Lekker South Africa

Touching down in Cape Town on April 14th, also known as Hannah’s birthday, was the start of our journey through the country of South Africa. We arrived a bit wobbly from the 17 hour flight but ready to help our baby girl turn 21, knowing she needed her parentals around to keep her in check.. NOT, as she celebrated this milestone. Reality is we brought the ice cream and then headed back to our hotel for a little recovery time and Hannah and her friends partied on, dancing the night away. Then it was time for a little hard core sightseeing. With Hannah as our guide, an excellent guide we must say. We drove into the city for a walking tour starting at Charley’s Bakery and then the District Six Museum, our real introduction to the tragedy of Apartheid includining the history of the pass laws and the beginning of total segregation forcing black families to move out of their homes and into the townships. Then a trip to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 26 years in prison and finished the day checking out the shops at the Waterfront. To lighten things up a bit we spent the next few days exploring the many beautiful beaches along the cape. Camps Bay where you’ll find the rich & famous , Boulders beach home to the African Penguin colony, Kalk Bay for the best fish & chips ever and *Mzoli’s a place we won’t soon forget.
*Hannah, wanting us to experience a real taste of SA, said Mizoli’s on a Sunday is a must but left out a few minor details like; Mzoli’s is located in Gugulethu township, not the safest neighborhood in Cape Town, she wasn’t exactly sure how to get there and that this is an all day party packed to the gills with people from the townships, mostly under 30. Here’s how it works, first you wait on line for 45 minutes to pick out your meats (chicken, chops & sausage) don’t forget the special sauce and a side of pap, take your bowl of raw food, wait on another line to hand over to the grillers and then head out to the back yard where the party is raging. Two plus hours later, you make your way back inside to pick up your food, fight your way back to the table with a bowl of perfectly barbecued meats and enjoy the feast, every finger licking drop, eating with your hands and without napkins while listening to great music and drinking beer. We loved it. The food was fantastic and the people were great.
With Hannah now of legal drinking age we thought a weekend trip to the wine country was in order. The vineyards of Franschoek & Stellenbosch are home to some of South Africa’s finest wineries and only a 45 minute drive from Cape Town. The towns are charming and the countryside beautiful. We spent Saturday visiting a winery known for its sparkling wines where the proprietor was delighted to give us a cellar tour, sabrage (slice open a bottle of bubbly with a sabre, quite the trick) and then partake in six different tastings, eat a delicious lunch at a small vineyard just outside of town and then watch a chocolate making demonstration at a little chocolate shop. Hannah loved the wine tastings, Mike thoroughly enjoyed the lunch and Carin's fav wasof course the CHOCOLATE!
You can’t fully understand S. Africa without seeing a township. Unfortunately the majority of white South Africans have never visited one, but Hannah highly recommended doing so after spending a weekend in a township with a family. We met Siviwe our 27 year old guide who took us into the Langa Township. We spent two hours walking and talking, visited a high school, traditional healer, shebeen (home brew) and ended at the Guga S’Thebe Arts and cultural center. We were so touched we returned the next day with Hannah to watch the Happy Feet dance troupe perform traditional gum boots dancing. Siviwe volunteers his time teaching this lost art to children six to fourteen years old, giving local kids an alternative to wandering the streets. Definitely one of our highlights.
A few of the other things we managed to fit in worth mentioning were the scenic Garden tour up the coast, Addo Elephant park and a hike up Lions Head to prove to Hannah we really could do some serious hiking after all that bragging about Nepal. It turned out Mike managed to slip on the rocks and Carin turned Hannah’s 35 minute record into an hour and fifteen which Hannah found quite hilarious.
South Africa is a total contradiction. There is so much natural beauty, Cape Town’s Table Mountain, endless beaches, rugged coastlines, pine forests and the amazing bush. There’s such a strong sense of culture, art, dance and music. The food is delicious and the people are warm and kind. Yet, this beautiful landscape is still marred by Apartheid. The majority of the population, Blacks, Colored and Asians live in shacks with outhouses and no running water. This is a country that has the largest gap between rich and poor, twenty one percent unemployment resulting in a high crime rate and one of the highest HIV/Aids numbers in the world.

Like the rest of the world S. Africa has its challenges but we found it to be a fantastic country, buzzing with excitement about the up and coming World Cup. Sorry we won’t be around to enjoy it! Lastly we would like to say our visit to this country was even more special because we got to spend time with Hannah.

One Big shoutout to Jackie & Mark for an amazing dinner on the Waterfront and for thinking of Hannah while visiting Cape Town. We saw the Big Five but no Cheetah.