Andy & Gillie's Big Adventure!: On our way, sort of

Blog no. 4 is being written with a mixture of trepidation and frustration – trepistration, perhaps? The trepidation arises from the fact that England face South Africa at Twickenham tomorrow, so by the time you read this, the matter will probably have been decided and it will be a case of ‘what’s all the fuss about?’ The frustration comes from the fact that the computer has decided that it would be good fun to sporadically suspend access to the top – qwertyuiop (that took 15 minutes to type, by the way) – line of the keyboard, so sometimes nothing happens for five minutes of fruitless jabbing at the keys, no matter how much we swear at them. When this is finished it will be 3 am on Sunday and we’ll have lost the will to live. Ho hum.

We left you pre-braai in Windhoek at the end of the last blog post (wanted to say ‘last post’ but that sounds a bit military). Anyway, the braai was lovely and our hosts were charming – lots to talk about re Namibia and southern Africa in general. Ronelle is the news editor of one of the country’s main newspapers, so worth taking note of. Her observations were very measured and the love of her country was evident in what she said. And we got lots of excellent advice about our onward route.

The bus ride to Cape Town was not as alarming as we feared, except the 2 am border and customs check. Could’ve done without that…

Our Airbnb in CT was in an area called Bo Kaap – previously known as the Malay Quarter - which tells you nothing, as there are few, if any, Malays living there. Anyway, it’s full of very colourful houses and close to the main part of the city, only 25-minute walk to the V & A Waterfront, for example. Imagine a giant, very expensive version of Westfield, mixed with Meadowhall and Canada Water shopping malls (notice how egalitarian/cosmopolitan we’re being?), in the open air with lots of millionaire yachts and apartments and you get a vague picture of V & A Waterfront. Fun though.

To orientate ourselves, we took an open top bus tour of the city and surrounds and made some important decisions about our onward journey. We definitely didn’t like the look of Hout Bay, so decided to decamp to Camps Bay after our sojourn in the Mother City, but more of that later. Cape Town is dominated by its famous mountain (Table), but Lion’s Head next door and the Twelve Apostles (of which there are 17 apparently – don’t ask) are almost as fascinating and equally picturesque. Lion’s Head is very tall and requires some climbing – more of that later, too.

The next day, after acquainting ourselves with a lovely Spar supermarket (think Marks and Spencer with home-made food at half the cost), we enjoyed one or two sherbets at the Waterfront, as you do, and explored some more of the city. There is a perception that Cape Town is a safe and welcoming city for European (white) tourists and that’s probably the case if you stay in the main busy areas and be aware if going out at night. So we did. It apparently has a higher violent crime rate now than Johannesburg, so we didn’t piss about sticking our noses into badly-lit alleys etc. It is a very interesting place, with bags of history, but still a sense that the ordinary (black) people are being shat upon from a great height by both their own politicians (the ANC) and the wealthier white citizens.

We visited both the Bo Kaap Museum and the District Six Museum, which told the story of struggle and oppression, but with a sense that something is emerging, definitely a sense of pride in their identity and the freedoms they are now starting to enjoy. Nelson Mandela, Madiba, is rightly revered across the country and his legacy – of reconciliation and hope – will eventually win. You have to hope so, or you become like a Brit, viewing with despair the wreckage that is Brexit and the fuck-up that the Conservative party has visited on our country for the last eight years (political rant over – for the time being).

Forgot to mention – as we were staying in a Muslim part of the city, part of the deal is being awoken at about 4 am every morning by the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer!!!

On the Thursday, we met up with one of the lovely people we had met on our safari in Namibia. Yvonne is from Germany and is one of many independent young people we encountered. If the world has such people in it, there is hope…She gave us lots of tips, many of which we followed over the next few days. In the afternoon, we decided to walk up Lion’s Head. We had been told that it wasn’t too difficult a climb and would take about an hour each way.

The weather was fine – hot and sunny - so we caught an Uber (v cheap) to the starting point and off we set. The trail leads round the mountain, becoming increasingly narrow and more precipitous the higher you go. After about half an hour and several hundred feet (metres), we noticed that the weather had changed and the clouds were starting to come in, swirling round the peak and obscuring the wonderful view we had enjoyed. It was also very cold. Undeterred, we continued, if anything slightly grateful that we couldn’t see how high we were and how sheer the sides were. Some of the climb (not hike any more!) involved ladders and staples hammered into the rock face. Undeterred, we continued, until we reached a point about 15 metres from the peak. To reach the peak, we had to climb more ladders and hold on to more staples as the face was sheer. We couldn’t see much more than about 10 feet in front of us - certainly nothing around or below – and the wind was blowing a gale, so we figured wtf.

It took us about an hour to get back down and we were passed by hordes of cubs – boys and girls – going the other way! Some sort of rite of passage, I guess, or ‘if it’s Thursday it must be Lion’s Peak – anything to keep the kids quiet’. Nobody seemed to be complaining though. We were also passed by a family from Holmfirth!!

