CAPE TOWN, THE GARDEN ROUTE, MOSSEL BAY, PORT ELIZABETH AND DURBAN (part 1)
In this post I am going to describe a major family trip that we took in 1990 to Cape Town, on to the Cape of Good Hope, along the coast of the Indian Ocean on the Garden Route, to the Cango Cave-in Oudtshoorn with a stop in Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth and finally Durban before heading north and completing our circle back to Cape Town. We a spent about 10 days in total, together on this trip. It was one of my personal favorite trips ever. The girls were young and happy to go anywhere, so long as there was a place to swim each day, be it a pool at the hotel or the beach. Deysi as ever, was ready for travel and had everything mapped out for us, right down to the last detail.
I did the driving, helped keep everyone on edge (they would say stressed), and at the top of their sightseeing game. We started our journey by hopping on a train in Johannesburg. This was not exactly the “Blue Train”, that I went on with dad. In fact it was not real good at all. We had one berth with 2 bunk beds and a window. If 3 of us were in bed, one person could stand up and turn around. Deysi said they almost froze. Anyway it was an adventure! The next morning we arrived in Cape Town and what a magnificent place it was. It is a coastal city, with big harbours and lots of commercial activity. The city is also centre of South African arts and theatre. On the northern outskirts is an amazing wine industry full of vineyards and wineries. It is called Stellenbosch and at that time contained well over 100 wine estates.
Of course the first thing everyone does in Cape Town is take a cable car ride up the side of Table Mountain to see a magnificent view of the surrounding coast line as well as the city. It is about a 3550ft. long cable and goes, what seems like, straight up. The ride is only about 5 minutes to the top, but is very focusing. I didn’t hear the girls “cutting up” too much on this ride. They were all pretty silent. I of course could have ridden outside on the roof, such was my confidence with heights. Once at the top the summit offers 360 degree views of Cape Town and the surrounding areas.
We spent our time looking around, having a snack and visiting the souvenir place for a little bit of shopping. The girls had their travel money and were dying to leave it in the first place they visited. I will add some pictures and let them tell the rest of the sights from Table Mountain.
VIEW OF TABLE MOUNTAIN FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LIFT. IT WAS INTIMIDATING. BUT WE WERE GOING UP ANYWAY! GEEZUS STRAIGHT UP. THINGS WERE GETTING A LITTLE QUIETER NOW. WE ALL FOUND SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO. WITH BRAVE SMILES WE ASCENDED. THERE I AM AT THE SUMMIT WITH MY USUAL BAG OF CAMERA GEAR. WAITING FOR MY TOUR GROUP, APPARENTLY IN HIDING. A MARMOT LOOKING DOWN OVER THE EDGE AND THINKING “HOW THE HELL DID I GET UP HERE”? OR MAYBE JUST EATING CHIPS THE GIRLS WITH THEIR FIRST LOOK FROM THE TOP OF TABLE MOUNTAIN Cape Town 1990 THE CABLE HOUSE FOR THE LIFT AND THE ATLANTIC IN THE BACKGROUND YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS DID NOT APPEAR TO BE A HEAVY TOURIST DAY. THE THREE OF THEM PROBABLY MAKING SOME PLAN TO GANG UP ON ME AND MAKE ME TAKE THEM TO A BEACH OR FOR SHOPPING. IT IS HARD TO DESCRIBE THE BEAUTY OF THIS. IT NOW 30 YEARS AGO AND SCANNED IN FROM AN OLD PHOTO. I AM SURE DEYSI TOOK THIS LIKE ALL OF THE OTHER GOOD PICS IN OUR LIFE. OVER THE BACK SIDE LOOKING SOUTH INTO THE ATLANTIC THIS WAS LOOKING SOUTH ALSO, OVER THE AREA OF CAMP’S BAY WHERE WE STAYED. CAPE TOWN WAS OVER THE OTHER SIDE DIRECTLY BEHIND US. SOUTH THRU A NATURAL BOWL IN THE MOUNTAIN. YOU CAN SEE A WALKING TRAIL FROM WHERE WE WERE. THAT WAS SOME ASS KICKING HIKE! SOME WILDLIFE EATING SOME CRUMBS LEFT BY THE TOURISTS AND POSING FOR PICTURES. WE ALL HAD A LOOK THRU THIS SCOPE. ANGE SAID SHE COULDN’T SEE ANYTHING. DAD DO WE HAVE ANY MONEY LEFT? THIS WAS DAY ONE AND SHE WAS ALREADY CONCERNED. CAPE TOWN AT THE BASE OF THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS. THE METRO AREA WAS ABOUT 2.2 MILLION AT THAT TIME. DOWNTOWN FROM ATOP TABLE MOUNTAIN, THE SAN FRANSISCO OF AFRICA.
