South African adventures.

Upon arrival in Cape Town, I had to find my back-packers.  This was a task that was made much more fun by the assistance of a friend I made on the train.  A girl I had been talking to who was also travelling alone, was being met by her cousin in Cape Town.  We had not seen each other for a few hours when we arrived at the station, but bumped into each other again on the platform and had a chat about our journey.  She then offered me a lift as she said her cousin would know his way around.  We drove around for a bit and then parked up and they insisted on walking me to the door of my hostel.  We exchanged numbers and made vague plans to meet at the beach, but I was so very grateful for their kindness.

The accommodation was lovely and not too far from the main town centre.  I dumped my stuff and went for a wander.  Most of the shops were shutting, so I wandered back in the direction of the hostel and stopped for a drink.  A very large mojito.  It was delicious, so I ordered another and a burger and got chatting to another lone traveller.  We parted company(although I was offered a night out on the tiles) and I went on for a brief bit of surfing in an internet cafe and then back to sit and read and relax just a little bit more (as if I wasn’t relaxed enough!).  I got up good and early and headed into town.  It was a beautiful hot day.  I browsed the shops and walked to the V&A Waterfront.  It was beautiful down there and there were stunning views of Table Mountain.  There was also some big yacht race about to set off, so the place was full of life.  I wandered around more shops and cafes and craft markets and then ate my lunch whilst watching the festivities.  I spent the entire day wandering around the city and didn’t make it to the beach.

Is it just me, or is that tree very out of place?

Next morning I got up and decided it was too hot to run already, so I walked as far as I could up Table Mountain.  I didn’t get far as it took an age to get out of the town but I made it up to the cable car station.  At this point I made the decision to head back as the mountain was obscured by thick cloud which did not look too inviting.  I went back down into the town for a final bit of meandering and eating then set out for the airport for my flight to Durban.  And who did I bump into at check in...my friend from the train!  She was getting a flight back to Jo’burg though, so that was the end of our travelling together.

I was most excited about getting to Durban and seeing Di – I hadn’t seen her for 3 years and life had changed a lot since then.  The flight was delayed and then we landed in a thunder storm – it was a bit dicey but there were stunning views of the lightening from above and below the clouds as we made our descent!  As I left the arrivals area, Di was there to see me.  She soon whisked me off to her car and we drove back to her house. 

It was late when I arrived so Di, Adrian and myself had a bit of a chat and then went to bed.  We were all up early the next day as Emily likes to get up by 5am.  Aren’t two year olds great?!  She was actually quite considerate and didn’t really disturb me until later.  She was very shy at first but soon warmed up and I got plenty of hugs and hand holding as the week went on. 

Just some of the wildlife we encountered on our runs!

The days all began to blur into one at this point as I was so into the holiday mode.  I dragged Di around lots of shops and was completely over excited about the variety of things I could buy.  The second day I was there, we went to a water park and I had great fun on the water slides – I even put myself through the trauma of going on the highest water slide in Africa.  You plunge 6 storeys in 3 seconds.  I had a huge wedgie at the end and made a most undignified exit from the pool.  It was quite exhilarating and seemed to impress Di's lovely nieces and nephews (who are possibly the nicest and politest children I have ever met)! 


That cheeky grin says a lot.

I completely over-indulged in white wine and fruit and yogurt and meat and chocolate and all the things I could get my hands on! Di and I even managed to get a few runs in around where she lives – it was very pretty but also hilly – which is not so nice!  I met lots of her family and friends and we did plenty of things other than shopping - swimming and duck feeding and trampolining, going to the pub, visiting Adrian's family and me having beauty appointments and dying my hair.  I even learnt how to do a classic temper tantrum from Emily!  Emily continued to get us up at the crack of dawn and just as I was getting used to it, it was time to leave.  I had the most wonderful time and it was so nice to catch up.  Di looked after me incredibly well.  Maybe, if they'll have me, I’ll make another trip to visit before I leave Rwanda or maybe they will even come to see me.  Maybe.