Kirstenbosch and Cecil Rhodes

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens are located behind Table Mountain and the land was bought by Cecil Rhodes to prevent urban development on these sheltered slopes. Upon his death in 1902, they were bequeathed to the people as part of his vast estates. Only then was a garden borne here.

We visited Kirstenbosch on Saturday, Sandra and Mum's last full day here. Again, the weather was mild and sunny; just right for wandering round these magnificent gardens looking at all the unusual South African plants.

This is the baobab tree, commonly known as the upside-down tree, as the branches look more like the roots when there are no leaves on it. Unfortunately, the one in the conservatory was in full leaf, so I took a photo of the information plaque, so you can see what it normally looks like in the wild. They don't grow in the Cape; it is too cold. There is much folklore connected with this tree and it has many uses for Africans living in the bush.

Another wierd-looking plant is the Half Man Half Plant, again found in hotter regions of Africa.

The Aloes are a range of plants which have numerous medicinal and cosmetic uses. Some are trees and other bushes. The one we are standing in front of in Aloe Vera.

We broke off one of the stems which was out of sight and squeezed the sap onto our hands; it really was just like clear hand cream.

This strange group of plants were in the section called 'Stone and Window Plants'. the photos don't really capture them as we saw them, but you may get the idea. The window plants have transparent parts which allow the light to penetrate the heart of the plant. The stone plants look just like stones with stems and leaves sprouting from them.

The proteas formed a section in the garden, high up on the slopes. There are many different proteas; individual plants, bushes and trees, but all of them exquisite to look at. These are called 'Brenda'. However, none of them compared with the huge one we discovered on Table Mountain. (see blog 'Trekking on Table Mountain')

My guide book describes Cecil Rhodes as the 'archetypal colonialist' and much that we learnt about him, growing up in England, did not make us proud to be a "Rhodes". Nevertheless there is no disputing his lasting influence upon South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe). Old Rhodes Drive, in Kirstenbosch, an avenue of Camphor trees planted by Cecil Rhodes, was previously the road to Hout Bay. We felt that saving this land from urban development had been one of his better legacies.

Now a new road, also called Rhodes Drive winds its way from the city and behind Table Mountain. The memorial to Cecil Rhodes, which describes him as a man who loved South Africa, occupies a prominent position on the lower slopes and is a popular place for walking, viewing and surprisingly, wedding photos, as we discovered when we stopped off there on our return journey.

As the sole surviving 'Rhodes' in our family, Mum had to pose beneath this pensive statue.

In the city there is also a full length staue of him pointing, presumably towards the north with his (unrealised) vision of building a road from Cape Town to Cairo.

Hermanus

Hermanus is a seaside town about two hours drive from Cape Town along the south coast, in Walker Bay. This bay's claim to fame is the world's top site for land-based whale-watching between June and November. We had been told that whales had been seen in the bay, earlier than expected, so we travelled there for the day, last Friday. The weather was perfect, so armed with our binoculars, we scanned the bay hoping to see some large black humps, v-shaped water spouts or whales' tails popping out of the water. Unfortunately, we didn't see any. A waiter, at one of the many sea front restaurants and cafes, told us he had seen a tail two days previously.

This whale-tail seat was given to the town in 2000. Walker Bay is in the background.

On this occasion Sandra and I gave in to Mum's request to have a sweet after our meal. For a little lady she sure can enjoy her 'puddings'! They both loved Hermanus despite not seeing any whales. There is small craft market and lots of little shops to browse, as well as the breathtaking scenery.

These strange-looking animals are called 'dassies'. They are the size of large cats, but look more like hamsters, and live in the rocks at Hermanus. We were told they can also be found on Table Mountain.

Aparteid and Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu was Archbishop of Cape Town between 1986-95 and awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1984. This is Nobel Square, where bronze statues of the four South Africans who have been awarded the Nobel Peace prize are standing, together with their famous words in several languages, radiating out from the statue. Tutu is second from the left and Mandela, first from the right. FW de Clerk, who was jointly awarded with Mandela in 1994 is between Tutu and Mandela, and I'm afraid I've lost the name of the fourth South African to receive a Nobel Peace prize.

