out of africa
Apr. 25th, 2007 07:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emmelinemayMy plane took off from Cape Town at 8pm GMT+1 and landed 7am GMT in London, Heathrow. I shed a few tears as I left, as I've had such an amazing time, and I miss ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shackers terribly - even more so now I've seen the beautiful country she calls home.
I sat next to 'Overly Friendly Elderly With No Sense Of Where His Elbows Are' Man but i still managed to get some sleep and see 'Night At The Museum' which I thought wasn't quite as dire as I'd been led to believe - but that was possibly because I was expecting it to be dire...Ricky Gervais made me laugh in it, and that's a first.
So, the photos are finally up, and i can finish the updates of my adventures with my final day in Swellendam, a day in Simons Town, and my last day in South Africa in Cape Town.
On my last day, we took it fairly easily.
We went back to the fairy sanctuary - with my money this time - and i 'adopted' my goth fairy and boughtpeacockpunk the most hideous fairy we could find. While Mum and I were at the till, chatting to Mr Minky, Minky drifted in (she doesn't walk, she drifts...) and told Mum that 'you'd husband was waiting for you. I've let him in to walk around the fairy gardens while you finish here'.
oh god.
Mum and I leave our fixed grins in place, and exchange a look of horror through eye contact alone. While i pay hurriedly, with visions of the whole garden turning black and little stone faries melting as he passes, he wanders in, and managed to hold a whole conversation with Mr and Mrs Minky on the subject of how fairies can turn bank managers into nice people, with a matching fixed grin.
As we go to escape the shop, we are let out the back way, so we can - as Minky puts it - "enjoy the garden once more, and make a final fairy wish with the wishing pebbles at the wishing pool". As we walk out, I witness the strangest sight i have EVER seen in all my 28 years. Dave, my stepdad, cynicism personified, is skipping down the path. I care not that he was doing it in jest. He skipped. Which proves fairies work miracles - even tacky plaster ones.
Next, we went to visit some friends of Mum and Dave at Little Feat Farm. These guys, like Mum and Dave have a dream. Their dream is of total self-sufficiency, and organic free range farming. It's been really hard for them starting out - and they've been - again like Mum and Dave - faced with set-back upon set-back but keep going, because they really believe in their dream.
Their animals wonder freely about the farm, all apparently getting on with each other fine. When we arrived, we were greeted by some sheep, and some geese (I'm rather afraid of geese) who were sunbathing in the driveway. We chatted to some cows as we learnt about cow nutrition. I was befriended by the biggest puppy I've EVER seen. This guy is about 7 months old. He's going to be an absolute MONSTER of a dog!
If all farms were like this, I'd be a happy girl indeed. The animals are all clearly cared for and treated well and they have loads of space, and the whole set up is so natural. It feels like farms ought to be, if you see what I mean.
I also saw next door's tame mongoose, but he was too fast for a photo!
Then we went over to visit Colleen and her family, and had a lovely long lazy afternoon drinking ginger beer and chatting about, well, you know, the sort of things you chat about on a lazy Sunday afternoon :)
Then we went to have dinner, via a bar where I found out what the blue shot i'd had the previous week that tasted of sherbet was. It was this stuff. It's nice. I don't think you can get it here though, and they didn't have it in duty free :(
Dinner was at The Vagabonds, a lovely place with a great menu, run my a British chap (an Arsenal fan) and his South African missus. We chatted a bit about being robbed (if you care about football you'll know what I'm talking about, if you don't, you don't need to know!) and then they chatted about the possibility of Mum making bookings on behalf of guests, as they send a lot of business down to them. We had a lovely meal, and drinks, and were then told the meal was on the house, due to the amount of people that come there via Impangele (and he also said at the bar because of Arsenal. So football support has fringe benefits even when your team is ROBBED.)
The next day we were up early, I packed, and we headed off towards Cape Town.
On our way to Cape Town, we stopped in this awesome cocktail bar called the Che Bar that had been recommended to us, and went to see the statue of Able Seaman Just Nuisance
Just Nuisance was the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Then we went over to Boulder Beach to see the penguins! Now, i know some of you still don't beleive me that there are penguins in South Africa - but here they are!
Then we headed to our room for a night, a cute little flat just on the outskirts of Cape Town, paid for by Colleen as a leaving present. I think I've met some of the friendliest people in the world in South Africa - Londoners? For shame. The idea was that we could set out really early for Cape Town itself, have breakfast, and head up Table Mountain.
The weather had other plans though - and having been beautiful for my whole stay, it broke, and i was awoken at 5am to the most spectacular storm i have ever witnessed. Those who know me well will know how much I love storms - and i stood wrapped in a blanket on the sheltered balcony of the flat for an hour, feeling and watching the storm roll in from behind us, move above us, and then move on into the mountains ahead. I've already mentioned the size of the sky here and the immense feeling of smallness - i really felt it now, with the forked lightening stretching from one side of the horizon through to the other, and being able to almost follow the sound of the thunder around the mountains - it was incredible, and i am not a talented enough writer to describe it with any justice.
