Our first stop was the Rondevlei Nature Reserve. It's an oasis amid a residential area that looked to be working folks. The bird sanctuary covers approximately 720 acres of mostly permanent wetland and consists of a single large brackish lagoon where we were hoping to spot a hippopotamus, of which we were told there were about 10 in the reserve. We didn't see any hippos but we saw lots of birds including an African Purple Swamphen that we waited patiently to see. The nature reserve is among the most important wetlands for birds in South Africa despite being situated directly alongside the heavily polluted Zeekoevlei.
It was well worth the two hours we spent there, walking through the reserve. We also ran across Stuckey, one of three Cape Gray mongoose in the park. The "ranger" knew exactly what mongoose it was when I showed him the photo I got.
We then drove along the coast for the remainder of the day, and it was beautiful - the mountains and the bay.
We drove along the edge of Khayelitsha, the partially informal township in the Western Cape, located on the Cape Flats. The name Xhosa for Our New Home, is reputed to be the largest and fastest growing township in South Africa. It has about 1 million souls in it. It is about 16.80 square miles and is the poorest area of Cape Town and many of the households live in informal dwellings, which means corrugated aluminum pieces strung together… But there are shacks available for sale that we saw when we actually visited the township. Apparently, you can buy a shack (it's probably about 8 ft. by 5 ft.), and they'll deconstruct it and "rebuild" in the desired location.
It's very disgusting (to me, at least), as to what these people live in - well, suffice it to say that Americans house their horses in better conditions. And the squalor is in the middle of a beautiful landscape. What's wrong with this picture? We feel a little weird being a "tourist," yet we know our money is helping many who live in Klayeltisha because they are the folks who service the accommodations in which we've been staying, they're the folks that do the gardening for wealthy white people, they're the folks that work to make things comfortable for white people. We saw them on the train in Simon's Town, being ferried from their shitty living conditions to their "jobs" for white people. All because of colonization and white supremacy.
Security is nothing like we've seen in our travels. All the homes are walled and have barbed wire along the tops of the walls. They all have ADT security, with "Armed Response" promised. We're not sure if those measures are meant to keep the baboons out or the black and coloured people but we think it's people. It's like a police state in many ways. And, of course, it is - considering the extreme disparity of income. People with wealth want to protect everything they possess because those without are forced to do things in order to have a modicum of living standards and respect.
There are some beggars around but, unlike America, most of them have something to sell. They hang out where they expect tourists, and they sell everything from cheap sunglasses to their artwork.
We have been told not to give anyone money for nothing in return, as it encourages them to avoid seeking help at the "shelters" - sort of what we saw when we were with Uthando.
We are so privileged.
Back to our trip to Hermanus - we passed through some spectacular scenery although it is nothing like, oh, say, New Zealand. The mountains around the bay are nothing but rock, and you can see the thrust of the rocks so we're thinking it's some of plate tectonics.
We stopped in Rooisels for lunch. Totally local place. Frankie was friendly and a little chatty. I ordered beer (Castle Lager) and a burger with Monkey Gland sauce on it. It was messy but very good - a sort of sweet and sour. Beth had a cup of tea and a grilled chicken sandwich. There was a table of guys who we suspect were having a "long lunch," and they were having a great time.
As we came closer to Hermanus, there were some vineyards and some agricultural areas growing some kind of crop with which we were unfamiliar.
We got to Hermanus and missed the turn to our accommodations which are in a vacation area that has lots of security. Many of the places are not occupied, so we figure it's summer homes. The place in which we're staying has no heat except a small heating pad in the bedroom. And it is cold! 53 degrees - and no heat.
Anywho, we saw several "townships" in the rural areas and we drove into one after having missed our turn to our new accommodations. A black woman, Margaret, who was probably in her 30s, met us at our apartment. She had her son with her, who was probably 5 or 6 years old. A cutie patootie.
Apparently, all is not well in the Hermanus destination. There is a news story from March in which protesting residents destroyed several buildings after an "abortive land grab at the weekend." You can read about it here: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-03-27-residents-starving-as-protests-rock-hermanus/
We saw nothing like that - yet.
I did try my grilling skills tonight. I wanted a steak so we bought some Porterhouse steaks, and I fired up the braai with some a self-immolating package of charcoal. I didn't pretty well, I think. I got some Cadbury chocolate too. Although Cadbury is an Australian chocolate, it is made in New Zealand as well as South Africa.
There is an abalone farm next to where we're staying. Looks like it might be interesting to take a tour. We are trekking to Cape Agulhas and Arniston tomorrow, and we've booked a two-hour whale watching tour for Saturday afternoon - my birthday!
Looking out over the Rondevlei Nature Preserve, where we spent the first two hours of our day today.
This is an African purple swamphen. We saw him/her once and waited patiently, and he/her showed up again for a photo op.
This is a common moorhen.
This is red-knobbed coot.
This is a Southern Masked Weaver.
This is Stucky, a Cape Gray Mongoose. He was just taking a walk, looking for food. I showed the photo to the guy who ran the reserve, and he knew it was Stucky, one of three mongoose in the reserve.
It started raining, er, sprinkling while we where at the reserve so we took cover in one of the blinds. This is what I saw. :)
These are the colorful (and most photographed) cabanas in South Africa. They're on a beach in Muizenberg. There were about a dozen surfers there when we stopped. Brr.....
This is looking toward Fish Hoek from the other side of Muizenberg as we headed up the Whale Coast Route.
This is looking up the Whale Coast Route.
An example of the rocks and sentiment in the area.
This is some kind of water lily, I think. It's different than other water lilies we've seen.
The Whale Coast Route.
More of the Whale Coast Route.
Lunch with the locals in Rooisels, a village on the way to Betty's Bay. My beer, Beth is drinking tea.
]
The Kleinmond mountains where there is a nature preserve.
The Hermanus coast from just in front of our accommodations until Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment