Cape Town Adventures (SA part 1)
Our trip actually started (and ended) in Johannesburg. We stayed there for one night at a casino hotel that was fabulous. We started the vacation with a beer bucket and buffet dinner. A few hours in and I was literally falling asleep at the table. Jeff and Bri went off to play the slots (and lost R25- which is about $3.00) for a bit and I went to bed. The next day we had an amazing breakfast and things were looking good. Then we got the airport...
At check in we discovered that we were not, in fact, on the 12 PM plane but the 10 AM. It was 10 AM when we arrived and we couldn't have made it if we tried. Instead we opted for standby on the next flight. Now, the Jo-burg airport flies to Cape Town pretty much every half-hour so Dad, Bri, Jeff and I weren't too worried. Mum was very upset, though. She knew we would get on a plane but things were not looking very good at the moment.
We were able to get four seats on standby but Mum was the only one who didn't get a ticket. We found out we got on the plane 30 minutes before it left and ran to get our bags checked. The woman who had helped us before told us to get back in line and Dad refused, causing a slight scene. There were other people who had also got on the plane who were getting angry with the woman. She had told us to come back to her and that she wouldn't make us go into the line. Instead a porter took our bags and checked them for us. We ran to security and went through with no trouble. We had about ten minutes and the elevator to the gate wasn't working so we ran to the stairs. From there I ran ahead of Mum and Dad to meet up with Jeff and Bri who were there already. Dad was able to make it to the bus that took us the the plane but Mum had been left behind at the gate.
On the plane, I was sitting separately so I never knew if Mum had been able to get on or not. We took off about an hour later (the air conditioning wasn't working) and as soon as the seatbelt sign was off I found Dad, Jeff and Bri. They told me that Mum was on the flight and I soon found her in a different section. So things were looking up. We got to Cape Town, got the rental car and were on our way to pick up the keys to where we were staying.
The place we were staying was a penthouse apartment. It was going to be amazing, with a splash pool and a view of the beach. It was called Lion's Head View. We got there and tried the key. It didn't work. Above us, a woman playing with her daughters called down to tell us that we should talk to the manager who was in her office. We buzzed her multiple times and she finally came down. We explained that we booked the penthouse and the keys didn't work. This is when things began to get bad again.
The woman explained that they were fully booked and that we couldn't have booked the penthouse because there were people staying there already. Also, they only had room for four people, not five. Mum showed her the emails that she had with this woman, Elaine, who had done the booking. The woman invited us inside and we went online to find where we HAD actually booked. Apparently the place where we got the keys was also an apartment/condo building. We had the room called Lion's Head View there, not this amazing place. She was nice enough but she had to go so we did, too. We left a little dejected. The condo was in Sea Point, not Camps Bay. It didn't have wifi and no satellite TV (which didn't actually matter because we didn't watch TV anyway). Jeff was particularly upset about the lack of wifi.
We settled in and made the best out of it. That night we went to the V&A Waterfront to get some dinner. On the way to check out stores, we saw a street performer and decided to check out his act. Jeff had brought his computer in his backpack and was standing behind Bri and me but Wally, the performer, spotted him and lifted him and his bag over to center stage. Jeff was his assistant. And we have it all recorded. I don't think I can describe just how freakin' hilarious it was!
The next day Dad got better pillows cheaply and two fans. Everything we needed was really close by and it registered that this location was actually better than the Camps Bay location. Jeff found an internet cafe/bar a few stores down and it became his favourite spot. Not to mention that Phillip (the bartender) was awesome.
We did day trips to various places. The first was to Stellenbosch (aka wine country). It was our pre-birthday party for Dad while all five of us were there. We did a wine tasting at one place, looked around at another and had a very fancy buffet lunch at Lazerac. Jeff and Bri attempted to drive stick on the wrong side of the car (wrong for us, that is) and did an okay job. Not that I wanted to be in the car with them driving. Ever. Not that that stopped them. Anyway, Cape Town...
I don't quite remember things in any particular order. Some days got smushed together. One day that stands out is Muizenberg.
