Going To .... South Africa, Part XII

February 13, 2007

This was our last full day in Cape Town. Tomorrow we would be flying back to NY. We had been following the weather, which had cleared nicely for us - mild days in the low 80's and sun and blue skies had prevailed the last few days. But New York, they told us, had seen frigid temperatures and was expecting snow Wednesday. We were returning Thursday.

For our last day we drove around the other side of Table Mountain to South Africa's famous Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. This is a 1305-acre estate that belonged to colonialist businessman and founder of De Beers diamonds, Cecil Rhodes, who bequeathed it to the state on his death in 1902. The government decided to use the location as its national gardens and set aside money in 1913 to carry out that decision under the purpose of preserving the country's unique flora. As such, it was the first botanical garden in the world with such a proclaimed ethos. It is also one of the only gardens worldwide that cultivates only indigenous flora.

As I mentioned, only a small part of the acreage is cultivated. The other is wild and contains hiking trails that wend their way along the slopes for many miles or which, ultimately, ascend to the mountain tops. We were visiting in late summer so the flowers were fading, though the foliage was green and lush. The gardens are beautifully attended to and workers were busy throughout, watering, trimming and pruning. We did manage to catch a glimpse of South Africa's national flower, the Protea (sometimes also called sugarbush) which is an ancient plant that was flowering some 300 million years ago.


We entered Gardens near its lecture hall and plant sales store. The eastern side of Table Mountain provides a beautiful backdrop.


Lori gives me a quiz on some of the exotic flora found at Kirstenbosch.


Don't know what this plant is but it caught our attention.


This gives you a feel for the garden and the presence of Table Mountain hanging over it.


Peter enjoys the strong South African sun on one of the Garden's sprawling lawns.


Stacey and Lori try to capture some guinea fowl(on camera).


Guinea fowl and other exotic birds are common in the Garden.


Many varieties of wild mountain feinbos are cultivated in the Garden.


Finally. We had been stalking the national flower, the Protea. We found an entire section dedicated to it.


