South Africa
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And so to Cape Town. We've had a long day travelling today through some awesome mountain scenery - the Garden route has the ocean on the southern side and the mountains to the north.
We stopped en route at the town of Oudtshoorn - known as the ostrich capital of the world! There are several commercial ostrich farms in the area where the birds are bred for their meat, feathers and skin (their skin, once tanned, is apparently second in durability only to kangaroo skin.) The oldest recorded ostrich lived to the age of 82!
We just called in at a show farm where you can "interact" with the ostriches and I can say that they have quite a vicious peck.
Still, it's been some years since I have a pair of young birds draped around me eating out of my hands like this!
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That bird has a wicked look in its eye!
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Where's Rod Hull?
Great pics, thanks for taking the time to post M
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The first dull day we've had some far and, unfortunately, it was the day we had planned to take the cable car ride up Table Mountain. But the mountain was shrouded in cloud (they call it the Tablecloth) so instead we went to a lower peak to watch the paragliders taking off - brave folk and quite a few youngsters taking part in tandem flights. We had pretty good views down over the city, including the waterfront and the stadium built for the 2014 World Cup and also out to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned - I'd imagined it to be a much bigger island. We are hoping to go out on a tour on Monday.
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This afternoon we strolled around the very colourful Cape Malay district. These house were originally built to house the slaves brought in from Malaysia and around for forced labour. Now they have been refurbished and turned into expensive and very desirable apartments! Behind you can just see the mountain, still shrouded in cloud (though as I'm writing this, at about 5 pm the skies have cleared so hopefully tomorrow morning will be succesful.)
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Love those photos - they are great.
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Crystal clear skies over Table Mountain today but, ironically, the winds that had blown the cloud away were too strong for the cable cars to run - so we hope for better luck tomorrow!
Never mind, instead we went on the most fantastically scenic drive down past the 12 Apostles (a line of 12 mountain peaks just south or Cape Town ) all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope - the most south westerly point on mainland Africa and then up to enjoy the antics of the African penguins at Boulders Bay.
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Again great photos. Really appreciate you posting them
Jealous of that blue sky, heavy snow is forecast here for tomorrow morning
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Beautiful views, M, and great weather. At least you won’t be using more than your fair share of lekky in those temperatures😯.
Hope you get up that mountain tomorrow.
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We had a trip into history today - a tour of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent18 years imprisoned. The tours are conducted by former prisoners who speak eloquently of their struggle against the apartheid system, imprisonment and the barbaric conditions they had to endure. There is still clearly a lot of anger in them. It is almost impossible to imagine how it must have been, confined to a cell barely 8ft by 8ft for all but 30 minutes a day. The punishments sounded horrific - some were set to work in this limestone quarry under the scorching sun for 6 hours a day, other had dogs set upon them overnight. There is little indication of Mandela's cell, other than a folded blanket in one corner and a table and tin cup against one wall.
The country has come so far over the past 30 years or so, but there is still much to be achieved - outside nearly every town we've visited there have been "informal settlements" with hundreds upon hundreds of corrugated iron shacks, such poor conditions compared to the wealth in the cities.
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On a happier note, we spent our last afternoon and evening down on the Victoria and Alfred waterfront which is always lively and bustling. Despite all, the stories of crime and violence in the city we have felt totally safe and unthreatened during our stay.
Tomorrow morning we are determined to get up Table Mountain if it's the last thing we do (not literally - there was a 20 hour search and rescue operation for 3 tourists who'd tried to climb up on Saturday when it was shrouded in cloud! )
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Great excitement amongst 50% of the moulesy group this morning when we realised we were sharing the hotel with the Australian cricket team. I was "advised" (by Mrs M, obviously) not to try to sit with them at breakfast - "they don't want a little fat English bloke on their table". How rude - I'm not that little!
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Sounds like a truly marvellous trip M. SA as you say still has huge problems, but the sheer beauty of the landscape, and the wildlife are breathtaking. Thanks for sharing, been very interesting. Leave those Aussies alone though. And you might need wellies or snow boots when you get back to Blighty😱
I am looking at West Coast of America and Canada. OH might just get the shock of his life when he asks me where would I like to go for my next big birthday........🤣
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is that going to be the highlight of your trip?
Well if not, the icing on the cake
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It reminds me of who I once shared a hotel with...............Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Other than security gunboats off the beach we’ed Never have known. The Palestinians were less hassle than the Greeks!
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Not the absolute highlight, but one has to take one's chances when they come - one of these is a world class Australian international cricketer and the other is a "little fat English bloke! "
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It is the last morning and we did actually make it up Table Mountain in the cable car. And how it was worth it - crystal clear skies, hot, hot, hot and those views!
We're now at Cape Town airport waiting for our flight back to Johannesburg and then back to Heathrow. It's been an unforgettable two weeks, and although we have missed the weather back home (no, really!
) we've got our very own "storm Ralph" to look forward to at the weekend when Lady's new companion finally arrives! 2 -
Two weeks already! The time has gone in a flash.
Thanks for the pics from Table Mountain - great stuff.
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Safe flight M. Great photo with the cricketer (erm, it’s not my thing, who is he?)🤭
Glad you got up the mountain as well. Storm Ralph awaits😱😁
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Actually I'm pretty that was the highlight of his trip and he's posted a similar photo on some Australian cricketing website saying they were sitting next to the famous Moulesy of CT
Have a great trip
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Great photos and pleased that you both had such a good time. Have a safe journey home......just be careful not to get too close to any Chinese tourists on your flights.
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"Great photo with the cricketer (erm, it's not my thing, who is he?)
Well, first of all, I assume you spotted which was which?
He's David Warner AustralIan opening batsman and former captain (the one on the left, that is!) Sadly caught up with Steve Smith in the great Sandpapergate scandal a couple of years back but now, happily both rehabilitated and showing great form. And as, it turns out a really nice guy, as were many of the others, happy to stop and chat to our group in the hotel foyer. I'll never be able to think of Australians in quite the same manner again!
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Definitely a shock to your system after all that Sun and high temperatures. Good to hear that you've made it home safe and sound.
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Moulesy, Sad to hear you're back in this "Cold Old Country " again, but great to be able to say Thank you for the information and the pictures. I really like the ones made of gear wheels, spanners and other metal items. I've seen a couple of them at GDSF - one was a nine foot high WW1 soldier, the second was a representation of one of "The Angels of Mons ". They take some real engineering skills as well as a large chunk of talent as an artist.
Once again, Thank You and keep yourselves warm walking those pups
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