The Flight Over (and a bit about South Africa)
We left Sydney and flew direct to Johannesburg. It was a 13 hour flight and I got no sleep thanks to it being Richard’s first time on a plane and him not sleeping. He was pretty good on the plane, though. I though being cooped up for that long might have sent him a bit crazy but he coped really well, watching the in-flight kid’s shows and doing puzzles.
South Africa is divided into 9 provinces and has 11 official languages (Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu) and many residents speak at least 3 (their tribal language, Afrikaans and English).
The motto for South Africa is “unity in diversity” and it has been a long time coming to this. For a country of nearly 50 million people, the majority being black, it has seen a lot of trouble and discrimination by the minority on the majority. Thankfully, with the abolition of apartheid, this beautiful country is now moving towards being more unified and allowing greater diversity to flourish.
Modern humans have lived in Southern Africa for 100,000 years but the first Europeans to “discover” South Africa were the Portuguese, yet it was the Dutch and British who would shape much of South Africa’s history. The discovery gold and diamonds led to the Anglo-Boer War. The Boer republics were the first to legislate legally institutionalised segregation (which later became known as apartheid) as early as the 1880s. There were three distinct classes – White (at the top of the pecking order), Coloured (made up mainly of Asian immigrants) and Black (the Native African Tribes) – and the rights and restrictions for each class varied widely.
In 1994, the ANC (which had been seen as a terrorist organisation by the Apartheid Governments and of which Nelson Mandela was a member) won the first democratic election in South Africa. The country dismantled the discriminative legal system and rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations, from which it had been banned under its apartheid government.
Today, South Africa is a land of contrast, from the vibrant Tribal huts and dances to the grey and crime-ridden streets of the inner-city. It is a developing nation trying to sustain its traditional identity while affording its people humane living conditions, with fresh water at a premium in a country which has over a million square kilometres of land and a negligible water area.
Day 1 - Johannesburg
We were met at the airport by the hotel shuttle bus and also met some of our tour group. We were staying at the Wanderers Protea Hotel which was on the other side of the city to the airport so we got to see a little of the city as we drove through.
Jo’burg is one of those places that you hear a lot of terrifying stories about. I can tell you that most of those stories are justified. As we drove along the thing that struck me was the security. Not that there were people walking around with semi-automatics or anything like that, just the level of personal security was intense. 6 or 8 foot high walls with not only barbed wire or razor wire (sometimes both) but electrified fences on top of the walls was the norm. A lot of the streets were gated communities with guards (usually armed) and very high fences and gates.
I was thankful to be in a mini-bus because Jo’burg if the carjacking capital of the world and I would’ve been petrified to drive myself around that city, especially with all the construction going on for the World Cup.
Our hotel was so named as it is just down the road from Wanderers Stadium (for all you cricket buffs). It was a nice hotel and before we all retired for the night we met our Tour guide (Chris) and the rest of our group. There were 19 of us in total and for anyone who knows me, you’ll know how bad I am with names so it took me a while to get to know everyone’s names.
Day 2 - Johannesburg to Kruger National Park
In the morning we met our bus driver (Alan) and left for Kruger National Park. We drove past a housing development which the government has commissioned. This is designed to provide affordable housing for the populations currently living in shanty towns or on the streets. It is quite often the first time these people have had access to running water and/or electricity. They are very basic houses, often with only 3 or 4 rooms but it is a vast improvement on their previous living arrangements. It is both a wonderful and terrible thing to see. It is wonderful that the government is doing this to improve the lives of the people and that the money is going to the right places. It is terrible that it has to happen on this sort of scale.
The major roads in South Africa (including the one we spent travelling on for a lot of our trip) are toll roads. The tolls are slightly higher that here, averaging out to about $5 for a car, but not much. A lot of the distance the roads (even the toll roads and other highways) are one lane. It was quite common for us to be travelling at 100kph in the breakdown lane to let the cars (going 120kph) pass. Another common sight was hitchhikers. These weren’t just backpackers or the poor, we saw guys in suits with briefcases, pregnant women and children all hitchhiking. This stems from the fact that many of the people who work in the city or its surrounding suburbs are living in the townships quite a distance away. If they can’t afford a car, which many of them can’t do, they take the bus or the taxi services. The taxi’s from the townships are set an area and cannot go out of their area, even if their fare wants to so the passengers must get out of the taxi at the end of it’s area and find a new taxi. So many of the hitchhikers are not really hitching, they are hailing a taxi or mini-bus taxi to take them on the next leg of their journey.
