I love Cape Town!

So it's been four weeks since I last wrote in this blog and I now finally have time to sit down and write about how amazing the last month has been in this beautiful country. To avoid a huge long essay I am going to break the weeks up starting with when I went to Cape Town....

I left Manguzi on the Saturday morning of March 17^th with our friend Jacques who drove me to King Shaka (a famous Zulu King) airport just outside of Durban. I drove some of the way and the journey took around four hours meaning we were quite early for my flight which was at six. I ended up being at the airport for five hours because my flight was delayed twice! The airport was built for the world cup two years ago so it is all very new and modern. The first thing that struck me was the amount of Indian south Africans who were there. There is a huge population of Indians in the city of Durban which started when they came over from India to work in the gold and diamond industry in the nineteenth century on contracts and ended up staying. The second thing that struck me was that everyone there seemed to be dressed up in their best clothes, especially the Indian women who were wearing lots of expensive jewellery and pretty materials. I felt a bit out of place in my usual t shirt and shorts! It was completely safe there but I was glad to get on the plane finally around half past eight. Since coming here I have basically got over my fear of flying so the flight was alright but I was willing those two hours to hurry up so I could just get off and meet Sonia. She and her Dad met me at Cape Town International airport and suddenly it was like five and a half years apart had never happened. We drove back to hers and in the darkness I caught a glimpse of Table Mountain.

On Sunday morning I had breakfast together with the whole family which was really lovely and then Sonia, her Mum and I went to their church which was an experience! It was a huge building and there was a young band playing with a huge screen displaying lots of videos and events going on within the church. It was like I had walked into a concert or something, although not quite like the Zulu church we went to all those weeks ago! I thought it was great that they made it exciting for young people as I haven't really seen that before at home. It was a beautiful day and I realised that the weather is quite different to where we are staying. In Cape Town it feels more like a really hot day in England, where you can feel the suns heat on you, whereas here the heat comes from all around as it is more humid. Apparently this is to do with the lack of ozone layer above the city. The first thing that struck me about the place was all the mountains! I don't know why but in my complete naïvety, I believed that there was Table Mountain and Table Mountain alone! The mountains that surround the city seem to be almost painted on to a background like they are not actually real, it's quite hard to explain it. After church we met up with some of Sonia's friends from her uni and went her friend Catherine's beautiful house where I met everyone who was lovely and we walked up Eagles Nest. It was an effort as I have not walked in ages but there were beautiful views at the top and we walked on through to the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. It is a beautiful place and it was interesting to see the medicinal garden which contained each plant that would help with a particular illness. After the walk we went back to Catherine's house and made pizzas in her pizza oven, which everyone seems to have there! It was a really lovely evening with some great stories and good company :)

Monday was spent shopping and for me, getting back in to some kind of normality! For three months I have not been to normal shops where you can get everything you need so it was actually really fun to go to the mall! I bought quite a few new clothes and shoes that desperately needed replacing and the best shop here has to be Mr Price because they have decent clothes that are fairly cheap (you would compare it to New Look probably). On Tuesday, Sonia and I went into town and had a hilarious touristy day. We started off by seeing the Castle of Good Hope, built by the Dutch when they first came to South Africa and then went on to the Green Square Market. This was a street full of African stalls selling souvenirs and they are so fun to look around! I ended up bartering for about ten minutes for this painting I really wanted because I really had not brought enough money with me and had left my card at home. I managed to get it from 500 rand down to 250 by Sonia and I putting everything we had together! It is an oil painting of two African ladies and it is full of colour and life and I just had to have it! We moved on to Company Gardens which belong to the government and saw lots of statues of historic figures such as Cecil John Rhodes, an Englishman who was a key figure in the colonisation of Africa (which is why Zimbabwe used to be known as Rhodesia). We met some Japanese tourists who Sonia initially thought wanted us to take their photo but it turned out that they wanted their picture with us! We had to have one with the two men and then the lady whilst being filmed on their video camera the whole time not really sure what was going on! It was so funny and just made that visit to company gardens! Next we visited Clifton beach and stopped there for lunch. I put my feet in the water but it was unbelievably cold! They are nearer to the Arctic there so the water is much colder than what we have experienced this side with the Indian ocean, even colder than the sea at home! The houses on the beach front were stunning and very impressive, although I thought it looked a little overcrowded personally. We also stopped at Camps Bay for ice cream and it was busier with lots of shops along the front. That night, Sonia and I stayed up chatting for hours, trying to catch up on everything that had happened in the last five years that we might not have told each other before. Where we have kept in contact the whole time, I found it so easy to talk to her about absolutely everything and I think she also felt that way...so many funny stories and also I could tell her all about the experiences I've had so far here as she has not yet been to this part of the country.

