Throughout the trip we were dreading the jet lag on the return leg (e.g., 11 hours’ time zone difference between Auckland and Cape Town), and we arrived Tuesday mid-morning at about 11 am exhausted, rented our car (a cute but tiny stick Honda), and plugged in the Garmin. We were grateful to be back in a place where we have GPS downloaded, and we were soon on the road to Hout Bay and the AirBnB cabin where we were staying in the Table Mountain Reserve on the backside of Table Mountain. We were (again) amazed at the beauty of the big mountains and the pervasive greenery in Cape Town. We arrived in Cape Town in a rain storm, and it continued to rain for the rest of the day. After finding our place, we went to the store and ended up having lunch at a nearby restaurant called “Massimos,” where we ate a couple of times on the trip. It had a cozy, rustic feel and a wood-burning pizza oven and gluten-free pasta.
We were also relieved to see we were back to cheap food and lower cost of living! It was only $72 a night at this 4 bedroom home with large family rooms, 3 baths, kitchen, and yard nestled in the shadows of the Table Mountain Reserve with a pool (that was too cold to use!). By far the nicest place we had stayed at on our trip, yet the cheapest. Stunning mountains and forest scenery! After eating at Massimos, we met Gordon, our AirBnB host, and settled into the new place. The setting was quiet and we had lots of space, so we quickly acclimated to the new digs. And it was as if the rainstorm was giving us permission to stay home and relax with our jetlag. We tried to keep everyone awake until 4 pm (I caught Savvy tucked in bed around 2pm and had to wake her up) and then crashed and slept soundly until about 4 am the next morning.
The one thing that all of the houses we've stayed at have lacked is central heating (or much/any heating at all). In Cape Town we had a little plug-in heater and a propane heater that had to stay downstairs. Luckily we like to sleep a little colder, but in the mornings and evenings when we were home, we were huddled around the heaters with blankets trying to stay warm.
The weather forecast for our week in Cape Town was rain about every other day so, after eating breakfast the next morning, we took advantage of a for-sure sunny day in Cape Town to go to Table Mountain. The road that took us there hugged the coast and the big mountains inland with fog and clouds stretched over the lovely mountains and lended a mystic look and feel, and we enjoyed seeing Lionhead and the many perspectives of Table Mountain as we approached.
Cape Town down in the valley:
We drove up to the base of the Table Mountain cable car, parked, and headed to ticketing only to find out the cable car was closed for a few days of repairs. We were bummed but feeling adventurous, and decided to walk the couple of kilometers to the trailhead and hike Table Mountain.
The 2k walk was fun with great views and beautiful birds, and we started on the steep hike in good spirits. After an hour of serious climbing (often 45 degree inclines straight up the mountain), we weren’t quite halfway and we reconsidered the decision to hike – we weren’t dressed properly (jeans aren't great for hiking :) ) and didn’t have water, we were still feeling jetlagged of course, we wanted to do other things that day, and all of us were feeling the burn of a serious hike. We took some pics from the halfway point, hiked back down, and headed South.
It was sunny down in the valley but still very cloudy/foggy at the top of Table Mountain.
From Table Mountain, we drove South towards Simon’s Bay and the penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach. The countryside through which we traveled was beautiful and reminded us of Italy or France – lovely old Dutch architecture along steep mountains on one side and beautiful beaches and ocean on the other.
After about an hour’s drive we made it to Boulder’s, and had a blast with the dozens of penguins there.
Penguins out on the rocks:
We followed a boardwalk and were able to get quite close to the penguins that had come up on the beach. This was the last of the exotic new wild animals we hoped to see on our trip, and we enjoyed watching them waddle around, swim, and check us out.
After an hour of that, we stopped in at a couple of souvenir shops, haggled with some souvenir stands for a small pair of bead-and-wire penguins, and headed home through the inland mountains. The setting sun views over the inland cape mountains covered in their wine grapes were spectacular, and we made it home for dinner and crashed in bed.
Thursday was supposed to be a rainy day but it didn’t look too threatening and we thought we would try to get out anyway. The largest bird reserve in Africa was just around the corner from us, and we headed there and enjoyed seeing the several dozen species of birds and other animals housed there in large aviaries. We saw dozens of the sacred ibis that wake us up every morning in their turf (holy?) war with the Egyptian geese (which we also saw everywhere, trying to get at the aviary birds' food), secretary birds, more kookaburra (and they laughed for us), and lots of African parrots, macaws, parakeets, and other exotic birds.