Paper is a big commodity in South Africa and we passed many pine plantations and several paper mills. The big problem they have with trees is from Australian Natives which do very well in South Africa and were brought in as wood supply when they cut down the native forests. They Australian Natives have now become a bit of a pest species and there are concerted efforts being made, especially in the National Parks to remove non-indigenous plants and to replace them with African Natives.
As we drove along, the other thing that is noticeable is the number of roads-side stalls and markets. Even in the cities they are everywhere. Some sell local produce, some live animals such as sheep and chickens, some sell curios and trinkets. There are also a lot of road-side car wash businesses.
We travelled across the Gauteng Highveld and descended into the subtropical Lowveld region of Mpumalanga before arriving at Kruger National Park in the early afternoon and drove though in our tour bus to get to our hotel. Unfortunately our tour bus wasn’t allowed on the dirt roads so we had to stick to the tarmac but we still saw a lot of the animals we wanted to see. The first animals we saw were a group of Giraffes eating leaves about 100m from the road. We then went on to see Elephants, Warthogs, Waterbucks, Impalas, Zebras, Rhinos, Hippos, Monkeys and a lot of different birds.
Kruger National Park consists of more than 2 million hectares, boasts more than 146 mammal species, 507 bird species and 400 tree varieties. The aim of most tourists entering Kruger is to see the big 5 – lion, rhino, elephant, leopard and buffalo – and they are named not because they are the 5 biggest animals but because they are the 5 most dangerous to hunt if you’re on foot.
Our hotel was the Kruger Gate Protea Hotel. We got told on arrival not to feed the monkeys and that a few days earlier they’d had a visit from one of the big cats so not to go wandering about at night, especially by yourself. There was a buffet dinner and on the menu – Impala meat. Those cute little things we’d seen running about all over the place. It was an average meat, not my favourite but certainly not one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten.
Day 3 – Kruger National Park
I am not a morning person. Getting up at 4 in the morning to go on safari is worth it, though. It was a hot day (39 degrees) and the tour group were supposed to be going in open sided 4x4 vehicles. 16 of our 19 went in the open vehicles. Mum, Richard and I had to travel in the air-conditioned mini-bus because Richard was too small to go in the open vehicle. What a shame! Lucky for us the mini-bus was allowed on the dirt roads, unlike our tour bus, so we saw everything that everyone else saw, from the comfort of the air-conditioning.
We saw some amazing animals, many of the same one we’d seen the day before but we could get closer to them in the cars than in the tour bus. We were lucky enough to see three of the big cats (a pride of Lions, a Cheeter and a Leopard) which was really wonderful. Our mini-bus driver (Edward) was awesome and pointed out things we would never have seen if it weren’t for him.
Seeing a pregnant Zebra crossing the road right near us was fantastic. Seeing a waterhole with animals drinking from it while a crocodile is submerged not 20m from the waters edge was phenomenal. Seeing the mostly devoured carcass of a giraffe in the grass was amazing.
I’m glad we had Edward to show us all the things in the park. It is possible to self-drive but, when even the guides have trouble seeing the animals, what chance have you got when you have to concentrate on driving and looking for animals.
Day 4 – Kruger National Park to Pigg’s Peak
The next day we were travelling to Swaziland, a land-locked country which prefers the currency of South Africa to its own even though they are of equal value. It was quite quick going through border control; they seem to be more concerned about the people trying to get out than the people trying to get in.
Pigg’s Peak was founded as a gold mining town and named after one of the early residents, William Pigg. The main source of industry is now plantations. We had a fantastic view to the mountains from our hotel (the Pigg’s Peak Orion Hotel and Casino) until the clouds rolled in and the mountains, and the hotel we were staying in, were enveloped. We stopped at a road side market to have a look and I bought a couple of stone souvenirs (an egg and a hippo). These two items had taken the seller (who was also the craftsman) a day and a half to make. The price I payed – about R100, the equivalent of less than $20.