Mum grew up going to Muizenberg and running into the entire world there. It was affectionately nicknamed Jewzenberg for that exact reason. It was the sort of experience we never dreamed of having ourselves. Of course, as soon as we walked onto the beach we heard someone yell out "Adrienne!" It was Tamara, the older sister of one of my high school friends. Tamara had been on the same plane as us to Jo-burg but we never thought we'd run into her again. We set up right next to her family and the parents began talking. Tamara, Bri, Jeff and I began exploring the beach. A few seconds later we heard "Brian!" and a boy, who ended up being Tamara's cousin, came over to say hi. He'd been on the Israel trip that Bri had been a counselor for and had recognized him. Even better, once we returned to the parents, Mum was was in conversation with two people who had gone to high school with her and another person came over who had worked at Galil and recognized Jeff and Bri. This is what happened when Mum was there years ago. You go to the beach and end up seeing everyone you know. We planned to hang out with Tamara the next day and the parents were to have dinner (unfortunately for him, her little brother was forced to be with the parents).
Jeff was sunburned to hell the next day. He ended up staying at the apartment while the rest of us went off to explore. We went to Boulders beach that day and saw the penguins!!! I love penguins!! These ones make a sort of donkey sound when they call each other so they're called Jackass Penguins (or something like that). We went on this walkway thing where you can take pictures but without getting too close. Apparently further down there was a beach you could just go on without paying but we were told that the penguins were rarely there. Later we found out this was bullshit.
Though we needed to be back by 6:30 PM we decided to check out Cape Point. Let's just say there was a lot of traffic. Partially caused by baboons. There was one car that had a baboon just sitting on it. The rest was caused by really poor organization at the entrance to Cape Point. We had about three minutes there total. Just enough to see it briefly and get a few shots but not enough to get all the way to the point-point.
Cape Point is the most southern tip of Africa. It's what was called Cape of Good Hope. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at this point, creating a insane waves. It was beautiful. But as soon as we got there we had to leave.
We met up with Tamara at the V&A Waterfront. We were told that this one restaurant had trivia night and were hoping to put our crappy South African knowledge to the test. Answers to questions we didn't know were going to be: Zuma, Mbeki, and Wayne Gretzgy. Our team name was going to be something like Ignorant Americans. But it turned out that they were having a band play that night instead and we ended up just having dinner and checking out the mall.
The thing about South Africa is that despite being a tourist trap everything closes incredibly early. It makes no sense. I've vowed that if I ever decide to open up a coffee house it will be one that opens around 7 PM and doesn't close until, like, 5 AM. And it will have live music. And liquor license. But I digress. We went to the mall but everything was closing or closed. Jeff wanted to just sit down because he was still all sun-burny so we got a table in a coffee shop. Bri and Tamara walked around while we sat and ordered drinks. A few minutes later I saw the parents walk by so I ran over and brought them to us. There were some awesome looking cakes so we decided to get some desert and coffee (or milkshakes as the case may be). It was a nice way to end the evening.
Table Mountain is a huge, well, mountain that is rather flat on top. It's also super special because certain species of plant and animal only live there. Feel free to check that fact, I'm just trying to recite stuff I vaguely remember. Anyway, it can get REALLY windy on Table Mountain and often its covered in cloud. The cloud cover is referred to as the table cloth. See? It's clever! Because it's called TABLE Mountain....yeah.
So after spending hours in line, we finally got to the cable-car and made our way to the top. We spent a bit of time there walking around and taking pictures because that's pretty much all you can do. That said, it is very beautiful and I'm sure that if we'd walked farther we'd have found some animals to watch for a bit or something.
I can't remember doing anything after Table Mountain. I think I fell asleep and only woke up in time for dinner. And we saw a show that was mostly in Afrikaans. So let's move on, shall we?
Caulk Bay. Mum grew up going there every summer. My grandparents had an incredibly old flat...Dad installed a shower in it. We went back to it to see what it had turned into. It still has flats but also has two shops on the bottom floor. The entrance to the stairs, once open to everyone, now has a security door blocking it.
The area, according to mum, used to be very much a sleepy little town. Now it had tons of shops and was rather hip. The only thing she really recognized was the old Olympia cafe, and even that had changed.
We walked around, explored shops, and then I briefly swam in the tide pool (which started off with me felling when walking on the rocks). We soon moved on because Dad wanted to go on this scenic drive thing.
I'm not a huge scenery person. I mean, I appreciate the beauty and think they are wonderful photo opportunities but I'm not one to just stop and watch for ages. Dad, however, loves doing that sort of thing. Going on this particular drive was very important to him so we did it. It was gorgeous.
We were essentially driving along a cliff side. It was slightly scary but mostly beautiful. The road twisted and turned along the mountainside, giving us a great view of the water and rocks below. We stopped a few times along the way and took photos (all being posted on facebook). Sadly there were no baboons to amuse me along the way but it was worth it.
Dad didn't want to go anywhere the next day so Mum, Jeff, Bri and I hit Long Street, known for its stores and restaurants. First we went to a market and I got to play with a tiny monkey thing. It was very cute and I wanted a picture but never got one. :-( In fact, I don't have any pictures of this day. My main goal was to get a Nyami Nyami charm. I'd had one from Zimbabwe years ago but lost it. I bet it still somewhere in my room. But now I have three. Not all from this market. The next goal for the day was to get Bri Harry Potter 7 and to get Jeff CDs of Freshly Ground. All of these tasks were accomplished quickly and we took a break for lunch.
Next we explored the Parliament gardens. It reminded me a little of Hyde Park despite being pretty much nothing like it.
And I'm gonna stop here 'cause my hand is beginning to hurt.
I can't remember what order we did things in after that. We went to different places and explored because the next few days were our last in Cape Town.
Out of all the places we went, I think Cape Town was my favourite. It may be because we stayed there the longest or because it was sunny there but I have to admit I liked it the best. There was so much to do. We even showed up during this "Chariot's of Fire" festival that the Hare Krishnas had in Cape Town each year. We sadly missed the chariots but we checked out the party and it was very dull. We're sure that it was more exciting earlier on and that we had just showed up too late. The area had tons of stuff to do. If our computers had worked with the wireless, it would have been better, but we had the bar nearby in case that didn't work out. Overall it was an amazing 8 days.
The last thing we did in Cape Town was drop Jeff off at the airport and then continue on our way to the Garden Route.
At check in we discovered that we were not, in fact, on the 12 PM plane but the 10 AM. It was 10 AM when we arrived and we couldn't have made it if we tried. Instead we opted for standby on the next flight. Now, the Jo-burg airport flies to Cape Town pretty much every half-hour so Dad, Bri, Jeff and I weren't too worried. Mum was very upset, though. She knew we would get on a plane but things were not looking very good at the moment.
We were able to get four seats on standby but Mum was the only one who didn't get a ticket. We found out we got on the plane 30 minutes before it left and ran to get our bags checked. The woman who had helped us before told us to get back in line and Dad refused, causing a slight scene. There were other people who had also got on the plane who were getting angry with the woman. She had told us to come back to her and that she wouldn't make us go into the line. Instead a porter took our bags and checked them for us. We ran to security and went through with no trouble. We had about ten minutes and the elevator to the gate wasn't working so we ran to the stairs. From there I ran ahead of Mum and Dad to meet up with Jeff and Bri who were there already. Dad was able to make it to the bus that took us the the plane but Mum had been left behind at the gate.
On the plane, I was sitting separately so I never knew if Mum had been able to get on or not. We took off about an hour later (the air conditioning wasn't working) and as soon as the seatbelt sign was off I found Dad, Jeff and Bri. They told me that Mum was on the flight and I soon found her in a different section. So things were looking up. We got to Cape Town, got the rental car and were on our way to pick up the keys to where we were staying.
The place we were staying was a penthouse apartment. It was going to be amazing, with a splash pool and a view of the beach. It was called Lion's Head View. We got there and tried the key. It didn't work. Above us, a woman playing with her daughters called down to tell us that we should talk to the manager who was in her office. We buzzed her multiple times and she finally came down. We explained that we booked the penthouse and the keys didn't work. This is when things began to get bad again.