Before leaving on this trip, we learned about the native flightless birds of Australia and New Zealand. In the process, we came across birds related to them, one of them being a flightless bird named Rhea (indigineous to Africa). "Our Rhea" was so excited to learn that there was a bird "named after her" (which we didn't know when we named her--we're glad it ended up being a pretty, well-tempered bird ;) ). We were so excited when we found one here at the bird sanctuary, especially Rhea. She said, "I cannot believe I saw myself as my own animal!"
But the highlight was the marmoset monkeys! There were several varieties of small capuchin and marmoset monkeys on display in addition to the baboons and other varieties, and the facility boasted a monkey zoo where we were allowed to go in and interact with the cute little marmoset monkeys, what the Brazilians call “mico” monkeys and that we first encountered at the Corcovado when Bri and I went to Brazil 13 years ago, in the open without cages. Here at the sanctuary, the monkeys were very smart and curious about our bags and pockets and what they could find in them, and it wasn’t long before they were climbing all over us, our heads, our backs, and our bags. They especially liked Bri’s head!
Playing with these monkeys was a major highlight during our time at the sanctuary and our time in Cape Town! We played with them for a long time and then moved on just as the rain began. We headed to Massimos for more pizza and Italian in a perfect cozy place to have lunch for a rainy day – we sat in between the big fireplace and the wood-burning pizza oven. From there we headed back to the house for some downtime, and then later hit a “mall” down in Hout Bay. This was an outdoor mall (nothing like the States, but had a few clothing stores), and the girls picked up a few pairs of pants (we haven't bought pants in 2 years!) and we wanted them for this colder weather. Then we hit a fun store where we picked up a beautiful hand-carved chess board set, some jewelry for the girls, and a wallet for Thomas. Afterwards we headed back home for dinner and hanging out before bed.
Friday morning was one of our sunny days, and we called around using Skype, looking for a tour to get to Robben Island and the prison where Nelson Mandela (an anti-apartheid activist) was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he was in prison during apartheid in South Africa. Unfortunately, all of the rain from the week had meant other tourists had bumped their cancelled tours (the ferry only runs in good weather) to Friday and Saturday, so all tours were booked. We were really disappointed – we had read a book about Nelson Mandela and were looking forward to this aspect of the trip. We tried to make the most of it and went instead to a museum dedicated to District Six. It was one of the former inner-city black residential areas that was appropriated by the white Afrikaans (descendants of 1700's Dutch, German, and French settlers) during apartheid from 1966-1982 and the population forcibly relocated. Only places of worship were preserved during the demolition. Former inhabitants and supporters opened the museum to tell the story of the District’s 60,000 former residents and to discuss apartheid in that context, and our guide at the museum – a former resident named Ruth – laid out for us the history and the injustices and realities of the fairly recent apartheid regime (the fall of apartheid was as recent as 1994!!). There were 40-something districts of residents around South Africa similarly forced to relocate to designated areas (which they had to get permission to leave to go to work, etc.) and watch the destruction of their homes (the Afrikaans didn't want to use the houses that had been inhabited by blacks so they destroyed them).
From Table Mountain, we drove South towards Simon’s Bay and the penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach. The countryside through which we traveled was beautiful and reminded us of Italy or France – lovely old Dutch architecture along steep mountains on one side and beautiful beaches and ocean on the other.
After about an hour’s drive we made it to Boulder’s, and had a blast with the dozens of penguins there.
Penguins out on the rocks:
We followed a boardwalk and were able to get quite close to the penguins that had come up on the beach. This was the last of the exotic new wild animals we hoped to see on our trip, and we enjoyed watching them waddle around, swim, and check us out.
After an hour of that, we stopped in at a couple of souvenir shops, haggled with some souvenir stands for a small pair of bead-and-wire penguins, and headed home through the inland mountains. The setting sun views over the inland cape mountains covered in their wine grapes were spectacular, and we made it home for dinner and crashed in bed.
Thursday was supposed to be a rainy day but it didn’t look too threatening and we thought we would try to get out anyway. The largest bird reserve in Africa was just around the corner from us, and we headed there and enjoyed seeing the several dozen species of birds and other animals housed there in large aviaries. We saw dozens of the sacred ibis that wake us up every morning in their turf (holy?) war with the Egyptian geese (which we also saw everywhere, trying to get at the aviary birds' food), secretary birds, more kookaburra (and they laughed for us), and lots of African parrots, macaws, parakeets, and other exotic birds.
Before leaving on this trip, we learned about the native flightless birds of Australia and New Zealand. In the process, we came across birds related to them, one of them being a flightless bird named Rhea (indigineous to Africa). "Our Rhea" was so excited to learn that there was a bird "named after her" (which we didn't know when we named her--we're glad it ended up being a pretty, well-tempered bird ;) ). We were so excited when we found one here at the bird sanctuary, especially Rhea. She said, "I cannot believe I saw myself as my own animal!"