Day 5 – Pigg’s Peak to St Lucia
We were going back into South Africa and onto St Lucia but before we left Swaziland we stopped at a glass blowing factory, very hot and very noisy and a candle making factory. For R10 (less than $2) one of the workers made Richard a Giraffe’s head candle and even let Richard put the eyes in. If you think Richard wanted to give it to me to put away, you’re very wrong. I had to tell him it would melt to get it out of his hands. We also bought a fantastically coloured elephant candle. If I’d had the money I would have bought everything in the shop, it was awesome.
We also drove past the Somhlolo (Swaziland) National Stadium. Compared to the huge structures being built in South Africa, this was tiny. It would compare, capacity-wise, to an NRL club home ground being that it holds 20,000 people. It was built in 1968 and named after King Somhlolo who moved his people into the area that is now Swaziland.
The border crossing back into South Africa from Swaziland took considerably longer than the previous crossing into Swaziland. Where we crossed the border brought us into the Kingdom of the Zulus – KwaZulu Natal Province – and we made our way to St Lucia. KwaZulu Natal is one of the smallest provinces yet one of the most densely populated. It is also home to the Zulu monarchy.
We arrived at our hotel in St Lucia, the Seasands Lodge, and promptly went for a swim. The gardens around the hotel were idyllic and it was nice to laze in the pool and enjoy the view. Upon arrival we’d been told that while the crime rate was very low in St Lucia it was still not safe to walk the streets at night. The reason? Hippos. So you can imagine that it was with some trepidation that we walked down to the main street for dinner. We didn’t meet any hippos on the way back to the hotel, only Alan the bus driver heading into town to the pub.
Day 6 – St Lucia
In the morning, Chris took us on a guided walk through the forest to the estuary. Richard especially liked this because he got to run around a little and Chris let him pretend to be tour guide.
If you look through the photos you’ll notice Richard with man, also called Richard. They became firm friends based purely on the fact that my Richard liked the fact there was someone else called Richard and big Richard (who was missing his grandkids) got to act like a big kid. So there is a picture of the two of them on this walk, hand in hand, very cute.
At the conclusion of our walk we came to the mouth of the river and there, on one of the sandbanks in the river, were a group of crocodiles sunbaking. Of course, we’d seen the signs saying “beware of crocodiles” but to actually see them, and so many of them, was truly breathtaking.
In the afternoon we went on a cruise up the river. Again we saw a lot of different birds, from the small Kingfisher to the enormous Goliath. We also saw some more crocodiles and some hippos frolicking.
That night we all went as a group to dinner at a local restaurant. Mum got adventurous and tried a Crocodile Curry. The food was brilliant but the service was the poorest I’ve every experienced. We were, apart from a couple, the only people in the place and it took over an hour for the first meals to arrive. Mum was the last to get hers, over two hours after she ordered it. Richard fell asleep before he even got his.
Day 7 – Shakaland
After St Lucia we made our way to Shakaland. This is a massive tourist attraction but it is also the home of some of the people who work their. It is an authentic Zulu village with extra traditional-style buildings added on as accommodation for tourist, a small cinema for educational purposes, etc, and it was the location for the movie “Shaka Zulu”.
Shakaland is named after King Shaka, the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom. It is widely believed that he is solely responsible for uniting the different clans to consolidate the Zulu Kingdom. He was known for his military genius and the absolute brutality of his reign. He was eventually assassinated in 1828 having been in power for approximately 10 years and though his actual year of birth is not known it is thought that he was no older than 47 years at his death.
We were taken on a tour of the village by a gorgeous Zulu man whose name I can’t pronounce or spell. About half way through the tour Richard made friends with a Zulu baby and they walked hand in hand for most of the rest of the tour. It was absolutely adorable.
We got to taste Zulu beer, which was revolting, and the Zulu tribal members put on a dance exhibition which was amazing. It was loud and fast and just full on. There was a little Zulu boy who joined in, too, and he was fantastic.
After Shakaland we drove to Durban. Like in Jo’burg, we were told that the streets were not safe after dark. Mum, Richard and I decided it’d be a good idea to stay in the hotel (Edward Protea Hotel) and order room service. We’d also been told that the guys who operate the rickshaws will demand money if you take a photo of them. I figured if they didn’t know they couldn’t demand anything so I took a photo of one from our hotel window.