On our way up the peak, the male member of the party started noticing some slight throbbing [this is a bit unnecessary – Ed] – in the mouth. By the time we reached our room, the pain was unbearable. Eight paracetamol and five ultra-strong toothache painkillers later it was morning, so after a phone call to the nearest dentist, the start of root canal remedy and antibiotics, all was well.

Beer was essential after that, so a walk to the Ferrymans Tavern in V & A – recommended by our good friend Hans – and a general mooch and all was, well, better with the world.

On the Saturday we went to something of a Cape Town institution – Marco’s African Place – made all the more appealing, as it was literally a two-minute walk from our accommodation. This is an African restaurant with live music and a generally good vibe. The food was excellent, as was the music, and we had a great time.

The next day we went to one of the best places in Cape Town – the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The weather was beautiful and we spent the day wandering around some of the loveliest parts of the gardens – overlooked by Table Mountain – and admiring the plants and general loveliness. Rounded off by a scone with jam and cream at the Tea Garden!

Monday brought a day that we were somewhat hesitant about arranging in the first place, but had been encouraged to do so by friends of ours – the Township tour and Robben Island. Our guide Lindizwe picked us up and drove us to Langa – the oldest township, established in the 1920s. We saw how the people there were working together to create businesses and become much more self-sufficient. We then went on to Khayelitsha, the largest township, with over 390,000 inhabitants. There are still lots of people, young people especially, with nothing to do, but the township tour organisers and several other agencies are working hard to give people a focus and help them out of their poverty.

A couple of highlights: we visited a shibeen – pub – and had some home made maize beer. Very tasty, but not too strong. It’s made by the women for the men to drink [nothing wrong with that – Ed]. And we visited a school, where the children were very keen to show us their singing (and in some cases fighting) skills. A lasting memory is of Lindizwe confirming a couple of times: ‘we may not be out of poverty yet, but we are free.’

Robben Island is now a Unesco World Heritage site. We were shown round by a former political prisoner who spent seven years there and told us quite dispassionately about his and hundreds of others’ lives there, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 17 of his 27 years’ imprisonment there. Were we witnesses, observers, or ghouls? Still not sure.

Onward to the seaside the next day – all the way to Camps Bay, about 10 minute’s drive! Well, why not? A lovely Airbnb, with a little kitchen (as opposed to the last place, which had a fridge and microwave, but no plates, cutlery or anywhere to wash dishes?!!!!) and some charming outside space. Just a short walk to the beach, we spent pleasant days just watching folks having fun in the pretty extreme surf. The beach was very noisy – especially at the weekend when it was packed – as everyone had to make as much noise as they could whenever a big wave came in. Africans can be VERY loud!

You may have noticed, dear reader, that we have barely mentioned The Mountain. Well, we decided to scale that particular – can’t really say peak, can we? – from Camps Bay, as it was within walking distance. One of Seven Natural Wonders, instantly recognizable, iconic, etc etc. No, we didn’t climb it, but took the cable car, which was quite an experience in itself. It is quite lovely when you reach the top and we loved it. Sod the two and a half hour climb…

After our lovely stay in Camps Bay, we took a great drive about 120 km along the coast, taking in more penguin sanctuaries and awesome scenery, to reach our current abode in Hermanus, the land-based whale watching centre of the world [should that be in caps? – Ed].

We are staying with a rather eccentric/drinking/racist/Trump-admiring lady in a garden studio in her amazing house, but enjoying walking along the coastal path and watching the right whales, who are very entertaining (in Yorkshire, they would be righti.e. proper whales – spot the difference?). Hermanus is a delightful seaside town, blessed with spectacular scenery around, some great bars, delicious wines - and whales.

Monday we move on and our itinerary – still quite fluid – becomes more short-term stays, so next blog will be????!

Stay cool xxxx

P.S. Hello hello hello. Gosh what a lot has happened in the last three weeks! One minute we’re scaling sand dunes in 30+C heat and next we’re scaling Lion’s Head in what felt like -30+C cloud and mist. This certainly is a country of contrasts and sometimes (especially here in Hermanus a pristine seaside town) we have to remind ourselves that we are still in Africa.

Before we left Camps Bay we spent the day exploring the Cape by driving down to Cape Point and The Cape of Good Hope. This was via the lovely penguins at Simon’s Town and avoiding the baboons while eating our picnic lunch on the cliffs above the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The scenery here is spectacular and as it was very windy it literally blew our breath away.

We now have a car for seven weeks so it’s great to be mobile and be able to go whereever we please (without missing the Intercape bus too much!) This afternoon we are joining our host in her AMAZING house (think Grand Designs meets Space Ship) to watch the rugby… watch this space. Tomorrow is my birthday wheeeeeee – thankyoyu thankyou thankyou- so the cunning plan is to finish the last third of the 12Km cliff walk which ends at Grotto Beach and have lunch in the lovely restaurant there which is right on the beach. So fingers crossed that the weather is kind to us. Time to go now as Andy needs the table to start to wrap all my presents [really? – Ed.].

Love and best wishes to all

Gillie xxxxx

PPS. We just LOVE the whales and feel so lucky to have been here the same time as them!!

PPPS Somebody commented on the last blog, offering to send me some marking!!