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."

Africa Adventure, Part XII

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Today we headed for the Cape wine areas at Paarl, Stellenbosch, and vicinity. They make very good wine at very reasonable prices.

Our first stop was in Stellenbosch for breakfast. We ate at a deli/bakery that had outside seating. The weather was very pleasant.

After breakfast we headed out to find the wineries we had plotted, with help from Tim and Venessa, as well as Seamus, and Glenn. We had lots of good tips to go on. Our first stop was at Kanonkop a little north of Stellenbosch. They have some good wines and an interesting winery, with an art gallery. It was also interesting to see all the bottles stacked in the cellar. Of course, we bought a couple bottles, and a carrier for six bottles. For fun we checked on shipping to home, and found it to be excessively expensive. It was a good start to the day.

From there we continued the trek heading toward Paarl. We next stopped at Fairview, known for it goat cheese and wines with bad puns for names. Outside the tasting room is the Goat Tower. In the tasting room there is both wine and cheese tasting. The cheeses were very good. The wine is good also. They even export a couple of wines to the US (OK, here it comes) called Goats-Do-Roam. The wines are pretty good, but the pun is terrible. We added to our collection with a bottle, but not the ones we can get at home.

The next stop was just a little down the road at Landskroon. This is a much smaller winery, more like many here at home. And the wines were very good. Of course we bought a bottle or two.

We headed north toward Wellington, north of Paarl. We stopped at Nelson Creek, which was recommended by both Seamus and Tim. However, the regular person in the tasting room was off for lunch break, and the lady didn't seem to know the tasting process. So, unfortunately we moved on without tasting.

Paarl is a bigger town, with crowded traffic. We only drove through and headed south toward Franschhoek. We detoured over to one of Tim & Venessa's favorites, Backserg. They were roasting lamb on a spit and serving lunch on the lawn . That was too good to pass up. And their wine is good, too. We had some with lunch, and then bought some to take.

We headed down to Franschhoek to find a couple more wineries. In the end we only stopped at one which was actually a champagne cellar, Haute Cabriere. Since sparking wine is not real high on our list, we passed on tasting. However, it was a great setting with good views of the mountains.

We headed back toward Stellenbosch. About half way there, we stopped at Boschendahl, one of the oldest wineries in the area, founded in 1685. That's right, more than 300 years ago. They do their wine tasting as flights at picnic tables. So I had a flight of about eight wines. (Remember, you get only a very little bit of each.) But, of course, it was another very good winery. And in a very nice setting with interesting old buildings.

There were three more wineries we hoped to visit on the way back to Kulk Bay. The first we came to was Spier.We got to the tasting room a few minutes after they closed. But Spier is also noted for its Cheetah preserve. It's part of a cheetah recovery and conservation effort. The cheetahs, some needing rehabilitation, are in enclosures. You can go inside with a guide to get very close to them, even "petting" them. We didn't.

By now it was too late to get in to any other wineries, so we headed "home" to Kalk Bay. It had been a very nice day of site seeing and wine tasting. And we confirmed that South African wines are very good and very reasonable.

On the way we saw several trailers full of freshly picked grapes, and, of course, workers walking along the road and riding in the back of small pickup trucks. When we got back to Kalk Bay, we walked into town for dinner. We ate at the highly recommended Olympia Cafe, a popular and therefore crowded restaurant. It was very good, and ended a very nice day in the South African Cape wine country.

Africa Adventure, Part XI

Monday, 23 February 2009

Today we head back to South Africa after a wonderful nine days in Namibia with Tim, Venessa, Abigael, and Lillian. We have a 10:30 flight from Windhoek to Cape Town. After breakfast with the family, Venessa led us to the edge of town and onto the right road out to the airport. It's about 35 Km out of town in the bush, and is a nice drive.

We returned the car and had to fill out an accident report for the missing license plate and broken mirror. Then we checked in for the flight to Cape Town. South African Express is a branch of South African Airlines which reminded us of Horizon: small plane, good service, wine, etc. We had a very unusual experience with the flight. Since everyone with reservations was there, we left Windhoek 30 minutes early! There were only about a dozen of us on the flight. I bet that never happens to us again.

The flight back to Cape Town was good and uneventful. We saw the same scenery as when flying up, but it was a bit hazier. Our approach to Cape Town was not nearly as spectacular as our arrival a week and a half earlier.

