAY 158 of 273, Mon 18APR16, 0km, "Hotel on St Georges”, Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA (Solo6, Run4). Riza and Robert were taking a day long organised tour today of the city and Robben Island that they booked a few days ago. Doug and I decided to do this ourselves. After a good morning run around to Lions Head, Doug and I enjoyed another huge English breakfast. Our hotel is part of the huge ABSA Bank Building opposite the central train station. After brekkie I popped upstairs to level 27 of our hotel building to book an appointment with the dentist for tomorrow. I had a sore gum above one of my teeth and I wanted to make sure it was not decay and treat it. Doug and I started our walking tour of the city by dropping off my broken Lumix TZ70 at the licensed Panasonic repairer that DigiTech in Sydney and emailed to me. They asked me to ring them tomorrow morning to find out what was wrong and what they would do to fix it.
Cape Town (Pop 4) is a modern, compact city set out in grid style and easy to walk. The buildings are mix of architectures with many dating back to the 18th and 19th Centuries. There are two main outdoor pedestrian malls and many internal malls with heaps of modern shops. Cape Town is very much a retailers town - I had heard this from the people I worked with at Myer and here I was seeing it first hand. The main department store is “Woolworths” which is more like David Jones, complete with its own high-end food hall. Doug and I visited the Natural History Museum and Planetarium. Very modern and well presented. Large halls showcasing the plant, animals and environmental history of SOUTH AFRICA with full size replicas of sharks, cats and birds. We then walked through the botanical gardens - not many flowers but well-shaded from the now warming sun. T
he best thing about the city is the backdrop spectacle of Table Mountain, Lions Head and Signal Hill. These give it its distinct character and makes for great photos of its buildings. The Town Hall is a palatial visual feast but the Grand Place and Fort nearby are not very interesting. The area around the railway station is congested but you can find almost anything you want. I did. Bought a new pair of ASICS just in case my old pair did not make it to Egypt! Doug also bought some new clothes for home. After dropping these off at the hotel, we cabbed it to The Waterfront for our boat cruise to Robben Island. We almost missed it. Ended up on the wrong side of the port and had to wait for a “swing bridge” to move in place so we could cross from the wrong side to the right one. The cruise out was on a large ferry owned and run by the government (Robben Island Museum). They also run the 2hr tour through the island and prison. No private operators.
The cruise took 45min to travel the 10km to the island in the harbour to the north west. You can easily see Table Mountain from the island - I reminder to the prisoners of the freedom that awaited them. It is much like Alcatraz in this sense and because it is surrounded by 10C water. Only one person has escaped and lived! Robben Island has a population of 230 - mostly the families of the staff that run the tours and take care of the island. There is a small school for infants and primary but high school is on the mainland.
The island is very flat with limited vegetation and lots of lime - this is what the prisoners had to dig up for work. Approx 130 visitors go out in each boat and then climb aboard three big public buses to tour the island. We drove past the village, the cemetery (where prisoners who dies on the island and were not claimed are buried) and the lime mine that all prisoners worked in, including Nelson Mandela. You then end up at the prison and do a walking tour lead by an actual surviving inmate. Ours was 63 yr old “Sparky”, who was incarcerated in 1970 for 7yrs at age 17. He was arrested at a political rally and remembers Mandela. All prisoners here were political prisoners and treated worse than criminals.
On arrival they were placed in solitary confinement for 4 weeks in order to "grind them down” making them physically and mentally weak so that they would not rally other prisoners. Most got 20yr sentences with no clear charge, no lawyer, no trial and no parole. The high risk individuals were place in a very small solitary cell the size of a toilet (like Mandela) and the rest slept 60 to a room no bigger than 2 bedroom unit. Food was poor and in very small quantities. Asians and caucasians got more food than blacks. Often, lunch was just a slice of bread. Beatings were common and if prisoners did not dig up their quota of lime they missed 3 meals in a row. Sparky spoke loud and slow when he told us all of these things.
There was a deafly silence in the 60 person cell as he spoke. The highlight was seeing Mandela’s single cell. He was given a bucket as a toilet, a small stool to use as a desk or sit on and two potato sacks as a bed ad pillow. He lived this way for 18 years from 1963. He was later taken to the mainland prison that we visited in Stellenbosh for the last 9 years before being released in 1990. Sparky also explained to us that many survivors decided to run the tours in order to make peace with he past. It is amazing how calm and reflective he was when he spoke about his ordeal and captors - no anger, no threats. I was impressed. It was a very worthwhile visit.
Doug and I got back to The Waterfront at 7:15pm. We decided to ring the hotel to see if Riza and Robert were back and interested in having dinner at The Waterfront. They were not at the hotel. Since it was late, Doug and I decided to stay, find a restaurant and ring again later. As we were looking around I noticed a bright blue neon sign in the distance with the words “The Greek Fisherman”. That was it. We were going there. I had heard that there were many post WWII Greeks in SOUTH AFRICA with first, second and even third generation children born in the country. As we approached the restaurant I paused in delight. (Left photo: Mandela’s exercise yard & garden)
There was Riza and Robert at the same restaurant drinking wine. What a coincidence. What timing. We greeted each other and sat down together to exchange our day’s events. Riza and Robert had already eaten so they left Doug and I when our food came. We enjoyed a medley of seafood on a skewer washed down by none other than Stellenbosch Gewurtz and Riesling - two wines we could not taste the other day. The Riesling was way to young but the Gewurtz was divine and done very much in the Alsace style. I was in Heaven! Seafood and Gewurtz with the city and Table Mountain spread out before us. It was a fitting way to end a great day.
