One day at home at the travel itch starts all over again. It’s the most itchy the first day when you are struggling to get into routine but your mind is still travelling! Looking through photos and reading my blogs – some yet to be published! Lethargy has set in – I must publish - I tell myself – soon!
Cape to Cairo - we'll need 6 months to make it memorable - how about that? Any takers? I am ok the other way round too! I will definitely return to Africa some day - soon(?)
May 30th
Big travel day – kids bought vuvuzelas at Jo’burg. It’s the FIFA weapon for spectators – a long plastic trumpet! Makes a loud noise!
May 29th
We had gone past so many winelands near Cape Town that we wanted to visit. One in Stellenbosch was recommened – Spier. We left early – at 6:00 in the morning. We had about 500++ kms to cover in 5 hours. It was 3 degrees and freezing out there. Managed good speeds and were at Spier by 11. Sunny day – blue skies and after tasting 5 wines – life looked good. Spier has cheetah conservation program – educating local farmers about them and breeding and rescuing cheetahs in the area. After seeing them in Tanzania, it looked sad here in captivity. We could go touch one for some time. They called it an cheetah encounter! Kids were excited - cheetah didnt care!
There were many birds of prey that were rescued and that was a better show. We went into an eagle-owl enclosure and they came and sat on my head and shoulders!
Drove back into Cape Town with sunset. Tomorrow we return home – it feels good. I always feel good about getting back home after my travels.
May 28th
Rainy, stormy day! It’s the first miserable day since we started the trip. Its my birthday! My kids have made cards and woke up getting hugs and kisses from family! They had been buying little gifts from many souvenir shops on our stops. I am not a shopper – I take a look and walk around outside breathing in the country air. These guys had stocked some jams, chutneys, candles, ostrich feather pencils and all stuff which I don’t know what to do with! I only buy one fridge magnet from the places I visit.
At around 12 we were brave enough to think of going out. Knysna has a nice lagoon from the sea. The sea itself enters the lagoon from a narrow opening in what they call Knysna heads! We drove up the cliff for a better view. Lovely houses here. Some of them on the cliffs have nice big windows all open to the Indian Ocean. Many of them are on sale. But you cannot the ignore the boards on all of them – Protected by Guns/Security/dogs… All of them live in fear? I actually saw a board near Cape Town – put by the govt that said – Beware of criminal activity at night.
Started raining again and we decided to go into the only Indian restaurant in town. It was full and spilling over with the Kesari group. Ran away from there into a lovely Thai place.
For dinner, Kiran looked up a swanky place – only it was far out – almost near Plettenburg Bay – the next town. It was called Zinzi in a resort called Tree Tops. It was cold and dark and we lost hope that we will find this. But once inside it was a fabulous place. Afro-Mediterranean food with lots of veg options and they went out of their way to make my dinner better. Felt pampered – just like how one should feel on birthdays!
May 27th
Outdshoorn is mostly about Ostriches. They have several ostrich farms here – bred for meat and leather. The Cango Caves here are very special – though under stated here. We took the tour of 600 mts. The caves stretch to 5.2 kms. There is another tour – called the adventure tour which take you another 600 mts inside. But you have to crawl on your knees and belly and its moist and smelly there with bats, albino scorpions and a host of other creepy crawlies. Actually I said no because the cave walls are too close at some places and people over 80 kilos get stuck there! I think I am just a wee bit under that limit, but didn’t want to find out when I get stuck in the cave!
Next stop was at an ostrich farm. It’s quiet a money making tour. They tell you some bits about ostriches – nothing a wiki doesnt already have. The only exciting part there was ostrich rides. Its so weird – they must have added this only to make money!
Ostriches are wild – they cannot be tamed for rides. So you first catch one and then pull a hood over his eyes. Then they stay calm – if I cant see you then you don’t exist kind of theory! You mount them and off goes the hood. The ostrich gallops madly and there are two people trying to hold you on and catch you when you fall about 5 secs later! Kiran and Tanvi tried the ride. Disha and I wisely refused. They already made a fool of me when I paid the money – I wasn’t going to prove that by riding an ostrich!
Our next place on the plan was Knysna – a coastal town about 100 kms away. We decided to include Mossel bay as well – another coastal town. Just decided to go there because the name seemed nice. All the towns along the way have been sleepy old places with hardly any population. The towns have old dutch houses and country houses – some with character and many other repetitive and boring. At the edge of these towns you find the shacks where most of the ‘others’ live. This place is just 6 years after apartheid. That means only six year olds or below will know anything about equality. The rest have lived through it and it might take a long time for things to be equal here.
Mossel bay was also a sleepy town – but on the coast. This brought smiles on our faces – all of us sea people. Give us sun, sea and sand and you can make us happy! The tourist centre was getting ready for the FIFA fever. A lot of tourists are expected to tour the country during FIFA and they are charging tooth and nail! The fact remains that Jo’burg is well booked and the rest of the country is not yet! So people are hoping for some tourists their way.
Lunch at the Chinese place was interesting. The owner walked up to us and asked if we were interested in buying her out and if we knew anyone who wanted to buy out her place. We told her we were Indian from India – and she was surprised. Generally we are mistaken as ‘domestic tourists’. Indian travel in Kesari or some package like that.
A Kesari group is following us since day one of Cape town. We saw them at the cape, caves, at the ostrich farm and I know we will see them at Knysna too! Its spooky – I feel like I am on a package tour!