Wednesday was a fantastic day spent with the family. It was Human Rights Day, another of the many public holidays of this country and I was kindly given a great tour of the Cape peninsula after first being shown some of the townships in the city. The only experience of townships I had so far were the ones in Soweto, Johannesburg where I was surprised to find that most had been rebuilt and the tin shacks were few and out of the way of the main city. However, here we were driving through a normal area and then suddenly hit this deserted, almost eery place where I saw row upon row of tin shacks crushed together in a tiny space. Moving on from here, we stopped in Kalk Bay which is a cute little fishing bay which was thriving with people. Whilst waiting for Glynis and Jose to get a table at a coffee place, Sonia and I explored the boutiques that draw you in because of their uniqueness. I looked through old post cards, books and maps and was totally absorbed in it all. We had tea and cake and then went down to the beach bit where we sat on the side and watched a whole group of huge seals flipping about in the water. I tried so hard to get a photo of them but they moved so quickly! There were coloured south Africans gutting fish there as well so I watched them for a bit. I had not met a coloured person before here yet, and wouldn't have understood the real meaning until coming here. The coloured people are a mix of black African and white African people that have since developed their own culture and languages and there is a large population in Cape Town, whereas I have met none in KwaZulu Natal. It was interesting for me to hear them speaking in what sounded a bit like a white south African accent but with black African qualities as well. We drove around more of the bays and beaches that the city has to offer and stopped at a place called Judas peak which really reminded me of Pride Rock in the 'Lion King'! We were unable to drive down to the secluded beach so we walked down the steep path and the sea was not as cold this time! The weather was stunning all day and I saw my first baboon, although they are much feared there because they have become so vicious from being fed, which I thought was a little sad. We stopped at Boulders Beach which is famous for its resident penguins and we saw loads and they were such sweet little creatures, although a little out of place in Africa when I am used to seeing them in icy places on TV! We stopped in Hout Bay, another fishing area that is hidden between mountains and had fish and chips as the sun set. It was a truly lovely day with the family.

Thursday was another chilled day going to the mall to buy a few other things I needed (I finally got drawing pins!!) and a few more clothes. That evening we went out for cocktails at Blouberg beach with Sonia's friend Kerry. It was a great evening as I saw all the kite surfers in action and the sun set was just incredible. Due to the clouds, it caused an array of deep pinks, reds and oranges to spread across the sky and it was so, so pretty. The cocktails were amazing too ;)

On Friday we got up early as we were heading out for the day over to the winelands before going camping for the night. Whilst we waited for everyone to arrive, I learnt how to play 'Kings'- I am very slow at card games but I got there in the end after finally learning not to show my cards to everyone. Finally, we drove to Stellenbosch with Kerry, Darren and Kerry's friend who's name has escaped me, to meet up with two of their friends who are studying at the university there. The university occupies much of the town of Stellenbosch and the campus is simply stunning, what a beautiful place to study in! We wandered around and chatted and it was unbelievably hot! We then drove through Franshoek, a quaint little Dutch looking town that consisted of lots of lovely white buildings but we didn't have time to stop. We were camping at a sailing club called Theewaters (I pronounced it as thee and waters but it's actually an Afrikaans word sounding like “theeaarrvaarters”!) and we set up the tent next to the dam. We had a nice evening having a few drinks and of course, a braai and met lots of people.

