Cape Town, South Africa

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

We sailed south in the Indian Ocean from Durban, around the Cape of Good Hope and about noon, there before us against white clouds and blue skies was Table Mountain in all its splendor. What a breath-taking sight! Again I had to pinch myself to believe that I was really there! The only negative to this glorious sight was the high wind and rough, choppy waters. Unfortunately due to the gale force winds, the harbor to Cape Town was closed to shipping vessels, therefore we had to anchor outside the breakwater until the winds calmed down. It was not until 10 hours later, at 10 p.m. that we received clearance to sail into the harbor and dock at the pier.

The population of South Africa is 5 million and Cape Town is the legislative capital. It lies at the foot of Table Mountain which is 3570 feet high. Table Mountain is named after its flat top and when there is a cloud cover, it is called a tablecloth. It is a busy commercial and industrial center with a busy port and is the tourism capital of South Africa. There are many fine museums, universities and hospitals. In 1969 Dr. Christian Bernard performed the first heart transplant at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

We were fortunate to have 2 days there. Our first day we visited an ostrich farm, we even sat on one! Did you know that one ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 chicken eggs? That’s some omelet! We then visited Durbanville Winery, tasted 6 great South African wines and had a tour of the winery. Because of its climate, South Africa produces some excellent wines. We spent the rest of the day at Victoria & Albert Waterfront on the wharf, visiting the many shops and watching the ships & sailboats in the harbor.

The next day we were fortunate to have a great guide who took us on a city tour. Her knowledge of history was amazing. She was a very proud South African and proud of her Indian heritage. We took the gondola to the top of Table Mountain, a 4 minute ride, The gondola has a revolving floor thus enabling all the passengers to have a good view of the city below which was breath-taking. In the afternoon we took a tour south to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, the farthest most southern point on the African continent. We passed many beautiful beaches, some reminded me of our own Newport Beach!
We stopped at Simon’s Town to see the colony of South African penguins. In 1927 six of these small, black & white penguins migrated from Antarctica and today there are 10,000 of them. They were very friendly and very photogenic!

We were sad to leave this beautiful city but looked forward to our next stop: Namibia.

Durban, South Africa

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

On Christmas, 1497 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He named it ‘Natal’ or Christmas in Portuguese.

The city of Durban is the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and is famous as a major tourism center due to the city’s warm climate and beautiful beaches. Durban has the busiest port in South Africa and the busiest container port in the Southern Hesmisphere. Until 2002 is was a full naval base but today it only contains a naval station and other military facilities.

We stopped at the Victoria Market in the center of Durban. It is 3 floors of stalls, run by Indians (from India) selling a huge variety of Indian goods. We were fortunate to find things here that we didn’t get a chance to buy in Mumbai! The aroma of spices dominated the whole market. I was able to buy saffron from Iran and vanilla beans from Madagascar. Here like most of the countries we visited, we had to bargain – we never paid the first asking price and most of us have become experts!

We drove along the ‘Golden Mile’ which is a stretch of beach along the Indian Ocean with beautiful resort hotels, malls and shops of all kinds. However, we were warned to be aware of sharks in the ocean. The heritage of the Zulus is handicrafts, expert weaving, intricately beaded work. The jewelry was spectacular. Even the Zulu rickshaws at the beach were totally beaded! We purchased some of the beautiful beaded jewelry which will always remind us of the friendly and kind Zulu people.

Richard's Bay, South Africa

RICHARD’S BAY, SOUTH AFRICA

Is South Africa’s largest harbor on the northern coast of the province of Kwa-Zulu-Natal., which is one of the poorest provinces of South Africa. This is the homeland of the Zulu tribe, some of whom worked in the mines. It is a patriarchal community and some Zulus still live in the villages, headed by a male leader. Mining is one of the main industries, which includes gold, copper, diamonds, minerals, coal, and ore. There is not much gas or oil. Kimberly is the main diamond mine. Crops grown are corn, wheat, sugar cane, and grapes.

Shakaland, a Zulu village, which was used for the TV series, is now a cultural center.

Richard’s Bay is the gateway to wild life; many safaris can be booked from here. There are many game preserves and more animals than Kenya but less variety.