14-Jun-2005
We arrived in Cape Town about 15 minutes late ... we were on the wrong side of the plane so we didn't get to see the view of the city and the mountains (we found out later that day that they were all covered by clouds!). We got through customs and immigration without too much of a delay and picked up our bag. We had to wait a moment for our rental car as they were only expecting us around 10 am but we ended up with a Toyota Corolla.
This was the first time driving on the left side of the road so it was an interesting experience. Rob kept trying to use the windshield wipers as turn signals! The directions to Graeme and Jo's place were excellent and we got there without a hitch. Mimmi and Elliot let us in and we took some time to unpack and get settled before heading out for lunch.
We found our way to the waterfront and had a nice lunch before doing some shopping. As we had some time before Graeme & Jo got home for work we headed out for a drive down to Hout Bay and around the peninsula and back to the house.
Hopefully the weather will be a bit more cooperative for the rest of our Cape Town visit ... we were still unable to see Table Mountain.
15-Jun-2005
We slept in this morning and headed our to catch the ferry to Robben Island (that is where Nelson Mandela and others were imprisoned during the Apartheid era). The weather was sunnier but the clouds still covered the mountain. Oh well!
We found our way to the waterfront without difficulty and parked the car for the day. As we arrived a bit early for the ferry we walked around a bit and found a neat sign telling us how far we were from various places. We were closer to Sydney than San Francisco!
Our trip out to Robben Island was rather nice (although we disagree about this, Rob liking the ride more than Kathy!). The boat was rocking a bit. The trip took 25 minutes ... here are some pictures taken from the boat during the crossing. The last one is as we were approaching Robben Island and shows the village which is where the inhabitants live.
Our tour started with a bus ride where we saw various sights on the island, including the old lepers graveyard and church. Apparently Robben Island has become a favorite place for people to get married, especially on Valentine's Day. In 2005 they had over 20 couples getting married at the Garrison Church in the village. After leaving the village we stopped at the rock quarry where the prisoners (including Mr. Mandela) labored for many years. A cave in the wall of the quarry is where many of the prisoners educated each other ... many prisoners also earned university degrees via correspondence as well.
On our way to the prison we passed by some of the old WWII fortifications that were built to defend Table Bay ... according to our guide, they only got finished in 1947 (a bit late!).
The final stop of the tour was the maximum security prison where the prisoners were kept on Robben Island. The tour was given by a former political prisoner who lived in the prison for several years during the 1970's. Many of the former inmates had left words and objects associated with their stay on the island, each situated in the cell that they occupied during that time. Very moving! The cell pictured at the right is #5 in B-Block where
Both of us definitely recommend a visit to anyone who visits Cape Town (be prepared for a bumpy boat ride). The tour takes about 4 hours, including about 1 hour to get to and from the island. We did a bit of shopping and returned back to Graeme and Jo's (through rush hour traffic!) for dinner and a good night's sleep.
Mr. Mandela was imprisoned.
16-Jun-2005
We got up fairly early for a visit to Kirstenbosch Gardens, one of the top botannical gardens in the world. We followed Graeme and Jo in our rented car and the six of us (Graeme, Jo, Julia, Thomas , Rob & Kathy) spent several hours roaming the gardens before heading down to the restaurant for a nice lunch. The mountain shown in the first picture was named "Mouse Mountain" by Julia, for obvious reasons. The first part of the walk was all uphill and the second part was downhill, so we were fresh for the difficult part. Look out for the fierce gorilla, Julia! Also several forms of wildlife, including Guinea Fowl, can be found roaming the park.
Today was the day that the "tablecloth" chose to descend from Table Mountain; the clouds were flowing off the mountain the picture was taken, so we missed it on a clear day ... hopefully we'll get a picture tomorrow morning on our way out of Cape Town.
Editor's Note: The gardens were a really nice place to visit. We saw lots of people having picnics and just enjoying the atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit when in Cape Town ... plan to spend several hours!
That afternoon and evening we spent with friends from the Shire of Adamastor (the Cape Town SCA group). Kathy and I (mostly Kathy) taught some dances to the group and we had a nice time chatting, etc. About 12 members of the local group showed up and we introduced them to several 15th century Italian dances, including Petit Vriens and Rostiboli Gioioso. Our contribution to the repast were some Gode Cookys ... they received lots of compliments (thanks Huen!)
We also found out that they use the Gode Cookery website as a resource for anything English (especially Chaucerian). Now they know about the Cookys as well!
After a nice night of dancing and socializing, we headed home to pack for our trip to Pretoria in the morning.
