What a week! Cape Town has it all, theatres, restaurants, bars, mountains, beaches, museums something for everyone. I've had a very busy week from the time I left Malawi. What I had not realised was when I changed my ticket to come to south Africa 10 kgs was taken off my baggage allowance. I managed to get away with it in Malawi but I don't know what will happen here.
Although I could have done with more time in Cape Town I'm really pleased that I visited Johannesburg. I did a city tour, a visit to Soweto and the Hector Pieterson museum. It was a really interesting trip, Soweto was not what I imagined, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Winnie Mandela all have houses there. You see kids out playing in the street unlike the rich white areas where people live behind high walls with electrified fences round the top. However, the illegal townships are worse than I imagined.
The bus trip was comfortable but I slept very little. From 5 in the morning I enjoyed the journey through the Karoo and the wine lands then on into Cape Town. It was a good option and a way of seeing some of the country.
Cape town is fabulous. It may be expensive to fly to from the UK but its inexpensive once you get here. I'm staying in a newly refurbished 4 star hotel in the city centre with an excellent restaurant for 5 night for just over the cost of a room in a Travel Lodge in central London for 1 night. Taxis, meals and the theatre are about 25% of the price at home. The wine, of course, is excellent. I have turned the air conditioning in my room as low as possible to acclimatise before I come home. The weather here is great much cooler than Malawi in the high 20s and low 30s. There is also a cooling breeze from the sea.
I did a bus tour the first day and went up Table Mountain. Its magnificent and the views are spectacular. I walked round the top which consists of a sandstone pavement similar to the limestone pavement in the Lake District. The sandstone has been eroded and sculpted by the environment giving it its own micro climate and flora. I went to "The Ultimate Talent Show" the first night which was show of young African talent. All the performers were disadvantaged and from deprived areas. Most of them had never been in a theatre before let alone performed. It was full of raw energy and talent, a most superb evening's entertainment.
On Wednesday I had a helicopter trip round Cape Town, over the mountain and over the peninsula to the Indian Ocean. It was a bit bumpy due to the wind buffeting it. I was the only passenger, Cape Town is suffering from the economic slow down and lack of tourists. My trip to Robben Island was cancelled because of the high winds so I had a chance to visit the V & A Waterfront. That evening I went to see the Cape Town Ballet perform Christmas Classics, another excellent evening.
Thursday was a busy day with visits to the Cape of Good Hope Castle, which is really a fort, the District Six museum, which tells the stories of forced evictions, the Holocaust Centre and the afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel, their
Gleneagles. No lunch or dinner so I could make the most of afternoon tea. I went to the ballet again to see the Nutcracker, another great evening.
Today I've had a trip round the peninsula. First stop was to see the penguins at Boulder Beach it was fabulous to see these amusing birds in their natural environment. I then went on to the Cape Point Nature Reserve. I saw eland, tortoises, ostriches, seals and other antelopes. I had lunch at Cape Point and climbed up to the lighthouse then had a visit to the botanical gardens before returning to Cape town.
I feel I've only scratched the surface of Cape town and would love to come back sometime. I think there may be some reasonably priced trips from the UK after the 2010 football. I've still to visit the wine lands, have sundowners on the beach, visit the National Gallery and go to Robben Island, to mention but a few.
Its packing and early night tonight. Home Sunday, see you soon.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Friday, 12 December 2008
All Packed Up And Ready To Go
South Africa here I come, then home in a week. It can't come soon enough. I've been looking forward to my trip home for such a long time. My luggage is overweight mainly due to all the rough stones that I collect here, unfortunately there are no precious stones in my collection. Arrangements have been made for my chickens and cat. I'm desperate for the cold wind, ice and rain. The rainy season has started here, about a month late, so its a bit cooler when the rain falls and for a while after that. However its still too hot for me and the humidity is a killer. I've woken up a few times with my bedroom floor flooded, especially under the bed. It took a while to find where the water was coming from because the rain had stopped by the time I found the flood. It was coming in the window. None of the window frames fit properly so there are gaps where the water gets in. Its not everyone that has a water bed in Africa. When there is heavy rain fall it can flood the holes that snakes live in. We had a huge green mamba in the garden which my neighbour was chasing and trying to kill. I kept out of the way.
I spent another week doing the Children in the Wilderness holiday. There were no pythons in the rooms this year only scorpions, huge ones. There was also an assortment of the biggest, hairiest spiders that I have ever seen. Getting there was an interesting trip. I got a mini bus to the nearest town then a bike taxi for the last 15 kilometers, its a good job these African lads are strong. When we got to the river the guy had to carry the bike over and I had to wade through this fast flowing, muddy water up to my knees wondering what was lurking in it. The kids had a ball on camp. Some visitors flew into the safari park in a private plane, a small Cessna, so we did a trip to the airstrip to let the kids see a plane. I remembered when I was a kid how excited I got when I saw a plane. In the west we forget that more than half of the worlds population has never seen a plane. The kids loved it. However I'm glad I wasn't the next passenger after the kids had played with the wing flaps and propellers and put their dirty fingers all over the windows. The animals were as entertaining as before. Watching the monkey's play outside the chalets was a real treat, the baboons were not so attractive. Its quite strange going to sleep listening to the various animals outside your chalet and not being worried about the elephants and hyenas in close proximity. The chalets only have a 2 foot stone wall, the rest is constructed from plastic mosquito netting so there is not much to keep the animals out.
