Birthday Weekend

Last Sunday was my birthday - this year I'm the same age as the last two digits of the year I was born!

I had expected to spend this birthday in Zambia, but we're still in Cape Town, so I looked through the tourist information leaflets to find a different way to celebrate the day.

The San Culture and Education Centre, called !Khwa ttu (the ! is a click made with the tongue) only an hour's drive away, sounded just the thing. As this was primarily to be an outdoor visit I decided to check the weather forecast: Thunder storms were expected on Sunday, but Saturday would be fine and very hot. Deciding that sunscreen was better than waterproofs, we packed a small rucksack with sunhats, binoculars and lots of water and headed off up the West Coast again.

!Khwa ttu is a living, San-owned project, preserving the 10,000 year old culture of the San people, who were hunter-gathers throughout the vast area of Southern Africa, long before international borders and Europeans established the different countries. Like many indigenous groups the San culture has been marginalised and this piece of land was purchased and given to the San by a Swiss foundation.

The land is bush spreading from this hill down to a valley, which becomes a waterhole in the winter rainy season.

Different kinds of buck, birds and other wildlife live on the land; these are springbok:

Our three-hour tour took us on a trail viewing the landscape and game from this interestingly decorated, tractor-drawn truck:

It included a nature walk where we learned how to identify the different animal spoor (tracks):

Our guide had plaster casts of each animal's footprint, which he demonstrated in some loose earth. This is the track of a porcupine:

However, it was one thing to see it demonstrated and quite another to identify them in the bush! A handout showing the differences would have been helpful here with more time to ponder the tracks found crossing the path.

The next skill we were shown was trapping. This was a trap for a guinea fowl:

We then walked to a replica traditional village where we sat round the (unlit) fire listening to stories and watching demonstrations of ancient skills connected with the San lifestyle.



Here the guides are showing how the animal skills were worn as clothes for men, women and children:

Two different methods of making fire, by friction, were demonstrated:

The one woman guide showed how the shell of an ostrich egg was fashioned into jewellry and explained that the women were responsible for the gathering of berries and herbs, whilst the men did the hunting:

We then moved to a part of the village which was the domain of the (San) men only and shown how they prepared for a hunt, their tools and the place where the meat was dried to make biltong (dried meat). The eland is a special buck for the San people and many of their rituals are connected to ancestral worship.

Here, Andy is holding an arrow, the tip of which was first made from bone and later made of metal. The poison was applied to the base of the tip, which separated from the main shaft of the arrow, upon entering the animal's hide. The shaft could then be recovered from the track and the tip recovered when the animal succumbed to the effects of the poison:

These photos of San rock art were taken in the Iziko museum:

This was the rock art at !Khwa ttu:

...with this explanation:

...a kind of San graffiti!

At one point we were taken to a boma, which is a word used in many parts of Africa for an enclosure or camp. In this case it was a place with rough bench tables, where we had refreshments and escaped from the hot sun for 30 minutes.

During this time we had a lesson in the four main languages of the different San tribes. Our four guides represented these tribes and languages, only one of whom could speak good English. However, he translated for the other three. There are four main clicks which typify the different tribes, which we tried to replicate, placing our tongue in a particular position and following the instructions. Andy was much better at it than me, as I have difficulty even whistling! Nevertheless it was fascinating to learn about and amusing to try.

Another light hearted event was visiting the 'bush toilet':

Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised:

As you can see there was even toilet paper and hot water (heated by the sun) for hand washing. The panoramic views of the bush were a bit of a surprise, until I realised I couldn't be overlooked!

The whole trip to !Khwa ttu was fascinating and added much to our South African experience.

On my actual birthday, I had a surprise breakfast brought to the flat by Hendriette and the family:

A basket filled with muesli, yoghurt and fruit (my favourite breakfast food) together with a really creative calendar for 2008:

The title photo was taken at the Sciencentre and shows me standing in Swaziland!