But the highlight was the marmoset monkeys! There were several varieties of small capuchin and marmoset monkeys on display in addition to the baboons and other varieties, and the facility boasted a monkey zoo where we were allowed to go in and interact with the cute little marmoset monkeys, what the Brazilians call “mico” monkeys and that we first encountered at the Corcovado when Bri and I went to Brazil 13 years ago, in the open without cages. Here at the sanctuary, the monkeys were very smart and curious about our bags and pockets and what they could find in them, and it wasn’t long before they were climbing all over us, our heads, our backs, and our bags. They especially liked Bri’s head!
Playing with these monkeys was a major highlight during our time at the sanctuary and our time in Cape Town! We played with them for a long time and then moved on just as the rain began. We headed to Massimos for more pizza and Italian in a perfect cozy place to have lunch for a rainy day – we sat in between the big fireplace and the wood-burning pizza oven. From there we headed back to the house for some downtime, and then later hit a “mall” down in Hout Bay. This was an outdoor mall (nothing like the States, but had a few clothing stores), and the girls picked up a few pairs of pants (we haven't bought pants in 2 years!) and we wanted them for this colder weather. Then we hit a fun store where we picked up a beautiful hand-carved chess board set, some jewelry for the girls, and a wallet for Thomas. Afterwards we headed back home for dinner and hanging out before bed.
It has been eye opening to read about apartheid and Nelson Mandela as a family, to learn more about the history of South Africa, and to discuss U.S. history as well as it pertains to the treatment of blacks and civil rights. It blows me away that apartheid didn't end until the year after I graduated from high school and Bri returned from his LDS mission and, of course, Martin Luther King Jr. died just a handful of years before we were born. Definitely too close to our recent past to ignore these issues or pretend that there aren't ongoing consequences from our treatment toward blacks. I asked Ruth if she could tell me of the impact, if any, that Nelson Mandela had on her life. She recounted the day there was a parade after he got released from prison in 1990 where he spoke. And what did he speak about? Forgiveness. She said that his talk softened her heart and helped her to work through the hatred and bitterness that she had carried for so many years. Her own mom had refused for years to leave her home and be relocated, but the day finally came when they literally forced her out to demolish the house and relocated her to another home in a designated all-black area. Her mom died the next day. She was only in her early-50's and had been in good health. Ruth and her family feel that she literally died of a broken heart. Besides the every day hardships that apartheid presented, Ruth now had to deal with the loss of her mother. Amazingly Ruth has worked through her bitterness. She is such an example to me and I'm sure she's helping a lot of people too to work through their feelings. We could feel a coldness from some South Africans and Namibians (Namibia was part of South Africa until 1990) while on our trip that I'm sure is residual from this history, and of course I'm sure they're still feeling it from some Afrikanners also. It's a healing process that no doubt the U.S. is still going through as well--it takes time as Ruth said.
Around the museum--signs designating white areas only in English and Afrikaans from that time period:
Large map showing the area of District 6 and street signs that were preserved during the demolition:
Definitions of "Race Distinctions"--makes me sad to look at.
After visiting the museum, it was a wonderful sight to see some politically active members of the community, white and black, working together to help someone get elected. Blacks in South Africa were given the right to vote only in 1994, at the fall of apartheid.
After the museum tour, we walked down to the Cape Castle, the old Dutch/English fort, and walked the premise, accidentally walking in on a South African military meeting, chaining Rhea up in the torture dungeon, and watching the volunteers fire the canon.
Afterwards, we headed back to a NY bagel shop we saw when we parked the car and the kids enjoyed a good old-fashioned American toasted bagel (and Bri had a wonderful Reuben on rye and I ate what looked like a meatball but was supposed to be a burger without the bun). Rhea's face in the pic below is not showing disappointment, but is showing how much she has missed bagels and cream cheese. :(
We then all headed to the Victoria and Alfred (V & A) Waterfront to wander the dock and shops (including a four-story giant African curio/souvenir store with lifesize elephant and giraffe sculptures out front).
There was also a wonderful monument dedicated to Nelson Mandela, E.W. De Klerk, Albert Luthuli, and Desmond Tutu, all leaders and anti-apartheid activists important in South African history.
We had some great Mexican food at the food court and got some great shots of Table Mountain and the bay before heading back to the house where we continued the cultural extravaganza by watching Shrek 3 on TV and hitting the sack.
After the museum tour, we walked down to the Cape Castle, the old Dutch/English fort, and walked the premise, accidentally walking in on a South African military meeting, chaining Rhea up in the torture dungeon, and watching the volunteers fire the canon.
