Old Cape Town

Cape Town 30/12/25

Today was massive. The first half was a tour of some historical sites and the afternoon was one of the best things we have ever done, hiking across Table Mountain.

Firstly, the morning didn’t look promising weather wise. What looked like sheets of rain turned out to be mist. Fingers crossed it would clear in time for the arvo.

We travelled with a few Aussies and a couple of Kiwis, the first time we were reminded of how our accents are like nails down a blackboard.

On the topic of accents, our guide JJ had an Afrikaan’s voice that was so loud and sounded like an old lawnmower you try and start unsuccessfully no matter how many times you pull that cord. He was the combination of an Afrikaaner and a drunken pirate.

He took us to The Castle Of Good Hope, a 17^th century fort originally built to house immigrants from The Netherlands, in particular the very rich from The Dutch East India Company, The Apple of the time.

As more immigrants came to Cape Town, many could be accommodated at the fort temporarily until they bought up land around the city. The exception to this were the blacks who became slaves and were treated poorly. There were appalling torture rooms and prison cells within the fort.

There was a lot to see and it is part museum with plenty of the original furniture still in place. How they made that stuff so exquisitely it is beyond me. It’s difficult to believe it could be done today with modern tools.

We then visited a part of Cape Town approximately five minutes from the CBD called Bo-Kapp. The suburb goes back to 1790 and the houses look like something you would see in the Greek Islands.

It has a huge migrant population especially Muslims from all parts of the world.

The brightly coloured facades were attributed to the new freedom most tof he residents had experienced.

There was a popular shop where a gentleman produced extraordinary art from recycled articles. Intricate landscapes inspired by his life growing up in a shanty town.

On the way home we popped into Parliament House in the CBD. It’s where Mandela gave his famous acceptance speech when he became PM and they have placed a statue of him and the start of the speech at that exact point.

What many wouldn’t know is that two pale, pasty Australians joined the great man that day in front of the screaming masses and engaged them in a chorus of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. True storey.