Cape Town

The anticipation of a journey is such a major part of the build up to any holiday and so it was for me going to South Africa to meet up with my two brothers who were travelling from New Zealand and Australia respectively to meet up with me in Johannesburg. The all night wait at Kigali airport was well worth the effort to get the early morning flight, firstly to Burundi and then on to Johannesburg, where in true Keith organizational style, I was met at the airport by a taxi which took me straight to a very nice bijou hotel with beautiful gardens and of course my first request was a glass of chilled white wine followed by a very long hot shower. The boys arrived around 5.00pm and it was so lovely to see them both and get all the news from home. Eating in the hotel that night, I was spoiled for choice and the chef very kindly gave me a portion of everything, which in spite of my diminished appetite, I managed to devour without too much trouble!

The next morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, again in the delightful hotel surroundings and since it was Keith’s birthday we felt obliged to celebrate with another bottle of wine. By then it was time for us to go to the station to pick up our train, which would take us to Cape Town. The Premier Class train was serving refreshments and snacks on the platform as our luggage was taken onboard and then we were duly escorted to our carriages for the journey.

We set off at 3.00pm promptly only to discover more refreshments being served in the lounge, by this time we were getting to know some of our travelling companions quite well and our conversation with the white South Africans lasted right through until dinner time. I was ready for bed after dinner and there was something very relaxing about lying in bed and looking out at the night sky and watching the scenery go by, even more so as dawn broke and I could watch the South African scenery, bleak and barren as it was ( such a contrast to the densely populated country of Rwanda) and thinking of all the Wilbur Smith novels I had read.

The scenery started to change once we went through an enormously long tunnel and suddenly the land became much greener, there was more sign of civilization and we could see evidence of the vineyards that South Africa is so famous for. We eventually got in to Cape Town around 5.00pm the following day and again were pleased to see our taxi pick up waiting for us and took us to our apartment right in the middle of the business centre and only about 20 minutes walking distance from the waterfront. Not feeling too adventurous that night, we sent Roy out to find the nearest store and we picnicked that night on bread and cheese and some more of the local and very cheap and delicious wine.

The next morning we were greeted with glorious blue skies so we wandered down to the Victoria and Alfred waterfront where there was a real Mediterranean atmosphere and noticeably white. We decided to book the ferry to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was kept prisoner for 18 years and were entertained to a fascinating commentary by our tour guide who seemed to be able to link every nationality represented on the tour into the struggle of apartheid.

The next two days we spent taking advantage of the city bus tours, the first of which took us round the outskirts and our first stop off point was the Constantia vineyards where we took a tour of the cellars followed by a wine tasting. Our next stop off point was a township where we took a walking tour and were invited to see inside some of the local residences including the shabeen ( the local pub). Although the homes are built virtually on top of one another out of corrugated sheeting many have been rebuilt and rehoused by an Irish benefactor and I took note of the fact that they all had running water and electricity and most homes also had vehicles parked outside so although unemployment is particularly high it was very different from the poverty of Rwanda.

Back on the bus, we headed around the coast line where we got off at Camps Bay, one of the many fabulous beach areas but interestingly with no one swimming in the sea because the water is so cold, it was there we noticed that the cable car to Table Mountain was operating so we hopped into a taxi and went straight up the mountain, managing to avoid all queues and get straight onto the cable car. The views at the top were spectacular and we felt particularly lucky when we got back down to discover that the cable car had gone off again due to the high winds that prevail.

Our second day bus tour concentrated more round the city centre and we got off at the gold museum and then wandered back down to the waterfront to take a water taxi along the canal.

In the evening we took the bus once more up to Signal Hill to watch the spectacular sunset, we had been given instructions to take a picnic, so along with many other visitors and Cape Towners we enjoyed the views as the sun disappeared and then saw the city of Cape Town by night.

Having got our bearings, we were then able to spend the next day wandering around the city centre on our own, where I had a few essential items I was keen to purchase (footwear and trousers and top up on some toiletries which are expensive to buy in Kigali).

We had decided to spend the Wednesday, based on weather forecasts, visiting Stellenbosch vineyards, but were then persuaded by our taxi driver guide to change tactics and head for the Cape of Good Hope, it was a good move as the scenery was spectacular, with a trip out to Seal Island and along Chapman’s Peak and then down to the National Park at Cape Point with a stop off at an ostrich farm, before we could finally view the Indian Ocean meeting the Atlantic Ocean, it was an amazing journey and we totally chose the right day to do this trip when the weather was clear and the winds were so low.

We didn’t see any of the baboons we were constantly being warned about but did manage to see penguins once we rounded the coast to Simonstown and got into warmer waters. Altogether a great way to see this whole tip of South Africa and as Cape Town prepares itself for the jazz festival which is due to start tomorrow I can safely say that this is one city which I would happily put on my “to revisit list”.