Sunday Sept 4 2011 Cape Town

TIMES HAVE CHANGED

I sailed home from England via Cape Town after my first venture overseas and I found Cape Town at that time very confronting as it was at the height of apartheid with ‘whites only’ and ‘blacks only’ taxis, shops, entrances to buildings etc. I was very uncomfortable and was glad to get back on the ship.

Today the city has a different feel with most people very friendly and welcoming and I had no qualms about wandering around by myself.  I didn’t even realise until I was finishing lunch that I was the only Caucasian there and didn’t think twice about it.

I started off my day of sightseeing by walking to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (yes, it is called after Alfred, Queen Victoria’s son, and not her husband Albert). The city sightseeing bus began from here and skirted the harbour before heading through the downtown area. I alighted at the Castle of Good Hope, a pentagon shaped fortress built around 1666 and the oldest surviving building in South Africa. I found it very interesting to poke around here, visiting the three museums and walking around the parapets.

Looking back out at the main entrance to the Castle of Good Hope

The Dolphin Pool in the Csstle

Looking out at the city centre

I then walked back through the city centre, with its native craft markets, beautiful old architecture and quirky buildings.

Back on the bus, we went up to Tabletop Mountain but as it had its tablecloth on today (cloud cover) I didn’t bother getting off. The view from the base of the cable car station was still pretty impressive looking back down over the city and harbour.

Tabletop Mountain - from the base of the cable car station

We then drove along the coastline past a number of beaches, each with boulder strewn headlands and masses of kelp. The seas were pretty rough so no-one was in the water, even though, we were told, the water is warmer in winter than in summer because of the currents.

Back at the V&A Waterfront I had a look around and took lots of photos. This is obviously the place to come to as it was packed with people – no wonder the city centre seemed deserted. It's made up of expensive apartments, shopping arcades and restaurants.

Seals share the expensive V&A Waterfront neighbourhood

 



This evening we had our tour briefing and I met up with those I’ll be travelling with over the next eighteen days – our two Zimbabwean tour guides and eleven fellow passengers. We were even introduced to our transport – a custom-built 4WD vehicle for twelve people plus crew. It’s quite impressive – I’m just not sure if there will be enough space for my hand luggage!