Family Time

16/05/2013

It was a relief to see the familiar faces of my aunt and uncle searching for me at Cape Town bus terminal after another 20 hour bus journey. I had left Windhoek the night before after 6 days driving myself around Namibia and was looking forward to some down time catching up and cleaning up. After setting a wash on (I was so excited about having clean clothes that I unpacked my bag directly into the washing machine) and a shave (I had to go and buy a razor as neglected to bring one on my travels), my uncle and I went to pick up my sister, Kathy, who was arriving back from 6 months in New Zealand. General tiredness and jet-lag soon ate into our conversations and I sank into the comfort of a well known bed in a welcoming home.

Chapman's Peak Cycle - Image courtesy of Hayley Harpur

The relaxing lasted all of one night, Hayley, my other sister arrived the following day with plans for a short cycle. I reluctantly agreed so long as they would take it easy on me and we set off to meet a friend in Sea Point. Upon reaching Sea Point I thought it wasn't such a bad cycle and was pleased with myself for keeping pace. My face dropped and my legs turned to jelly when as told me that the cycle had not started and we were actually heading up Chapman's Peak. Over half an Argus (70km) later and I was truly broken, both physically and mentally at how fresh they all still looked, but that just made the cold beer in hand and stunning sunset even more enjoyable.

Sunset over Sea Point. 

Some point that evening amidst catching up and making new acquaintances it was agreed that we would climb Table Mountain the following day. With an early start I was grateful they did not make me cycle to the start of the trail. The route, Indian Vensters, which was chosen by Kathy would turn out to be a good challenge with plenty of scrambling but that didn't stop her pushing us to make it to the top well within the 2.5hrs suggested hike time. After lunch on the table it was more of a jog down than a Sunday afternoon stroll, with Hayley and her trail running buddies taking the lead. By the time we got to the bottom I was more than ready for sun-downers and decided to forgo the cycle back to my aunt and uncle's in favour of a lift to the waterfront followed by beers lit by the long rays of the evening sun.

Hiking Table Mountain - Image courtesy of Hayley Harpur

Sun-downers with Hayley at the V&A Waterfront

To end off an energetic weekend I spent the night at Hayley's house at the Strand, the whole time thinking to myself, "This is like those places we always used to see at the beach as kids and wonder what type of people lived in them." The morning greeted us with a misty ocean which demanded wetsuits for the morning SUP session we had planned. It was fantastic to get out on the water even if it wasn't on a windsurfer, it brought back the enjoyment and enhanced the excitement of the Greece trip to come. The session ended with me making a 500m swim back to the shore after loosing my paddle and board when under estimating the size of a wave and catching it side on. Both washed up, saving me the embarrassment of appearing through the mist empty handed. As it was Hayley managed to grab this rather moody shot as I wandered up the beach to find her and the instructor searching for me.


The rest of the South Africa stay, aside for a trip up the west coast, followed a similar pattern and included regular tennis at Pinelands Club and one very early morning bike ride followed by coffee at a quirky coffee shop hidden down an alley only known to the local cycling crew. Speaking of quirky coffee shops, it seems to me that this is a side of Cape Town I never fully appreciated or maybe it is a side that I have only just begin to experience in earnest. Either way there was something different about this trip back to SA, it was the first time that I found myself thinking, "Something has changed, this is actually and amazing place, maybe one day I can see myself back here on a more permanent basis."

Early morning cycle with Kathy

Well deserved hub cap breakfast at the cycle cafe. 

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West Coast Scenic

23/05/2013

Having lived in South Africa for 20 odd years and during subsequent trips back I have covered a fair amount of the beautiful country, from Sodwana Bay on the north east coast to Graaf Reinet in the interior, though I had never been further up the west coast than Cape Town. So when my mom asked what I wanted to do when I visited this time I jumped at the opportunity to let her organise a road trip up this spectacular piece of the country.

One of the many passes through the Cederberg.

It being May there would be no real chance of windsurfing and thus I am yet to surf any of the spots around the cape, so we started the trip by heading slightly inland, to the Cederberg and Citrusdal. We meet up with family at the Baths which are natural hotsprings once used by bushmen to aid healing and spirituality. After a few days of rejuvenating in the warm waters it was time to bid farewell to some family members and head to the coast with my parents and my sister.

Old colonial building at the Baths

Sister enjoying the view from one of the many hikes.

Moonrise over the Cederberg

Relaxing in one of the smaller baths.

From Citrusdal we spent our first night in the little port of Lamberts Bay. The weather was cold and moody, which for the rest of the family brought comments of, "I don't see the attraction of this place." For me as, I strolled along the shoreline in the heavy evening air, I saw the attraction, the wild, ruggedness of this coastline with sunsets over the ocean makes it a photographer's dream.

An overcast sunset at Lamberts Bay

Lamberts Bay

Someday we'll all go back to the oceans.

We took the coastal road from Lamberts Bay to a little settlement called Paternoster which is well know for its lobster and white fishing houses. Despite the cold weather, this time everyone was in agreement that they could see why this is often claimed to be one of the most beautiful places on the west coast.

White houses at Paternoster

An evening fish. 

Purple haze. 

Some things are made to share.

The route back to Cape Town took us via Langebaan, a well known windsurfing spot and often used testing ground for some of the industry manufacturers. We stopped there for lunch and although there wasn't a windsurfer in sight I caught myself adding a point to my bucket list: road trip Southern Africa with windsurfers on the roof of a camper-van.

Langebaan Lagoon

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