Day two of our trip to Cape Town consisted of exploring the local beaches and giving the girls a day off from my incessant touring and history talks. I guess I made them a little crazy, although the only one brave enough to voice an opinion was Ron. She always had one and most of them were terribly funny to the woman’s group in the family. She didn’t seem to care about my fragile feelings and parchment thin skin. We explored some of the local towns, looking for fresh seafood to eat. Well at least Deysi and I did, the girl’s, not so much.
The beaches were beautiful, the water temperate, and the sand warm. A perfect mix in a perfect place. The small highway, that ultimately leads all of the way to the Cape of Good Hope, winds along the coast, rising from beach level, up over high cliffs and back down to sandy beaches. There were many, many places where a small hike from the highway would bring you to a beautiful secluded beach. We played all day, I shot some film (I will post it later), we swam, we ate and we enjoyed the South Coast of Africa. Our girls were a delight to be around. They kept us laughing. What happy times!
PARADISE, A DAY AT THE BEACH FINALLY. A BURY IN THE SAND AND THEN A DIP IN THE ATLANTIC ANGE NOT QUITE SO READY TO GET BURIED YET. SHE WOULD HAVE IF HER MENTOR HAD INSISTED, BUT SOMEHOW DID NOT. THERE SHE IS BURIED IN THE SAND WITH HER GLASSES ON, PRETTY HARD TO READ A BOOK I’D SAY? HOUT BAY STRAIGHT ACROSS THE MOUNTAIN FROM CAPE TOWN. THE BEACH WAS BEAUTIFUL. AS WERE ALL OF THEM. LOOKING BACK ACROSS CAMP’S BAY FROM THE COASTAL ROAD. IT WAS A VERY BEAUTIFUL BEACH TOWN. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN FROM HOUT’S BAY. A COUPLE OF MARKER BUOYS WERE WAY OUT IN THE WATER. WE WENT LOOKING FOR SEAFOOD DOWN ALONG THE WHARF. NARY A MACDONALD’S TO BE SEEN. POOR LITTLE STARVING GIRLS. “DAD, I’M NOT EATING AROUND HERE, THIS PLACE SMELLS LIKE FISH, EEWWHHEEEWW. MOM MAKE HIM TAKE US OUT OF HERE!” THIS LOOKING OUT INTO CAMP’S BAY, INTO THE SUN. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AROUND HERE WAS REFRESHING, BUT NOT COLD. JUST A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO SWIM. THERE I AM WORKING ON MY TAN AND TAKING A BREAK FROM INSTRUCTING THE GIRL’S. DEYSI SAID I WAS HOT. ACROSS CAMP’S BAY LOOKING BACK TOWARDS TABLE MOUNTAIN. THERE WERE MANY, MANY BEACHES LIKE THIS. ANOTHER LOOK BACK TOWARDS CAPE TOWN, WITH TABLE MOUNTAIN SHOWING IN THE BACK. FROM MANY VIEWS YOU WONDER “WHY TABLE”? NOW YOU SEE. AGAIN FROM THE COASTAL HIGHWAY TRAVELLING EAST TOWARD THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. ANOTHER LOOK AT CAMP’S BEACH FROM THE OTHER SIDE. ATLANTIC OCEAN, SPRING 1990. NEXT STOP THE CAPE POINT.