If you look closely at the benches you will see that the left one says "White's only" and the right one says "Non-White's only". They have been kept outside the courthouse as a constant reminder of how apartheid separated the citizens of South Africa.

Robben Island

Our trip to Robben Island was an important, if sobber one, as we were made aware of the recent history of South Africa. Most people will have heard of apartheid and the imprisonment of political prisoners; the most famous one being Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for campaigning to end apartheid in South Africa.


Here Sandra is standing outside Mandela's prison cell, only two metre square...





...and this is what the cells looked like inside.

This was our guide, who had been a political prisoner himself for 20 years, on the same block as Mandela. He now works on Robben Island as he couldn't find work on the mainland. He showed no signs of anger or revenge and I felt the passage of time must have mellowed him greatly.

Daily life for the politican prisoners was harsh and brutal. This was the limestone quarry where they worked. The glare from the sun on the white rock gave many of them permanent eye damage. There was a small cave, which was their only escape from the fierce sun. This cave became the university of the prison, where many of them learnt from others, shared ideas and planned for a better future.


The building on the cliff top was a guard house and the pile of stones next the entrance was symbolic of their hopes and dreams; each stone a different shape, size and colour, touching and affecting each other, but together making a significant feature on the barren landscape.

Without their pass they couldn't eat, take recreation or receive letters....


...but their letters were often censored or altered to give psychological torture to both prisoners and their families.

These are chess pieces made out of brown flour bags, which were then hidden away from the guards for fear of confiscation, if found.

Castle of Good Hope

After a week in Cape Town, we felt Mum and Sandra would be safe venturing out on their own. They took the City Tour, which is 'hop on, hop off' at places visitors want to investigate further.

They decided to spend a couple of hours looking round the Castle of Good Hope, built around 1670 and is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. It is actually one of the places I personally have not yet been to visit.

This is the main entrance has a bell tower containing the oldest bell in South Africa, which was cast in Amsterdam.

This portico was rebuilt 100 years after the original (around 1790) and from this balcony all proclamations were made to the soldiers, civilians and slaves at the Cape.

Mum was actually sheltering from the wind in this centry box, whilst she waited for Sandra.

They told me to try to alocate a full day to visit the Castle, as there were many places they didn't see in two hours there..

More Penguins at Sealife Aquarium

On Monday we visited the Sealife Aquarium in Cape Town. Here we had another opportunity to see penguins, but this time very close up. As well as African Penguins, Sealife also has Rockhopper penguins; those with the yellow spikey 'hair' and plain white fronts. Their environment replicates the seashore with waves onto a little beach, rocks and burrows like those we saw on Boulders. We arrived just before feeding time and one Rockhopper was obviously on look out.

They were handfed by a member of staff who gave us a very interesting commentary. Each penguin's name was called out with the type of fish being fed.

A member of the public, this time a young girl, recorded the information, so that they were able to keep a check on each penguins' food intake.

Some pengiuns took their fish into the water to eat and other went into burrows to share with their nesting mate.

The aquarium focusses on two oceans; the cold, stormy waters of the Southern Atlantic and the warm tropical seas of the Indian Ocean. The contrasts between the two were shown in the sange and type of fish and other sea creatures living in both. This huge turtle was a spectacular sight. As was one of two jagged-tooth sharks. There were also smaller sharks, rays and massive ugly fish, as well as a great variety of smaller fish.

This shark had what looked like a young shark resting on its back.

We also watched the seals being fed. They are so intelligent, demonstrating 'enrichment activities', which are taught to enhance their life in captivity and enable staff to handle them for medical examinations etc.

All the animals have been rescued from the some predicament or other and cannot be returned to the wild.

Lunch at Moyo

'Moyo' is a loose translation of the Swahili word for soul. Moyo is far more than a just a restaurant; it is a experience of sense saturation, as you are immersed in African culture.

