Two Oceans ~ One Hope

I’ve finally gotten round to writing this, it’s taken a while only, because I’d loaned my maps, notebook, and diary to a colleague who visited there for a while. Here’s a short excerpt of what’s to come. Do look out over the next few days for more.

Cape Town lies on a small peninsula at the southern tip of Africa which juts into the Atlantic Ocean, it’s South Africa’s premier tourist destination and 4th largest urban centre. Enriched by Dutch, British and Cape Malay influences, the cosmopolitan atmosphere is a unique blend of cultures. Cradled at the foot of its most famous landmark Table Mountain Cape Town is bounded by Devil’s Peak to the east and Lion’s Head to the west. Table Bay harbour and the Victoria & Albert Waterfront separate the city centre from the Atlantic Ocean. My knowledge of Africa extended only to the starvation in Ethiopia and the exotic safari landscape evoked by the aroma of coffee. So I was surprised by Cape Town’s sophistication, with a plethora of culturally varied, exciting restaurants, and vibrant nightlife in the clubs and bars around Look and Long streets. My favourite part was the many open-air markets and informal stalls offering ethnic African produce. I was also enthralled by the city’s scenic beauty and Victorian architecture of the many well-preserved historical buildings from the early Cape Dutch period and 19th century. Particularly, Heritage Square on the corner of Shortmarket and Buitengracht streets, as well as the Blue Lodge and No. 203 on Long Street. We also ventured outside town to Chapman’s Peak Drive along a winding coastline, where sheer cliffs drop to the swirling sea below, and took a tour of the vineyards around Constantia and Stellenbosch.

Quick Tips:

The main highlights of Cape Town:
·Lion’s Head, which separated the Atlantic suburbs of Sea Point and Camps Bay from the city centre. On Signal Hill an old cannon, the Noon Gun, is fired daily at precisely 12 o’clock.
·We hiked up to the top of the mesa of Table Mountain which loomed over Cape Town’s city centre, then rode the cable car down after some refreshments at the restaurant on top.
·Upmarket complex of Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre at the Waterfront which boasted modern structures designed to fit in with renovated older buildings.
· 18m high Lighthouse on Robben Island which was built in 1863. Standing near the "village", whose showpiece, the Governor’s House, offered accommodation for visiting dignitaries.
· The Grand Parade with its lively market atmosphere and wares ranging from fabrics, flowers and spices to cheap watches and toys. Be careful of pickpockets here, and don’t carry expensive jewellery and cameras.
· Castle Good Hope which re-created the days of Jan van Riebeeck and the early settlers.

Best Way To Get Around:

Cape Point juts into the southern Atlantic Ocean and forms the tip of the peninsula’s rugged mountain chain, which stretches from Table Bay, soaring out of the sea to a height of 1,087m above sea level, dwarfing the high-rise buildings of the city and its surrounding suburbs. A scenic drive leads to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, which offers hiking and mountain biking trails. The less energetic can ride the funicular to a lighthouse and superb views.

The Cape Peninsula’s most prominent feature, Table Mountain, has been a welcome landmark for travellers. Its impressive front wall, as well as the surrounding buttresses and ravines, is a spectacular natural wonder. The rock formations and twisted strata indicate turbulent geological processes that span a millions-of-years history. A mass of sedimentary sandstone and large areas of granite forms the Cape Peninsula’s mountain chain. The sandstone sediment, which forms the main block of the mountain, was deposited about 450 million years ago when the peninsula, then a part of Gondwana, lay below sea level. After the subsidence of the primeval ocean, the effects of wind, rain, ice and extreme temperatures caused erosion of the softer layers, leaving behind the characteristic mesa of Table Mountain.

Over 1,400 plant species of the 2,285 that make up the Cape Floral Kingdom of the Peninsula can be found in the protected natural habitat of Table Mountain. They include Disa uniflora (also called Pride of Table Mountain), which mostly grows near streams and waterfalls, and several members of the regal protea family. Wildlife, consisting mostly of small mammals, reptiles and birds, includes the rare and secretive ghost frog, which is found in perennial streams on the plateau.