Afterwards, we headed back to a NY bagel shop we saw when we parked the car and the kids enjoyed a good old-fashioned American toasted bagel (and Bri had a wonderful Reuben on rye and I ate what looked like a meatball but was supposed to be a burger without the bun). Rhea's face in the pic below is not showing disappointment, but is showing how much she has missed bagels and cream cheese. :(
We then all headed to the Victoria and Alfred (V & A) Waterfront to wander the dock and shops (including a four-story giant African curio/souvenir store with lifesize elephant and giraffe sculptures out front).
There was also a wonderful monument dedicated to Nelson Mandela, E.W. De Klerk, Albert Luthuli, and Desmond Tutu, all leaders and anti-apartheid activists important in South African history.
We had some great Mexican food at the food court and got some great shots of Table Mountain and the bay before heading back to the house where we continued the cultural extravaganza by watching Shrek 3 on TV and hitting the sack.
We continued to have good weather on Saturday, and we saddled up early to head an hour plus south to the Cape of Good Hope. We enjoyed a little lookout a few miles from the actual cape.
At the Cape of Good Hope beach, Bri and I hiked up the hill and lay flat on the steep cliffs above and watched the cormorants hunt in the ocean and land in their cliff-side perches. The Cape of Good Hope is at the tip of The Cape Peninsula that for past explorers marked the point where a ship traveling south from Europe could start turning east toward the Far East and Australia. It's almost the most southern tip of South Africa (and thus Africa itself), but that is actually Cape Agulhas, about 90 miles from the Cape of Good Hope (which we could see but didn't get to).
After playing on the beach, we headed up to the Cape Point light house, where we rode the funicular “The Flying Dutchman” to the top and took in the 360 degree views. We loved the wide-open cape, and even saw one of the famous cape baboons on our way out.
Windy at the Cape!
At the Cape of Good Hope beach, Bri and I hiked up the hill and lay flat on the steep cliffs above and watched the cormorants hunt in the ocean and land in their cliff-side perches. The Cape of Good Hope is at the tip of The Cape Peninsula that for past explorers marked the point where a ship traveling south from Europe could start turning east toward the Far East and Australia. It's almost the most southern tip of South Africa (and thus Africa itself), but that is actually Cape Agulhas, about 90 miles from the Cape of Good Hope (which we could see but didn't get to).
After playing on the beach, we headed up to the Cape Point light house, where we rode the funicular “The Flying Dutchman” to the top and took in the 360 degree views. We loved the wide-open cape, and even saw one of the famous cape baboons on our way out.
Windy at the Cape!
Unfortunately the baboon wouldn't turn around. We referred him to Uncle Mac for that growth. :)
From the Cape of Good Hope, we headed North to the Kirstenbosch Gardens, the largest botanical gardens in Africa, just around the corner from us in the Table Mountain reserve.
We grabbed lunch first at the restaurant in the Gardens and the kids got to run back and forth between their food and a playground just outside the restaurant.
We headed up into the raised canopy tree walk, the Enchanted Forest with the big Medusa tree, and the beauty of this magnificent garden in the shade of Table Mountain.
I love what Rhea found that was "magical:"
We grabbed lunch first at the restaurant in the Gardens and the kids got to run back and forth between their food and a playground just outside the restaurant.
We headed up into the raised canopy tree walk, the Enchanted Forest with the big Medusa tree, and the beauty of this magnificent garden in the shade of Table Mountain.
I love what Rhea found that was "magical:"
It was quite simply spectacular, and Bri and I enjoyed a few hours by ourselves (translation: some peace and quiet ;) ), checking in with the kids every now and then as they ran around exploring without us.
Considering the history of South Africa and all we had learned that day at the District Six museum, I had to get this picture. The girls are playing at a drinking fountain splashing in the water together. No parents around, no shirts on, and no prejudice.
Bird-of-paradise flower, originally native to South Africa (though now everywhere).
The sun began to set and our time in Cape Town with it. Bri called the kids with the family whistle which usually gets an immediate response, but with the size of the gardens, it took a little longer. After a period of non-response from them, they finally heard the whistle and came running, smiles on their faces. Apparently they had been looking for us and couldn't find us so they were starting to get worried. After a few tears and hugs from Savannah, we reminded them that we've never abandoned them yet and don't plan to . :) We need to teach them all how to do the family whistle as well so they can call us when they need to!
Another Nelson Mandela appreciation moment on our way out. :)
We all headed home where we packed and made ready for our early flight the next day.