The next morning we had to get back as I was attending my first wedding! One of the other Lattitude volunteers, Sophie, who is volunteering at a school in Cape Town was getting married to her boyfriend and we had been invited so of course I said yes! It was in a traditional looking church and most of the church was full of coloured South Africans from her boyfriends family but it was very British and traditional in the way that the hymns had been chosen and the service was conducted. It was great to see three other volunteers: Moynul, Emily and Sam who I hadn't seen since Jo'burg and have a quick catch up on our placements. Sophie looked so beautiful in her dress and we all had photo's together outside the church outside the service. I had to wait a while for Sonia to come and pick me up so I befriended the priest who showed me whose house to go to if I got stuck and declined some lifts from some young guys who passed by! When Sonia came, we managed to get back on filling up with only ten rand of petrol after realising we had a very empty tank! That evening we had a braai with Glynis, Jose, Talita and her friend and of course their dog, Sharma! We sat outside by their pool and chatted about the week and the wedding and then Sonia and I had a hilarious night talking in the flat in south African accents which I have now seemed to master!

On Sunday I had booked to go tandem paragliding off of Lions Head which is a hill next to Table Mountain after seeing it earlier in the week. Unfortunately it was cancelled at the last minute due to the wind being too strong but we went to Green Point beach and had a picnic which was lovely. We then moved on to the V & A (Victoria and Albert) Waterfront where this famous South African band “Freshly Ground” was playing to the public and we sat and had ice cream after looking at a few souvenir shops and embarrassingly walking past a waitress from a restaurant about a hundred times because we got a bit lost! After getting even more lost trying to find out where we had parked, we drove to signal hill to see the view and then met Sonia's cousin Bradley and his friend Gordon (I think) at the base of Lions Head. We walked up to the top which was not as steep as Eagles Nest and at one point had to go up the rock face with foot holes and a chain. There were lots of people doing the walk and we got there just before sun set. The views were incredible and the sun set was absolutely stunning. We walked back down as it got dark and saw the city all lit up, a perfect end to a perfect week.

Monday was an early start as Sonia was back to university and I was back on a plane to Durban to meet Katie and Patrick. I said goodbye to the family and then Sonia dropped me off at the airport. We were not sad to say goodbye because I will be returning there again in June after my placement but I was sad to leave her after having a really fun week together and wished I could do it all over again. Luckily my flight was on time and I was sat next to the window so could see the country from above and was surprised to see just how mountainous it is. As we flew into KwaZulu Natal I could see the familiar rondavels (round huts) and felt like I was home which was a lovely feeling. I met the others and that was the start of our road trip which I will write about in my next post!

So, what did I love about Cape Town?

Firstly, the contrast of a modern and exciting city enclosed in an army of protective mountains would be putting it in poetic language but that was what was really striking about the place. We could use the mountains to figure out where we were (due to a lack of directional skills!) and at one point Table Mountain would be on your left and then suddenly looking straight at you! I love the way that it is not a city full of high buildings and clutter, but it seems more relaxed and the people too. The beaches and bays are so many to choose from but they all have their own unique attributes and also all the different people that live there. And of course, the African markets! Spending a week there with a close friend and feeling so welcome in her home made it one of the best weeks in this country!

Quotes from the week (just for Sonia)

• “Mzansi fo sho ayayayayaya”

• “Johan and Fannie Klopper”

• “whaai? Faaiv?

• “Please sun cream my hole”

• “hoi,hoi hoi (japanese tourists)

• “all shall be equal before the Ian”

• “ten literrrs”

• “Afrikaans two!!”

• “I'm going out, so stop telling me I'm not allowed to even when it's actually me!”

• “who goes to Langebaan?”