Month: June 2013

Cape Town, South Africa

Robben Island

Joel

Today, depressingly, is my very last full day of my seven month journey! I booked a ferry ticket to head out and see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and others were held as political prisoners for many years. The island name comes from the Dutch word for seal, so there were many seals as well as penguins about.

Robben Island lies just off the coast and can be reached on a 30 minute ferry ride. It has served as a defence post, leper colony, and prison for different eras in its history and now also serves as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Once we arrived on the island we were given an hour bus tour around the island before visiting the prison. On the tour we were shown a leper grave yard, military installations from WWII, and the living quarters of the staff who lived out there.

After that we were dropped off for a tour of the prison grounds. Interestingly, our tour guide through the prison had been incarcerated there himself for five years due to his political affiliations. The prison itself is not all that big and it was divided into sections for different kinds of prisoners, so political prisoners were kept separate from violent criminals. Also, prisoners were treated more harshly depending on the color of their skin and rations were more generous for lighter skinned inmates.

The political prisoners who acted as leaders of their political organisations were all kept together in the same cell block. Conditioned began to improve over the decades due to international pressure. We were told how prisoners would share information with other isolated groups by putting messages into tennis balls and then ‘accidentally’ hitting them over the walls to neighbouring cell blocks while using the tennis courts.

One of Nelson Mandela’s guards became a close personal friend of his and even served in his administration when he became president. He continued to live out on the island and run a coffee shop, but he was away on vacation when we were there.

Nelson Mandela’s cell was shown with the few items of furnishing prisoners were allowed to have: a thin mattress, a metal bowl, a metal cup, a small table, and a trash can. For nine hours every day all prisoners who were convicted to hard labor would have to mine a limestone quarry on the island. It was just mined for satisfying the hard labor requirement and the lime was often just dumped in the ocean overnight.

Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain

Joel

Woke up to beautiful clear weather – a nice side effect of a good rain storm. Word on the street says Table Mountain is more likely to be clear in the morning than later in the day, so I thought it would be best to start heading in that direction. The mountain has a flat table-like top and the clouds that cover it and roll off the side are known as the table cloth.

Like many cities around the world, Cape Town has a double decker red bus hop on hop off tour circuit (which are all owned by the same global company). Among its featured stops was the cable car station that whisks you up to the top of the mountain. South Africans have been gloating over the fact that Table Mountain was named one of the seven new wonders of the natural world last year. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, the only one that allows you to view a completely different UNESCO World Heritage site from it (namely Robbens Island).

The Table Mountain stop was number 13 on the bus tour circuit, so it took us a little while to get there. The circuit before then was very interesting and full of streets lined with beautiful colonial Dutch and British buildings. We also passed Desmond Tutu’s old church and an entirely wiped District Six neighbourhood that used to be occupied by black South Africans before they were cleared out during the Apartheid years. It remains deserted today and stands as a sort of memorial to those who once lived there.

The ride up to the top of Table Mountain was in a big revolving cable car that tested your fear of heights – especially when it got up near the top, 1000+ meters above sea level, where you could see the cliffs falling down off the other side. It was very spectacular to be on top and to look down on the city and beaches below. A ridge of mountains extended south of the top towards the peninsula known as The Cape of Good Hope. I hiked a circuit around the top to look off the various sides before heading back down to continue my bus tour. It was much colder up on top than it was 1000 meters below along the beaches.

Most of the rest of the bus tour took a circuit through a very expensive and exclusive series of beach neighbourhoods along the coast. All in all, Cape Town has proven to be a very beautiful city that must be among the most beautiful in the world!

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town

Joel

We left our final backpacking accommodation in Swellendam to roll into Cape Town as early as possible. Our guides were finishing up their 3 week work with us and had the next week off before they were expected to embark on some other tours. The biggest problem for them was that we were in Cape Town and they lived in Soweto in the Johannesburg area – which was 1400 kilometers or 15 hours of driving away! Once they dropped the rest of us off at our accommodation, it was time to hit the highway again for a very long drive back home.

While most of my traveling companions checked into cheap backpacker places, I decided to check into something a little more upscale for my final weekend of travel. I was greeted at the front by a doorman who insisted on hitting a gong and announcing the arrival of “Lord Day” to others in the hotel lobby. It was actually a bit embarrassing, but I was glad they were able to check me in early and give me an enormous suite with full kitchen, laundry, and separate lounge.

I spent most of the remainder of the day exploring a bit of Cape Town, buying groceries for my fridge, and plotting what to do over the next few days here. By evening the clouds opened up and it started to pour – a phenomenon I haven’t seen since I arrived in South African three weeks ago!

Cape Town, South Africa

A Final Day for Drinking and Eating

Joel

We awoke to freezing conditions in Oudtshoorn that made me not want to get out of my sleeping bag, but we had quite a bit of ground to cover before the end of the day.

