29/07/2010 by Russell.

Cape Town – top to bottom approach

If you have never had the good fortune to visit Cape Town, then it should be high on your priority list regardless of the cost of the flight. I am not able to recount the words of the many Alan Whickers’ and Judith Chalmers’ who have been here before me, but will try to give you a flavour of what delights lie in wait to those who follow these words of wisdom.

First off, before you arrive here, if you think this is an ordinary city with open top bus tours then, yes, they are to be found. Take the hop on hop off red and blue routes around the city and you can make it less tiring and also lots of fun too. However, I would suggest you do a quick fitness regime before coming here to enjoy an enriching experience of Cape Town and what it offers the visitor.

Here goes, if you are planning a visit then you must climb the mountain which dominates the surroundings, the cable car is easier, but less challenging. It towers about a 1,000 metres over the city – yes you can climb a kilometre. Take the Platteklip Gorge, it is straight up and will take about 2-2.5 hrs. We went up at first light, magnificent, with the expected reward being a hearty breakfast at the top. No such luck, the cable car wasn’t running – it was a true gale force at the top, hence no cafe open or other visitors. For a while there were only 2 of us up there. The climb down is just as ardous, about an hour and a half, but the sense of achievement is immense. You can see 60km away to the very end of Africa.

Lucky too because, although this was CT’s winter the weather was in the eighties fahrenheit during the week, however, as the week wore on the table was covered in its notorious table cloth, the cable cars were running though. So reason 1 - to be fit for the climb

Reason two is to take the ‘daytrippers.com’ tour to the Cape. It is 60 km away, so a car is required or this tour. It is excellent because you cycle the final 13kms to the Cape of Good Hope itself, is that not a fulfilling achievement too? It costs just over £50 for the full day including lunch, bike and entrance fee to the National park. The things you see are remarkable, visiting the Penguins on Boulders beach, seeing baboons in gardens of houses, Ostrich, dassies and if lucky like us - whales – incredible, and that is not even including the pleasure of cycling on the Cape to the iconic ‘ Cape of Good Hope’ sign, the most south westerly tip of Africa – awesome. Eat your heart out Rob Fletcher -it’s a trip made in heaven for you. It also include visiting Cape Point, which you can walk to from Cape of G hope, or ride in the mini bus.

Reason 3, is walk through Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, take the guide for an extra 40 rand (4 quid) and have a personal guide in a golf buggy round the park. A most satisfying tour for anyone, even if you are not interested in anything botanical, you can get there on the blue route bus, or a taxi or train. It is a designated world heritage site and lies at the foot of Table Mountain. I visited in winter, but it is still lovely to see. The garden is huge so need your energy levels to be good for this part too. A great cafe here at gate 1 too.

These sites are all safe -if that is a nagging thought. To put the record straight, you will be going to places black people (if you are put off coming because such stories about blacks and muggings) do not really frequent. You are not going to be hassled either. The waterfront is consumer paradise, whether beautiful hand made crafts or fashion boutiques like Louis Vitton, Paul Smith, etc or just a simple pharmacy. Restaurants abound here and are quite expensive, but that’s up to the individual. Fish and chips, burger bars and pizza places are available. But don’t miss the little malls with arts and crafts and the diamonds of course. Do not buy in the Victoria mall, go to ‘Diamonds of Africa’ in the clock tower mall, behind the Robben Island Ferry. They are most helpful and informative there.

Robben Island is a must for most people, it is a 3hr trip and sailings are dependent on the weather, I enjoyed it, but felt more could be done, you see Nelson’s cell, the garden and have a fantastic view of Table Mountain when you look to the mainland. Your guide is an ex-con. I couldn’t help but think of the envy these ex-cons must feel to prisoner 466/64 who is now seen as the world’s leading statesman. They go back to prison everyday, he sits in relative comfort and safety.

Black people do live in Cape Town, they are in and around you, but they will not be bothered with you, they are just making a living like you. They are most friendly and helpful, you are not going to find yourself off the beaten track and have your safety compromised. Townships are some distance away, read about District 6 and what the whites did there in the 60s.

What else? Long Street, Bo Kaap, District 6, museums, wine tours, there is so much more, as I said you just gotta to put money aside for Cape Town, it is a romantic and splendid city. Also you could stay in the excellent hostel – Zebra Crossing, I could see the table from the balcony at any time of day or night (in silhouette)

Oh, and the diamonds are reasonably priced if you know what to look for, so what price a point 32 carat diamond , rated as VS2 with a K/L colour?

Up at 6 for a long flight to Delhi on Saturday 24^th.

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29/07/2010 by Russell.

Goodbye Port Elizabeth, Hello Cape Town, and Cheerio to Hstd Road site

On my final days here in PE, and the World Cup is over. April seems such a long time ago when I arrived, full of expectation of what was to come, coaching, the footy and South Africa itself.

What we read in the papers in the UK or believe what townships are like, or the black people and society in general here, would be true if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. This can be said of LA, Toxteth, a suburb of Paris, or any inner city estate around the world, except the difference being here is that there are literally thousands of such deprived estates here (townships), beyond the scope of your imagination. Each citizen is entitled to a one room house, and they are in all kinds of condition, in addition there are the wooden and tin shacks all around on waste ground.

