South Africa

Cape Town – other

billrider2013Leave a comment

Cape Town

I have posted three other pieces about my time in Cape Town. This one fills in the gaps.

Flight from Singapore

I flew from Singapore on Qatar Air. They along with Emirates are the ‘go to’ airline for the cheapskate traveller heading east from SE Asia.

My neighbours on the flight to Doha were a middle aged couple for from Kent.  He was in the trucking business and they had just been on a cruise that took them from “Singapore and back to Singapore”.  They “got off in Penang, but didn’t get off in Thailand”.

I asked them what they thought what would happen in the ‘Brexit referendum’.  He told me that England was “going to the dogs because of the all the migrants”.  I said that it was a “big issue in Australia”.   He told me that he “heard about Tony Abbott”.  I said “he was an immigrant having been born in England”.  I also noted that Rupert Murdoch was a “serial migrant, having migrated to the UK and then to the USA”.

Curiously the bloke decided that the film was more interesting than talking to me.

Keeping on Walking

I bought a FitBit in Brisbane at the beginning of January.  It has made me aware of moving and not moving.  It is sometimes difficult to walk the recommended 10K steps per day.  During the layover in Doha, I walked around as much as possible.

BIG Hostel

I had made a reservation with the BIG Hostel in Green Point.  It was very highly rated on the booking site I use.

The staff at the hostel recommended a ‘backpacker’ shuttle service from the airport into the city.  There was a bit of a mix up finding other people that had booked the service.  Being a bit delayed is not an issue for a retiree.  The Rand 200 fare was very reasonable.

The hostel turned out to be really good.  It was in two houses that had been converted into a hostel with a mixture of dormitory and private rooms.  The staff were very helpful.

Green Point is one of the better suburbs in Cape Town.  It is where the World Cup soccer stadium was built and is only a couple of kilometres from the Waterfront area.

Notwithstanding that Green Point is a good area, the staff advised that it is not safe to walk around the streets after 8 p.m. at night.  This probably being a bit risk adverse, but it is an indication of what it is like in Cape Town.

All the houses in the area have security fences and alarm systems.  Many of the fences have razor wire.  Over the days that I was there, I noticed that it was usual to find broken glass in the street in the mornings.  This was caused by cars being broken into.

Restaurants and Craft beer

The hostel was less than 800 metres from ‘Main Road’ that leads from the CBD along the coast to the beach side suburbs to the east.

There are a lot of restaurants and some bars of the road.  There was one bar that served some really good craft beer.  It is disappointing that it is not recommended to walk the short distance from this area to the hostel after dark.

Walking to Waterfront

Notwithstanding the security issues after dark, it is safe to walk around this part of Cape Town during the day.  This seems to be true for all people including single women and older people.

I often walked from the hostel to the Waterfront area.  It is a really great area, will lots of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops.

On my second day, I had lunch at a great fish restaurant in the Waterfront.  I got a Messenger call from an old school mate who had recently travelled from Nairobi to Cape Town.  It was great to chat with him.  The internet connect was very good and the restaurant was quiet.  As it turned out, that was one of the few times where I had good internet and the place was quiet.

It would appear that good internet speeds are rare in South Africa.  Where the speeds are good, e.g. in an up market restaurant, the place is often noisy.  This has made Skype and Messenger calls problematic.

Comedy Club

My mate suggested that I check out the Comedy Club for “good beer, good food and a laugh”.  It was good tip.  I had a great night.  There were four acts and a very amusing Afrikaans compere.

Rugby at Newlands

On the first Saturday, that I was in town, I went to see the Stormers play the Bulls at Newlands.  The game was ‘sold out’, but I managed to buy a ticket at half time.

It is a good stadium to watch rugby.  The stands are very steep and you are close to the action.  There was a good mix of people in the crowd. I was under the impression that rugby was still the preserve of the whites.  It was encouraging to see lots of other faces in the crowd. There are also a lot on non-white players, however this seems to be to taking time to find its way into the national team.

It was strongly recommended by the staff at the hostel that I take a taxi to and from the ground.  There is a train, but this is “not for people like you”.

Long Walks

When I was in Cape Town I took and number of long walks along the coast to the east.  This took me to Camps Bay and other up market suburbs.   The people living there live very well.  I noticed that a lot of the houses and apartments being advertised in the real estate windows featured ‘staff quarters’.  That says a lot.

I was amazed by the number of really up market cars in Cape Town.  These included Bentleys, Maseratis as well as the usual Mercedes and Range Rovers.

I took the occasion Citi Bus.  I was typically the only white adult on the bus.  There the occasional white school children, but most the passengers were non-white.

Flick Link

https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/N1Yam4

 

 

Cape of Good Hope

billrider2013Leave a comment

DSC05533
I had decided to travel along the Garden Route to Durban by the Baz Bus. This is a company that specialises in the backpacker market.

When I booked my hop on hop ticket from Cape Town to Durban, I was offered a tour to the Cape of Good Hope. I took up the offer.

The bus picked me up at the hostel at 8.30 a.m. I was introduced to the other passengers. They were the usual eclectic lot – Germans, Dutch, French, Brits and Australians.

More Seals

We headed out of Cape Town along the coast. The first stop was Hout Bay. We were offered a boat trip to see some seals. It may sound that I am blasé about seeing seals. I have seen lots over the past 2 years in Tasmania, California, Chile, the Galapagos Islands, and now here.

Simon’s Town

Next stop was Simon’s Bay which was established by the British as a naval base. It is still a naval base, obviously run by the South Africans. The guide pointed out one of the six South African submarines. There seem to be doing as well as Australia on this front, at least in terms of numbers.

The town is on False Bay. The bay got its name because the sailors looking for Cape Town Harbour, often found themselves in the ‘false’ bay by mistake.
We stopped to see a Penguin colony. Again I like I am over ‘penguined’ at the moment. Having not long been to Phillip Island in Victoria

Funny Stories

We left Simon’s Town for Cape National Park. There was a lot of road works and progress was slow. A number the passengers started to chat about their travels. Two girls from Melbourne were particularly amusing.

They had been on a ‘truck’ trip from Nairobi to Cape Town. They told of some very close encounters with wild animals including a hippopotamus. It “scared the shit out of” them.

They also told a very funny story about sky diving with a Norwegian girl who was also on their truck. They were videoed and photographed on the way down. One girls said that her face was so “contorted in the photo that she could hardly recognise herself”. She also “doubted if her mother would have recognised if it was her”.

However, the “Norwegian looked as though she a just won Miss World and was about to collect her trophy – what bitch – ha ha ha”.

Bike Ride

We arrived in the park and the driver stopped the bus. The bus was towing a trailer with twenty bicycles. All the passengers with the exception of one took the option of a short 10 kilometres or so ride to our next stop for lunch.
It was good to be on a bike again after such a long break.

I had my Garmin, but as often the case when don’t put by glasses on, I managed to turn the timer off rather than on.
I was however, wearing my FitBit. When I synchronised the device in the evening, I was impressed to find that it had worked out that I had been riding a bike for 25 minutes or so.

A Dutchman’s view of Afrikaans

After the ride we stopped for lunch. I was simple – sandwiches and fruit – but very good.
I chatted with a Dutch bloke who had some interesting things to say about the Afrikann South Africans and their language.

He described Afrikaans as being “baby Dutch”. I look this as being the same as ‘pigeon English that is used in Papua New Guinea. I told him that Fire Escape in pigeon is ‘long stair hurry up go outside’. He told me that Afrikaans is similar . He said that Battleship is in Afrikaans is ‘the ship that is not afraid of anything’

I am not sure that google translator knows about that, but it makes a funny story.

Lighthouse

The next stop was lighthouse on Cape Point. Apparently there was a problem with the lighthouse in that because it is located at the top of the cliff, it is often covered in fog. As a result it did do what it was supposed to do, that is be seen by ships. Another lighthouse was built lower down the hill.

Cape of Good Hope

We piled back onto the bus to be taken down to the Cape of Good Hope.
We all had the obligatory photos take. As usual a bunch of German tourists ignored the queue. They are amazing. I have taken to telling them: “don’t mind us, just think of this line as Poland in 1939, just walk right in and feel at home”. It upsets them and so it should.

Slow Trip Back

I was a slow trip back in the Cape Town peak (two) hour traffic.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHskvERSfA

Black Township

billrider2013Leave a comment

DSC05495

When I am travelling I like to read books about the places that I am visiting. Typically, these are books written by travel writers. These are not travel guides, but are books written by writers about their travels, in the style of Bill Bryson or Paul Theroux.
On this trip I a reading ‘Cape Town to Kruger – Backpacker Adventures in South Africa and Swaziland’ by an Irish bloke called John Dwyer.

One of the things that he did during his time in Cape Town was a visit to a ‘Township’. I decided to do the same.

I organised the tour through the hostel. My guide arrived in ‘reverse African time’ – twenty minutes early. The guide ‘James’ told me that he wanted “to get going because of the traffic”. We headed into town where we picked up three Americans from another hostel.

Forced Removal of Blacks

As we were leaving the CBD, James stopped the van and pointed out a sign which said ‘District Six’. James explained that this area was particularly significant in the history of Apartheid. In 1982 the white controlled government declared the area of District Six and as a Whites Only Area’. The over 60,000 Black people living the area were forced to leave and their houses were demolished.

He also explained the operation of the ‘Pass Laws’. I mentioned these laws in my previous post about Robben Island.

James explained that all Blacks had to carry a ‘Pass Book’ at all times. The Pass Book’ detailed where they could live and work. For example, the Pass Book may say the holder could live in Langa Township (where we were headed) and work in the CBD of Cape Town. However, the holder may could only be the CBD during certain hours. The police would routinely stop Blacks in the street to check their Pass Book. It the holder was in the wrong place for at the wrong time, they would be detained. Repeated offenders would be placed in gaol.

Hospital

As we continued on towards the Township. The road passes that main Cape Town Hospital. This is where Dr Christiann Barnard performed that first heart transplant in 1967.
This is somewhat surreal give what follows.

Langa Township

Our first stop in the Township was a community centre. James explained that it was an initiative designed to provide unemployed people with skills and meaningful work. There didn’t appear to be too much going on.

There were a couple of women and bloke doing some pottery. Some of the items were being made for the Maryland University.

There were some other handicrafts for sale. One of the American blokes bought a model a bicycle made from wire.

While we were in the centre the American girl told me that see had been working on a project for a local Telecommunications company in Port Elizabeth. She was working on the project because the company was linked to Ericsson, with whom she worked in California.

The project “was not going well” and she had decided to leave. She was spending a couple of day in Cape Town before flying home. She also said the one of the reasons she decided to leave South Africa was the “extreme racism” she was forced to witness.

Living in a Container

Leaving the centre, we walked down street into the Township itself. We stopped at a shipping container. James explained that we were going to meet the person that lived in the container.

He opened that door and we looked in. We were introduced to the person that lived in the container. She was a disabled woman in her forties. It was very confronting.

Ex-Policeman

Our next stop was a large hall. James explained that the hall was used for accommodation. It had been divided into small rooms that were occupied by mainly single men. I also had showers and toilets.

Leaving the hall, we were taken into a shack the was in lane behind the hall.
We were introduced to its owner. James told us that he “would tell us about his life” and that we were “free to ask him any questions”.

The guy told us that he 65 years old. He was brought up in small town to the west of Cape Town. His parents were poor and he was forced leave school when he was 14. His first job was a messenger for a clothing store. When he was 18 he applied for a job as policeman. It was long process including taking examinations and medicals. In the end he was successful and joined the force.

After a short period of training, he was transferred to Cape Town.

He told us that he had lived in Langa most of the time he was in the Police Force. It was a little unclear how long he had lived in the shack, but he told us the he had built it himself. He started with one room that he built “overnight”. Once he “had claimed his spot, that was his”. Overtime he had expanded the shack to include three rooms. One is for this daughter. He told us that his wife died in 2009.

The shack has no toilet or running water. He and his daughter bring water from the hall next door. They also use the showers and toilets in the hall.
I asked him if he got a pension for being a former policeman. He told that he received a pension of 1,020 Rand per month. That is less than AUD 100 per month.
He told us that he was on the waiting list for one of the government ‘flats’ that are being built in the Township. He told us the he was not sure when it would be his turn to get a flat. However, he was “confident that he would get one”.

Stopping for a Beer

Leaving the shack, we took a very short down a lane to a place for a beer.
James explained that this was where the locals met to “chat and have a drink”. There were a number of blokes sitting around. There wasn’t too much chat – one was comatose the others were on the way.

We were introduced to the ‘Mistress Brewer’. James explained that the brew was made of fermented maize. I asked where the maize came from? He told me that it now comes from “Shoprite, the Supermarket in the Township”.

Apparently the brew takes 3 days to ferment and is then ready to drink. I assumed that in the absence of any refrigeration, it is drunk on that day.
We were offered to opportunity to drink the beer. The two American blokes declined. The girl had a go. So did I. We drank it out of a bucket. I am writing this over 24 hours later. I assume I won’t have any after effects.

Different Levels of Housing

After the beer tasting, we went on a short walk. We passed some two storeyed builds. The American girl told me that the buildings did not look dissimilar to the housing that is provided to the “lower ranks of the USA military”. She told me that she knew what that was like “because her sister was married to an Infantry Man”. She said that the “USA doesn’t look after its Servicemen”.

We were taken into one of the buildings. There was a small room with bunk beds. James explained that the room was occupied by three families. The parents slept in the beds and the children slept on the floor.
As we left, the American girl said that while the building looked the same as her Sister’s place, the sleeping arrangement were “better than that”.

We then returned the mini bus.

Some New Buildings

James drove us passed some new buildings, some of which were still under construction. He explained that these were being built by the government and the plan was to “move people from the shacks in to proper buildings over time”.

We then passed some cottages. James explained that these were ‘Bank Houses’. They had been built by their owners with loans from banks. Most were owned by ‘professionals’ e.g. teachers and government workers. Some had cars parked in the front yards. These places also had satellite dishes. I asked if they there was any robberies of these houses. James said that it was rare. “Most people respect the owners and the fact they were the “same as them”.

Immigrants

James then took us into another area than was far poorer than anything that we had seen so far. It was on the fringe of the Township, near the highway to the Airport. He explained that this was where the “immigrants were”. These are people from Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa that “have come to South Africa for a better life”.

It is really grim.
Check out the video of Flickr.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHsksdAauv

Link to Christiaan Barnard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Barnard

Robben Island

billrider2013Leave a comment
DSC05425
Robben Island

One of the places I really wanted to see while in Cape Town was Robben Island. It is the location of the infamous prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners where held during the apartheid years in South Africa.

As you would expect, it is a place of great significance for South Africans. It has been accorded World Heritage status by UNESCO.

The people at the hostel recommended that I book ahead to get a ticket. My tour started at 1.00 p.m. The boat to the island was not what I expected. It appeared to be a ‘working’ boat, with limited places for the passengers to sit.

Prison Ship

The trip out to the island took about 50 minutes. There was quite a large swell. As we drew into the harbour on the island we could see a number of other boats. They all looked like your typical harbour cruise boats.

Once on the island we were directed to a line of buses. Once on board we were greeted by our Guide. He looked like a young Nelson Mandela. He asked which boat brought us to island. Someone old him it was the “Dias”. He explained that the Dias was one of the original “prison boats” that were used to transport supplies to the island. It was also used to transport the prisoners to the island.