We got up at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, and thus began a very long 36-hour period. We arrived at the airport at 4:30 a.m. only to find out there was no flight – the regular 6:35 a.m. to Windhoek had been cancelled the day we left for our trip a month before and no one had told us, and there was no one at the Air Namibia counter until 8 a.m. So we grabbed breakfast, the kids played with the luggage carts as cars, and got comfortable until Air Namibia opened. 
Air Namibia ended up getting us on the one and only late-morning flight to Windhoek with the plan to overnight us there at their expense (there is only one mid-morning flight from Windhoek to Luanda per day). Bri made arrangements to miss work on Monday and to reshuffle our embassy expediter pick-up, and we caught the flight to Windhoek.
We got up at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, and thus began a very long 36-hour period. We arrived at the airport at 4:30 a.m. only to find out there was no flight – the regular 6:35 a.m. to Windhoek had been cancelled the day we left for our trip a month before and no one had told us, and there was no one at the Air Namibia counter until 8 a.m. So we grabbed breakfast, the kids played with the luggage carts as cars, and got comfortable until Air Namibia opened. 
Air Namibia ended up getting us on the one and only late-morning flight to Windhoek with the plan to overnight us there at their expense (there is only one mid-morning flight from Windhoek to Luanda per day). Bri made arrangements to miss work on Monday and to reshuffle our embassy expediter pick-up, and we caught the flight to Windhoek.
In Windhoek (and after some customer service-deficient exchanges with the too-relaxed and always a little insolent Namibian airport staff – we seriously have never had a good experience at that airport!), we were all put on the staff shuttle (bus) to downtown Windhoek, about a half-hour out from the airport. It was maddening that we were one day behind and seriously inconvenienced by the flight delay, but we were given one more day of vacation and found ourselves on a bus with a couple dozen locals speaking to each other in Afrikaans all around us. It was a very “local” and unscripted interaction with Africa to remember. In town, we were presently surprised by our accommodations at the Avani Hotel and Casino (we can never quite get away from Vegas...), checked into a pair of rooms, and had a great lunch buffet with a Namibian who did a fair job of singing "songs from home" on karaoke for us (maybe not so much the Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney speaking parts from “The Girl is Mine”--wish I had remembered my camera!). We headed back to the rooms where the kids watched a movie and Bri and I walked down to the street to see the city for a bit. We found a local art sales area with about a dozen stalls, including several of the half-naked Namibian women plying their wares (I got a couple of big gourds while Bri averted his eyes). We headed back up to watch several episodes of different airplane crash investigations show on National Geographic that the kids were glued to before heading back down for the dinner buffet (frankly I'm surprised there were no issues with the kids flying the next day after that show!). We didn’t make it long afterwards and all turned in early.
After a good night’s sleep and a great buffet breakfast, Bri checked out and I headed down to wait for the shuttle back to the airport. They were supposed to have called us with the exact time the shuttle would come, but said that it would be around 6:30 am. Here it was 6:30 am, so I was surprised to see the shuttle pulling away at that time. I dropped my bags and waved my hands and ran after the bus (and the Air Namibia employees all saw me), but the bus kept on, and we were left without a ride. This was followed by drama with the hotel – the manager refused to call a taxi for us because we were there as Air Namibia’s guest and he couldn’t find the voucher. One of the porters took pity on us and came down and grabbed a taxi, the taxi wanted exorbitant rates and we weren’t in a time position to argue, and we ended up having to pay a US$50 bill for the ride, about twice the going rate. But the long and short is we made it to the airport, through ticketing and customs, and into the waiting room with fifteen minutes to spare. I believe all of the drama of trying to get home from Cape Town was a ploy to get us excited to return to Luanda. :)
We enjoyed our last flight in to Luanda, our last lengthy diplomatic entry at customs, and then we were with the embassy expediters Quebec and Golf in the embassy van speaking Portuguese again, and back on the fourteenth floor of our apartment building. The kids raced around the apartment enjoying being home, we turned on the air conditioners, Bri unpacked and organized our haul of souvenirs and foreign coins and bills and tightened up our travel notes, I did laundry, and we're feeling settled back into life in Luanda. Bri started work again the next day, and after a week and a half of the kids and me being stuck in our apartment (translation: a bit crazy), they started a new school year again, and I'm heading back myself after a day more of organizing our lives. We loved our time in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. This is as much traveling as we ever want to do (40 hours alone of being in an airplane) in one month, but the experience was unforgettable and the memories will be lasting. But travel east, travel west, coming home, home is best – we are happy to be back in Angola today at least. It is hard to believe we have less than three months left here in Angola, but the trips out of town have broadened our perspective on the world and recharged us, and we are all ready for the home stretch before heading back to Falls Church and a new assignment.
0 comments: