Cape Town
Ok, so I recently finally got the chance to go to Cape Town. Friday the 24 September was Heritage Day and therefore a public holiday. So I took off Thursday afternoon as well as Monday to make the trip worthwhile. The trip to Cape is 870km and so a good day is spent driving there.
The first noteworthy piece of news is that I stopped at Stormsrivier (Storms River) to check out the infamous ravine. I took a photo which in no way portrays the breathtaking sight. This is taken from the highway bridge that crosses the massive drop. It drop must be ten times deeper than the photo actually makes it appear (mental note: must buy more expensive camera).
While in Cape Town I stayed in Rondebosh at Leanne’s place (the girl who fixed up my shoulder during graduation). Friday was spent checking out the area and meeting up with some old friends. On the Saturday we went out on the wine routes. At one of the farms there were a whole lot of these soap stone sculptures. Here are the photos of my favourite ones.
Title: Elegant Lady
Artist: Tutani Mgabazi
Title: Elephant (Abstract)
Artist: Bevan Kututwa
Title: Keeping warm
Artist: Mishek Makaza
(This one is my favourite).
Then down to some serious business. Wine tasting.
To be totally honest, I didn’t enjoy any of the wine. Either my taste buds were having a bad day, or the wine that I got from my Dad is just ten times better. Mmm… actually the wine I got from my Dad was a various bottles that were awarded wines of the year 2002.
On one of the farms everything just kept on tasting like lavender and pepper. Ergh…
Oh well… after having tasted 3 whites 6 reds 1 sparkling and 2 brandies. I decided I better get something to eat and lay off on the wine tasting.
Undoubtedly the most beautiful farm was Spier. There was a wedding when we arrived so we just stuck on the outskirts. Spier is not only a place of great beauty and wine, but they also host a cheetah outreach program.
So above you can see a bunch of cubs (from 3 litters) busy cuddling up.
On Sunday morning we got together at 7 in the morning to hike up Devils Peak. We hiked with some of the UCT Mountain Climbing Society members. They have this little tradition (which I would only recommend if you are supper fit) of hiking up with their kitchen equipment strapped to their backs, so that they can cook breakfast on top.
It was really windy and moist so we only went as far as the saddle, and then came down to the nearest clearing for breakfast.
One of the guys I met on the hike is a guy by the name Alon which means Oak. He studied botany funny enough. Along the trail I was greeted by many trees that had these markings on them.
Alon informed me that this is basically how to kill a tree. Apparently trees are dead on the inside. So if you "gut" them on the outside they die. The reason for so many of these "gutted" trees is that the South African government is currently getting rid of all non-indigenous plantation to restore South Africa's natural beauty. The quick solution is merely to shave all the trees you don't want, and then wait for them to basically die, rot and fall over.
Sunday evening I went to the Every Nation church in Rondebosh. It was great. Was very glad to be invited out for supper at Pennelope-Hilton Barbers house (a friend of a mutual friend).
Anyway after great conversation and a full stomach I headed off back to the flat where I was staying to sleep and leave back for Grahamstown the next morning.
The first noteworthy piece of news is that I stopped at Stormsrivier (Storms River) to check out the infamous ravine. I took a photo which in no way portrays the breathtaking sight. This is taken from the highway bridge that crosses the massive drop. It drop must be ten times deeper than the photo actually makes it appear (mental note: must buy more expensive camera).
While in Cape Town I stayed in Rondebosh at Leanne’s place (the girl who fixed up my shoulder during graduation). Friday was spent checking out the area and meeting up with some old friends. On the Saturday we went out on the wine routes. At one of the farms there were a whole lot of these soap stone sculptures. Here are the photos of my favourite ones.
Title: Elegant Lady
Artist: Tutani Mgabazi
Title: Elephant (Abstract)
Artist: Bevan Kututwa
Title: Keeping warm
Artist: Mishek Makaza
(This one is my favourite).
Then down to some serious business. Wine tasting.
To be totally honest, I didn’t enjoy any of the wine. Either my taste buds were having a bad day, or the wine that I got from my Dad is just ten times better. Mmm… actually the wine I got from my Dad was a various bottles that were awarded wines of the year 2002.
On one of the farms everything just kept on tasting like lavender and pepper. Ergh…
Oh well… after having tasted 3 whites 6 reds 1 sparkling and 2 brandies. I decided I better get something to eat and lay off on the wine tasting.
Undoubtedly the most beautiful farm was Spier. There was a wedding when we arrived so we just stuck on the outskirts. Spier is not only a place of great beauty and wine, but they also host a cheetah outreach program.
So above you can see a bunch of cubs (from 3 litters) busy cuddling up.
On Sunday morning we got together at 7 in the morning to hike up Devils Peak. We hiked with some of the UCT Mountain Climbing Society members. They have this little tradition (which I would only recommend if you are supper fit) of hiking up with their kitchen equipment strapped to their backs, so that they can cook breakfast on top.
It was really windy and moist so we only went as far as the saddle, and then came down to the nearest clearing for breakfast.
One of the guys I met on the hike is a guy by the name Alon which means Oak. He studied botany funny enough. Along the trail I was greeted by many trees that had these markings on them.
Alon informed me that this is basically how to kill a tree. Apparently trees are dead on the inside. So if you "gut" them on the outside they die. The reason for so many of these "gutted" trees is that the South African government is currently getting rid of all non-indigenous plantation to restore South Africa's natural beauty. The quick solution is merely to shave all the trees you don't want, and then wait for them to basically die, rot and fall over.
Sunday evening I went to the Every Nation church in Rondebosh. It was great. Was very glad to be invited out for supper at Pennelope-Hilton Barbers house (a friend of a mutual friend).
Anyway after great conversation and a full stomach I headed off back to the flat where I was staying to sleep and leave back for Grahamstown the next morning.
posted by Gareth at 11:13 AM
1 Comments:
gareth, perhaps you could send me the names of some of the bands that are big in South Africa. I would love to check them out. Also, visit www.catwantsin.com this is my friend's site for Christian Music here in the States...I plan on visiting your site more to get a world view of my brothers and sisters.
-strada
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