The high plateau affords superb views of the Hely-Hutchinson reservoir, the Back Table, and southwards to False Bay and Cape Point. In 1998, extensive upgrading of the Table Mountain Cableway, as well as the lower and upper stations, resulted in special reinforced viewing platforms at strategic vantage points.

Table Mountain’s Tablecloth: An old local legend tells of the Dutchman, Jan van Hunks, who engaged in a smoking contest with a stranger on the slopes of Devil’s Peak. After several days, the disgruntled stranger had to admit defeat and revealed himself as the Devil. Vanishing in a puff of smoke, he carried van Hunks off with him, leaving behind wreaths of smoke curling around Devil’s Peak -- which is where the cloud begins pouring over the mountains -- forming the famous tablecloth.

Tips for Walkers: Several well-marked trails, graded according to their degree of difficulty, lead to the summit. All hikers must wear proper walking boots and are advised to check with the Lower Cableway Station before setting out, as weather conditions may deteriorate without warning. Winds at the top can reach over 80km per hour, so hiking on windy or misty days is not recommended.

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company:
Daily departure at varying times.
Tel: 021/424-5148

Cape Town’s successful waterfront project was named after the son of Queen Victoria. In 1860, a young Prince Alfred initiated the construction of the first breakwater in stormy Table Bay by toppling a load of rocks that had been excavated from the sea floor into the water. The Alfred Basin, which was subsequently created, successfully protected visiting ships from the powerful gales howling around the cape in winter that had previously caused an alarming number of vessels to flounder.

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, or V&A, is a shopper’s haven, offering designer boutiques and others selling quirky hand-painted clothing, health and beauty products, home wares, and specialty gifts. There are also over 40 ethnically diverse food outlets. Most eating places have harbour views and alfresco dining on the wharfs, and waterside platforms are extremely popular. Many bars and bistros offer live music, with excellent jazz at the Green Dolphin. Excursions of all kinds start at the Waterfront, from boat tours around the harbour and to Robben Island, helicopter trips over the peninsula to sunset champagne cruises off Clifton Beach.

Some of the V&A's attractions:
• The Scratch Patch affords visitors the opportunity to choose their own selection of polished semi-precious stones, such as amethyst and tiger’s-eye.
• Two Oceans Aquarium, with its shatterproof glass tanks and tunnels, is filled with shoaling fish such as yellowtail, steenbras, and musselcrackers, as well as turtles and even a short-tailed stingray.
• BMW Pavilion is a modern showroom with a twist. It’s open 24 hours daily and not only displays the German auto giant’s latest models, but the complex also houses the IMAX cinema with its huge screen and mega-sound.
• The Victoria Wharf Centre has exclusive shops, boutiques, cosy eateries, and informal "barrel" stalls that give this mall a festive, market-day feel.
• There are two hotels here of note. The Table Bay Hotel and The Cape Grace Hotel. The former is one of the latest and best appointed hotels built at the V&A Waterfront, and it offers the ultimate in comfort and luxury. Each room offers wonderful views of Table Mountain and the busy harbour.
• There is a Planet Hollywood here and a Telkom Exploratorium offering fascinating insights into the marvels of modern technology.

The popular V&A Waterfront is well signposted at all entry points, as well as from the N1 and N2 expressways. It is also well served by city transport, with a special "Waterfront Shuttle Bus" leaving from the info office on Adderley Street, in front of the Cape Town railway station, every 15 minutes.

Named "Robbe Eiland" (seal island) by the Dutch in the mid-17th century due to its abundant seal population, Robben Island has seen much human suffering. As early as 1636, it served as a penal settlement and was taken over by the South African Prisons Service in 1960. When the last political prisoners were released in 1991, the South African Natural Heritage Programme nominated the island for its significance as a seabird breeding colony – rare species include the migrant Caspian tern and jackass penguin. Today, the island is an important ecological and historical heritage site.

This flat, rocky island lays about 11km north of Cape Town in the icy Atlantic Ocean. Composed mainly of blue slate, it is only 30m above sea level at its highest point. None of the trees on the island are indigenous. The endangered migrant bird species Caspian Tern breeds on the northern part of the island.