The woman explained that they were fully booked and that we couldn't have booked the penthouse because there were people staying there already. Also, they only had room for four people, not five. Mum showed her the emails that she had with this woman, Elaine, who had done the booking. The woman invited us inside and we went online to find where we HAD actually booked. Apparently the place where we got the keys was also an apartment/condo building. We had the room called Lion's Head View there, not this amazing place. She was nice enough but she had to go so we did, too. We left a little dejected. The condo was in Sea Point, not Camps Bay. It didn't have wifi and no satellite TV (which didn't actually matter because we didn't watch TV anyway). Jeff was particularly upset about the lack of wifi.
We settled in and made the best out of it. That night we went to the V&A Waterfront to get some dinner. On the way to check out stores, we saw a street performer and decided to check out his act. Jeff had brought his computer in his backpack and was standing behind Bri and me but Wally, the performer, spotted him and lifted him and his bag over to center stage. Jeff was his assistant. And we have it all recorded. I don't think I can describe just how freakin' hilarious it was!
The next day Dad got better pillows cheaply and two fans. Everything we needed was really close by and it registered that this location was actually better than the Camps Bay location. Jeff found an internet cafe/bar a few stores down and it became his favourite spot. Not to mention that Phillip (the bartender) was awesome.
We did day trips to various places. The first was to Stellenbosch (aka wine country). It was our pre-birthday party for Dad while all five of us were there. We did a wine tasting at one place, looked around at another and had a very fancy buffet lunch at Lazerac. Jeff and Bri attempted to drive stick on the wrong side of the car (wrong for us, that is) and did an okay job. Not that I wanted to be in the car with them driving. Ever. Not that that stopped them. Anyway, Cape Town...
I don't quite remember things in any particular order. Some days got smushed together. One day that stands out is Muizenberg.
Mum grew up going to Muizenberg and running into the entire world there. It was affectionately nicknamed Jewzenberg for that exact reason. It was the sort of experience we never dreamed of having ourselves. Of course, as soon as we walked onto the beach we heard someone yell out "Adrienne!" It was Tamara, the older sister of one of my high school friends. Tamara had been on the same plane as us to Jo-burg but we never thought we'd run into her again. We set up right next to her family and the parents began talking. Tamara, Bri, Jeff and I began exploring the beach. A few seconds later we heard "Brian!" and a boy, who ended up being Tamara's cousin, came over to say hi. He'd been on the Israel trip that Bri had been a counselor for and had recognized him. Even better, once we returned to the parents, Mum was was in conversation with two people who had gone to high school with her and another person came over who had worked at Galil and recognized Jeff and Bri. This is what happened when Mum was there years ago. You go to the beach and end up seeing everyone you know. We planned to hang out with Tamara the next day and the parents were to have dinner (unfortunately for him, her little brother was forced to be with the parents).
Jeff was sunburned to hell the next day. He ended up staying at the apartment while the rest of us went off to explore. We went to Boulders beach that day and saw the penguins!!! I love penguins!! These ones make a sort of donkey sound when they call each other so they're called Jackass Penguins (or something like that). We went on this walkway thing where you can take pictures but without getting too close. Apparently further down there was a beach you could just go on without paying but we were told that the penguins were rarely there. Later we found out this was bullshit.
Though we needed to be back by 6:30 PM we decided to check out Cape Point. Let's just say there was a lot of traffic. Partially caused by baboons. There was one car that had a baboon just sitting on it. The rest was caused by really poor organization at the entrance to Cape Point. We had about three minutes there total. Just enough to see it briefly and get a few shots but not enough to get all the way to the point-point.
Cape Point is the most southern tip of Africa. It's what was called Cape of Good Hope. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at this point, creating a insane waves. It was beautiful. But as soon as we got there we had to leave.
We met up with Tamara at the V&A Waterfront. We were told that this one restaurant had trivia night and were hoping to put our crappy South African knowledge to the test. Answers to questions we didn't know were going to be: Zuma, Mbeki, and Wayne Gretzgy. Our team name was going to be something like Ignorant Americans. But it turned out that they were having a band play that night instead and we ended up just having dinner and checking out the mall.
