A Day in Cape Town

27-Feb-2007:

After I left you at 6.20 this morning, I sampled the Cape Grace's continental breakfast before setting out, armed with a hotel map, to walk to the city centre. Incidentally, the hotel is just celebrating ten years of trading (see http://www.capegrace.com/). Well, I found Grand Parade with its town hall of Bath stone imported from England and located the main station, before returning to the hotel in time to be picked up for the 'Walk to Freedom' tour. There were two ladies from Essex on the tour, plus a girl and boy from Potsdam University doing a study on tour guides. The three of us on the tour had to complete questionnaires for the students both before and after the tour. The tour guide, Colin, was excellent and took us through the history of the Cape from initial discovery through to the introduction of Apartheid by the Nationalists just after the Second World War and the birth of democracy so recently. We visited a social history museum, the District 6 Museum. Then we visited the large township of Langa. The pattern of different types of housing is similar to Soweto, but in this case, we were taken right into peoples homes and invited to take photographs. A rather voyeuristic and sobering exercise. We also looked at a couple of bars, where the range of spirits on sale suggests on possible problem area in townships. Then we were taken to a primary school where a large group of infants sang to us. I'm still sorting out my responses to our experience in the township but it was very affecting. We were then taken to the Waterfront where our guide attempted to get our pre-booked tickets for the afternoon tour to Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned. To Colin's astonishment, they had cancelled all todays for unspecified 'technical' reasons. I walk back to the hotel and formulate an alternate plan.

The hotel books a helicopter ride for me and there's time for a light lunch before the helicopter company pick me up by taxi. I had an excellent flight and the same taxi driver sets off to return me to my hotel. After a while, we change plans and the driver takes me to the Table Mountain Cable Car and I ascend for breath-taking views from over 3,000 feet up. The taxi then returns me to my hotel. But I'm not quite finished. I walk to the main station, book to Belville and catch the lightly-loaded 18:40 train (3 foot 6 inch gauge electric trains). After a brief look around, it's back to Cape Town as it drops dark, walk to the hotel, have a simple meal and post this update. Then, I must get ready: I've an early start for home tomorrow!

Pictures of Cape Town.

Cape Town

Tuesday, 27-Feb-2007: The last posting was done on a rather cranky computer at the British Airways Terrace Lounge at Johannesburg. No two computers I've used on my travels have behaved the same, but we've managed!

Once the flight was called, I made my way to the gate and outside to a transfer bus. The noise from nearby aircraft was intense. We started to drive across the apron, but had to wait while two aircraft taxied in front of us, only yards away. When we did move again, two other aircraft were manoevring quite close. The aircraft for the two-hour shuttle flight to Cape Town was a Boeing 737-400. This has 3 plus 3 seating with a small curtained-off area at the front for business class. I had 3 seats all to myself. The evening meal was simpler than I've been getting on long-haul flights, but completely made up for by the friendly attentions of the two lady cabin staff looking after us. South African BA staff seem a different breed from the usually-snooty UK staff. We were a little late away because they had to extract the hold baggage of three passengers they'd "off-loaded". We never found out why the passengers were off-loaded. We had a good flight and arrived at Cape Town more or less on time. Again, a coach took us to the terminal and I noticed that the early evening in Cape Town was decidedly cooler than Johannesburg had been. The luggage turned up on the carousel quite quickly and the young man from the travel company was displaying my name in the Arrivals Hall, so the two of us were soon speeding towards my hotel in a 12-seater personnel carrier.

I hadn't realised that Cape Town was so large (population around 4.5 million). It has a large central area dominated by built on land reclaimed from the sea by the Dutch (they were always good at that sort of thing). I'm at the Cape Grace, an impressive (though modern) hotel down at the harbour. My large bedroom overlooks the yacht marina and Table Mountain. Then there's a hallway with dressing room and bathroom leading off. The bathroom has a separate WC cubicle and shower cubicle. All very satisfactory.

It's now 6.20 am as I post this and getting light, so I must leave you.

Pictures of Cape Town.