Yes I went. It was my first travel experience here in Africa outside of Malawi since I first arrived here. I was really looking forward to getting to see a new place. Now you might ask yourself why Cape Town? I met some people who were talking highly of Cape Town and said it is a stunning place to go. So I decided that it might be the right time to go and visit a city that people have said is a plave to go. In this blog I want to explain exactly what happened on my trip down to Cape Town and what I saw.
Day 1: The Bomb scare
So off I went to Cape Town. I left Lilongwe early in the morning, well meaning I was at the airport by 6 o‘clock as my flight left at 8. So then we left Lilongwe via a stopover in Blantyre to Johannesburg, where I would have to transit to get the connecting flight to Cape Town. The flight was nothing special as it was just another flight, just with Malawis local airline: Malawi Airline. What I liked about flying there is that even for a two and a halve hour flight, they provide you with coffee, breakfast and another drink; more than if you would fly in Europe. So I finally landed in Johannesburg. In order to transit in Johannesburg, you have to go through customs. So what you do is get your bag at the arrivals hall, go through baggage screening with customs and then you have to go to the check-in area to check-in completly new. As I was passing the arrivals hall, where normally people would be waiting for arriving passengers, I noticed that it was closed off an people were directed a different way. I did not think much about it. As I was walking towards the check-in gates, I suddenly heard an explosion coming from behind me. I thought it might have been some baggage or some item that crashed to the floor and was calm, till suddenly the security guards started shouting for everyone to evacuate.
So people started running and screaming to find the exits. I saw people panic, cry as people really thought it might have been an attack. Once outside, which was just on the drop off area, meaning less than 10 metres away from the building, I suddenly saw that the people in the boarding zone, (meaning people who had passed security and were now waiting to board their flight) where coming out as well. So well, it seemed serious. I have to be honest, I was not so much worried about my life, more about how I would get my flight with this evacuation. A perculiar thing to think about if there was a situation which sounded like a bomb explosion. We waited for about 30 minutes, not knowing what is going on. I asked airport staff what I should be doing or where I should be going to and they just said `I have no idea ´. So anyway, after about 30 minutes, slowly people started to go back into the building, eventhough no one actually instructed anything explicitly. It was all chaotic and unorganised. I later found out talking with one of the employees that this explosion happened in the arrivals hall, exactly there where I had passed a few minutes before. How lucky I was.
No one got hurt, which was the good thing. Looking at this bomb scare now, there were several different theories that the media protrayed. The Airport gave a statement saying that it was a routine training exercise from the police, but there was no explosion or any sound of an explosion. Then the police a day later said it was connected to an unaccompanied bag that was found there and an controlled explosion was performed. Then I heard from somewhere else it was an actual bomb, just very small and meant to send out a message as there was a big corruption scandle in South Africa, where president Zuma had to resign. In the end, I am not sure what happened but the first two theories sound not possible as I heard the bang 100% and if it was an controlled explosion, then why was noone informed that something like this would be carried out and the whole terminal was evacuated.
Anyway, how eventful this experience was (and it was my first experience in South Africa - good first impression), I managed to make my flight and then was off to Cape Town. The rest of my travels was uneventful (Thank God) and I managed to arrive in Cape Town on time. Just driving from the airport to the place I was staying, I noticed that the city had lots of traits like a western city. It looked nice but nothing like Africa. So anyway, I was really looking forward to exploring the city in the next few days.
Day 2: Exploring the City and Waterfront
First real day in Cape Town. I decided on my first day that I would go an explore the CBD and the V&A Waterfront, as these are areas which a lot of tourists go to. I started walking from the Hostel I was staying at, which was located in Greenpoint, about a 5 minutes walk from the stadium, towards the ocean front. Once there, I walked along the promenade towards the V&A Waterfront. After about an halve an hour I arrived there. It was nice as it located around a small harbour with many different boats and has museums, and shops there. So I explored this part of the city. Architecture wise this was a very nice area, with some old buildings connected with some newer ones. Then when looking towards inland, you saw Table Mountain in the background looking majestically. So for views there, it was awesome. After spending some time there, I decided that I wanted to see more of the city and so I walked on into the CBD. Just going around the CBD, it had a very western flair. A lot of high buildings (higher than any buildings in Malawi) with big and busy streets in the middle. I walked along there finding then the biggest shopping street in Cape Town, Longstreet. SO I just walked along this area till I reached a parc, where I saw local people spend their lunch time. It was all nicely cared for and made presentable for tourists to come and look at. After visiting this area, I then went back to the Waterfront and then slowly walked along the promenade to Seapoint, which is along the coast towards the famous beach of Camps Bay. In total I walked 30km that day to view the city and saw a lot in that day. I have to be fair, I liked seeing a different location. It was a really western city with western shops, food and a lot of tourists, but still in between the tourists, you saw a lot of locals.