Authentic dishes from the north, south, east and west of the continent fill the air with their aromas and entice your taste buds. Artists of every description are showcased; from face painters, musicians and dancers who provide the entertainment to the feast, to a wide variety of handmade goods made from recycled products, available for sale. It all takes place in an enormous Bedouin-style tent, with an abundance of rought-iron furniture, lanterns and sculptures. Blankets and cheery braziers are provided to keep you warm, until the various spices kick in. Outside there are unusual water features made from wood and metal, little tree houses and large sofas for use in the summer or for gazing up at the starry sky on a clear night.

This was our treat on Sunday and despite the cold and showers of that particular day, we were not disappointed.


Here are the patterns painted on our faces. There seems to be an infinite variety of patterns.

Some of the entertainment was very energetic drumming and rythmical dancing ( I liked the bright materials sewn onto ordinary jeans)....

...some of it was quirky, like the these people who danced around with glasses piled up on trays

...and some of it was very touching; a small group moved around the tables and sang gentle songs in tribal languages.

These photos do not really show it off, but I hope they give you a little taste...

Close up to Aslan

This is one of three lions at Fairy Glen Safari Park. The lions have a large enclosure but are not free to roam the park. They also have a covered pen, with permanent open access to their enclosure. The day we visited they did not want to come out of the pen. they were due to be fed later in the day. They are given half a cow once a week, so that although they do not catch their food they do eat the meat off the carcass.

The male reminded us of Aslan, from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis.

We were able to get really close up - they are huge and in really good condition. We wondered if this was because they don't have to fight and kill their food.

Stewart encouraged us to touch their fur through the bars. It was very soft and we felt very brave!

What a super safari!

On Friday we travelled to Worcester, an hour's drive east of Cape Town, to a safari park called Fairy Glen. It was a very early start, but as the sun rose in the sky, burning off the mist, it became very warm.

This is the safari truck we travelled in, along with about 12 other people. It is a converted army truck and most suitable for the rough terrain of the park.

Our ranger and guide was called Stewart. Here he is standing on a termite mound. He offered us termites to eat, but I think everyone declined. He said that termite mounds serve at least two purposes for those who are lost in the bush. Firstly, the top always points towards north (in the southern hemisphere) and secondly, a handful of termites can provide an emergency meal.

These tiny red-coloured any-like creatures have a minty taste and are very nutritious. I did get as far as having one on my hand but couldn't bring myself to eat it!

We saw many different types of antelope - this is a hemsbok. The long horns can grow over one metre in length.

This is an ostrich family. The male has black feathers and three females have brown feathers. There were also five chicks about two months old.

The Ostrich keeps laying eggs when they are taken away, thus supplying eggs for ostrich egg decorating, which is big business here. Ostrich meat is very low in cholesterol and delicious.

Giraffes are so graceful when they walk. They watched us the whole time. They have hair at the top of their ears, but the males usually rub the hair off, when they are fighting for dominance, so you can tell the males by their lack of hair on the ears.

There were lots of Zebras. These were black with white stripes. Stewart told us mountain zebras are white with black stripes. How do you tell the difference?

Did you know that Zebras have stripes, not to blend in with the trees or other plant life, but to make themselves look bigger to predators? A group of them blend into one, so that when the predator chases they then break up making one of them harder to catch.

The white rhinos were enormous and came really close to the truck. They have very poor eyesight, but excellent hearing and we noticed that the closest ear was always turned towards us, even when walking away. It seems incredible that such a huge creature lives solely on grass.

The African elephant has larger ears than the Indian elephant; each one having the same shaped ear as their name. In this photo you can clearly see that the left ear is the shape of Africa.

This was a wooden statue of an elephant at the entrance to Fairy Glen. It was carved by an unknown artist in Zimbabwe. The wood was also unknown, but had water constantly trickling over the outside keeping it from drying out in the sun.

A mountain leopard had devoured this hemsbok, leaving the carcas for the vultures and other carrion-eaters. Fairy Glen has six leopards with collars, but they have no control over where they roam or what they catch. They are immensely difficult to see; Stewart has only seen one in the last five months.

A four or five metre crocodile lay immobile in a pen near to the restaurant!