Table Mountain, District 6, and South African History - All in a Day

We rose a little earlier this morning to have breakfast at 7 AM so we could be on our way to Table Mountain at 7:45. When we arrived, Doug was waiting with our tickets for the cable car ride up. The ride itself was amazing, as the tram rotated so riders were able to enjoy the entire landscape without having to nudge one another out of the way. We were some of the first people to be on top of the mountain this morning. The views were breathtaking in every direction.

Doug pointed out different areas that were of significance, such as Cape of Good Hope which is often believed to be where the Atlantic and Indian oceans converge. He spoke to us about the different plants on the Cape and how, though only covering 0.06% of the Earth’s surface, this region has so much unique plant life it qualifies as the smallest but richest of the 6 floral kingdoms. He was more than happy to answer any questions we had.
After taking loads of photos, Dan surprised us with a sumptuous display of sliced apples, pretzels, and candied fruit that he’d been carrying all morning in his backpack! No one had any idea this was coming but it sure was a nice surprise. After indulging a little in the food, we began our hike down the mountain along Platteklip Gorge. We encountered many friendly hikers on the way down and took in the stunning scenery. The path, which zigzagged steeply all the way to the road, was made into stairs out of rock with mesh nets of rock along the outside of the trail meant to prevent erosion. As we approached the bottom, clouds began to pour over the top of the mountain. I was so happy to witness this because Carmin described it to us the previous day and referred to it as “the tablecloth.” It really resembled one.

After our hike we had a seafood lunch near the hotel and showered for our afternoon activity. We were picked up at our hotel by Jimmy, our guide for the afternoon. He is a native of one of the townships on Cape Flats where black Africans were placed for a variety of segregationist reasons, ranging from fear of the Bubonic Plague in 1906 to apartheid. We began with a driving tour of District 6 where over 60,000 people were forced to relocate during apartheid. Sadly, a cobblestone street is all that remains from the last evacuations in the 1980s. We stop at the District 6 Museum where people are invited to reconnect with others from the area and tourists can learn about the horrible suffering the locals had to endure as well as see photographs and relics of what their lives had been like – barber shop tools, mirrors, and newspaper clippings were artfully displayed in the museum. One particularly touching story I read during our visit was of a man who’d owned 50 pigeons. He was forced to move and, once settled for several months, let his pigeons out to fly to see if they’d return to him. They didn’t return that night, which troubled him greatly. As he drove to work the next morning, passing the bulldozed lot where he used to live in District 6, he saw all 50 of his pigeons sitting there, staring at him, as if they were asking where their home had gone.

Our next stop was Langa, a township in Cape Flats that was truly vibrant with a culture all its own! Jimmy told us that the township was divided into four sections: working class, well-off (professional occupants), converted migrant hostels, and shanties. We drove through streets bustling with activity before we were able to get out and walk around amongst the people. I must admit, my head was swimming at this point and nausea rising in my stomach at the impoverished conditions some of the people appeared, at first glance, to be living in. Jimmy did an excellent job of describing the different types of people and how many of them had come to Cape Town in search of a better life. After our tour concluded, I had a more settled and understanding feeling of the place. Our first stop was a “project” or community center where local young adults learn crafts such as pottery or painting. I purchased a beautiful vase and Carmin bought a dish.

A little further inside the settlement, we came to a restaurant of sorts. Ladies sat outside of hovels burning hair off the heads of dead sheep which were then boiled and sold as food to the locals. Dan, seeing how squeamish I’d been of eating prawns whose heads, feelers and legs were still attached, thought I’d be too squeamish to try the sheep head and purchased half of it for me to try. Unfortunately for Dan, cockroach-looking seafood and good, old fashioned bbq is a very different thing to me. Carmin and I gladly tried both the cheek (meat, fat and skin together) and the tongue (which, like cow tongue, is considered a delicacy). Neither was bad, though the cheek was a little too chewy for either of us. We walked through the streets where the children held our hands and took a great interest in our cameras. Dennis had a ball with them – snapping their photos and showing them their images immediately through the display screen on back. At the corner, where Jimmy brought the car around to pick us up, a craft stand had been set up for us tourists.

Our next stop was a shanty neighborhood where two women stood behind craft booths waiting for our van. Once again, I grabbed some souvenirs. We were allowed to see the inside of her home, which was made of plywood and sheet metal and barely two rooms. It did have electricity, though, as candles or fire of any sort was extremely dangerous and had burned down 250 homes only 7 years ago. The home was very neat and clean with appliances such as an electric range and a sewing machine. Jimmy informed us that this woman sewed traditional gowns for the women, including wedding dresses. The final stop we made was at a medicine man’s place of business. It was very dark and musty inside as animal skins and feet, mushrooms, and a myriad of other things I couldn’t quite discern in the low light hung from the ceiling or decorated shelves and random areas of the room. He put on a fur hat and beaded sash and spoke about the different potions he can make to help a man find another wife (this culture allows for up to 5) or cure an ailment. Outside of his place of business were the largest number of craft and jewelry tables of all, and Dan took this opportunity to buy some gifts before we headed back to our hotel.

Dinner tonight was a cultural affair at the Gold of Africa Museum, a small museum that highlights gold work rom all over Africa. A drum workshop was underway on arrival and everyone participated in the fun, though humbling experience. That definitely takes a lot of skill! Carmin remarked that she found dinner this evening particularly special and the highlight of her day. Many small dishes from all the different regions of Africa were represented. People drummed and danced in beautiful costumes and the Xhosa singing was truly moving. It was the perfect ending to the day.