It was difficult deciding what I should be doing next. I actually wanted to visit Cape Point (thats where the two oceans meet and at the end of Cape town peninsula, but the bus had already left, so I decided that I would climb Table Mountain. I had a few reservations due to being insecure if it was safe for an individual to climb up alone. I had heard a lot of different stories about people being stabbed and mugged on the path of Table Mountain. So I just asked some of the hikers that I met and they all said it is completely safe. That was my decision then. I would walk up. I actually wanted to do the difficult route, but noone wanted to do this with me, so I decided to take the easier route up. The path is steady up hill, but nothing too dangerous or difficult. People said that it would take about 2-3 hours to get up, well not brag about it but I managed to get up to the top in one and a halve hours. Anyway, once at the top, the views were breathtaking. You were able to see all over the city and even further towards the peninsula. It was definetly worth hiking up. And if I had more time, I could have explored so much more.
One area that my research pointed out before I came to Cape Town is that the drive to Cape Point and Cape Point is really good and very nice. So I decided I would use the big red Hop-on-Hop-off bus for the only time, as it was the only way to get there. The drive was nice and we got to see so much more of Cape Town than I expected and different areas as well. Once arrived at Cape Point, We had the chance to explore the area. SO I walked around seeing the two Lighthouses and the views from each of these. I really liked the view down along the coast together with the vegetation. Together with the group that we went to Cape Point, we then had a small hike. That hike was easy but we saw white beaches, Antellopes in the wild. From tue landscape, this was Africa at its finest, but not untouched africa sadly. Still really nice to see this area and definetly spending the money for the bus to get there. However, I really would suggest using your own transportation to get there as I saw some really cool hikes that you could have gone on around this area and I really wished that I could have had the chance to have done some of these. After Cape Point we drove off to Boulders Bay. This is where the Penguines are. I was warned by people that I talked to that this area is actually not as spectacular as people say it is. Anyway, I wanted to see for myself. Well they were true. It was just a Beach of Penguines. The only cool thing was how close you were able to get to the Penguines. But I did not see the advantage of seeing them as it not in nature itself but there are viewing platforms right in their area. Anyway it was interesting to see it. In general it was a good trip as I was able to see a different side of Cape Town and the Peninsula that by foot or public transport I would not have been able to see. But Cape Point is definitely an area to go to if every you are in Cape Town.
So this was the most important trip for me. Just joking. As I am Austrian and I have a little bit of knowledge about wine, due to going to the wine region in austria, I decided I wanted to try and go on a wine tour. I booked it via my Hostel. The company that provided this is wine flies and they organise a whole day trip for a reasonable price. So In the morning I was picked up by the company in a small mini bus where 9 other people were sitting inside. I was the youngest of all of them by far. So the whole trip consisted of going to 5 different wine estates of different sizes and tasting 5 glasses of wine in each of them. Additionally, they provided lunch, and some snacks for us so that we would not be too drunk at the end. I was really lucky to have one of the best groups possible. We had people from different nationalities present, which included Swiss, Dutch, Chile, and Americans, well and me as Austrian. On that trip we were told about how the wine in the Stellenbosh region is made and the history of the wine. At the end of the day, yes the wine was speaking as well, but my whole group was having lots of fun, singing, talking with each other and just having fun. Now about the wines. Many might think ahhh they will not be that good, well wrong. I must say that I had the best red wine there that I have tasted so far and even some of their white wines were pretty good. There was one estate that made such a good red wine I really wanted to buy a bottle, but sadly, they did not have a spare bottle as it was limited edition. My verdict is that if you are in Cape Town and you are old enough and like drinking wine, this wine tour should be on your itinerary as it is definitely something special and very informative, but also you are able to taste some really good wine.
