Welcome or Wamkelekile (as it is in afrikaans) my good people, mates, buddies etc, picture it..........................I got here finally after a 13hr flight to Jo'berg & an internal flight that i booked the day before online to Cape Town as there was no way i was gonna step foot outside that airport after the stories i've heard about people being threatened almost outside the door!!
Arrived last wed afternoon and within an hour i was at the famous V&A waterfront where there are zillions of boats, cafes, shops, crafts and many different performers giving shows from tribal dances to jazz! The weather was hot and sunny much to my surprise seeing as its nearly winter here so i wanted a boat trip & got friendly with a girl selling the trips so got a discount on a catamaran trip with champers out in the bay where the view back towards Cape Town with Table mountain in the background was gorgeous....all was idyllic until a freak wave hit the boat and topped up my champers with sea water...nooooooo!!
I met a German girl on the boat who had a hire car so she suggested we go to Cape of Good hope the next day which was a beautiful trip down the coast running parallel with the shoreline most of the way where the dozens of beaches and coves were perfect. Stopped at a little colonial town called Simon's town for lunch and next to there was Boulders beach where 100's of african penguins have a colony and you can go down to the beach to see them, albeit on a boardwalk so it feels a bit like a zoo but i guess they have to conserve the dunes or 100's of tourists would trample them to dust.........the penguins seemed to have distinct characters and seemed to be oblivious to the people and cameras!!!!!
As you get nearer to the actual south, there are random baboon family groups walking along the road and sitting on the grass banks.........of course everyone stops to take pics in the middle of the road, it would be impossible not to! The views from Cape Point and the lighthouse right at the tip were awesome, especially as you could look back & see the shape of the cape behind you and the sea either side which was sparkling in the hot sun and looking innocent considering its supposed to be the most dangerous stretch of water for ships to navigate due to unpredictable weather.
I met up with Caterine again the next day and we went to Table mountain where you have to take a very steep cable car to the top unless you are keen to hike it which i was but was told i would be doing it alone if that was the case! The views over Cape Town were impressive and it was clear to see how the town has been built around the plains at the base of the mountain which sits right in the middle of it all! There were little furry animals running around called Dassies which are hard to describe but are a sort of mini beaver/rabbit/squrrel looking thing if that makes it any clearer!!I was well excited to be able to see 2 huge wales in the sea below, i'm not sure what type they were but they were big & beefy and it was a bonus for sure as its the wrong time fo year to see many.
As it was really hot, we went to Camps beach in the afternoon which is a posh suburb with a lovely beach lined with trendy cafes and bars, tho as it was the Atlantic ocean we're talking about here, i wouldn't go in the water unless i wanted hypothermia! I went off to the beach loo just dressed in my bikini only to find there was a guy in a suit at the door stood with a podium and a list of names on his clipboard with a sign charging 5 rand, so i told him i needed to use the loo but had no money on me to which he said i couldn't go in! I got really annoyed at this as i was busting and said you wouldn't need to pay for this in England (i cringed right after i said that,doh!) to which he replied it was a nice area and they had to have the right standard of people using it & if i wasn't on the list or didn't have the money, i couldn't come in...............i went ballistic and said it was a loo not a nightclub, they'd be having bouncers on the door next, i was getting well stroppy............he then grinned and asked if i'd ever been suckered & i looked at him blankly as it didn't register with me, then he pointed out 2 hidden cameras................i was on a TV show called 'laugh out loud'..!!! Howwwwww embarrassing, i was just horrifed that my big bikini butt would be on national TV & said this outloud........they all seemed to think it was hilarious so i thought as least no one at home would see it, so i signed a consent form for it to be televised!! It could only happen to me!!
I never realised that CT was 1st settled by Europeans in the 17th Century so there are some pretty old buildings here and history to go with it which enhances the scenery and lovely waterfront & quirky town centre with cafes.bars and boutique type shops. My impressions so far (& hoping than none of my SA friends will ever be offended by my observations), is that Cape Town is a pretty funky city with a lot going for it and lovely surrounding scenery so you can see why its listed as a top place to visit, but conversely you can see a difference very quickly between the have's and have not's and locals have told me not to walk anywhere after dark alone here, not even walking 10 mins down the road as it's too dodgy.
Crime seems to be a big problem as you see stickers all over houses declaring they have armed response units, & most business's & private residences have bars on the windows and big gates with security systems so it actually feels more unsafe than south america to me. It actually is the first place i've been to as well where the public transport is worse than the UK (& i never thought that was possible!) and i was shocked to find it is virtually non existant and you just cannot get around without a car, so for a traveller that is a big problem as it means taxis everywhere within the town and financially, that is just not viable as its not cheap at all, so if you are in a hostel away from the city centre, you are basically stuck in your hostel at night unless you have people to share the costs with.............very frustrating! There are some mini vans run by enterprising individuals that locals use without cars use to go to limited places, you see them hurtling up and down the roads hooting their horns to attract business but i'm told not only are they unlicensed but they are driven dangerously and definitely not safe to use after dark either & i'm also told not to get the train if you are alone...!!Anyhow, i am moving hostel tomorrow as altho i am only 15mins walk to the waterfront from where i am, i cannot even walk there at night so i am moving to the centre to the busiest street called Long Street as at least you can walk there at night as its busy and well lit............annoyingly tho its a bank hol tomorrow so not a lot will be open but i am going to Robben island on wednesday to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and i think i will be moving on shortly after that! Thats your lot for now so TTFN
Big bikini butt celeb
xx
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