Each month is based around one of the activites or places we have visited together:

I discovered that Jaco and Helena have been working on this for the last few weeks, in preparation for my birthday. It is a very special memory, reminding me of the places and people who have made our time in Cape Town such a blessing.

Sciencentre - Cape Town

As a former primary school teacher, I've always enjoyed educational visits. The opportunity for hands-on activities on a scale that is difficult to reproduce in the classroom appeals to my visual and kinaethetic learning style. Seeing practical applications of scientific principles explained clearly, especially if they are set in an interactive and fun activity, I believe, are the best way for people to learn and discover for themselves.

The Sciencentre, located in Canal Walk, one of the largest shopping malls in Cape Town, is just such a centre of excellence in science and technology. Andy and I had visited Canal Walk a number of times, and seen the entrance to the Sciencentre. I must admit that the impression from the outside was of a place just for primary-age children, with a few mazes and puzzles for them to investigate. How wrong I was!

The first exhibit is a new one, still being installed, all about recycling. There's a small wormery, linked to clear diagrams describing the process from organic waste to organic fertiliser, which they called 'worm tea'. The plan is to install a huge wormery, where people can see into the various layers, showing the decomposition process. We learnt that the Nelson Hotel, which I had visited with Jaco and Helena a few months ago, have installed their own wormeries, and the 'worm tea' is used on their organic gardens. If we had known about it we could have visited the facility for a tour.

This section of the Sciencentre also encourages recycling of household waste, separating glass, metal, paper and plastic. Although the domestic refuse collection of Cape town has the slogan "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle" displayed on the side of its vehicles, I have yet to see this being applied practically. In the UK we are encouraged to separate our recyclable materials, some of which are collected from our doorsteps, others like cardboard, batteries, clothes and shoes, we are encouraged to take to the local authority refuse centre. In Walsall, our Borough, recycling has now become commonplace and whilst there is always room for improvement, the recycling process is fairly efficient, reducing the amount of waste going into landfill. In South Africa, most recyling is still not done at source. Those at the bottom of the social spectrum can rumage through the refuse bags once they have been dumped on a landfill site, removing anything of value, including recyclable materials. In my opinion this is not a very effective recycling method. However, chatting to one of the Sciencentre's guide's revealed that some areas of Cape Town are now introducing doorstep collections of recyclable materials, and this is at least a step in the right direction.

All the exhibits were of high quality and clearly explained. The basics of physical science, such as light, sound and mechanics, along with many puzzles exploring conceptual thinking strategies, kept us engrossed. We were only able to experiment with about a quarter of them in the time available to us.

This one demonstrates how ultraviolet light reveals the fluorescent properties of some chemicals:

...and this demonstrates the principle of sound waves travelling through pipes, producing notes of different pitch:

...and here is an impression of Jaco's hands in nails:

There was a massive geographical map of southern Africa on the floor, with the political boundaries marked. Here my right toe is pointing out Table Mountain:

...and Helena is sitting in Botswana (a country she will be visiting in March):

The Sciencentre has just achieved a Guiness World Record for the largest working cell phone:

The centre is also home to a giant walk-in camera, with 360 degree images of the surrounding area. Situated on the roof of the shopping mall, the live images are reflected onto a two metre screen, in a darkened room:

At this point the lens was pointing in the direction of Table Mountain. The lens can be focussed by raising or lowering and the guide played with the moving images of cars and people, placing small ramps onto the image, making them look as though they were climbing hills.

The Sciencentre does a lot of educational work with school and college groups and Hendreitte learned that as home schoolers they can join with a larger group for seminars of particular topics. I'm sure they will be back at the Sciencentre very soon.

More Museums in Cape town

Visiting museums has become one of my favourite pastimes recently. As the time for Andy and I to leave Cape Town approaches, I been discovering lots of fascinating places, and enjoying some wonderful trips out with Hendriette, Jaco and Helena.