Tour of the Island by Bus

The bus took us past the prison and to an area which the guide explained was the site of a leper colony. The island housed the colony up until the 1930’s. It must have been dreadful to suffer from leprosy in those days. I note that it has been determined that leprosy has been determined to not be very contagious. I guess that leper colonies were a bit of an overkill.

Robert Sobukwe

The bus then stopped at a house. The guide explained that house was where a political dissident by the name of Robert Sobukwe was held in solitary confinement. He was famous for leading the resistance to the ‘pass laws’. This was system under apartheid wherein the Blacks were issued with identity passes that were used to restrict where they could live and travel within the country.

The Guide told us that as part of his solitary confinement Sobukwe was not allowed to talk to anyone, including the Warders that were guarding him. Towards that end of his incarceration he was visited by the anti-Apartheid activist, Helen Suzman. The guide said that he met Suzman when she visited the island shortly before her death. She told him that Sobukwe told her that he was “forgetting how to speak”. What an extraordinary form of torture solitary confinement is.

Lime quarry

The tour took past the Lime Quarry, where the political prisoners were forced to work. The Guide explained that the educated prisoners used the “relative freedom” while working in the quarry to teach the illiterate prisoners to read and write. He also explained that the dust and glare at the quarry caused eye damage to the prisoners.

Penguins and Great View

We stopped for a short break the northern end of the island. From this point there is a great view of Table Mountain. You can also see some of the local penguins. Apparently their numbers are declining and no one is sure why this is occurring.

Large guns

Heading back to the prison we passed a large gun, one of three that were placed on the island during WWII. Of course these guns never fired a shot in anger.

Prison

The bus dropped us off at the prison. We were met by our next Guide. This gentleman was really interesting he was a former political prisoner.

The Guide explained that the prison had several blocks. The prisoners of different categories were held in separate blocks. There was a block for the ‘Coloureds’ (mix race) and the Indians. The ‘Blacks’ were held in separate blocks. The ‘Leaders’ like Nelson Mandela were held in a separate Block.

The first block that we entered was where the guide was kept. The ‘cells’ were large. Up to 20 men were held in the cell. The prisoners slept on blankets placed on the floor. There were no beds. This practice ceased under pressure from the Red Cross and it was causing the prisoners to contract TB.

The next block was where more ‘dangerous’ prisoners were held. This block has single cells. On the walls of the cells are cards will short stories written by the inmates. They are all harrowing.

Guide tells of his Personal Experiences

While we were in this block, the Guide fielded questions from the group. This was very interesting.

He told us about the controls that the Warders placed over their communications will the outside. The sending and receiving of mail was very restricted and all mail was read and censored. He told us about one particular Warden with whom he become friendly. This

Warden took the Guide’s letters and smuggled them off the island and personally sent them to the Guide’s family. He also encouraged the family to send him letters that he passed to the Guide.

The Guide told us the “the Warden is still alive and is one of his best friends”.
The last part of the tour of the prison was where Nelson Mandela was held. There is a quadrangle next to the block. The Guide explained that in the corner of the quadrangle was one of the spots where Mandela hid the manuscripts for his book ‘The Long March to Freedom’. Where the original fence was being replaced will a stone wall, the manuscript was discovered. Mandela had to re-write that part of the book.

Clever use of a Tennis Ball

The Guide also told us about the tricky thing that the ‘Leaders’ used to communicate with the other prisoners in the adjoining Block.

They used to play tennis in the quadrangle. They cleverly placed written messages inside one of the tennis balls. During the course of the game they would hit the ball over the wall into the next block. The prisoners in the next block would reply to the message and throw that ball back over the wall.

Apparently this went on for years. Notwithstanding the Warders saw the ball going over the wall and being returned, they never twigged that it was being used for communication.

Mandela’s Cell

The final stop on the tour was Nelson Mandela’s cell. I always find it a bit eerie to visit a famous place in history. This is one of those places.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHskutQjUK

About Helen Suzman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Suzman

Long Walk to Freedom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Walk_to_Freedom