Durban, as it is now, was founded in 1824 by British soldiers from a land grant given to them by King Shaka (see above). They named it Durban after Sir Benjamin d’Urban, the then governor of the Cape Colony.
Day 8 – Durban to Coffee Bay
We left Durban and travelled into the more rural areas along the Eastern Cape (also known as the Wild Coast) towards Coffee Bay, nestled into the heart of the old Transkei region (pronounced Tran-sky, meaning “beyond the Kei river”).
The road from Durban to Coffee Bay is not too bad. That is, until you get to the turn off for Coffee Bay. Alan said it was going to get bumpy but he’d try to avoid as many potholes as he could. He was true to his word, but it meant driving on the wrong side of the road for about half the time. Richard thought he’d count the potholes. He gave up when he got to 100. That was after about 5 minutes of driving on this road. We were on the road for about an hour.
We stopped the bus about 15 minutes away from Coffee Bay, just on the side of the road, and Chris got out – you should have seen the children come running. We piled off the bus and Chris handed out packets of biscuits so we could give them to the children. The sheer delight on the faces of the kids at being given something as simple as a biscuit was just extraordinary.
The locals belong to the Xhosa tribe and the traditional beliefs run very deep through the community, not just in this region but all across South Africa. Their huts are still built in the traditional manner, with colourful walls left bare facing a specific direction to ward off evil spirits, especially the Tokoloshe which is a mischievous spirit approximately 2 foot high who rapes women in their sleep, hence you will notice that many of the buildings, especially the more traditional huts, will leave a bare expanse of wall approximately 2 feet high as it is thought that the Tokoloshe cannot jump higher than it’s own height. Beds are also raised to a height of 2 feet in some area as added protection.
Coffee Bay itself is beautiful. The people are delightful. There is a beautiful beach and magnificent rolling hills as well as sheer cliff faces. That night at dinner, the staff of the hotel (Ocean View Hotel) came out and sang and danced for the guests. It was beautiful. They then invited the guests to join them in dancing. Richard was in his element and everyone thought he was so cute.
Rumour has it that Coffee Bay was named after a ship that lost its cargo of coffee beans in a wreck off the Wild Coast and beans washed up on the beach which then supposedly germinated. Today there are no coffee trees just the beautiful beach.
Day 9 – Coffee Bay
In the morning we were taken by the hotel manager up to an orphanage that had been set up by some of the tour guides in conjunction with the local community for children who had lost their parents to AIDS. There were 11 children and two carers living in a three room building, sleeping two children to a bed. The eldest child was 11.
After the age of 12 the children basically have to move out of the orphanage and fend for themselves because the orphanage can’t support them and there are no foster families in these remote communities. There is a small classroom at the orphanage and the children sang some songs for us that they had learnt.
HIV and AIDS are a huge problem, not only in Coffee Bay but in South Africa generally. It is estimated that over 5 million people are currently living with HIV and AIDS and that more than 250,000 died from these diseases in the last 12 months. In South Africa there are more than 1 million AIDS orphans, that is, children who have lost both parents to AIDS and many more who live in single parent households because of the disease.
One of the children at the orphanage we visited had sat crying for several days beside the dead bodies of his parents before being discovered and taken into care.
It was so beautiful and heartbreaking to see these children who have so little in life but are so happy with what they have. They tend to a vegetable garden, play on the equipment that has been donated to them and survive on hand-me-downs and donations. All throughout our trip our group had collected soaps and shampoos, pens and colouring-in books (basic toiletries and stationary) to give to the orphanage. Whatever they don’t use they sell to make money for what they do need but what we gave them seemed like a drop in the ocean.
Two of the guys on our trip, James and Nick, were so moved by this orphanage that they decided to give a percentage of the profits of their business to the orphanage and the Coffee Bay community in general to help them out, and plan on returning every so often to see how things are going.
It was, and is, hard to justify half the stuff we give our own kids and the stuff we buy for ourselves. We live such privileged lives and we take so many things for granted. We are wasteful and really lacking community spirit in comparison to these communities and it should be the job of everyone to travel to these developing nations to see how the other half live.
That night at dinner we were again treated to singing and dancing but this time by the children of the staff. Our time in Coffee Bay was coming to an end but it is a place that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Day 10 – Coffee Bay to Port Elizabeth
It was with a different outlook on life that we left Coffee Bay and headed for Port Elizabeth. We travelled back up the dilapidated road and passed the Old Aged pensions being doled out, in cash – what’s the point of direct debit or cheques when the people don’t have bank accounts and there are no banks to cash the cheques at either?