I had mixed feelings about packing up my tent one last time. On the one hand, it was too cold and the frame metal was difficult to handle with hints of frost on it. One the other hand, I was greatly relieved that I would never need to pitch or pack up this tent again! The tents we have been using would have been described as “World War II Surplus” when I was a kid. They were very heavy, bulky, and awkward to handle with thick canvas material and a metal frame with steel poles that were connected by rope segments attached to the outside between each pole segment. They were very durable and roomy once you set it up, but nothing like the lightweight tents I’ve become used to using.

On our way out of Oudtshoorn we drove through a region of huge ostrich farms. This area is the largest ostrich farming region in the world. They are raised for their feathers, meat, eggs, and leather. We stopped for pictures along the way and got to see mating rituals being performed by the male and female birds.

The drive to our next and final night of this trip took us through beautiful mountain ranges as we got closer and closer to Cape Town. Our last night on the way was in the little town of Swellendam which is famous for its vineyards and colonial Dutch architecture. We made about four stops at various vineyards in the area for obligatory wine tasting before arriving at our backpacker accommodation.

That evening we all went out to dinner for a final meal together before our tour was scheduled to finish the following morning. This restaurant was much nicer than the one we stopped at in Durban. I had a huge rack of ribs that I shared around with the others at the table. It was a very nice evening.

South Africa

Township Jive

Joel

Having failed to get a bungy jump in due to the wind, our tour group packed up early and headed down the road for another try. Only one of us, of course, and it sure wasn’t me. A line of young women were also planning to do it at the same time, so we ordered coffee and watched them jump one by one off the world’s highest bungy jumping bridge.

We continued down the road past beautiful mountain ranges and ostrich farms and wild baboons on the road (including one squished, unfortunetly) to our next destination deep in Afrikaner country, Oudtshoorn. The town was beautiful with lots of British and Dutch influences, but of course, it was mostly off limits to the local African population until fairly recently.

Nearby there was a cave we toured hat was very impressive in size and quite beautiful with its stunning and complex collection of stalactites and stalagmites. The largest room was actually so be that it was used for classical music concerts and plays for years before they realised it was creating too much damage. 1500 people could sit in the audience, we were told.

In the evening we met up with a local township resident for a tour of a local township to see how many black Africans continue to live to this day. The neighbourhood was very safe because everyone knew each other by name. It was similar to townships found near cities and towns all over South Africa.

We stopped in to meet some local residents and see how they lived in tiny tiny places. We also visited a local gym that used to house a school and a local bar for a drink and the chance to meet many local residents. Everyone seemed very warm and happy to see outsiders taking an interest in their lives. Afterwards we stopped by a house to sit around an outdoor fire and feast of local African dishes.

This village and township tours have been very special and memorable. It appears as though few tour companies pursue these tours, but they have proven to be among the very best things we had done while here.

South Africa

Zipping

Joel

We had two nights to spend at Tsitsikamma National Park and a range of activities to choose from. We started out doing a beautiful hike up a river gorge nearby and across a suspension bridge that linked a path up to a spectacular lookout over the ocean. The river gorge looked like it would be great to paddle up with its steep rocky cliffs, but the kayaks nearby didn’t look very inviting for any serious paddling (fat and slow sit on types).

One of our fellow travellers seemed keen to do another bungy jump – this time from the world’s highest bridge with a jump, which was just down the road. We drove up there to watch her, only to learn all jumps had been cancelled due to high winds.

So we all headed back towards our campsite to try a bit of zip-lining amongst some very tall trees on a canopy tour. It sounded great and I was even a little nervous about dangling from a cable 30 meters above ground, but it actually turned out to be somewhat lame. Perhaps I just felt too secure up there with three backup cables to keep me suspended if any cables broke or pulleys failed.

It was certainly worth doing as a new experience, but I don’t think I will be rushing back to do another one. It seemed as hough it would probably be most exciting for a much younger age group. The longest slide was definitely the best and ran for 92 meters. A few more like that probably would have impressed me more.

That evening we had another South African Barbecue of marinated lamb and local dishes. Excellent food, as usual! And to top it off, the weather had completely changed from cold and windy to calm and sultry. What a perfect evening it turned out to be.

South Africa

Tsitsikamma National Park

Joel

After a very cold night in the camp site of the Addo Elephant National Park, we got up early to venture out before sunrise for another last chance safari. This was the last safari park we were scheduled to see so we wanted to make the most of it.

Unfortunately, the cold weather proved to be another turnoff for the animals. We drove around for hours and saw very little. There were a few hyenas and jackals and kudus about and one distant elephant – but not much else.

