South africa

So we are finally here and finally on our way to our adventures. After a delayed 11 hour flight we arrived in Cape Town a bit bleery eyed to be greeted by drizzle- we could have been in England! We got through immigration smoothly and then made our way to the hostel driven by a bus driver who didn't have a clue where he was going and proceeded to smoke and look at the map while he was driving!

The Hostel is amazing, really beautiful with grand stair cases and lovely rooms. Its really close to the Victoria and Albert Water Front which is just like another world, full of the beat of the african drum and loads of street performers. Hopefully to Robben Island tomorrow.

p.s the weather got better during the day and was beautiful by the afternoon

27/02/06

Went to Robben Island today really thought prvoking and beautiful, saw all round the island, was astounded to see how big it was and how many buildings there were.

Its had many different uses over the years, as a leper colony and as a British base, but obviously its most famous one is as a prison for political prisoners. We had a tour of the prison from one of the ex inmates, who showed us Nelson Mandela's cell in solitary confinement. He also told us many harrowing stories about the abuse they received at the hands of the guards. It is awful to think that people can do that to each other.

28/02/06

Wine tour today, tasted five wines for 10Rand, a bargain! Saw a load of animals, cheetahs, zebra and springbok. The different farms we saw were beautiful and the last one was so peaceful and quiet. Had an eventful trip back as the power was out in Stellenbosch, so the petrol stations weren't working and consequently our bus couldn't get any petrol so we broke down.

We were then stuck in a minbus on the side of a three lane motorway next door to a township- not the best place. The police found us and went to get petrol, by jumping over the wall to the other carraigeway they then tried to start the bus, but to no avail something about it being a fuel injection system which I didn't really understand. We managed to get the other backpacker bus to pick us up and take us home two hours late and we left the driver with the police. I hope she made it home. All in all quite an eventful day.

1/3/06

Just chilled out today and made the most of the waterfront because we knew we would be changing hostel tomorrow. Nearly finished my book, wrote postcards and managed to stretch our budget to having a coffee. Last of the big spenders!

2/3/06

Moved hostel today which was actually quite stress free.

We moved to long street hostel which is a hippy student place, a definite contrast from Big blue which was almost like a hotel. It is set around a courtyard with wisteria against the white wash walls. It is how you imagine a hostel in south africa would be. The bar also doubles as a reception, selling beer for 80p which goes down a treat.

Long street is the place to be, as it contains most of the clubs and bars in Cape Town, it is also bordered by the Parliament and Botanical gardens. Today we wondered through the gardens to the National Gallery of South Africa. It was an amazing gallery full of many varied pieces of art, from modern art describing the apartheid to old masters of vencie. We had a tour from a very wise lady who seemed to know about everything in the gallery.

She emphasised one artist Sekoto, an African artist discovered in Cape Town who had a flair for drawing figures from the back and highlighting their features by light ( we thought it was maybe because he couldn't draw faces but we didn't like to say!) Beer and cocktails on Long street took up most of the evening.

3/03/06

Table mountain today, we had been waiting all week to climb up it and finally we had a clear day. We got a Rikki to the summit, which is sort of a minibus/rickshaw. You take your life in your hands and you end up going round the houses, but its definitely an experience! We decided to climb to the top of the mountain so we arrived at the gorge with our walking boots, warm clothes and water. I even had my whistle and katy had survival blankets just in case! The climb to the top was beautiful, but it was very hard work.

They have steps carved into the mountian, but some are quite steep and some are just boulders. It makes you legs ache! We took it at a relaxed pace and made sure we had lots of breaks, this did mean that we got overtaken a lot though.

When we got to the top we were so proud of ourselves and the view was amazing, you could see all of Cape Town and beyond, well worth it. The Cable Car seemed like the best option to come down, the wind had picked up and it was very cold. We made it back to the hostel by taxi, rather than risk a rikki. Once back at the hostel we had to put up with a three hour power cut, which made us realise how much we rely on electricity! Its something to do with sabotage of the power plants, because they don't normally have them. We ate pizza, by candlelight and then congregated in the bar very romantic.

 

4/03/06

Went to the beach today, its very hot in Cape Town and the wind has dropped so it blazing hot sunshine. We got another Rikki to the beach which was another adventure. We had a crazy driver, but he got us there and gave us a little tour as we went along. The beach was beautiful- we could see it from table mountain yesterday. Despite applying enough sun cream to sink a ship I got burnt, I have also anaged to get bitten about a dozen times- so I am looking hot at the moment! Going out for drinks tonight with a guy we met at the other hostel who is hopefully going to accompany James on the Garden route.

Off to Johannesburg tomorrow to see Candice.