I know my husbandry skills, or lack of them, have let me down here but my confusion has increased. I've had another chick hatch but I've not had a cockerel for about 3 months. Maybe my chickens are having visitors I don't know about. We cooked one of the chicken last night and had a Christmas meal before we all go off on holiday. I had all the Christmas decorations that people sent me up, coloured lights and a decorated baobab tree. We never got as far as the pudding so I'm taking it to work later today.
We have recently had a few deaths from cholera in Malawi and the fear is that we will have an epidemic like Zimbabwe. VSO phoned to tell us not to shake hands with anyone and remind us to boil all our water. It may have been more helpful had they ordered the vaccine a few weeks ago, there is none in the country at present. I continue to be greedy with malaria and have just finished treatment for my 6th episode, the last 3 within 4 months. I'm a bit fed up with it but just think how bad it is for local people who don't have the rapid access to diagnosis and treatment that I have. At least local people have some immunity by the time they are adults but so many people die from it especially children. Someone died behind my house this morning. He was working in his garden when he was attacked by bees, they covered him completely and nobody could do anything. I spoke to his brother who told me that dying this way was a miracle. He did not appear to be upset. Maybe it is some cultural belief that this is some sort of special death. I only hope he is dead and not in shock because they bury them pretty quick here, within 4 hours of death if they are a Muslim, no one needs to be certified dead or have a post mortem. No one morns if someone is killed by lightening, which happens surprisingly frequently here, because it is believed that God had taken the spirit but it will be sent back. I would prefer happier miracles but his brother was happy enough!
I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks. No one is allowed to give me any stress or I may have a relapse of malaria, so if I play golf I have to win. I have to get new clubs when I'm home because someone stole my clubs from the garden hut. Little did the theives know not only were the women's clubs but they had been cut down for me. So if someone tries to sell clubs for a shorty you'll know where they came from.
If I don't see you before have a great Christmas and New Year. I can almost taste that south African wine already.
I spent another week doing the Children in the Wilderness holiday. There were no pythons in the rooms this year only scorpions, huge ones. There was also an assortment of the biggest, hairiest spiders that I have ever seen. Getting there was an interesting trip. I got a mini bus to the nearest town then a bike taxi for the last 15 kilometers, its a good job these African lads are strong. When we got to the river the guy had to carry the bike over and I had to wade through this fast flowing, muddy water up to my knees wondering what was lurking in it. The kids had a ball on camp. Some visitors flew into the safari park in a private plane, a small Cessna, so we did a trip to the airstrip to let the kids see a plane. I remembered when I was a kid how excited I got when I saw a plane. In the west we forget that more than half of the worlds population has never seen a plane. The kids loved it. However I'm glad I wasn't the next passenger after the kids had played with the wing flaps and propellers and put their dirty fingers all over the windows. The animals were as entertaining as before. Watching the monkey's play outside the chalets was a real treat, the baboons were not so attractive. Its quite strange going to sleep listening to the various animals outside your chalet and not being worried about the elephants and hyenas in close proximity. The chalets only have a 2 foot stone wall, the rest is constructed from plastic mosquito netting so there is not much to keep the animals out.
I know my husbandry skills, or lack of them, have let me down here but my confusion has increased. I've had another chick hatch but I've not had a cockerel for about 3 months. Maybe my chickens are having visitors I don't know about. We cooked one of the chicken last night and had a Christmas meal before we all go off on holiday. I had all the Christmas decorations that people sent me up, coloured lights and a decorated baobab tree. We never got as far as the pudding so I'm taking it to work later today.
We have recently had a few deaths from cholera in Malawi and the fear is that we will have an epidemic like Zimbabwe. VSO phoned to tell us not to shake hands with anyone and remind us to boil all our water. It may have been more helpful had they ordered the vaccine a few weeks ago, there is none in the country at present. I continue to be greedy with malaria and have just finished treatment for my 6th episode, the last 3 within 4 months. I'm a bit fed up with it but just think how bad it is for local people who don't have the rapid access to diagnosis and treatment that I have. At least local people have some immunity by the time they are adults but so many people die from it especially children. Someone died behind my house this morning. He was working in his garden when he was attacked by bees, they covered him completely and nobody could do anything. I spoke to his brother who told me that dying this way was a miracle. He did not appear to be upset. Maybe it is some cultural belief that this is some sort of special death. I only hope he is dead and not in shock because they bury them pretty quick here, within 4 hours of death if they are a Muslim, no one needs to be certified dead or have a post mortem. No one morns if someone is killed by lightening, which happens surprisingly frequently here, because it is believed that God had taken the spirit but it will be sent back. I would prefer happier miracles but his brother was happy enough!
I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks. No one is allowed to give me any stress or I may have a relapse of malaria, so if I play golf I have to win. I have to get new clubs when I'm home because someone stole my clubs from the garden hut. Little did the theives know not only were the women's clubs but they had been cut down for me. So if someone tries to sell clubs for a shorty you'll know where they came from.
If I don't see you before have a great Christmas and New Year. I can almost taste that south African wine already.
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