The price i paid for seeing such an amazing storm was the closure of table mountain - as the day dawned cloudy and unsettled, and the cable cars, and therefore the mountain, remained closed.
The traffic was also horrendous, and it took us over 2 hours to get into Cape Town, when it should have been more like 30 minutes. This meant that Robben Island was out too - and it was sold out with school trips anyway.
As it is, Mum and I have An Plan which means i will hopefully be returning next year, with some of you - i hope - and we will be able to do all these things and more. Watch this space ;)
We wandered around the shops, and I bought an 'inexpensive piece of africa' as requested bysatirist, and a brilliant little bag made out of a rubber tyre and a pink licence plate. There are so many items you can buy that have been recycled and made into something new and amazing by talented hands - purses made out of drinks cans, animal ornaments made from plastic carrier bags, a light-up christmas tree made from paint pots and plastic bottles...
We went into the Nelson Mandela Gateway, to see the exhibition there with information and articles about Apartheid (and Robben Island) which I'd been learning all about while i was here, as i'd never studied it, and was too young, when it ended, to really understand it. It was really interesting to learn about it and to discover my ignorance of such an important subject; and I was brought to tears more than once.
It's a shock, to realise how recent it all was, and see the inevitable economic effect represented in the wealth of the cities and the poverty and yet pride and strength, heart, and community of the townships. The thing that I can't fathom is how difficult the aftermath has been to unravel - the legacy of Apartheid may take much longer to resolve than the length of time it ran for. Also, how much progress has been made since it was ended - and this gives hope that it can be, and will be unravelled, in time, and as ambitious generations grow that are dedicated to change and improvement. But then, I'm an idealistic little thing - even in my cynicism.
South Africa is a really amazing place, full of contrast, and contradictions, and beauty, and hope, and many of the people I met really love their country, and really beleive in it. I can see why Mum fell in love with the place.
As the day closed in, and rush hour dawned, we had to get to the airport. With sadness at having to leave this beautiful country and my Mum and Dave, but happiness to be coming back to my friends and home, and with Plans in progress for next year.
I've seen four of the big five, and some really strange creatures; been horse riding and quad biking; I've bathed in pure mountain spring water, seen more stars than I've ever seen in my life; talked to penguins, learnt a bit about the history of this amazing country and probably learnt a fair bit about myself too; I've been to the very bottom of Africa where two oceans meet, and seen the horizon stretch off around me uninterrupted, and felt smaller under a bigger sky.
It's unsurprising really, that i felt somewhat emotional as i waved good bye, and headed home.
full photo gallery
shackers terribly - even more so now I've seen the beautiful country she calls home. I sat next to 'Overly Friendly Elderly With No Sense Of Where His Elbows Are' Man but i still managed to get some sleep and see 'Night At The Museum' which I thought wasn't quite as dire as I'd been led to believe - but that was possibly because I was expecting it to be dire...Ricky Gervais made me laugh in it, and that's a first.
So, the photos are finally up, and i can finish the updates of my adventures with my final day in Swellendam, a day in Simons Town, and my last day in South Africa in Cape Town.
On my last day, we took it fairly easily.
We went back to the fairy sanctuary - with my money this time - and i 'adopted' my goth fairy and bought
peacockpunk the most hideous fairy we could find. While Mum and I were at the till, chatting to Mr Minky, Minky drifted in (she doesn't walk, she drifts...) and told Mum that 'you'd husband was waiting for you. I've let him in to walk around the fairy gardens while you finish here'. oh god.
Mum and I leave our fixed grins in place, and exchange a look of horror through eye contact alone. While i pay hurriedly, with visions of the whole garden turning black and little stone faries melting as he passes, he wanders in, and managed to hold a whole conversation with Mr and Mrs Minky on the subject of how fairies can turn bank managers into nice people, with a matching fixed grin.
As we go to escape the shop, we are let out the back way, so we can - as Minky puts it - "enjoy the garden once more, and make a final fairy wish with the wishing pebbles at the wishing pool". As we walk out, I witness the strangest sight i have EVER seen in all my 28 years. Dave, my stepdad, cynicism personified, is skipping down the path. I care not that he was doing it in jest. He skipped. Which proves fairies work miracles - even tacky plaster ones.
Next, we went to visit some friends of Mum and Dave at Little Feat Farm. These guys, like Mum and Dave have a dream. Their dream is of total self-sufficiency, and organic free range farming. It's been really hard for them starting out - and they've been - again like Mum and Dave - faced with set-back upon set-back but keep going, because they really believe in their dream.
Their animals wonder freely about the farm, all apparently getting on with each other fine. When we arrived, we were greeted by some sheep, and some geese (I'm rather afraid of geese) who were sunbathing in the driveway. We chatted to some cows as we learnt about cow nutrition. I was befriended by the biggest puppy I've EVER seen. This guy is about 7 months old. He's going to be an absolute MONSTER of a dog!
If all farms were like this, I'd be a happy girl indeed. The animals are all clearly cared for and treated well and they have loads of space, and the whole set up is so natural. It feels like farms ought to be, if you see what I mean.
I also saw next door's tame mongoose, but he was too fast for a photo!