Day 6: Seeing Robben Island
A must for everyone that comes to Cape Town and that is aware about the History in South Africa, especially Apartheid, is Robben Island. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was held in prison for 18 years. That is the reason I decided to do the tour of the island. I took a Catamaran over to Robben Island from the V&A Waterfront. Once we arrived, we were put onto buses with a tour guide and they drove us around the island. They showed us the location of the prison and where for example Hillary Clinton stayed on her visit, the special prisons they had built and the labour area for the prisoners. We then stopped at a spot with a breathtaking view of Cape Town from the island. I have to be fair that this location was by far my favourite area to look onto the Table Mountain. At that point I had wished that I would have a better quality camera as my phone camera did not quite do the view justice.
After having the picture break, we embarked off onto the prison itself. We got a tour guide who was an ex prisoner of Robben Island to guide us through the prison. It was interesting to listen to the stories and the explanations about the various areas, but it was difficult to imagine people being held captive there. We then passed Mandelas cell. The only reason you can identify his cell is due to the red bucket that is present there. As a whole it was very interesting but at the same time, your expectation coming into this tour is higher, so I felt it was not as well done as it could have been. Sadly as well, the tour guide that I had did not speak english very well, so it was really difficult for me to understand what he was talking about and some of the stories went lost a little bit. But still nevertheless, it was definitely an experience to go and see.
Day 7: The Castle of Good Hope
The last real day in Cape Town I decided to go and visit the Castle of Good Hope as by driving by on the day I arrived, I was interested in it. I also did not want to plan too much as I wanted to have time at the hostel to surf the internet, be able to download movies and music, as well as update my devices as I am not sure when I would get this good internet connection the next time in Malawi.
So the Castle of Good Hope was interesting and had a very interesting history. I went around with a guided tour to hear about the history and the specific areas of the castle, what they were used for. After the tour itself, I went aroundthe castle to the various exhibits to see them. If you very interested into History this area might be really interesting for you, but for me I did not find it as interesting. The views from the walls onto the city are nice. So for me it was interesting to go and visit this place but I have to be honest that it was not something I would go back and see again if ever I come back.
Day 8: Return Journey
On my return journey, thankfully nothing scary happened like the bomb scare in Johannesburg. It was a long journey but it was fine.
My Verdict:
SO my verdict onto Cape Town. I have to say I really liked the city. The city itself is so diverse and allows you to do so many activities. If you like being active and going hiking or mountain biking, there are a lot of areas and paths that allow you to do this with spectacular views. If you like more of a city life and walking inside the CBD, well then there are enough museums and areas that can be visited. If you are more of someone who likes to visit the beach, well then you can select to go to some beaches and lie there. I did not actually go to any beach as I did not have enough time to visit all the places that I wanted to see and I still did not see everything I had planned. People might say well its South Africa, its unsafe, well true, but Cape Town is really trying hard to ensure that you feel safe as a tourist. In the City centre they have employed security guards at every corner that are there to help you and make the city safer. Not once in the time that I have been in Cape Town did I feel unsafe and I was doing most of my activities alone. You should just be careful what you show to the public, like if you walk around with a big camera infront of you and your expensive sunglasses, well then you would be more prone to people trying to steal something from you.
Cape Town for me is a western city. It is the west in Africa. I would not actually count it being in Africa anymore if it was not for the geographics. People say that it is Europe in Africa and I can definitely see where they coming from as there are a lot of shops that are similar to shops in Europe. Even the infrastructure is as advance as Europe. For me, who has been in a typically African country like Malawi for 5 months with hardly any exposure to the western lifestyle, well it was quite nice being exposed to this, but at the same time I was really happy to go back to Malawi where people lived a totally different lifestyle. As well, you might have heard about the water crisis in Cape Town. While I was there, it was in full swings. We were only allowed to shore for 90 seconds and had to try and save as much was water as possible. The only aspect where I noticed the lack of water was in public places at toilets, where when you wanted to wash your hands, not water came out of the tap. Which they compensated with using hand sanitizer. Other than that, as a tourist we did not experience the water shortage too much.
Thanks for reading my Blog. I hope you enjoyed reading my experience and are inspired maybe to go to Cape Town or Malawi as well.