After retrieving our luggage we got our hire (rental) car, which was a Mercedes. The agent gave me a choice of three cars, so I took the Mercedes. It was a small economy one, but nonetheless a Mercedes. We headed back to St James to Seamus and Carol's house. Seamus had offered us a Townships tour. His nephew was there to go with us. We went in Seamus's car and drove through three townships in Cape Town. There are rules to follow when visiting these areas. Photography is OK, but, or course, don't invade someone's privacy. If possible ask permission. And if there is a car jacking, walk away from the car without looking back at the person. You don't want them to thick you could identify them to the police. Seamus has never had that problem, but just in case . . . We started in Langa, a township closest to the city centre. This was known as a middle class township, but certainly not what we would consider a middle class neighborhood. A car full of whites didn't seem to draw any particular attention.

Our second drive through was Nyanga, a little farther out from the city centre. Following the pattern that the townships get poorer as you move away from the center of the city, this was poorer looking than Longa. We simply drove through Nyanga, also. Then headed a bit farther east to one of the largest townships in Cape Town, Khayalitsha.

It would have been interesting to visit a home, but that had not been arranged. We did see several small stores, and a few other businesses, like a building supply store that looked to have all used and recycled materials out on the street. The most interesting was an open meat market where they sold both raw and cooked meet. There were many barbecues made from drums, mostly in one area. There was also an open market in the bus station area which had a variety of household goods.

We made two stops in Khayalitsha, the first at an after school study center, where college students come to tutor. There is also a library and a computer lab. The school term had just started that Monday, so they were mostly doing organizational things. We talked with the director. Seamus particularly wanted us to see the computer lab. It was pretty well furnished, and they have classes for all levels. His reason for singling it out was that he said Tim had brought the first four computers to start the lab several years ago. It was good to see it pretty well equipped and well used. The library had an interesting collection of books, children's to adult, all well used.

Our next stop was at a health/senior center that Seamus had worked with. The director greeted us warmly and gave us a tour. We met some of the people who come for services. Things seem fairly normal in these centers, but driving through the township gives you a very real feeling of the poverty and extreme unemployment. Those that do have jobs travel to them by van and pickup truck. We saw 20-plus people in 15-passenger vans and several people crowded into the back of small pickups. No seatbelt laws here! But at least they are working and trying to support themselves.

After the tours we headed back to St James. There we retrieved out car and headed a couple of kilometres down the road to Kalk Bay and the apartment we had rented for the week. It was on the side of the hill with a view out over False Bay. That view provided magnificent vistas for beautiful sunrises over the bay. It was a "self catering" apartment, which meant it had a kitchen to cook our own meals, a sitting area, a bedroom, a bath and a sleeping area. It really was a furnished apartment and not just a hotel room. Very nice and very reasonable.

We walked to "downtown" Kalk Bay to explore and find a restaurant for dinner. There were several good choices. This was going to be great place to make our exploring headquarters!

Africa Adventure, Part X

Sunday, 22 February 2009

After a lovely light breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and met Tim & Venessa and the girls for the drive back to Windhoek. The road follows basically the same route as the train, heading east toward Okahonja and then south into Windhoek.

Leaving the coastal desert, we headed back into the brush. There were some very interesting mountains off in the distance. The road passes through some hilly country. There are also a few small towns on the road. We stopped in at the OK Market in Karabib for a coffee date. This is a typical town in Namibia, just a wide spot in the road.

After we parked near the market on the "wrong" side of the road, a friendly gentleman from the town let us know to move the cars, because they do ticket you for that violation. After re-parking, we headed into the market for our coffee date. It was an interesting place, since it was really a General Store with a bit of everything in addition to the groceries and coffee bar.

A little down the street was an African crafts store, which looked a bit like a museum, too. They had many of the usual things we had seen many places, and a few unique items. A couple of blocks away was the church in town, a Lutheran one of course. And across the street from the store was the Club Western, a bar with loud country-western music. It seemed a bit out of place.

We continued toward Windhoek. There was road construction going on, and I managed to hit one of the posts to mark the edge of the road. It cracked the housing on the rear view mirror on the left side. Now we had two problems with the car, since we had lost the front license plate in Etosha!

The rest of the drive was good and uneventful. We arrived back at the Foundation House in Windhoek with time to rest a bit, and get cleaned up for our final dinner in Namibia.

