From the V&A Waterfront and around the city of Cape Town

3 April 2009, from the V&A Waterfront around the City …

Today we saw the ship and met the Canadian crew for the first time! It was amazing to finally see our home for the next two and a half months because up until now, this trip seemed more like an amazing fantasy than reality but the moment we saw the ship, the realisation dawned on us that this is actually reality.

We all met in front of the Table Bay Hotel at 8:30, except for Monde who was taking (and passing) his swimming test (well done Monde!), and Marx who was doing a radio interview. We arrived just as the Canadians were coming on deck and we were able to watch then going about some of their tasks; hauling on ropes and cleaning the decks.

The Canadians then assembled on the dock and we started going up to them to introduce ourselves. They were very friendly and we started fitting in really well. Then the bus from City Sightseeing arrived and we all climbed aboard and had many, many photos taken of us…. We then had to climb off the bus so that it could be photographed on its own. We got back on and were off.


We drove all around the coast to Hout Bay where we visited the township Imizamo Yethu where we were taken around by Afrika Monde from Town Ship Tours South Africa. We visited a pre-primary school and the Canadians gave the little children blankets and colouring-in books. We also visited a local Shebeen where Bryan and Asekho led us in some very enthusiastic dancing. We then had a very welcome lunch of fish and chips and had an opportunity to walk around Hout Bay for a while.

After this we congregated back on the bus, this time us South Africans were mixed in with the Canadians so that we could get to know them better. We drove home on the coastal route and had a sighting of a whale.

When we got back to the Waterfront we said goodbye to the Canadians and then had some photos taken of us and then went home to pack and spend our last night with our families. …

Helen
Many many thanks again to Shaun from City Sightseeing for making this possible, as well as grand applause to Salvin for giving us such an informative and entertaining tour and to Hans for such a smooth ride. The Hopp on Hopp of concept of CitySightseeing is a brilliant one for all those visitos who do not want to drive in their own car, but who still want to be flexible and interrupt their tour at beaches, heritage sights or other points of interest. Check out their website here.
Many thanks also to Africa Monde from Township Tours Africa, our guide in Imizamo Yethu - an excellent opportunity to get an insight not only into the challenges of South Africa's young democracy but also to get a feeling for vibrant and creative Township culture! Support Monde and the projects he supports through his business by booking a tour with him here.