Cape Town Capers

36 hours and five flights from Phnom Penh found us in Cape Town. Although it is listed as one of the top five most beautiful cities in the world we wouldn’t find out if it met expectations until the next morning as we arrived under the cover of darkness and rain. Fortunately the weather cooperated and we awoke to a spectacular view of the massive Table Mountain basking in the sunshine. We were told that taking in the view from the top of this geologic wonder is the #1 thing to do in Cape Town so we looked forward to the experience. Day 1: The mountain was closed due to high winds so we got our bearings and a bit of history with a cruise around town on one of those double decker tour buses that every city seems to have. We hopped off for a stroll along Camps Bay beach and a great seafood lunch overlooking the Atlantic before picking up the next bus through the beachside suburbs and back to the waterfront.
Day 2: With the mountain still closed due to high winds we opted for the #2 thing to do in Cape Town: a trip to Robben Island detention center. This was where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated for their involvement in the anti-apartheid movement. It was not uncommon for a prisoner to serve far more time than he was originally sentenced to thanks to special laws that were slipped through government allowing prisoners to be detained indefinitely without trial. Robben Island is now a UNESCO monument and tours are conducted by ex-prisoners who give their personal insight into life in the prison. It was fascinating to learn how the prison became known amongst Africans as the “University” because time served put you in direct contact with the most influential and revolutionary members of the anti-apartheid movement. Illegal communications between prison sections were smuggled inside food trays or put inside tennis balls and “accidentally” lobbed over section walls. Debate and learning also took place during breaks in the hard labour activity of quarrying limestone by hand and smashing rocks.
Day 3 started at the District Six museum commemorating the forced relocation of 60000 black and coloured people, (there was an official distinction between black and coloured people by the government at the time) in an attempt to make Cape Town completely white.
After the museum we rented a car to drive to the Cape Of Good Hope, the most south-western point in Africa. As we were leaving town we were surprised to see the cable car descending Table Mountain, the wind had stopped! We took a ride up the rotating cable car and took in the breathtaking views before continuing down the coast for fish and chips at the seaside and some hiking around the incredible cape cliffs and beaches.
We definitely would’ve spent more time in Cape Town but our next adventure was calling so we’ll have to add it to our growing wishlist of places that we’d like to revisit one day.