We left the Garden, deciding that it was a rewarding place to visit. Cape Towners enjoy it as well, not only for its fabulous collection of native flora but as a destination to enjoy a picnic, a hike or an evening sunset concert which are held all summer long.

~~~~~

This evening, our last, we would dine at One Waterfront which we had read about before leaving New York. The Times had written it up as one of three fancy new restaurants in Cape Town whose chefs are discovering and adapting a "people's food" - the cuisine of the Cape Malays, the descendants of the slaves brought to the Cape by the Dutch from Malaysia and Indonesia. Here's the Time's review: A People’s Food Takes a Step Up in Cape Town ."

As its name implies, the restaurant is in Cape Town's renovated, working waterfront, which most tourist books tell you to eschew as a shallow tourist trap. If you've been to South Street in New York or Baltimore's Inner Harbor, then you've probably visited the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town as well: restaurants and shops and shops and restaurants. However, we wanted a nice place to dine for our last night in South Africa and we drove the few blocks to the shore. Truth is, it's a very beautiful place and it still serves as a real working waterfront for ships that ply its waters.


When we arrived these rowers were pushing their craft through the water while the sun was setting.


Peter, dressed for dinner, enjoys the beauty of the waterfront sunset.


Once again, Table Mountain hangs magically over Cape Town. Fancy hotels mix it up with fishing boats and the stuff of a genuine working harbor.


Stacey and Peter at One Waterfront.

We had a lovely dinner and the chef came out to greet us at dinner's end because we had mentioned to our waiter that we had come due to the NY Times article. Our visit to South Africa was over. In front of us was the tiring air flights back to the U.S. but that was a trifle compared to the great pleasure this trip had given us. South Africa is an immense country, stunningly beautiful with a long and tortured history. The people are as beautiful as is the land in which they live. They were friendly and sociable, welcoming us wherever we went. There is incredible wealth as you'd expect in a country that is so rich in resources. What's so sad is that the wealth was squandered for so many years in keeping the majority of its people down and enslaved in horrendous poverty. That period is over and change is in the air. It will be interesting to see how South Africa solves its enormous problems, the legacy of a vicious apartheid, and brings all its people to share a higher standard of living. It might serve as a model for people everywhere, certainly our country as well.

I hope you enjoyed my travelogue. I'm happy to have brought you along on the trip with us. I'm also happy not to have to compulsively write even one more post...my fingers are very tired ... from snapping photos and typing these words. See you on the road. - Matt

Going To .... South Africa, Part XI

February 12, 2007

Today was the second day without our travelling partners and we decided to take a car ride out into the countryside Western Cape Province. Stellenbosch, the second largest city of the Western Cape, and the mountains and valleys around it, form the Cape Winelands, the larger of the two wine-growing areas of South Africa.


A map of the Western Cape (click for larger view).

Stellenbosch is just 30 miles east of Cape Town and was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel, who was sent there to explore (and colonize) the territory and who named the town after himself: Stel's forest. The Cape area was settled, and then occupied, in the early 1600's by the Dutch and their powerful corporation, the Dutch East Indies Company. They used Cape Town initially as a supply stop for their ships, then expanded out into other areas. The town reflects that origin in beautiful old Dutch architecture which has been well preserved.


The old powder magazine, the VOC Kruithius, where munitions were stored. The town was originally an outpost of the Dutch East Indies Company.




The letters "VOC" are still visible on the side of the arsenal. They stand for the Dutch Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, literally "United East Indies Company."


The beautiful Rhenish Church,from 1824, situated on the town's village green - Die Braak.


At the other end of the commons, this beautiful church: St Mary's on 'Die Braak'.


A puss stands guard outside a building that served as a school. Note the double door.


Another South African cat. Can't help taking pictures of cats - we missed our Pumpkin waiting for us at home in Brooklyn.


The Coachman's Cottage on Alexander Street with beautiful thatched roof and curvy Dutch lines.


The Ou Hoofgebou (the old main building) on the corner of Van Ryneveld street and Victoria Street. The Ou Hoofgebou dates back to 1881 and housed the old Victoria College which later became Stellenbosch University. Today it houses the Law Faculty of Stellenbosch University.

We finished our walking tour of this beautiful old town with a drive up its famous Dorp Street. It's a beautiful, oak-lined street with still more old dwellings, pretty shops and college buildings. But now we wanted to see what has given the village its international claim to fame: wine! We drove out into the surrounding valley which is lined with one vineyard after another.


Our first stop was at the Middelvlei vineyard, which was being "guarded" by a team of ferocious dogs -- a Great Dane and a Daschund.


Our next stop was Clos Malverne, surrounded by rolling fields planted with the vines that provide South Africa's unique grape: Pinotage, a cultivar created there from the Pinot Noir and Hermitage grapes. We came to love that wine and had it with every dinner on our trip. Try it!


Just one more taste please. Stacey at Clos Malverne.

We were finished with our tour but now hunger set in. So we hit one last vineyard for a light lunch in a beautiful setting and then headed back to Cape Town for a nap and dinner - Peter and Lori were on their way back as well and plans were made for dinner that evening, together again. Tomorrow would be our last full day in Cape Town. We wanted to visit the famous Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens. (Check my next and final post). On Wednesday, we would be flying back to Jo'berg and then, after a brief layover, on to New York, and its cold and snow.


Stacey at lunch in a lovely old mansion at still another vineyard.

Going To .... South Africa, Part X

February 11, 2007

Peter and Lori were picked up around 10 am by their South African guide, Peter (yes, another Peter). Off they went for an overnight exploration of the Winelands and the Whale Coast, areas just to the East of Cape Town. Stacey and I stayed in town and used it as a base to visit Table Mountain, Cape Town's dramatic backdrop, and the Stellenbosch vineyards, just an hour east out of town.

After breakfast and our travel partners' departure, we drove our Toyota rental car to the cable car station at the foot of Table Mountain. The road to the station seemed to go straight up as it edged closer to the mountain. At the station, the city was spread out far below, yet the mountain still towered way above us.


The view from our apartment's roof deck. Table Mountain is the dramatic setting for the city of Cape Town. The cable car takes you to that notch at the right end of the flat top.


Stacey at the bottom of the cable car station where we'd board the car that would take us to the top of Table Mountain. In this picture you are looking north up the Atlantic coast. Our apartment is in the western part of Cape Town (the area out near the water, just to the right of Stacey's head).


The cable car approaches. It's an amazing engineering feat - the car slowly rotates as you ascend, giving you a 360 degree view. Each car holds about 60 people.

U
p, up and away! You can see forever ... but the best was yet to come.

When we reached the top and walked out on to Table Mountain, the view took our breath away. As usual, the National Parks had done a fine job making the site accessible to the public. Paved paths, a restaurant and gift shop greeted us. In the distance, hiking trails meandered the flat top of the mountain and you could see people far in the distance exploring the flora and enjoying the views. We looked south down one side and the beach and villages along the Atlantic were visible. Here was the beach town of Camps Bay that we had visited earlier, spread out below us.

Walking a few hundred yards to the other side of the "table" was a view north up the Atlantic coast. There was the city of Cape Town and Table Bay, the body of water on which it's situated. Geologically, we were standing on what remained of a vast plateau that had been thrust up eons ago. Over time, rivers and erosion ate away but the hard limestone resisted the chiseling effects of time and remained standing while the surrounding area was worn down. The results was this immense piece of proud, stratified rock that forms the beautiful tableau for the city far below.


Stacey poses on top of Table Mountain which runs away far to the south. The knarled and chiseled top is a testament to the geological glaciation that wore down the surrounding area but was resisted by the durable limestone formation that forms the mountain.


Looking southwest down the Atlantic coast, the village of Camps Bay lies at the base, around the "corner" from Cape Town. The town is a charming and popular beach spot for residents.


The top of the table. Clouds are a common presence and the weather can (and did) change at a moment's notice. People are in the distance, following the numerous trails. (Click any picture for a larger view, then hit "back" to return to the blog).
We lingered a while longer and then took the cable car down and returned to town for a lunch on Kloof Street, the fashionable upper end of Long Street. Tonight we'd have dinner alone and tomorrow we'd take a car trip to the beautiful and old town of Stellenbosch in the wine district. See you there.

Going to ... South Africa PART IX

February 10, 2007

Men are from Mars. Women are from Shoperania. That's the shopping planet. Stacey and Lori were on a mission. They were intent on buying various tsotchkes that could serve as gifts for the entire world (it seemed) or at least for a list of dozens of friends and family. The list was carried around, much like a religious person might carry a bible, as we made our daily sojourns. It was consulted, checked off when the appropriate item was found, and then ... onwards, looking for the next.


Stacey, dickering with vendors at a crafts market in Cape Town.(Hint: click any picture for an enlarged view of it)
~~~~~~~~