Afterwards we got back on the road and headed to another national park known more for its spectacular geography. The place was called Tsitsikamma National Park and we camped along the coastline in from of huge crashing waves that were not inviting for swimmers. There was a pool nearby, but the water felt way too cold for swimming at this winter season.

The place was known for being extremely windy. As the evening wore on the wind picked up and we were all crawling into our tents extra early to warm up in our sleeping bags.

South Africa

Addo Elephant National Park

Joel

We kicked off on another early start to reach our next destination. The place was Addo Elephant National Park and the plan was to try and check out some more wildlife. This was another national park with The Big Five, although some, like lions and leopards, were introduced to try and balance the herds. Lions had once lived in the area but had become extinct so lions from another region in South Africa were introduced.

As it turned out, we saw some great stuff! We were able to spot big herd of elephants from a lookout as well as a lioness lurking in the bushes nearby. We also saw zebras, kudu antelopes, and another male like sprawled out on his back for an afternoon snooze in the winter sun. We also saw a big African buffalo on our way back out of the park.

That evening we went out for another nighttime safari and saw a few male lions up close. We also saw quite a few jackals and hyenas. There were also zebras and elephants around, as well as the common kudu antelopes.

While riding around the park you continually see little trails going off into thick bush. You always know dangerous animals are lurking back there and it would never be a good idea to follow any of them.

Oddly, with all the animals kills that happen on a regular basis in the parks, you never see any bones lying around. That is because the hyenas eat all the bones with their very powerful jaws.

South Africa

Endless Activities. Startless Activities.

Joel

Our first full day at this beautiful backpackers with camping area near outdoor showers near the beach and with beautiful views. And so many activities to choose from! What will it be? Mountain biking? Horseback riding on the beach? Another safari tour to see cheetahs and leopards? Surfing lessons? A swim on the beautiful beach? A nice massage?

But wait a second… It’s a holiday weekend here in South Africa! That means we’re competing with all the locals for these activities.

Let’s see…

Mountain biking? Cancelled due to an accident with the trailer they use to transport the bikes out to the mountain bike trails.

Safari tour? Fully booked out.

Horseback riding on the beach for 3 hours? Fully booked.

Quad bike safari? Only a one our tour available. We grabbed it!

Surfing lessons? Booked!

Massage? Booked!

Well, the quad bike safari was a first for me. Never been on a quad bike before and the idea of riding one in a private game reserve with The Big Five (Lions, Elephants, Leopards, Buffalo, and ) sounded pretty exciting. We were able to take the bikes off road and through paths amongst thick bush. The most dangerous animals, we were assured, were at the far end of the park.

Did we see any animals? No! For the first time, we didn’t see anything. Why? We were told it was too windy and the animals were hiding in thick bush at the bottom of the valleys.

Next on our schedule: Surfing! Would the wind effect that plan? Sure would! Our surfing instructor couldn’t even get on his board due to the wind, we were told, so surfing lessons were cancelled.

Oh well, there was always a nice massage you could get. That was still going to happen, right? Oh no! The masseur was sick and all massages were cancelled.

What else could I do? There was always a walk along the beach across a shallow river to visit the local shops. Not real exciting, but I did manage to walk along the beach to explore some pretty amazing tide pools afterwards. They were like little aquariums in the holes of the rock.

On the way back to the camp site I bumped into our tour driver while he was trying to psych himself up for a swim in the cold windy conditions. I promised him I would join him for a swim after I had the chance to run back to the campsite and get changed.

The water turned out to be warmer than the air and the beach seemed very safe and very gradual as it descended into the sea. We had a good splash be he kept me from going in too far. I wasn’t sure exactly why at the time, but afterwards he told me that someone had died from a shark attach while surfing there the last time he visited. Yikes!

East London, South Africa

ATM Thieves Hit Again

Joel

We left our ecotourism resort in Lesotho very early in order to reach our beach destination before dark. This being winter, the days are not very long to begin with. The drive was quite beautiful through mostly barren grazing land reminiscent of the southwestern U.S.

Along the route we stopped at a shopping mall in a small town to shop for dinner and buy our lunches. One of my fellow travellers succumbed to an ATM scam (again!) and had about $1000 stolen out of his Canadian account. That is 2 out of 6 of us who have been ripped off. You need to be very vigilant around here with ATMs because the thieves are very slick. They alter the machines to jam your card and then try to assist you in getting your card back – duping you into revealing your PIN number to them (by watching over your shoulder while “helping” you). Then they steal the card out of the machine while you are distracted and quickly run to another machine to try and empty as much as they can out of your account. Morale of the story is to keep everyone at a distance when using an ATM and only choose those manned by security guards inside banks.

Anyway, we finally arrived as a beautiful beach resort backpackers place for a two night stay. Most homes around here are awfully wealthy so you have to wonder how they got their hands on this property!