We entered South Africa with an easy border crossing over the river and camped in a winery. With a spectacular meal and a wine tasting, it was a warm introduction to a country slipping into winter. It wasn't long before we were bound for Cape Town, and the last stop on this African adventure.
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| Photo: Shay Dodds |
Once in Cape Town, the group began to split up and we said our goodbyes to William and Wilson, and slowly each other as everyone moved on to their next adventure. Those who stayed climbed Lion's Head to get the best view of the city and Table Mountain towering over. Shay brought the drone and flew it around the top of our mountain as we played among the boulders, gaping at the sprawling city and into the endless Atlantic.
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| Trail up the mountain |
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| Photo: Jana Kirk |
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| Photo: Shay Dodds |
Strolling through the bustling city, Bo-kaap is a vibrant Muslim neighbourhood renown for it's colourful buildings and bustling cafes and street markets. Sunny against the blue sky, the multicoloured streets stretch up and down the climbing hill, with owners displaying their best home-front for the passersby.
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| Photo: Jana Kirk |
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| Photo: Jana Kirk |
Another "can't miss" for Cape Town is Robben Island, the prison island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his life. The beautiful, wild island is rugged and isolated, a cruel and spectacular prison. It was a sobering visit, with a former inmate as our guide. Mostly political prisoners, they were not treated with much dignity, and even in prison, racism was high, with black and white prisoners having different menus based on "cultural preferences". Working together in the lime quarry and making gravel in the yard, the activists planned their revolution.
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| With Chelsey |
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| Penguins share the shoreline |
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| Nelson Mandela's cell in Section B |
Back at the pier, there was a marketplace and a square celebrating the anti-apartheid revolutionaries. In the shadow of Table Mountain, the colourful harbour was a buzz of activity on a beautiful fall day.
After a final lunch by the pier, it was time to say goodbye to those who remained. With some, we had spent 40 days together in the wilds of this continent - 40 days sharing tents, sweating and rotating seats on the truck, spending hours gazing out the windows, or dozing off as soon as the wheels started rolling. Saw the Big Five together, jumped out of planes together, held our breath at the edge of Victoria Falls. Witnessed thousands of zebras and wildebeests migrating across the Serengeti, families of elephants playing in the water, flocks of flamingos carpeting crater lakes. Ten thousand and five hundred kilometres travelled, seven countries, two oceans, forty days.
The adventure of a lifetime. Except - I'd rather have a lifetime of adventures.
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