Brave surfers are out in the sea. Surfing seems very nice – must try it some time. Next trip to Australia? No – box jelly fish there. Goa?
Reached Knysna late in the evening and went at the local pub for dinner. Nothing vegetarian there – so settled for a soup and dessert!
May 26th
Most of the Route 62 is bordered with winelands. They begin very soon out of Cape Town with Paarl and continue all along. We were heading to Outdshoorn for the night.
We choose to visit one winery at Robertson. The Van Loveren is recommended by Lonely Planet and by the locals! Very picturesque! I have been to Niagara, Napa, Burgundy and now the Cape winelands. This is certainly the best of the lot with the rolling mountains and large open spaces!
Van Loveren didn’t let us down. The original owner started planting trees to remember occasions – like Mandela freed, or Pearl harbour bombings, etc. I was itching to ask if they planted one for 9/11! The tasting is free and they open the bottles in front of you! The Subbamma stores snacks and wine on a mild sunny day! Bought some red for us, and a white for a friend and moved on. We are five in our group – we can carry 10 bottles back and we intend to! Lot of wineries to catch up with!
I switch places and am in the driver’s seat now. Driving in these landscapes – I have a song in my heart.
Country Pumpkin at Barrydale for lunch - very visible and yellow on the highway and is mentioned by most travel guides. The thick veg soup is very wholesome and filling.
The Boplass winery at Calitzdrop just closed as we drove by! Headed straight to Outdshoorn. The route is very scenic and a must do in these parts. Reached our Hlangana Lodge late evening! Hlangana means 'to meet' in Xhosa an indegenous language in the Cape region.
May 23rd to 25th
Arrived at the Cape Town on May 23rd. Zambia to SA is a big change. SA seems so disconnected with the rest of Africa. Apart from its own natural history, it had Dutch occupants and then the Boer wars between the Dutch and British. After 200 years of Dutch ruling them and 100 years of English, their language and accents are very unique. The primary language - Afrikaans is a strange dialect of Dutch. All the names of the towns/roads are in this language.
The vestiges of Apartheid are still visible in the society. Suleman came to pick us up at the Cape airport. He had attended a massive rally by the UDF (coloured, blacks and Indians) all united together against Apartheid. He was so animated in telling us the story. Its only been 15 years. Most of the people here lived through history. They all have tales to tell and I decide to ask for stories from anyone I meet.
Its late evening and I am hungry. We were told many crime stories in the Cape and I was reluctant to head out on foot for dinner. The person at the guest house told it was safe and we walked out to a nice Thai place close by. I guess I would say B’lore is safe too! But the tourists who stop by will think different!
On 24th morning we get a shiny new Honda CRV delivered to our door. Nice to be pampered! I get familiar with the maps - being navigator and all! We start our trip here from the Table Mountain - its right outside our Welgelgen Guest House. The cable cars are visible and it looks clear and sunny. The cable cars here have huge water tanks on the bottom – to carry fresh water to the mountain top.
We set off in the cars – the floor revolves so that the people inside can get a 360 degree vista!
The table cloth – is the name given to the clouds covering the table mountain – was everywhere when we got out. We just walked about in the mist and exited cold and wet!
The company gardens are a nice place in the center of the downtown. A strip of greenery that connects many places. That day we ran out of luck. The planetarium had just completed a show. The District 6 museum had closed minutes before!
District 6 is a classic ‘apartheid’ story which SA is ashamed of today. A huge area near Cape’s downtown was evicted – mostly blacks. Families living there for ages were thrown out and homes bulldozed. After the country became democratic, there are some laws that say if you were forcibly evicted and have proof of that and also proof that you had a title deed, you may get back your home/land.
District 6 is being rebuilt and people are returning – but the process is taking time. The area now is largely empty. Its proximity to Cape’s downtown means the land is very dear to current owners. So you can imagine. Suleman just shrugs’ at the word ‘rehabilitation’.
After all our misses we headed to the waterfront and selected Indian dinner.
Late night conversations at the guest house with other guests – mostly from USA. We met one guy who had visited India in 1978. He took a train from Kabul to India! I asked him to come back to see a new India.
The Peninsula drive was spectacular. There are many routes to head out south to the Cape of Good Hope. We took a scenic drive hugging the Atlantic Coast - Chapman’s Drive, Simon’s Town, and finally the cape point.
It’s a desolate kind of place – with veld forests – that have only bushy plants. The winds and seas are roaring close by and the place is known to get mean and beastly during storms! There are hundreds of wrecks hugging the cape – the legendary being the Flying Dutchman! Flying Dutch man wrecked off the Cape of Good Hope and legend has it that the ship itself is now seen haunting the cape! Wonder why they call it ‘Good Hope’?
After all those years of geography, we were made to believe this is the southern most tip where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Its not! I want my money back!
The cape here is just like finger out in the Atlantic. The southern most point is actually more to the east and south! Cape Agulhas – and its also the ‘official’ place where the Atlantic and Indian ocean meet.
Lunch at the idyllic Simon’s Town was slow and easy. It was cold and windy when we went to visit the Penguins at the Boulders close by. Jack ass penguins – braying to declare territory. Its so surprising that the penguins decide to colonize this place – so close to humans. The penguins arrived here 1980!
Took a faster route N2 into the town and headed out to eat Ethiopian dinner! One of my favourites because it offers veg options and very tasty – different from Indian but still yummy.
Planning our long drives for the next day. We are driving towards Eastern Cape via the Route 62.
