December 4, 2024
South Africa is the southernmost country on the African continent. Bordered by Namibia to the northwest, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north and Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and east, respectively, with coastlines that border the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest, it has three capital cities. Pretoria houses the Executive branch of government; Bloemfontein is home to the Judicial branch; and Cape Town claims the Legislative branch. It is here – Cape Town – that we begin our 26 day South African odyssey. Over the next 23 days we will experience a 3-day land tour in the Cape Town area, followed by a 14-day cruise that will include stops in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and end with a visit to Victoria Falls and a couple of game drives. Making the journey all the more special is that we are being joined by Pam’s 83-year-young Aunt Dori. Many of you have met her and know the sparkle she adds to any day, her unique ability to turn the most mundane activity into an adventure. So, buckle up folks, it’s gonna be a fun one!
We left Florida on the afternoon of Sunday, December 1st and arrived in country 34-hours later. A short bus ride from the airport to our hotel gave us immediate insight to the disparity that is South Africa. We passed miles and miles of shanty towns – communities of “homes” built out of corrugated aluminum, cardboard and whatever other building materials occupants can find – bumped up against pristine golf courses and a stone’s throw away from Cape Town’s NHL soccer stadium.
As today’s tour guide put it, South Africa is a country of the extremely poor and the extremely rich; there’s not much in between. Cape Town itself is very metropolitan and there is literally no transition from the shanty towns and homeless encampments along the now defunct railway tracks to the city limits. These ramshackle dwellings are built on dirt floors, rarely have running water, and routinely steal electricity from the nearest available box, and yet almost every single one of them has a satellite dish. I couldn’t get pictures from the bus, so am sharing some from the Internet.
It’s a unique experience for us to be so far from home and find ourselves in a country where English is the primary language. In its 1994 post-Apartheid constitution South Africa recognizes eleven official languages: English (because it is the most commonly used language for international business and economic operations), Afrikaans (a language that originally began as a slang conglomeration of the various European languages spoken during British and Dutch rule and over time morphed into a commonly accepted broadly used language), and each of the tribal languages recognized across the nine regions of the country.
Today was our first official tour day and it began with a quick stop at Nederberg Winery, which was established in 1791 and is now owned by Heineken. I’d tell you more, but that’s all I know and all I could find.
After tasting five of their finest wines, it was off to Franschhoek Manor, a winery and B&B located near the base of the Hohrbrackenstein mountain range. The grounds are gorgeous. The winery was established in 1707 and run by the same family for more than 200 years. The Manor House on whose patio we enjoyed lunch, was built in 1715 and housed the family through all of the generations.
Our lunch began with a nice white wine followed by a red blend. Soon oysters were being delivered to the tables. Then came the fire-roasted bread and paninis with cheese, tomato and onions freshly made by the gentlemen in the photo manning the fire pit. Those were soon replaced with mussels. Next thing we knew there was potato salad, Caesar salad, and a corn salad. Getting full? Hold on! There’s more. Before we were done, we had been served ELEVEN dishes, including beef steak kabobs and melt-in-your-mouth lamb, topped off with a delicious pudding for dessert. It was crazy! Our tour guide joined us for much of the meal and generously indulged Pam and Aunt Dori’s endless string of questions. God definitely made the two of them curious and interested!
Following lunch there was a “surprise” visit to Victor Vester Prison, where Nelson Mandela was housed for the last three years of his imprisonment and the site where, on February 11, 1990, he walked free after 27 years behind bars. The pictures below show the entrance to the prison grounds, the home where he was held on house arrest during his time here and the statue erected in commemoration of his historic release.
Our last stop of the day was the beautiful little town of Franschhoek, where we visited an outdoor market and explored local shops. Our big find of the day was a store that sells items made from Ostrich eggshell fragments. Amazing – but spendy!! Alas, there was no room in our wallets or luggage to bring a memento home with us.
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