Then we went over to visit Colleen and her family, and had a lovely long lazy afternoon drinking ginger beer and chatting about, well, you know, the sort of things you chat about on a lazy Sunday afternoon :)
Then we went to have dinner, via a bar where I found out what the blue shot i'd had the previous week that tasted of sherbet was. It was this stuff. It's nice. I don't think you can get it here though, and they didn't have it in duty free :(
Dinner was at The Vagabonds, a lovely place with a great menu, run my a British chap (an Arsenal fan) and his South African missus. We chatted a bit about being robbed (if you care about football you'll know what I'm talking about, if you don't, you don't need to know!) and then they chatted about the possibility of Mum making bookings on behalf of guests, as they send a lot of business down to them. We had a lovely meal, and drinks, and were then told the meal was on the house, due to the amount of people that come there via Impangele (and he also said at the bar because of Arsenal. So football support has fringe benefits even when your team is ROBBED.)
The next day we were up early, I packed, and we headed off towards Cape Town.
On our way to Cape Town, we stopped in this awesome cocktail bar called the Che Bar that had been recommended to us, and went to see the statue of Able Seaman Just Nuisance
Just Nuisance was the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Then we went over to Boulder Beach to see the penguins! Now, i know some of you still don't beleive me that there are penguins in South Africa - but here they are!
Then we headed to our room for a night, a cute little flat just on the outskirts of Cape Town, paid for by Colleen as a leaving present. I think I've met some of the friendliest people in the world in South Africa - Londoners? For shame. The idea was that we could set out really early for Cape Town itself, have breakfast, and head up Table Mountain.
The weather had other plans though - and having been beautiful for my whole stay, it broke, and i was awoken at 5am to the most spectacular storm i have ever witnessed. Those who know me well will know how much I love storms - and i stood wrapped in a blanket on the sheltered balcony of the flat for an hour, feeling and watching the storm roll in from behind us, move above us, and then move on into the mountains ahead. I've already mentioned the size of the sky here and the immense feeling of smallness - i really felt it now, with the forked lightening stretching from one side of the horizon through to the other, and being able to almost follow the sound of the thunder around the mountains - it was incredible, and i am not a talented enough writer to describe it with any justice.
The price i paid for seeing such an amazing storm was the closure of table mountain - as the day dawned cloudy and unsettled, and the cable cars, and therefore the mountain, remained closed.
The traffic was also horrendous, and it took us over 2 hours to get into Cape Town, when it should have been more like 30 minutes. This meant that Robben Island was out too - and it was sold out with school trips anyway.
As it is, Mum and I have An Plan which means i will hopefully be returning next year, with some of you - i hope - and we will be able to do all these things and more. Watch this space ;)
We wandered around the shops, and I bought an 'inexpensive piece of africa' as requested by
satirist, and a brilliant little bag made out of a rubber tyre and a pink licence plate. There are so many items you can buy that have been recycled and made into something new and amazing by talented hands - purses made out of drinks cans, animal ornaments made from plastic carrier bags, a light-up christmas tree made from paint pots and plastic bottles...We went into the Nelson Mandela Gateway, to see the exhibition there with information and articles about Apartheid (and Robben Island) which I'd been learning all about while i was here, as i'd never studied it, and was too young, when it ended, to really understand it. It was really interesting to learn about it and to discover my ignorance of such an important subject; and I was brought to tears more than once.
It's a shock, to realise how recent it all was, and see the inevitable economic effect represented in the wealth of the cities and the poverty and yet pride and strength, heart, and community of the townships. The thing that I can't fathom is how difficult the aftermath has been to unravel - the legacy of Apartheid may take much longer to resolve than the length of time it ran for. Also, how much progress has been made since it was ended - and this gives hope that it can be, and will be unravelled, in time, and as ambitious generations grow that are dedicated to change and improvement. But then, I'm an idealistic little thing - even in my cynicism.
South Africa is a really amazing place, full of contrast, and contradictions, and beauty, and hope, and many of the people I met really love their country, and really beleive in it. I can see why Mum fell in love with the place.
As the day closed in, and rush hour dawned, we had to get to the airport. With sadness at having to leave this beautiful country and my Mum and Dave, but happiness to be coming back to my friends and home, and with Plans in progress for next year.
I've seen four of the big five, and some really strange creatures; been horse riding and quad biking; I've bathed in pure mountain spring water, seen more stars than I've ever seen in my life; talked to penguins, learnt a bit about the history of this amazing country and probably learnt a fair bit about myself too; I've been to the very bottom of Africa where two oceans meet, and seen the horizon stretch off around me uninterrupted, and felt smaller under a bigger sky.
It's unsurprising really, that i felt somewhat emotional as i waved good bye, and headed home.
full photo gallery
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-04-25 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-25 08:28 pm (UTC)It really is the most amazing country. On our way to the airport, a pig crossed the road. A lone pig, and a main road. No one else even batted an eyelid.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-25 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-25 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-26 06:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-28 07:47 pm (UTC)Was he elbowtitting you?
no subject
Date: 2007-07-10 07:44 pm (UTC)Oh I loved the penguins!
no subject
Date: 2007-07-10 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-10 08:18 pm (UTC)