That evening we went to Orapoko Game Reserve for dinner and a chance to see lions, even if not free range lions. The lions range free within a compound, and come to be fed in the evening. After some late afternoon libations, we rode out to the feeding area in safari trucks and then hiked a couple hundred metres. There is a built up barrier with viewing openings in it for viewing the lions. They have added electrical fence at the openings since the last time Tim & Venessa were there. Which is a good thing, since you are only about five feet from the lions when they come over to look at you.

At first there was only one large male waiting for his dinner. The females stay back until he's had most of his dinner, an antelope leg. After the two females show up and look over the people, the workers throw them some meat which they grab and head off to eat without the male bothering them. They are all magnificent animals. And a lot safer than if you met one in open range.

We rode the safari trucks back to the lodge where we had dinner reservations. Dinner was a grand celebration of Tim's birthday, and the wonderful ten days we had spent with them in Namibia. It ended with a flaming dessert. It confirmed that I really like the taste of African game, especially Kudu.

Back at the house, it was time to pack our bags for the next part of the adventure in South Africa. We stayed up late for our last evening with the girls.

African Adventure IX

Saturday, 21 February 2001

The morning started by going through Swakopmund to a siding in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. This is an area of huge red sand dunes. The train stopped and everyone got off to play in the sand. That meant walking across the desert to the base of a very large red sand dune. Led by a guide from the train, we climbed the dune, going up the slope on one end. It was interesting to walk in the soft red sand. From the top one could see the coast (a little) and red desert all around.

Going down was fast and fun. You simply run down the side of the dune, a very steep slope. It's much faster going down! And your feet sink into the sand up to your knees as you run down. It's a fun and unique experience. After walking across the desert back to the train, we returned to Swakop to disembark.

Once we got the cars off the train car, we were ready to continue the adventure. We had met a gal from Australia who never spends winter anywhere. She is an author of children's books and travels most of the time. She had been in Namibia for several weeks already, and was planning to stay in Swakopmund for a couple of months. We gave her a ride to her hotel. It was interesting to visit with her.

We headed south out of town to Walvis Bay. Since we were on the west coast of Africa, it seemed much like driving along the coast here (except on the wrong side of the road), and there was desert and sand dunes to the east along the coast.

Walvis is a more industrial town. It also has some very nice housing on the south side on the beach. Along here we saw white flamingoes in the surf and lagoons. They looked a bit strange after the pink flamingoes we're used to in Florida. Someone told us their color is determined by what they eat, and when the shrimp are plentiful they turn more pink. I'll take their word for it.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the water. I'm guessing it's quite lively in the evening. We had seen many people lined up with buckets and other containers at a fire station, and wondered why. At the restaurant they didn't serve water and asked us not to use the rest rooms. We also saw restaurant employees filling large containers with water out of the surf. It turns out that the city water supply reservoir had become muddy and not suitable for use because of the very heavy rains a day or two before. So the fire station or the beach were the only place to get any water, and the beach water was not drinkable.

It was a very nice lunch with a view, since it was built on a pier over the water. But we didn't drink the water!

After lunch we headed back up the coast to Swakop. We checked into our hotel, The Secret Garden Guesthouse, a very nice place. Tim's family was at another hotel a few blocks away. We wanted to explore the town a bit since we had read that it has become a real resort area and retirement home area, especially for Germans. But almost everything closes about 2PM on Saturdays. We found a few places open and then walked along the shore. The municipal pier was a good place to see the town. There was a large park along the coast. Tim and Venessa took the girls to the aquarium where they saw some feeding time. In the park at the beach a group of people were practicing with their dogs on sort of steeplechase course. It was interesting to watch.

We had a late afternoon coffee date near one end of downtown. There was also a wood carvers' market set up in a large parking lot. We didn't go through it because they were closing down for the day, and we had bought our wood carvings in Okahodja. We had dinner in a restaurant close by on a pier overlooking the beach. It was very casual and nice.

After dinner we played in the park next to the restaurant which had a unique marry-go-round. It hung from a center post and spun unevenly. The girls had fun on it. Lillian wanted to swing, and there was a little boy there whom Venessa gave her take home dinner leftovers to. After a bit, they headed back to their hotel, and we walked on the beach. Karen got her feet wet in the South Atlantic. We stayed at the beach to watch the sunset, which was very nice, before heading back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel we completed the lovely, quiet evening.