Life and time are incredible. Today 2 years ago I had just lost my breasts, my hair, and was deep in the throe of chemotherapy. I was shackled by Covid, in constant pain, and life was about fighting an unseen, vindictive enemy. Today, and I am sitting in a cosy cabin as, outside, the west coast of Africa lazily slips pass.
As I take in the view of the endless ocean, I first marvel at how circumstances can alter and then I think back on the past few days. Two very memorable days. This was them.
Wednesday 17 April 2024
Was the day we were due to disembark in Cape Town, South Africa. We had an early morning tour booked that would whisk us to the summit of Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain. This was to be followed by a Hop On Bus exploration of the city. Nature, however, had other plans. Completely engulfed in thick cloying fog, or ship was denied access to Cape Town Port. All excursions were cancelled and the foghorns of stranded ships sounded out every couple of minutes. For 6 hours, we sat like this and the dream of setting foot on more African soil faded.
Redemption
Just as the last wisp of our South African dream slipped away, miraculously, so too did the fog. Suddenly, Cape Town came into view, as did her masterpiece. The iconic, imposing, spectacular whatever adjective you chose – Table Mountain. Hoping we may get an hour here, cheers rang out when our illusive Captain Nick (no one has ever seen him), advised over the intercom that we would now get an additional 24. Departure will be 5pm tomorrow.
Not caring that this extension would obviously have repercussions with our itinerary further down the tract, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves exploring Cape Town’s V&A waterfront area. A shopping, eating and tourism mecca situated not only within easy walking distance of our ship but situated withing the oldest working harbour in the southern hemisphere.
Scaling Table Mountain
Having exhausted ourselves marvelling at the African entertainment, exclaiming at the size of the V&A shopping centre, sighing over the seals and noting again, how similar South Africa is to Australia (wide blue sky, tall green trees, wide clean streets, English signage, numerous homeless) we slept well, only to be confronted with more fog the following morning. Fortunately, it quickly lifted and by 9am we found ourselves, along with 63 others, in a rotating cable car. A cable car that within 5 minutes had us scaling the 1086 metre flat-topped monolith.
Unforgettable Table Mountain
When travelling, there are always places and moments that will never be forgotten. Our time on top of Table Mountain will be one of them. Looking out and watching as the fog slowly lifted and both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans came into the view was special. As was gazing down upon the beautiful city of Cape Town. While the photos cannot do the experience justice, they will give you some idea.
Similar To Sydney
While South Africa has occasionally reminded me of Australia, as we explored the different suburbs of Cape Town by Hop On Bus, I realised that this city reminded me of Sydney. This was reinforced when we visited the beachside neighbourhoods of Clifton, Bantry Bay and Seapoint. With their spectacular waterfront locations, lavish mansions and golden beaches, this could have been Vaucluse, Rose Bay or North Bondi. The only difference was that here, remnants of fog chilled us, and Robben Island (Nelson Mandela’s prison for 18 of his 27 years behind bars) lay just offshore.
What Has Made South Africa - Africa
Like the unforgettable view from Table Mountain, South Africa will leave other lasting impressions on me. One is African time. Time is slower here. There appears no need to rush. If waiting in a queue or to be served, be prepared to wait a while. The staff will be in no hurry. Another is the colour of the population. While Durban more accurately reflected South Africa’s 80% black population, I found Cape Town (or the parts I visited), to have a surprisingly lighter skinned population. It has been 30 years since apartheid was abolished. One last impression is that Africa is unique. When travelling, it’s usually easy to classify a place as Western or Asian. I can’t do that with Africa. It’s a kind of blend of the two, but it’s also not. It’s African.
Where Next?
Like our arrival, we departed Cape Town, shrouded by fog. With maritime law dictating our ship give one long blast of its fog horn every 2 minutes, our symphony played for hours (I fell asleep with it still sounding). Today is all about book club, Diva shows and eating, while tomorrow will be about exploring Walvis Bay, Namibia.