The thing about South Africa is that despite being a tourist trap everything closes incredibly early. It makes no sense. I've vowed that if I ever decide to open up a coffee house it will be one that opens around 7 PM and doesn't close until, like, 5 AM. And it will have live music. And liquor license. But I digress. We went to the mall but everything was closing or closed. Jeff wanted to just sit down because he was still all sun-burny so we got a table in a coffee shop. Bri and Tamara walked around while we sat and ordered drinks. A few minutes later I saw the parents walk by so I ran over and brought them to us. There were some awesome looking cakes so we decided to get some desert and coffee (or milkshakes as the case may be). It was a nice way to end the evening.
Table Mountain is a huge, well, mountain that is rather flat on top. It's also super special because certain species of plant and animal only live there. Feel free to check that fact, I'm just trying to recite stuff I vaguely remember. Anyway, it can get REALLY windy on Table Mountain and often its covered in cloud. The cloud cover is referred to as the table cloth. See? It's clever! Because it's called TABLE Mountain....yeah.
So after spending hours in line, we finally got to the cable-car and made our way to the top. We spent a bit of time there walking around and taking pictures because that's pretty much all you can do. That said, it is very beautiful and I'm sure that if we'd walked farther we'd have found some animals to watch for a bit or something.
I can't remember doing anything after Table Mountain. I think I fell asleep and only woke up in time for dinner. And we saw a show that was mostly in Afrikaans. So let's move on, shall we?
Caulk Bay. Mum grew up going there every summer. My grandparents had an incredibly old flat...Dad installed a shower in it. We went back to it to see what it had turned into. It still has flats but also has two shops on the bottom floor. The entrance to the stairs, once open to everyone, now has a security door blocking it.
The area, according to mum, used to be very much a sleepy little town. Now it had tons of shops and was rather hip. The only thing she really recognized was the old Olympia cafe, and even that had changed.
We walked around, explored shops, and then I briefly swam in the tide pool (which started off with me felling when walking on the rocks). We soon moved on because Dad wanted to go on this scenic drive thing.
I'm not a huge scenery person. I mean, I appreciate the beauty and think they are wonderful photo opportunities but I'm not one to just stop and watch for ages. Dad, however, loves doing that sort of thing. Going on this particular drive was very important to him so we did it. It was gorgeous.
We were essentially driving along a cliff side. It was slightly scary but mostly beautiful. The road twisted and turned along the mountainside, giving us a great view of the water and rocks below. We stopped a few times along the way and took photos (all being posted on facebook). Sadly there were no baboons to amuse me along the way but it was worth it.
Dad didn't want to go anywhere the next day so Mum, Jeff, Bri and I hit Long Street, known for its stores and restaurants. First we went to a market and I got to play with a tiny monkey thing. It was very cute and I wanted a picture but never got one. :-( In fact, I don't have any pictures of this day. My main goal was to get a Nyami Nyami charm. I'd had one from Zimbabwe years ago but lost it. I bet it still somewhere in my room. But now I have three. Not all from this market. The next goal for the day was to get Bri Harry Potter 7 and to get Jeff CDs of Freshly Ground. All of these tasks were accomplished quickly and we took a break for lunch.
Next we explored the Parliament gardens. It reminded me a little of Hyde Park despite being pretty much nothing like it.
And I'm gonna stop here 'cause my hand is beginning to hurt.
I can't remember what order we did things in after that. We went to different places and explored because the next few days were our last in Cape Town.
Out of all the places we went, I think Cape Town was my favourite. It may be because we stayed there the longest or because it was sunny there but I have to admit I liked it the best. There was so much to do. We even showed up during this "Chariot's of Fire" festival that the Hare Krishnas had in Cape Town each year. We sadly missed the chariots but we checked out the party and it was very dull. We're sure that it was more exciting earlier on and that we had just showed up too late. The area had tons of stuff to do. If our computers had worked with the wireless, it would have been better, but we had the bar nearby in case that didn't work out. Overall it was an amazing 8 days.
The last thing we did in Cape Town was drop Jeff off at the airport and then continue on our way to the Garden Route.