We stopped by the side of the road outside Nelson Mandela’s residence, an unimposing set of buildings that signify in no way the importance of the man who lives there. In contrast, we also drove past a shanty town with its cobbled together shacks and barely wide enough to walk down streets.
Port Elizabeth was merely a place to spend the night. Again we were in the Protea Hotel chain, at the Marine Protea Hotel. Port Elizabeth now has the nickname of the Friendly City but it hasn’t always been so. During the apartheid era forced relocations and the demolition of non-white housing was common up until 1975 and in the late 1970s to mid 1980s black deaths in custody were quite often the result of interrogation techniques and blatant torture of prisoners, especially radicals and activists against apartheid.
The two most notable examples of this are Steve Biko in 1977 who was tortured by security police before being sent to Pretoria, where he died, and the Craddock Four (Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli) who were abducted, assaulted, killed and their bodies (along with the vehicle they were in) burnt by three Security Branch policeman in 1985. Biko, Goniwe, Mkhonto, Calata and Mhlauli were all activists and there is some evidence that the government sanctioned the “permanent removal” of the Craddock Four.
Day 11 – Port Elizabeth to Knysna
The trip to Knysna was wonderful. It took us from the Eastern Cape into the Garden Route, arguably one of the most beautiful areas in South Africa. You experience dense indigenous forests, woodlands, lakes and lagoons as you travel to Knysna (also known as the Jewel of the Garden Route).
Along the way we stopped at the bridge where they apparently do the world’s highest bungee jump. No one in our group wanted to do it but we did see people taking the challenge and it was amazing to watch.
Further up the road we stopped at the twin attraction of Monkeyland and Birds of Eden. In Monkeyland we were treated to squirrel monkeys trying to steal our lunch as well as going on a guided tour of the centre. We saw several species of monkey and lemur and they were adorable, I just wanted to keep one, but that is why a lot of the monkeys are in Monkeyland – they have been rescued from people who thought it would be fun to have one as a pet or from animal traders. In Birds of Eden we saw a wide variety of birds from all over the world, including a Kookaburra.
We then drove past Jeffrey’s Bay, though the surf looked pretty flat to me, and past another shanty town on the outskirts of Knysna and finally on to our hotel (Knysna Quays Protea Hotel) where we again enjoyed a swim in the pool. The Hotel is right on the edge of the spectacular Knysna lagoon and a short walk takes you to the awe-inspiring view through Knysna Heads to the Indian Ocean.
Day 12 – Knysna
In the morning Chris took us on a walk through a small section of rainforest just outside of Knysna. It was a beautiful but very familiar looking place to be as it reminded me of the Tasmanian rainforests.
On returning to our hotel we then walked down to the jetty where we boarded a boat to take us across the river to Featherbed Nature Reserve. The reserve covers an entire headland and is stunning in terms of the flora and the views generally. It is privately owned and covers 150 hectares. It has been listed as one of South Africa’s Natural Heritage Sites and for good reason. When you arrive you are driven to the top of the headland in a train-like 4x4 vehicle. You then have the option of returning in the vehicle (which Mum and Richard did, along with a few others in our group) or walking (which I did) down to the restaurant where a buffet lunch is provided.
Day 13 – Knysna to Cape Town
Not long after departing Knysna we found ourselves on the winding Outeniqua Pass on our way to Outsworn, the Ostrich capital of the world and we stopped at an Ostrich Farm. It was great to see them up close and Richard got to sit on the back of one of them. We saw the nurseries and all the baby Ostriches. Then we had Ostrich steak for lunch, which was beautiful.
After that we pulled over on the side of the road to fossick for fossils. Jeff, one of the guys on our tour found a leaf fossil but the rest of us were unsuccessful. Richard thought it was just a good excuse for playing with rocks.
We then stopped at “Ronnie’s Sex Shop”. It is a convenience store / pub adjoining one of the farms and is owned by Ronnie. The story of how it became Ronnie’s Sex Shop is that some of Ronnie’s mates were a bit drunk and found some paint so they decided to re-brand Ronnie’s Shop. When Ronnie arrived at the shop in the morning he found a quite long queue at the door of the shop and so it has remained Ronnie’s Sex Shop ever since. The closest things to anything even remotely sexy in the place are the G-Strings with Ronnie’s Sex Shop printed on them that are for sale.