Today was Saturday, February 10th and our trip was drawing close to an end. We would return to New York on Wednesday, reaching there Thursday. Regardless, we still had plenty of things to do and see. Today we were headed down the cape to its tip: Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.

Heading out of Cape Town takes you around Table Mountain. As you reach the other side, you are greeted by a fabulous panorama of the coast line with the pretty little village of Camps Bay far below. Beautiful beaches, roaring surf, kids playing on the lawns descending to the water, gorgeous beach homes perched up above ... this is a lovely beach town that Cape Towners visit during the summer months. The main street is lined with cafes and shops and across the road is the beach and the ocean. Quite nice.


Mountains above, boulders, surf and kids below, houses perched to take it all in: Camps Bay.


Kids frolic on the lawn leading down to the beach at Camps Bay.


Cafes crowd the sidewalks on the main street of Camps Bay. A nice place to sit and watch.

We drove further south and South Africa's scenery did its magical thing once again. The road wound back and forth along the coast, rising and falling with the towering cliffs and mountains that made the Cape the famous landmark that it is: to sailors in the past, to tourists now. Pulling over to a drive-in along the road, a sign warned us to take precautions dealing with baboons who inhabit the wild lands in this part of the cape. They are aggressive and will steal food and whatever is left lying around, outside or inside your car if its not protected. As we drove, we came across an band of these creatures making their way along the road. We slowed down to watch them. But they were oblivious to our presence. They obviously had other goals in mind.


