Author: matdel64

It is the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere and the weather in Capetown is iffy. A visit to Table Mountain is out of question. We, however, got to do Cape of Good Hope again. A wild, windy desolate spot marked with the crosses of yore to guide navigators, it is a national park. The entry fee is not exactly cheap but is worth a visit to a place that boasts of such historical association. It is not the southernmost tip of the landmass which is Cape Agulhas across from the False Bay but is the point from which an eastern route was charted. We see no fauna till we reach the slopes leading to the sea and, then too, only ostrich and some kudu. Simon informs us that in his youth this was a popular excursion spot with a remarkably large and varied animal population. Baboons are aplenty and we spot many at the top that is accesed by the funicular. A good photographic vantage.

Simons Town is the naval station and boasts of the monument to the dog named Able Seaman Just Nuisance, a tribute to an animal that was plain friendly to lonely navymen. A quaint railway system links these suburbs to Cape Town.

What we missed this time was on the cards last time around. A thrilling ride up to Table Mountain by cable car, a walk around the national park, refreshment and return to Camps Bay. The ‘dassies’ are a big draw.

It is but absolutely necessary to record the warmth and sheer joy of living apparent in the denizens of this cape. You land at the airport at midnight and the airline man receiving you does a jig to mirror that of a young passenger. The man monitoring the long ticket line for the cable car to the top of Table Mountain relieves tedium with his wit and knowledge.

The cable car operator talks jocularaly of the  long walk to freedom should we be late in presenting ourselves at the boarding point for the return journey.  And when he brings the car to a halt midway with the announcement of a technical glitch, the loud groans give way to laughter as we realise that he is just fooling around.

Memories are an acceptable substitute.

The botanist Ronald Good identified six floral kingdoms in the world in 1947. The smallest of these is the Cape Floral Kingdom. And all of it is in the Cape province of Southern Africa embellishing  Capetown as one of the loveliest cities of the earth. It is indeed a pleasure driving on its well-marked well-maintained grid of roads. Vineyards and wineries in the vicinity, a couple of reputed and established universities – Capetown and Stellenbosch – reflecting the diverse cultures of this polis, the iconic Table Mountain with the legendary tablecloth, the bays and inlets, the Victoria & Alfred (V&A-the son and not Albert the consort), the amazing Chapman’s Drive, the unforgettable windy Cape of Good Hope, the False Bay, Table Bay, Simons Town, Hout Bay (with its eating places and quaint African curio bazaars). I could go on and on. It is a city that can only be experienced and must be experienced. The ‘mavercks’ are every bit gentlemen here and ‘40’ is not an age but merely a number.

Our friend Simon, who drove us around (courtesy Anil Mandhle) could well have been a professori or a great guide – well versed as he is in the history, demographics, social structure and politics of the people – and his friend, appropriately named Peter, who undertook the evening shift, completed that which our colleges did not!

District Six, Cape Flats, Signal Hill, Lion Kop – familiar to fans of Wilbur Smith – are no more mere locations anymore. Groot Schur Hospital, identified with the legendary Dr Christiaan Barnard, is here. Our home, Forever by Spanish Villas at Camps Bay in the shadow of Table Mountain is a great place of stay. Our hosts, Michael and Kirstin, are unforgettable.