It was also on the road to Cape Town that we were hit by a guinea fowl. These rather round birds pack a pretty good punch when they collide with a windscreen and you can find the photo of the bus in one of the albums.
We then made our way into the hustle and bustle of Cape Town, probably the most European of any of the South African cities. We were staying at the Sea Point Protea Hotel, not to be confused with the Riviera Protea Hotel or the Presidential Protea Hotel, all situated in the suburb of Sea Point. It is a very popular area for tourists, both local and international, because of the wonderful beaches that stretch for several kilometres. My advice, and that of anyone who’d ever been there, is not to go in the water. It is freezing.
Unfortunately, Alan the bus driver had to take the bus back to Jo’burg for repairs so it was his last day with us and we would get a new bus and driver for our last day of our tour.
Day 14 – Cape Town (Cape Peninsular Tour)
The last leg of our bus trip was a day trip to The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. We started off by heading to the most visual aspect of Cape Town – Table Mountain. The views from the top are spectacular and well worth the trip. It is possible to walk up to the summit, it takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on your fitness level apparently, but a far easier way up is the cable-car which has a revolving floor to give you 360 degree views as you ascend the mountain.
Our next stop was the Cape of Good Hope where we had photos taken at the sign telling us where we were. Contrary to popular belief, the Cape of Good Hope is not the most southern tip of Africa (that is situated at Cape Aqulhas) but it is a good photo opportunity. It is also the home of The Flying Dutchman, a ship whose crew of ghostly sailors are damned to forever sail the Cape but never round it.
We then travelled on to Cape Point. The lighthouse at Cape Point is the most powerful in South Africa but lighthouses on the Cape have not always been wholly successful. One such lighthouse was built on Cape Point Peak, 283m above sea level. In 1911 the Portuguese liner Lusitania ran aground at the Cape, the reason given by the captain was that he could not see the light from the lighthouse. Investigators did not believe him until it was discovered that cloud and mist had obscured the light and the lighthouse was moved to its present location, a mere 87m above sea level.
These two locations are situated in the Cape Point Nature Reserve and its tremendous scenery is worth the bumpy roads. The reserve is part of the Table Mountain National Park and boasts some of the most stunning coast line in South Africa.
After the Capes we went to Boulder to see the penguins. They are not camera shy, nor do they only come out at dawn and dusk. They are on the beach all day, year round, and you can get quite close to them from the boardwalk that has been constructed to protect their habitat. We saw many who were laying or had just laid eggs, which was marvellous to see.
We then travelled through Simon’s Town (home of the South African Navy). Simon’s Town is connected to Cape Town by rail as well as road and a story we were told involved some sailors and a dog called Just Nuisance. The story goes that the dog would visit the naval barracks most days and was adopted by the sailors who lived there. They would go into Cape Town on the train on the weekends for a few drinks or ten and Just Nuisance would come with them to help those who were a little under the weather home. The railways had struck a deal with the Navy that the sailors could travel half price. This was fine, except the conductor would make them pay full price for the dog. The Navy’s solution to this was not to get rid of the dog but to commission the animal as a petty officer and pay the dog in food. Just Nuisance was given dog tags stating his name, rank and serial number and from that day forward only payed the naval rate on the train.
After Simon’s Town we headed to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. We didn’t have very long there but what we did see was amazing. This sprawling Garden is fantastic and we decided to return later in the week to see what we had missed.
The tour group and Chris went out for dinner to celebrate what had been an amazing trip and to say goodbye to the new friends we had made. It was a fun night with great food but it was still sad to know that most of the people we had met we would never see again.
Day 15 – Cape Town (Red Bus Trip #1)
The Red Bus is a tourist bus which operates 7 days a week in and around Cape Town. It has stops at the major tourist attractions and you are provided with earphones so you can listen to the on-board running commentary of the history of Cape Town and of each of the destinations. It is an excellent service and very family friendly. The staff were always wonderful with Richard and he absolutely loved going on the Red Bus. And for $20 a day for an adult and $10 a day for a child (free for kids on weekends), it was a pretty cheap way to see everything as it was a hop on-hop off service.