The blacks and whites and coloureds all mix during the day and in the public spaces, such as malls, beaches, tourist spots etc, and there is nothing to fear. However, go to a township and walk the streets at night alone, then you are a fool. Common sense applies, but that all seems to be forgotten throughout the newspaper reports. Boris Johnson has been over here and recently wrote a good piece in the Telegraph. I have been in black neighbourhoods at night, I have walked with Buntu and his friends, but there is always safety in numbers and of course I am with black people. I have also gone from taxi to the door. All in all, the black people are most welcoming and want to meet you and shake you by the hand, they want conversation. I have even had one man say I was the first englishman he had ever spoken to or heard speak, a compliment indeed. If individuals like me and other white foreigners don’t go to the townships, how can the word spread of their plight or living conditions or their welcoming nature. Unemployment is grim here, 60-80%, and they stand on street corners looking for work, they act as car park attendants, they fill your car up with fuel, they run little market stalls, they sell ray ban sunglasses at traffic lights, anything to scratch a living. Yet they are mostly positive individuals, they know the political system isn’t the best here with money disappearing down more black holes to line the pockets of officials. However, as I knew I would, I love the black community, love their footy skills and their genuine kindness, and they have nothing to give back other than hospitality. There are many beautiful kind people here.

As for my soccer coaching, well it has all been a bit stop start and experiences have all been genuinely good, are there any decent players here? I have found 3, two 18 yr olds and a 13 yr old. Incredible, just like anywhere else, talent is easily spotted and as everywhere else is truly thin on the ground. There is a lot of milk and cream here, but the cream at the very top of the milk is very thin. Do they have a chance, none whatsoever, they need to come to England to get anywhere, and for that I don’t have the contacts anymore nor the funds to bring over. It is a shame, the young lad – Reeve – is exceptional, he could even use the wind to make his pass work, and he has fantastic temperment along with skill. Please let me take him home! The coaching has not been as expected, the schools were disruptive, the weather has cancelled sessions and the kids have not always been the same. To take this further for me I would have loved to coach a team. I have seen kids play in our tournaments during the world cup, and they would generally out pass and beat an equivalent age group of kids in England at 15-16 yrs old. The younger ones lack team play.

Is PE a great place? In truth it is an industrial town with car factories, tyre factories etc, a port and airport, it is a working town, and yet unemployment is still high. There is talk of moving the docks and using the existing site as a tourist hub with a marina, light years away I guess. The Boardwalk area is very safe and westernised, a small mall, casino, hotels etc and a beach. But because of PE’s size it is about 6-7 km away, and is not walkable, another taxi ride for anything from 60rand to 100rand (｣6 to ｣10). Because I have been here so long, I have my own driver now – Chris, very economic. The town centre is shabby and not a great architectural feast. But PE has opened my eyes to modern South Africa with Malls, cinemas, some excellent restaurants and bars are on the increase. If you ever come here eat at the ‘Butchers Bloc’ in Newton Park. Great food.

PE is like a little america, wide highways with robots (traffic lights), drive through MacDonalds, KFC’s and Nando’s. Even petrol stations have take away places, but they are not ‘fast food’ as we know it, you end up waiting, no good for the Westerners here, I guess many visitors for the world cup wondered why it takes so long – this is Africa, it is slow at times.

But PE is a gateway to many places, you can get along the garden route very easily and there are some spectacular places to visit, Plettenberg Bay, Storms River, Robberg peninsular, Knysna, etc and going towards Durban is the ‘wild coast’ Morgans Bay, Coffee Bay, Grahamstown, Mthata ( Mandela Museum) etc. If you arrived here the scenery is outstanding along with the Indian Ocean. Which was too cold for me to swim, but get up to Durban and it will be warm, remember it is winter here now.

What about me? For me it has been a time for reflection, yes of course I have thought about West Herts College and the impending move, but in truth it has only been a little thought..the trip so far has enabled me to de-stress (is that a word?) and I think in hindsight it was the right decision, to change my perspective and get out of the maelstrom of the College. I am also of the opinion that I will have to return here, I have also considered my next moves and would like to start a charity to utilise cast off sports equipment. There is none here, kids in bare feet, or at best socks, no shorts or jerseys. Think of all the boots and kit which is thrown away in the UK, it can have a use here.

I am seeing the world with a new pair of eyes and am grateful for that, my brain is uncluttered for the first time and it is a good feeling.

Trivia:

• MacDonalds is not highly visible, only 2 here I know of. KFC and Nando’s beat them hands down

• There are 3 multiplex cinemas in town

• Woolworths (yes) is like Marks and Spencer’s

• Round-a-bouts are ‘circles’

• Sun goes down about 5.30pm and rises about 7am (yes its like our winter for daylight)

• The wind can be here for days, and the sun can be out without a cloud for days

• When it rains, stay indoors

• There is no such thing as central heating

• Coloured is not a derogatory term here, just a description

• Water is safe to drink

• Litter is all over the townships, they don’t have refuse collection like we do

• Re-cycling is very limited

• Castle lager is not exceptional, palatable to many though

• Wimpy is everywhere

• I have seen, Old Mk1 Cortinas, Mini’s, MGBs, Mk1 Ford Escort, Morris Minor, etc, many cars we have given up on long ago are still running

• You need a car to get around, it is a big country.

• Petrol is about 80p a litre

But just as I listen to Monty Pythons ‘Bright Side of Life’ I think of the optimism amongst the black community despite the cards they have been dealt.

I hope the move to the new WHC campus goes OK, but I hear of redundancies, more off putting news of the world I left in April.

Monday takes me to Cape Town, an hours flight away….

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