THIS PHOTO IS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. IT IS THE SOUTHERN MOST POINT OF LAND IN AFRICA AND OF COURSE ONE OF THE PRIMARY NAVIGATIONAL POINTS FOR TRAVELLERS AND TRADERS, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. IT WAS THE POINT WHERE THE ATLANTIC OCEAN MEETS THE INDIAN OCEAN. TO BE AT THE END OF AFRICA WAS SURREAL AND AWE INSPIRING. I HAD READ MANY, MANY BOOKS WHERE THIS POINT HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE STORY. GOING WEST TO EAST, ONCE AROUND THIS POINT YOU WERE OFF TO INDIA AND THE ORIENT. COMING BACK THE OTHER DIRECTION AND ROUNDING THE POINT, YOU WERE FINALLY ON YOUR WAY HOME. YOU CHANGED FROM THE COOL WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC TO THE WARMER WATERS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN AT THIS POINT (or vice versa depending on your direction of travel). WE SPENT A COUPLE OF HOURS HERE VISITING THE MUSEUM, READING THE HISTORY AND DONATING IN THE GIFT SHOP. THE MOST MEMORABLE PART OF THIS STOP, WERE THE BABOONS THAT CAME FROM EVERYWHERE AND COVERED YOUR VEHICLE ON ARRIVAL. THEY WERE ALL LOOKING FOR FOOD, AND WERE A LITTLE BIT INTIMIDATING TO US. THE LOCALS JUST KICKED THEIR BUTTS AND SHOOED THEM AWAY. FROM HERE WE TURNED NORTH AND EAST TO CONNECT WITH THE GARDEN ROUTE AND CONTINUE EAST ALONG THE COAST TOWARDS DURBAN. (SEE PART II, TO FOLLOW).
WE MADE IT TO AFRICA AND I MADE IT TO THE VERY SOUTHERN TIP. THIS IN SPRING 1990, WHILE TOURING THE COAST. ANGE GETS HER FIRST LOOK AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. WAS SHE IMPRESSED? NAAAAHHHHH! THE COAST IS VERY WILD AND THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE TWO CONVERGING CURRENT CALLED FOR ROUGH WATERS. THERE WAS ONE LONELY COTTAGE IN THIS AREA. IT WAS FOR THE PARK WARDEN AND STAFF. WE WERE OUT TRYING TO FIND A SOUVENIR SHELL FROM THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. WE DID, BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT IS NOW. BURIED IN DEYSI’S GARAGE I EXPECT. THERE WERE ALSO SOME SANDY BEACHES, INTERSPERSED BETWEEN JAGGED CLIFFS THAT STRETCHED ALL OF THE WAY FROM Cape Town TO THE POINT. MOM AND GIRL SITTING ON THE WALL AFTER ALL OF THE BABOONS LEFT. THEIR SMILES WERE A LITTLE FORCED. THOSE BUGGARS WERE BIG. A LONG DISTANCE SHOT OF THE POINT OF LAND NAMED THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 1990. BEYOND THAT IS THE INDIAN OCEAN THE OLD EXPLORER AND HIS TWO APPRENTICES. ONE PAYING ATTENTION AND THE OTHER IGNORING HIM. OUR LAST LOOK TOWARDS CAPE TOWN FROM THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, BEFORE CONTINUING ON TOWARDS DURBAN. OUR FIRST SIGHTING OF THE GARDEN ROUTE ALONG THE INDIAN OCEAN AND OUR COURSE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
2 Comments
Deysi
I am glad we got to see so many places, It’s hard to decide which was my favourite I think I loved every place we went.
Ange
Beautiful view from Table Mountain! I hope I get to go back one day.