We made our first stop the Two Oceans Aquarium. Richard had a ball but didn’t want me to take photos of the sharks because they were too scary. It was a state of the art facility and a really good way to spend a couple of hours. With over 3000 living sea animals there is something for everyone.
After lunch we wandered around the Waterfront for a while before getting back on the Red Bus. The official name is the Victoria and Alfred (V&A for short) Waterfront. As you may (or may not) know, Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert, not Alfred. The South Africans didn’t get it wrong when they named the Waterfront after Alfred; it is named for Queen Victoria’s second son. Much of the current Waterfront is reclaimed land and it has been redeveloped many times.
Our next stop was the South African Museum and Planetarium. They were both wonderful to see, especially the skeleton of the whale hanging from the ceiling of the museum. They were in the process of renovating the site when we went there so some of the exhibitions were reduced or had not been installed yet, though it was still a wonderful experience. The Museum and Planetarium are part of the Iziko Museums of Cape Town (also included are the South African National Gallery, a slave lodge, the Castle of Good Hope and many more).
We then wandered through The Company Gardens, originally part of the land owned by the Dutch East India Company, where we saw the bridal party of an Islamic wedding getting their photos taken. On the corner is St George’s Cathedral, one of the few churches to openly advertise it welcomed ALL members of society during the apartheid era.
The Bus then meanders up Table Mountain and back along the coast, via Camps Bay, Bantry Bay, Sea Point (where we got on and off the bus each day) and Three Anchors Bay before ending back at the Waterfront.
Day 16 – Cape Town (rest day)
It was about time for a day of leisure and we were ready to relax so we had a swim in the pool, lazed about in our room and in the evening we went for a walk along the esplanade to the next suburb (Bantry Bay) so I could take some photos of the sunset over the water. It was nice to have a day of doing not very much at all and well deserved, I think.
Day 17 – Cape Town (Red Bus Trip #2)
We continued on the Red Bus to the Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre. The Museum was fascinating, though I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t allowed to take photos because there were beautiful artefacts in there. The Holocaust Centre was heartbreaking. I’ve never cried in a museum or anything but I had tears rolling down my cheeks. It was a stunningly sad memorial to a tragic time in history. The museum is situated in the first synagogue to be built in South Africa and was opened by Nelson Mandela in 2000.
We then went to the Castle of Good Hope which is more like a fort than a castle, and was used more like a fort than a castle. It was quite bland, not like the ornate castles of Europe, and so it felt like a fort also. It has a good Military museum which I liked, and Richard liked looking at the models of the castle in its various guises.
Day 18 – Cape Town (shopping day)
We walked up to the main street of Sea Point for lunch and then onto the supermarket to stock up on supplies for the next few days. We had lunch at a pub and it was the best pub lunch I’ve had in a long while and the service was top notch.
Day 19 – Cape Town (Red Bus Trip #3)
On our next Red Bus trip we decided to head for the Maritime Centre on the Waterfront. We found it on a map, went to where it should have been and it wasn’t there so we asked a local shopkeeper where it was so we got directed to the other side of the harbour so we traipsed around to the other side only to be told it was near the aquarium, back on the side we had started at. We got to the aquarium only to be told it was where it said on the map but the entry was inside a bank. We finally found it – this tiny centre in one room with a few models of boats and of the harbour as it had originally been before the land was reclaimed to extend the docks. It took us longer to find the place than to walk around it; I was not a happy camper.
We then went to the District 6 Museum which was fascinating but also tiny. I thought that it would have a similar effect on me as the holocaust centre as it documents the forced relocation of over 60,000 non-white inhabitants from District 6 into enclaves in the surrounding areas during the apartheid era. It was more moving seeing the wastelands, covered in weeds and grass than seeing the museum. The lands in District 6 where they bulldozed the houses and shops were not redeveloped for the most part and so, even now, there are blocks and blocks of bare wasteland, with a smattering of houses and religious buildings which the apartheid government couldn’t bring itself to tear down.
What makes the tragedy of District 6 all more powerful is that before the forced removal of most of its inhabitants the district was truly interracial and though the different cultures had their own customs, there was a relative harmony and acceptance of the other cultures.
