Africa Adventure, Part XV

Friday, 27 February 2009

Since we didn't need to be at the airport for the flight(s) home until late afternoon, we had one more day of sight seeing to do on the Cape Peninsula. The cape separates False Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. A little farther east, one reaches the Indian Ocean. We had to settle for Cape Point and False Bay.

We drove south from Kalk Bay through Fish Hoek and Simon's Town toward Cape Point. South of Simon's Town is a less populated area of the cape, and from there the Cape Peninsula is all part of Table Mountain National Park. The goal is the end of the peninsula at Cape Point.

As we drove south we passed several beaches. The road goes inland south of Smitswinkel Bay over the hills of the peninsula. We were warned, and there are warning signs, about all the baboons on the peninsula and how pesky they can be. We did not see any. Don't know where they all were. At the southern end of the peninsula, we came to a very famous spot, the Cape of Good Hope, noted as the most southwestern point on the African continent.

We then drove east a little to Cape Point, the end of the peninsula, east and a tiny bit north of the Cape of Good Hope. There is a light house on the point. Actually, two: an old one and a modern one. It's a pretty good climb up to the old one, from which there are great views of the actual point and the crashing surf. Also at the top of the point by the old lighthouse is a sign post pointing to many places around the world with mileage to them (in Km). We had made it as far as we could go on the continent in that direction.

On the drive back up the peninsula, we detoured once to the west to Platboom Beach on Platboom Bay. From there we could look back at the Cape of Good Hope. It was a nice beach on the Atlantic where people had built many cairns from the rocks on the beach. We added one to the collection.

We drove back up the peninsula, retracing the way we had come. Our next destination was Boulder Beach, where there is a large colony of penguins. They were all over the beach, resting, digging in the sand, and swimming in the surf (or at least wading). It reminded us of our penguin encounter in Australia. These are a bit larger and seem to mainly just hang out on the beach. There was also one rock dassey, the elephant relative we had ween in Namibia.

Retracing our route, we returned to Kalk Bay to retrieve our luggage and then head to the airport. While there, we made one last attempt to get an ice cream cone from the Ice Shop, which had been closed every other time we were there. They make very good gelato, and we finally got to try it. Then back to the apartment to retrieve our luggage and head to the airport.

We arrived at the airport, returned the hire car, and checked in for the flights home. It would be another very long day on airplanes. We took off from Cape Town airport and flew over the city another time. This time Table Mountain had clouds on it for the "tablecloth effect." Our last view was of the coast north of Cape Town and Robben Island as we headed out to sea over the Atlantic on the way to Dakar, Senegal via the same route we had come.

The stop in Dakar was longer than scheduled. We're not sure why. That got us into New York late, and we missed the flight back to Portland. They rerouted us through Atlanta to Portland. We arrived home a few hours later than planed, but safely.

It had been a rather amazing and wonderful couple of weeks!

Africa Adventure, Part XIV

Thursday, 26 February 2009

This morning we headed back to The Waterfront for the trip to Robben Island. Robben Island was a prison during the apartheid era for political prisoners. Its most famous inmate was Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned there for 18 of his 27-year imprisonment.

The island also has some interesting natural areas. There is a colony of penguins. There are wonderful views of Cape Town and Table Mountain. But it's mostly fairly barren land. The bus tour takes you around part of the island including a church and a lighthouse among other buildings. You are then dropped off near the cell block prison buildings.

The guide of the prison buildings was a former political prisoner, giving the information an authentic ring. (I don't recall that he told us what his "crime" was.) Some of the guides are former guards.

The guide told us a bit about life in the prison. Everyone had to work, and he had worked in the kitchen and dining hall. At some point on the tour, we stopped at the lime quarry, where everyone did hard labor. The prisoners also used it as a secret meeting place and "school" where they discussed forbidden topics unbeknownst to the guards.

We were shown a typical blockhouse where each prisoner had a grass mat and three blankets, which were his bed. They later added bunk beds in some areas. When we got to Section B, we were shown Mandela's cell, about 3 feet wide and 8 feet long. In it were the "bed" materials, a chamber pot, and, I believe, a chair and small table. It's really hard to imagine anyone living in there for 18 years!

After the boat ride back to The Waterfront, we headed out past the townships toward the Wine Region one more time. Our goal was two highly recommended wineries we didn't have time to visit two days ago. We stopped first at Meerlust, another of the older wineries, and one highly recommended by Glenn and Seamus. Once again we found very good wines at reasonable prices. We also stopped at Vergenoegd. It had interesting old buildings from the Dutch colonial period, but we didn't buy any wine (for a change).

On the way "home" to Kalk Bay we made one more winery stop, at Kroot Constantia, another of the oldest wineries, founded in 1685. This is a large operation, and one of the more prominent wineries in the area. Surprise! More good wine. But we were too late to get to Klein Constantia, nearby, and one of Tim & Venessa's favorites. Next time!

For our last night's dinner in Africa, Seamus & Carol had invited us to their house. We met their housekeeper, who comes in from Khayelitsha to work for them. We had barbecued chicken, more good South African wine, and finished with Koeksisters, a wonderful South African dessert from the Malay. A wonderful final evening in Cape Town!

Africa Adventure, Part XIII

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

After breakfast in our self catering apartment, we went into Cape Town. We were headed for Observatory, a neighborhood that has a less the perfect reputation. Our goal was Mnandi Textiles, a shop that specializes in hand made cotton clothing. We were looking forward to meeting Ilse, the proprietor, since we had some items from her shop that Tim & Venessa had brought back for us on previous trips. She greeted us warmly at the door, and spoke well of Tim and of Seamus, who gets all his shirts from her. After looking around the shop, we each picked out a shirt. (I'm wearing it as I write this.) I almost ordered another one which Tim & Venessa would pick up and bring home, but decided to buy only one. Like the wine, these are very reasonable items, especially considering they are hand made.

We then headed for The Waterfront, an area of shops, restaurants, and hotels on the waterfront. There is still some shipping and ship building activity in the area. It also affords good views of Lion's Head and Table Mountain, and is the departure point for tours of Robben Island. We bought our tickets for the next day's tour of Robben Island and had lunch. There was a group of 12 men providing entertainment of song and dance. I think they are there often. It was fun to hear them. There was also a marimba band at another spot. All in all, a lively place.

From there we headed across town to Table Mountain, a large flat-topped mountain in the city. It is a large national park, including much land down Cape Peninsula. There are often clouds on the top of the mountain and flowing down the side a bit, known as the "tablecloth effect." It was clear the day we were there with no clouds around. After parking the car and getting a card from the car guard on duty, we headed to the cableway station for the ride to the top. The cars are round and make one full revolution as they go to the top of the mountain.

At the top there are several Km of trails, as well as the usual gift shops and restaurant. It is the largest flat area at the top of a mountain that we have visited, I believe. Very interesting, and wonderful views of Cape Town and the surrounding region. In one direction there is a series of mountain tops heading into the distance toward Cape Peninsula known as the Twelve Apostles. On another side two girls were getting instructions and help as they were about to Abseil (like rappelling) down the side of the mountain. We walked a large loop over a little less than half the top of the mountain. It was an interesting experience.

After a refreshing snack, we took the cableway to the bottom, rather than hiking down. The car guard had done his duty, and our car was still there, unscathed. We headed back to Kalk Bay for a relaxing evening at "home."