The Governor’s House is a fine example of Victorian architecture, dating back to 1895, and was originally the home of the Island Commissioner. Today it serves as a conference centre and provides upmarket accommodations for visiting dignitaries and VIPs.

Robben Island served as a place of banishment from 1658, when Jan van Riebeeck sent his interpreter here. The maximum-security prison was completed in 1964. In the 18th century, the Dutch East India Company sent high-ranking princes and sheikhs from India, Malaysia, and Indonesia to Robben Island for inciting resistance against their European overlords. The British banished rebellious Xhosa rulers to the island in the early 1800s. And in 1963, Nelson Mandela and seven other political activists were condemned to life imprisonment here by the South African government. Mandela spent 27 years of his life here in exile, in a cell 5x5 metres square. He was released in 1990.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, is a stone church built by lepers in 1895 for use by men only. The worshippers had to stand or lie down because there were no pews.

Political prisoners were required to work in the lime quarry for at least six hours a day and suffered damage to their eyesight, due to constant dust and the glare of sunlight on the stark white lime cliffs.

The lighthouse on the island, built in 1863, replaced the fire beacons in use up until then. It's 18m high, with a beam that can cover a distance of 25km.

Boats/catamarans/ferries to the island depart from Jetty 1 (Nelson Mandela Gateway) from in front of the V&A Waterfront's Clock Tower every hour from 9am to 6pm, except 4pm. You need to join a tour group, and entry is closed on days when the wind is high or the sea is rough. The boat ride takes about 30 minutes and the guided tour about two hours, with a former inmate acting as tour guide.

Costs: about 150 Rand per adult; children at half price.
Tel: (021) 419-1300 or (021) 411-1006
Email: info@robben-island.co.za

The Malays had a significant influence on the Afrikaans tongue, and many of their culinary traditions were absorbed by other cultures. The original Malays were brought to the Cape from 1658 onwards by the Dutch East India Company. Most of them were Muslims from Sri Lanka, Indonesian islands, and India. A large number of them were slaves, while others were political exiles of considerable stature. After slavery was abolished in the early 1830s, the Cape Malays (or Cape Muslims, as they now prefer to be called) settled on the slope of Signal Hill, the traditional home of the Cape Muslim community in an area called Bo-Kapp ("above Cape Town") to be near the mosques that had been built there. One of the mosques on Longmarket Street, Auwal Mosque dates from 1794, and like many of the Bo-Kaap mosques, stands wedged between the homes of residents. Religion is a fundamental part of every devout Muslim’s life. And Muslim tradition dictates that formal attire be worn on festive occasions, and this includes the characteristic chador , or full-length veil or shawl for women and the traditional fez for men; of Turkish origin, the fez is knitted or made of cloth, but caps are more common nowadays. Today, the Muslim community is very much a part of Cape Town; the muezzins’ haunting calls from the minarets to summon the faithful are an integral part of the city

The streets of Bo-Kaap are within easy walking distance of the city centre; here, narrow-fronted houses in pastel colours open onto cobbled streets, though some have been tarred over. Ornate parapets and plasterwork adorn the houses here, most of which date from around 1810. The Bo-Kaap Museum, which dates back to the 1760s, is the oldest house in the area still in its original condition. The characteristic feature is a voorstoep -- front terrace -- with a bench at either end, emphasizing the social aspect of the Cape Muslim culture; the front of the house was an important gathering place. The museum highlights the cultural contributions made by the early Muslims, many of whom were skilled tailors, carpenters, shoemakers, and builders. It contains 19th-century furnishings, including a Cape drop-leaf dining table, Cape Regency-style chairs, and a bridal chamber decorated to match the bride’s dress.

The Bo-Kaap Museum is located on 71 Wale Street. It's open daily from 9:30am to 4:30pm, except Good Friday and Christmas Day. You can inquire about conducted tours of the Bo-Kaap area; there are usually two per day available at 10am or 2pm (Mon to Sat).

Tel: 021/424-3846