Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
So here we are, we set off for our short trip into Cape Town. I felt quite sad to be leaving the truck and the group after spnding three whole weeks together you kind of become used to your own small space on the truck, it felt secure... like home. So as we drove nearer and nearer to Cape Town table mountain started to creep into view and what a sight it was.
It was a strange feeling to describe really apprehension, sadness and excitement all at the same time. From this point on I would have nobody telling me when to get up, what to eat or what we would see which was nice but also daunting and when we got to the hostel I felt for a brief moment like a fish out of water really. I had all this spare time and I had to fill it. This feeling I was glad to say only lasted for a micro minute and then my head began filling with all the things that I could possibly do, brilliant.
The one main problem... carrying your backpack around, what was that all about, the big blue truck had been doing all of that hard work for me. Goodness it was heavy I dont know what on eart was in ti... had someone put bricks in there while I wasnt looking.
So I had 6 days in this city. Yes you read right 6 days in one place what a luxury, and how action packed they were. The first afternoon was spent just doing general things like getting ourselves established in our little apartment type set up doing washing and shopping and general domestic things like that, very exciting I know but absolutely necessary as we had spent the last three weeks in dust and dirt and sand so you can only imagine the apparition that may present itself before yo in the the form of me who hasnt washed their clothes properly for the last few weeks, mmm attractive I hear you cry.
So anyway that boring task out of the way the very next day we set about exploring the city that is Cape Town. Cape Town is the capital city of the western cape mcuh loved and praised by many of the locals Cape Town is considered to be one of the worlds most awesome cities. Now me being not much of a big city person I found it hard to see at the start but when I actually opened my eyes and saw Table Mountain towering 1000 ft into the sky and the harbour and the beaches I began to see why this may be the case.
Despite the pride with which some locals speak about Cape Town there is no denying the tempestuous history that has made this city what it is today, whilst some rave about the city others speak of the lost vibe that once flooded the ton only to be lost with the onset of segregation. Despite its muddled history Cape Town is a cool place to hang out for a few days which is exactly what we did.
In the 6 das we spent here we hopped on the city sight seeing tour to get our bearings, walked up and down the esplanade from sea point to the quayside on several occasions, wandered around the sunday market while our Australian friends went on a mega shopping spree buying some awesome pieces of art work, I was very jealous that I was unable to buy such things as I was not heading home anytime soon.
One of the highlights of Cape Town was heading to the summit of table mountain. Now table mountain scales to a modest 1000m, pretty impressive for a mountain set slap bang in the middle of a city. From the top you can see full circle, and to be honest the sights are pretty outstanding. Such sights include Robben Island, the twelve apostles and some of the many beaches that hug the city that sprawls out before you. Also on offer at the top is abseiling and hiking galore.. Now we did do a short hike after much pointing,gawping and picture taking in typical tourist fashion. We also took time to appreciate the cafe at the top, the weather was clear the sun was setting and the long island ice tea was potent, 6 shots for about 4 pounds, it was very nice.
Other sights that we took in over the next few days included the inside of a rikki- this is a mini bus taxi which was one of our main modes of transport. Now you may look at the word rikki and think ah, rickety. Now this may not be far from the truth, some of the minibus taxis were of a questionabe state but hey for 2 rand (there is 14 rand to the pound) you cannot really complain. I would say the quality of the journey is also dependant on your driver and his co pilot in the back, the one who almost throws himself out of the taxi trying to et people in them. They can either be very quiet or they are offeing to take you on their own personal tour... you can imagine that I politlely declined screamng inside my head to get me out of there as the driver zips in and out of rush hour traffic. On the whole they were ok, just never get one on your own.
We also went to Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held over a course of 27 years. It really was quite an emotional experience hearing first hand from one of the ex prisoners their daily routines and the way they were treated..... difficult to imagine it happening in my life time although im sure all sorts of similar things are going on elsewhere. It is definitely worth a visit if you ever venture that way. There are also pengins on the island which is quite cool, and also if you loiter enough at the back you will end up on the retro type school bus which is far more fun than your regula coach to tour around the island.
Kirtensboch botanical gardens was also on the list to do. The gardens are set on the eastern slopes of table mountain filled with a massive number of indigeonous plants, a cool place to go and chill out and people watch for a bit. Take a picnic and your book and you will be set for the day.
Cape of Good Hope was also ticked off the list. Kirst and I got on a tour bus where we met two brits from wakefield who were particularly hung over from the night before so their suffering provided much entertainment during the long journey, they were good lads really. The tour was good in that it showed you the development of the infrastructure of a country recovering from segregation, however although people are becoming more wealthy their established communities and social networks stops them from leaving so amongst the shacks you can see houses being built.It truly is a starkly contrasting sight. The actual Cape of Good Hope Nature reserve is a cool place, offering hiking and mountain biking nd swimming to name but a few activities. The group got a chance to mountain bike only there were not enough helmets. So us Brits being the polite ones knoing how to queue and all waited.....then there were no helmets. ou could say we were crazy but every person without a helmet was a brit.
I think it is always interesting going on a group tour , you see some daft people. For example we were cycling along and we see some baboons in the road. This is pretty cool but to drop you bike in the middle of the road which is over the crest of the hill with a 50 mph speed limit is not great but these people did not seem to be engaging that this was not a great idea!!!! Needless to say I made tracks as I did not want to be a part of the group that had some interaction with a car or its angry driver.
Other than that I made a few visits to a cafe called Lolas on long street. A simple but retro type cae which serves awesome cakes and smoothies, mmm mmm I spent a few hours people watching it was great.
Although I had good fun in Cape Town I was ready to move on after nearly a week in a big city. The garden route awaits.
- comments