The port of call for three days has been Cape Town, South Africa. The population is 49,053,000 (2012) and there are three capitals. Pretoria is the administrative capital, Bloemfontein is the judicial, and Cape Town is the legislative one. There are several languages – Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Tswana, Sesotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda and Ndebele.
South Africa excels in the entire continent with its economy, its influence, and turbulence of its history. A diverse place, you can share drinks in tin-roofed shebeens (illegal), see a township school, or sip a glass of excellent wine at various wine estates. Or do like us, sit in a safari vehicle at dawn in any national park such as Kruger. Sobering, challenging, fascinating, and inspiring, we can say that touring in South Africa has kept us coming back for more.
The best time to travel here is year round, or now, which is April to May, their autumn. Things to see are Cape Town, Table Mountain, Robben Island, and the two oceans that meet near the Cape of Good Hope. Things to do, for us, was a safari adventure in Sabi Sands, where we sampled dried and cured meats at a braai (BBQ), and tasted some of South Africa’s fine wines.
Random fact: Only half of South Africa’s wealth is concentrated among only 10% of the population. The haves and the have nots.
Cape Town, our port of call, has a population of 3,740,000 (2011). It is a most beautiful city, mostly due to its location at the tip of Africa. Famous for the iconic Table Mountain as their backdrop, it can be reached by a rotating cable car that climbs up the 3560 foot flat-top mountain. Up there, you might see 1500 types of proteas, the national flower, and an assortment of animals. There is are little critters called dassies run with the lizards, porcupines, mongoose, snakes, tortoise, and frogs. Among the birds you might see eagles, buzzards, hawks, and peregrine falcons.
The remainder of the city offers museums, cathedrals, churches, galleries, mosques, and gardens. Getting out of town, you can see the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point in Africa. Boulder’s Beach houses a small colony of African penguins. There is an ostrich ranch that has peacocks, emus, rheas, as well as ostriches. Wineries are numerous, but the most visited are Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.
The Amsterdam was docked at E Berth in Duncan Dock, which was quite close to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront complex. Looking out our window in the morning, we witnessed the most seabirds we have ever seen in one place. The harbor must have had ten million shrimp invade, and the birds were having a party. Mostly gulls, terns, and cormorants, you could barely see the water. It was a feeding fest. In a short time, the shrimp had been consumed, and the birds dispersed. This would occur off and on all day.
A shuttle was running there from the ship, but it was close enough to walk there. Since our one day here was short, we took the waiting shuttle to save some time. It dropped us off right at the side entrance to the main mall. One could easily get lost here. Luckily, we have been here several times over the years, so we headed for one store that we knew had some unique African treasures. Of course, it was full of ship people, buying a lot of things. Checking out the limited supply of clothing, we located a neat t-shirt to buy. Good timing, since there was only one in the correct size.
Since we did not need anything in this modern mall, we simply did some window-shopping on our way to find the restaurant where we usually eat lunch. It was still too early, so we continued to stroll outside the mall. That led us to the ferry landing and fur seal resting spot. At this spot in the basin, you could catch the local boat rides. One was a catamaran trip for 90 minutes for $33. Another little red boat toured the harbor or the canal for 30 minutes. The cost for that was only $5. Helicopter rides would run a lot more, like $209.
An easy way to get around this huge city is to take the Hop On, Hop Off bus. A one day pass was the equivalent of $17, and a 2 day pass was $26. If you planned it right, it was possible to cover many sights.
It was interesting watching the swing bridge operate to let the boats into the inner basin. Foot traffic was stopped, and the metal bridge swung from one end. Several vessels would be let through, then the bridge swung back for the crowds waiting on both sides. This is the same area where the pink clock tower stands. Not only did it tell time, it gave tidal conditions back in the 1800’s. Surrounding this square is a restaurant called the Fish Market. That is where our buddies swear to having the absolute best calamari in the world.
Back-tracking from here, we passed by a rather large group of young singers, who were quite good. Many people were leaving rand, the South African money, in their box after watching the group sing. Right around the corner from them, was a large shop with the most unusual sculptures. They were animals like lions, giraffes, rhino, baboons, and zebra, but made with different materials. Some were metal, others wooden, a few were fabric-covered. But the best had to be the totally beaded elephant, which had even the tusks beaded….tiny beads. A rhino was created with pieces of old tires stitched together. By the way, these animals were full-size. We did not even ask the price……
After walking the entire area of sheds, shops, and restaurants, we made our way back to an Italian restaurant by the name of Balducci’s. They make great pizza and serve excellent ice cold beers. We had to be back onboard before 3pm, so lunch had to happen soon. By 1pm, we were happy as clams with our special pizza. We even added a dessert to share – a frosted brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The price for all of this? Try under $20 USD. Incredible.
It was easy walking back to the mall. We had intended to spend the rest of our euro, but the store was mobbed with a huge long line to pay. We decided we didn’t need the chips that badly.
Once back at the ship, we had to go through the line with our passports and exit papers. The line was already getting long, as many tours had just arrived. Once we had our passports stamped, we turned the name card to the waiting crew members that filed them. We would keep our passports for the next port in Namibia. It is much more complicated getting in and out of these African countries.
Working on photos, it was time for the mandatory muster drill, the last one for this cruise. It was held at 4:15pm, and it went well, as usual. Sail away would be held in the Lido pool area, but we would not be there. The best views of leaving Cape Town would be from the Seaview pool.
Expecting to leave by 5:30pm, we were delayed due to the fact that the dock workers were not present. They were held up at a container ship nearby. So we did not leave until 6pm. Once out of the confines of the harbor, we picked up more wind and deeper swells. The view of Cape Town was fantastic as we headed out to sea, and eventually north towards our next stop in Namibia. Despite the chill in the wind, we stayed on the aft deck to watch the sunset. It did not disappoint us.
It had been a most busy time the last several days, so we barely remember dinner tonight. Great to get back to our usual routine.
Bill & Mary Ann
Amarula – the most delicious after dinner drink
Victoria and Albert Waterfront
Local masks
No, we did not buy one
Ferris wheel is called the Cape Wheel
Fabric-covered elephant