DAY 159 of 273, Tue 19APR16, 0km, "Hotel on St Georges”, Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA (Solo6, Run5). Today was Doug’s last day in Africa. He was off to Odessa in UKRAINE at 2pm travelling the cheapest possible way: Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Kiev and then a bus. What a marathon. After my run I had brekkie with Doug and farewelled him at around 10:30am. It was sad to see him go. He reminded me so much of my cousin Paris and was good company. Riza and Roberto wanted to spend some time alone so I decided to get on the “Hop on Hop Off Bus” travelling the “red route” along the west coast of the cape via Table Mountain. It was terrific. For only $AUD18 a day or $AUD28 for two days you can travel 6 different routes including wine tasting in Konstantia and a Harbour Cruise off The Waterfront. Amazing value and great if you are alone. I got on the bus at the main stop in Long Street, opposite the repairer that had my camera. I visited them quickly before I boarded and they told me that the camera had malfunctioned due to a large amount of dust in the focusing mechanism. No damage and it would be fixed today for $AUD80. Perfect. I would have a third good camera back.
The ride through the city was great. Sunny with blue skies. Took great photos from the top open deck by sitting at the back and moving from side to side. Table Mountain cable car station had a queue a mile long. From here we dropped down to the coast, hitting it at Camps Bay. What a place. I just had to get off. Huge palatial homes, Porsches, Mercs and BMWs everywhere and a coastline to die for. Huge cliffs rising from the aura green waters and white sand. Even a huge rock pool. This place was dripping with money and opulence. It was like Beverley Hills buy the sea! My next stop was Bantry Bay where I enjoyed an organic coffee - nice.
The afternoon sun was ablaze with heat and light. Got back in the late afternoon and relaxed in my room over some blogging and TV. Tonight we would visit The Crypt again so we got into the mood over Stellenbosch wine with cheese, olives and avocado humus in my room overlooking another fine Table Mountain sunset.
The Crypt was especially glad to see us back. We sat one table back from the front where our favourite local couple, Veronica and John. The musicians tonight were different and exceptional. The sax player was simply divine. The music had everyone in a trance. Add some local wine and good food and it was a winning evening. Then a special treat. Two of the young wait staff, a guy and girl were trainee singers.
She sang jazz. He sang opera. They were terrific. The crowd went wild. By the end of the night we were once agin dancing with the staff and Veronica insisted on us staying at her house. Friends for ever. Riza and Doug promised to visit her but I explained my return to the truck. It was a memorable evening and punctuated for me the importance of visiting the larger cities. The interaction is invaluable. We were all on such a high from this fabulous venue that we kicked on with more wine in my room. What a pity that this room could not fit all of the musicians in it...
DAY 160 of 273, Wed 20APR16, 0km, "Hotel on St Georges”, Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA (Solo6, Run6). Slept in until 8:30am given the night before. Today was mountain day so I preped for my run to and hike up Table Mountain and my paragliding with Riza straight after from either Lions Head or Signal Hill depending on weather! The run to the start of the "Platteklip Gorge" hiking trail up to Table Mountain was 15km and took a little over an hour. It was very scenic since I went via the beaches along Main Road and then passed Lions Head on Fluuk Road. The weather was warm and clear. Had only a little rest when I arrived at the trail and then I was off and up! The 2.1km trail ascending from 150m to 1000m is published at 2hrs. I took 52min and recorded it.
I did not stop, catching my breath on some flat bits. It is steep with constant step up but it is secure and quite safe. No loose rocks. On my way up, I experienced my first example of Cape Town weather. The clouds started to roll in below and the wind picked up. By the time I got to the top, the day I had started in had gone. Sadly the city was not visible, covered in a blanket of low cloud. Luckily I had taken some photos from the cable car station yesterday when it was sunny but they would have been better from the top. It was also much cooler. I had not packed a jacket so I suffered a bot at the top. It is not called “Table Mountain” for nothing - flat as at the top. You can walk around and see both sides of the mountain. Can also get right to the edges with huge drops below. Eventually the cloud started to lick the top and the wind got stronger so I made my way to the cable car.
By now, Lions Head was covered in cloud so I knew paragliding would be cancelled. The cable car was clever. The floor actually rotates while the car moves so that everyone on board can get a view of all sides without moving around. Clever. At the bottom, the nice kiosk lady rang the paragliding company for me and it was confirmed - no paragliding today! I was a little disappointed but I knew East Africa would have many more. Given the weather and the fact that I felt some sprinkles,
I decided to cab it back to the hotel and go to the cinema since it was only 1pm. I arrived at the NuView cinema in The Waterfront around 2;30pm, just in time for the 3pm screening of “London Falling”. Great film. Simple stereotypical plot but fall of action. World leaders attend the funeral of the British Prime Minister in London and are all killed by terrorists except for the US President. Story centres around his rescue. The obsession with US Presidents continues… After the movie I bought a new daypack and adapter and asked the store manager to ring the hotel to see if Riza and Robert were there.They were not so I figured they must be here. There was only one sure fire place to look - The Greek Fisherman. There they were! They laughed when they saw me and I assured them that I was NOT stalking them! We sat down to a Gewurz followed by a 2012 Pinotage with plenty of colour and tannin.