What restores my faith in humanity is that the governments plan to destroy this vibrant community to create a white area, full of business and housing opportunities for whites only, fell flat on its face when the developers refuse to put in tenders due to local and international pressure. The only new buildings that were built during this time were the Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsular University of Technology) and some police housing.
Since the fall of apartheid, the new government has recognised the claims of former residents of District 6 and work has been going on over the last 7 years to rebuild homes for returning community members, however, many residents do not want to return because of the negative feelings attached to the site.
We had intended on going to the National Gallery of South Africa as well, but when we got there it was closed due to a State Visit. This did not improve my disposition any, but lunch in The Company Gardens did.
Day 20 – Cape Town (Red Bus Trip #4)
We did one final trip on the Red Bus (but on the outer city circuit this time) back up to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. We had a look in the conservatory and saw Pearson’s Grave (see the photo for details on this). The views were amazing and the flowers spectacular. It’s hard to describe in words everything up there but have a look at the photos and you’ll see it all.
Kirstenbosch covers 528 hectares and is completely indigenous. It contains the remnant of an almond and bramble hedge (known as van Riebeeck’s hedge) which was used as a boundary line for the colony and was owned by Cecil Rhodes after he bought it from the previous owners. He died in 1902 and bequeathed Kirstenbosch to the people as part of his Groot Schuur estate. In 1903 work began to turn Kirstenbosch into a Botanical Garden by Professor Pearson. On his death, in 1916, he was buried in the gardens, with the words “If ye seek his monument, look around” as his epitaph.
We also drove past Imizamo Yethu Township, home to over 8,000 people, a large proportion of which have HIV. Even though the National rate for HIV / AIDS infection is at about 12%, some provinces have rates in excess of 15%, and some townships may have rates as high as 50 or 60%. Guided tours are available for less than $10 but we didn’t have time to stop here. Townships like Imizamo Yethu are benefiting from the government housing schemes and public donations, often from overseas organisations.
We travelled back to Cape Town via The Republic of Hout Bay (which started off as a money making scheme which a few people took a little too seriously and is now just a tourist attraction rather than an independent republic). Today Hout Bay is a popular tourist destination but its major industry is centred around crayfish and snoek fishing, though it started off as a timber industry town, where ships would acquire wood for repairs and this is where the town gets its name as Hout is Dutch for wood.
Day 21 – Cape Town (Lucie’s Wedding)
Our last full day in cape Town was spent getting ready for my cousin Lucie’s Wedding. The ceremony was very moving. There were some beautiful readings and Lucie looked stunning. Frank didn’t scrub up too bad either. The flower girls were adorable; Niamh and Leah are gorgeous kids and Richard loved having some friends to play with. Niamh’s little sister, Ayela, is also very cute.
After the ceremony there were drinks in the garden while the bridal party had their photos taken (and Richard managed to sneak himself into a couple of the photos, well, he did look like he belonged in them).
The reception was a lot of fun and we got to catch up with the relatives from the UK as well as make some new friends. Richard and Niamh were the hit of the dance floor, busting out the moves most of the night. The food was great and the music pumped. The speeches were short (such a relief) and the MC brilliant.
All in all it was a good night and we were very happy to have been invited.
Coming Home
We were taken from the hotel to the airport in Cape Town in plenty of time to catch our domestic flight to Jo’burg. We had just enough time to collect our bags from the domestic terminal and leg it over to the international terminal to re check our bags and get our boarding passes. Thank God for Porters is all I can say because I reckon we might have missed the plane if it hadn’t been for ours.
We then sat in the plane at Jo’burg because a bag had been sent to the wrong plane and had to be transferred so we were delayed taking off. This meant that when we arrived in
Sydney all the people who were travelling on had missed their connecting flights but QANTAS are awesome and had already made alternate arrangements for them and they had people there to meet the ones transferring to other terminals.
We then made the long trip home on the train and finally walked in the door about 6pm Sydney time, after leaving our hotel at 1030am the day before South African time, and it really felt like we’d been travelling that long. Luckily we didn’t get hit too badly by jetlag because I had to go back to work the next day and Richard had to go back to preschool.
Final Thoughts
I’d highly recommend going to South Africa. I have every intention of going back and doing the rest of the country because I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface. The people, for the most part, are delightful and I could’ve have wished for a better group to travel with, as well having an awesome bus driver and tour guide.