We visited the Cape Town Holocaust Centre, which is similar to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, but much smaller:

On the stairs, leading to the museum, some beautiful patchwork of appliqued and embroidered Jewish symbols are displayed:

Next door is the Jewish Museum, which is very modern. It has an unusual spiral staircase, which is only supported at the top and bottom:

This photo was taken from a postcard I bought at the museum.

A Jewish Synagogue on also on the site. Jaco had to cover the top of his head, as is customary for males entering a Jewish Holy place. Paper caps and prayer shawls were available for communal use:

In the synagogue, this replica of a candelabrum from the Yad Vashem museum, remembering the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, was displayed at the front.

On the same day we revisited the Iziko Museum, which has huge skeletons on display:

This is the mouth of a very large great white shark - scary!

And this is a replica of one of the large dinosaur skeletons, found in South Africa.

Another day we visited the National Gallery, also part of the Iziko Museums. Part of the Sasol Wax Art award, this unusual display, made entirely of wax paper, depicted a bedroom and bathroom:

I hope you can see the straws used to make the sink taps and also for the base of the toilet.

These are examples of the work of another finalist in the wax art award:

Another section had sculptures made of scrap materials:

This life-size horse was made from weapons and armory...

...and this working model of a lion chasing a tourist was made from unrolled drinks cans.

These museums surround the 'Company's Gardens', where a statue of Cecil Rhodes is siuated. As my maiden name (name before marriage) was Rhodes, I just had to pose beside it:

Die Strandloper - Seafood Restaurant

Mark Gallardo, Andy's colleague in CVC Miami was here recently. He came with us on the West Coast weekend, although he had only just landed in Cape Town, following two night flights (to London, then to Cape Town), so I don't think we can, in any way, blame Mark for the dismal success on the fishing trip.



By way of compensation, during his week here, we visited a seafood restaurant which is also on the Cape West Coast, but much nearer to Cape Town. Die Strandloper is not posh! Terms like 'rustic', 'rough and ready', or even 'makeshift' are more appropriate.

As you can see, there is no permanent stucture, just tents, made from fishing nets, situated right on the beach.

The cooking takes place over open fires and is served either straight from the fire or in pots, like these:

There's no washing up as paper plates are used, together with no knives and forks: mussel shells serve just as well:

There's no waste either, scraps off our plates are just tossed to, what must be, the best-fed seagulls on the West Coast:

Entertainment is provied by a guitarist who circulates round the tables, singing requests:

There's even an amusing weather forecast:

And the food, of course, was delicious. Crayfish twice in one week can't be bad!

West Coast Weekend

The last weekend in January was spent on the Cape West Coast of South Africa. We travelled to the Elands Bay near the Cederberg region: an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The purpose of the visit was to fish in 'Verlorenvlei', which means "lost marsh". It is in fact a huge natural lake, formed when the estuary closed to the sea. Recent rains opened it for the first time in 12 years, making the water more brackish than freshwater.

Andy caught ten like this small carp, all of which were thrown back as they were too small to eat.

Brigitte was far more hands-on than I was, I'm afraid. This fish, Oliver caught, was probably the largest of the day, but still too small to braai.

Our host, Brink, took us to see the house that his great-grandmother was born in, near to the 'vlei'. Her great-grandmother was one of the first German immigrants to settle in this area, in the late 1700's. The cottage is a traditional cape cottage, with a thatched roof, often referred to as a fisherman's cottage.

Elands Bay is popular with surfers and the high-tide mark was littered with interesting shells, just right for beachcombing. The next morning, very early the men returned to try to catch some sea fish.

This juvenile shark was found trapped on the beach and released back into the sea.

Elands Bay is on the crayfish trail, but those who dive for them must hold a license. There are very strict rules about how many can be taken at one time. Brink's brother caught these crayfish, the only seafood that was eaten that weekend!

But this glorious sunrise, more than made up for the lack of fish.