Wonderful. We then stayed for dinner. This time slow cooked oven lamb - excellent. More Gewurtz but the city was shrouded in cloud and it started to rain lightly. Apparently it would rain for the next few days - once again I seem to escape the bad weather right at the last minute - today was my last day in Cape Town - I would join the truck tomorrow for the start of our Nairobi and Cairo legs. Hard to believe that every day from now on would see me one step closer to Cairo and home!
PS: A LITTLE ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA:
SOUTH AFRICA (Pop 49m) is the continents number one economy. It is also the most well-known country politically and geographically to most if us in the west. It was first occupied by the “San” people back in 40,000BC and the “Bantu” settled here around 500AD from the West. Various European nations visited in the 17th Century and settlement started happening in the 19th Century mainly by the Dutch (who evolved into the “Dutch Afrikaners" or “Boers”).
In 1806 the British annexed the Cape and abolished slavery in 1833 much to the discust of the Boers who forced black Africans to work their farms. They revolted and left the main towns and coastlines and headed inland to set up new farms. Sadly this happened at the same time as forced migration of the Zulu people and the two clashed. The Boers set up "independent republics” to sidestep British laws, e.g.: "Orange Free State” and “Transvaal”. In 1867 diamonds were discovered at Kimberley and in 1886 gold in Witwatersrand. The Boer “republics” covered these areas and got flooded by British prospectors and companies. This escalated tensions between the British, Boers and Zulu and resulted in two “Boer Wars”, the first won by the Boers and the second won by the British who took over the Boer republics and instituted their laws.
The mainstream Afrikaners then rose up and formed the Union of South Africa in 1910 which put whites in charge and passed racist laws against the blacks - this was essentially the birth of apartheid. The Afrikaner National Party were brutal and set up “homelands” where they deported blacks. Black retaliation became organised with the formation of the ANC in the early 1960’s and Nelson Mandela was one of its first leaders and was jailed in 1963 with many others. apartheid continued for decades despite UN sanctions but it was not until FW De Klerk became President in 1989 that he instituted huge reform to bring apartheid down with the release of Mandela and others in 1990 and the abolition of the “homelands”.
The first universal (black-white) elections resulted in 1994 which elected Mandela as the first black President of the ANC party which has been winning elections ever since. Mandela handed over in 1997. Although South African politics are stable now, the economy has taken a slide and the rand is devalued. There is still also a huge economic gap between rich the white and poor black South Africans. SOUTH AFRICA is still number 1 in HIV/AIDS deaths and rape but same sex marriage has been legal here for many years. Culturally SOUTH AFRICA is still a mixed salad. The key black groups and languages are: Zulu (24%), Xhosa (18%), Basotho, Setswana, Ndebele and Venda. The white groups are British and Dutch Afrikaners, Muslims from India and Indonesia (called Cape Malays) and the Hindu from India. Indians came here early when the apartheid invited them to prove they were not anti-black to the UN.
Food is also now mixed. During apartheid, the blacks had their maize porridge, the Afrikaners had their dried strips of salted meats and biscuits and the Cape Malays / Indians their curries. Now the “braai” or BBQ unites all palates. A classic fusion of Cape Malay and Dutch Afrikaner is the “bobotie” or curried mince pie topped with egg custard served with yellow rice. The predominant languages are English and Afrikaans = 17th Century Dutch influenced by Indonesian, Indian. The South African wine industry stared in 1659 and is now international but beer is still more popular with SAB Miller being the second largest brewer in the world! SOUTH AFRICA is Africa’s 9th largest country and 5th most populous. It is 5 times the size of the UK, has 600 National Parks and the best time to see wildlife is the coolest, driest months around winter: June to September. Sadly, 25% of the country is useless and only 8% is protected.
PPS: INTERESTING FACT ON AFRICA:
You will hear the term “Big 5” in Africa when everyone talks about wildlife which refers to: Rhinos, Buffaloes, Elephants, Leopards and Lions.
REFLECTION: One of the stand-out experiences of an “overland” trip (meaning: drive, camp, cook, tent) is dusk and dawn and the silence and imagery associated with them. There is something about the rising or setting African sun, its shape, its colour and especially when it sinks below a land horizon completely level with you in the desert. Dawn from an open mozzie tent or the truck beach is even better, especially when the moon is out. You see a huge variety of landscape outlines against the glow of the moon or a yet-to-rise sun. Odd shaped trees, ridges and mountains, flat horizons with the odd dune etc. It feels mysterious. It makes you wonder and it is always here - existing, no matter what we are doing with our busy, often “autopilot” lives back home.