We stop to get a view of the fabulous cape landscape which is dotted with numerous inlets and bays.


A sign informs us descendents about baboons and to take care in dealing with them. The red "X's" represent their former habitat. Their diminished population on the Cape, like African animals throughout the continent, is due to incursions by humans.


A baboon eating in the road, oblivious to passing cars. (Photo by Stacey P. Weinstein)

After a while, we arrived at Boulders Beach, home of the South African penguin. The area is protected by the national government. We found the tourist attractions run by the government pristine: well-designed, clean and well-maintained. Compared to many we've seen in other countries, South African attractions rate very high.


These two fellows are local fisherman but they stopped to read the park's sign explaining the beach and the penguins.

At first glance, I thought I was looking at a statue, so still were the penguins standing, not budging a millimeter, as they sunned themselves. The park had built a boardwalk and viewing platform so people could watch these adorable creatures without intruding, too much, on their habitat. Some penguins were sitting on eggs, others on their newly-born chicks. Still others attended to their mates or friends, by gently grooming them with their beaks. Then, of course, they waddled around in their comical fashion (funny to us, I guess, but perhaps not to them). We fell, head over flipper, in love with these delightful critters.


Play Stacey's video of waddling penguin. Click the arrow above. (You may have to click twice to play)


Who's watching whom? Penguins watching humans at Boulders Beach.


The penguins were spread out over the beach by the hundreds: sunning themselves, hatching eggs, guarding their newborn, or waddling off to other locations.


Portrait: Expectant momma sits on her egg.(Photo by Stacey P. Weinstein)


Mother penguin takes care of her babies.(Photo by Stacey P. Weinstein)


A closeup of a South African penguin. (Photo by Stacey P. Weinstein)

Penguins like to groom their fellow penguins. The gal in the back is keeping her baby protected by nestling with it in a shallow burrow. (Photo by Stacey P. Weinstein)
The penguins were adorable and we could have stayed and watched them all day but we had other things to see today. We got back in our car and continued down the peninsula to the Cape Of Good Hope and just beyond that, to Cape Point, the most southwesterly tip of Africa. Most people, including me, thought that the Cape of Good Hope is the southernmost tip of Africa. Not so. That distinction belongs to Cape Agulhas. But it's the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (just a mile beyond it) that are the the well-known "tips" of the continent. Agulhas, a bit to the east down the coast, is not much to look at -- just the end of the land mass at its most southerly point. But Cape Point is stunningly dramatic with towering cliffs, jutting out into an endless Atlantic. An old lighthouse is perched precariously on the top of the promontory with winding paths to take a view from on high.You can also take the continent's only funicular (incline railway) to capture the view on high and that's what we did.

Even though Cape Agulla lays claim to the most southerly point of the continent, sailors, throughout time, have always thought of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope as the half-way point of their arduous passage around Africa.

The entire southern tip of the peninsula area is a vast nature preserve. As we drove along we could look out over a rocky and scrubby headland with brilliant blue Atlantic in the distance and rolling hills and towering cliffs all around.


Africa's only funicular takes you to the top of the tip: Cape Point and lighthouse.


After the funicular, you can walk to the very top up a series of winding stairs, each with a viewing point, the next more fabulous than then the one before.


Looking back down from Cape Point - there's the Cape of Good Hope jutting out into the Atlantic.


Peter looks out on a vast Atlantic toward the South Pole only 4,000 miles or so out there.


Smile! And say hello to the folks back in Berlin.(the sign shows you which direction to face).

We drove back up the cape, stopping in some of the pretty cape towns with their antique shops and restaurants. But it was late and most of the shops had closed. That was OK with us -- we were tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, Lori and Peter would head out on their own, touring the wine country and other places with a guide. Stacey and I would be taking the cable car to Table Mountain for another exciting high. See you up there.