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Around the World in 100 Days
By Sony Stark Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa is one of the most beautiful cities in the world; extremely cosmopolitan, safe and everyone speaks English. We’ve been at sea for seven days so dropping anchor here, in a westernized country, is equivalent to coming home. It’s super early and humpbacks hurl themselves out of the Atlantic as the morning sun crests Table Mountain. Within minutes we’re drenched in a swathe of beautiful gold. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been on board since Brazil. His lectures centered on Apartheid, history, religion, politics and the environment. His presence inspires several of us to visit the impoverished areas of South Africa first. A Visit to the Townships Townships are mostly made up of struggling non-white families. After WW II, the ruling white minority relocated anybody who wasn’t white to this barren, broken countryside in the name of “Apartheid” (Afrikaners term for the state of being apart). Barefoot children still live in corrugated tin and cardboard shacks. Mothers still string rope for makeshift laundry lines. And fathers still walk the main highway looking for piece-meal work. It’s truly a shock to the system. Apartheid ended in 1994 but the effects of it linger on. The purpose of coming to a place like this is to remember that despite the stunning riches of South Africa, there still exists an infrastructure where poverty, hunger and HIV/AIDS are the highest in the world. Nelson Mandela's Isolation Cell A 30-minute boat ride from Cape Town takes you to the notorious grounds of the maximum state prison, Robben Island. Robben Island became a World Heritage Site in 1999 preserving it, as it was when it closed its doors in 1994.
Nobody provides a truer impression of daily life here than our tour guide. Overt gestures and passion reveal he too was a political prisoner from the 1980s. No other tour guide captures the gritty stories of this place like this former inmate. Following Robben Island, we stop at the District Six Museum. Storyboards tell of how 48,000 multi-ethnic peoples were torn from their homes before bulldozers flattened them. There are several autobiographies and poetry books written by former residents. It’s nice to know that when you buy one, your money is going to those who need it most. After experiencing two days of humble introspection in the townships, it’s time to see what the rest of the country offers. Take Photos Quickly Table Mountain is Cape Town’s highest natural landmark. At 1000 meters (3,281 feet), there are two ways to navigate this beautiful edifice - walking for three hours or by cable car in three minutes. I switch to the latter when I learn that thick mist can make paths invisible at the top. The mountain is appropriately nicknamed Table Cloth Mountain when clouds shroud the summit. During a break in the cloud cover, the view offers a 360-degree panorama of Cape Town. Don’t hesitate to take photos quickly; it may be your only chance.
Even with a dependable lighthouse, the Lusitania shipwrecked here in 1911, making it the most dangerous and unpredictable in the world. Also, the distance to Antarctica from Cape Point is the widest open fetch of ocean in the world. A little trivia supplied by writer/tour guide extraordinaire, Ron Colvin. Shark Diving More than any other continent, Africa is known for its flora and fauna. In a matter of hours there’s an ostrich, baboon, zebra, and whale sighting from our bus. Nothing comes nearly as close to me, though, as a Great White Shark during a diving expedition the next day. We don wetsuits, goggles and embark on a 30-minute journey to the heart of where these beautiful creatures lurk. The controversial sport is heavily promoted in a town called Gansbaai, two hours east of Cape Town. Four students at a time enter the open-hulled cage and when the cue is given by the operator to “dive” -- not die, “dive” -- they submerge.
Today, we are fortunate. We tremble in awe as five Great Whites breached the surface, mouths wide open, teeth exposed, tearing at the bait, all only a few feet from our cage. Vineyards, Game Preserves and Shopping Excursions Having my thrill threshold surpassed many times over, I opt for dry land my last day. Oh, but the decisions, decisions. There are vineyards like Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa and the oldest in the country for wine making. There are game reserves like Lalibela that span five ecosystems and offer free-roaming elephant, rhino and lion. And then there are vast shopping excursions at some of the best craft stalls, specialty shops and organic markets in the world. Check out these stories about South Africa: Destination Guide: South Africa Top Transports Picks in Africa GoNOMAD’s Favorite African World Music Fusion CDs
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