20th Dec. Table Mountain and a little Clubing

Table Mountain (voted  one of the seven natural wonders of the world.)

The climb was judged not doable by our hosts who scare mongered about it taking  6hrs just to climb up and only professional climbers were recommended to climb due to  numerous fatal falls. The personal challenge my brother had given himself  to mark his 40th birthday,  of climbing to the top  seemed to be hanging in the balance,  when the elusive Al with a ferocious gift of the gab, finally surfaced, after 12hrs on and off  trying his phone in vain, that his fears were layed to rest. I was amazed a LG’s complete trust of this shifty, fast- talking law graduate whose defence from any critisism leveled in his direction was , "Dude, you're killing me!" I came to learn that Al  was not the proverbial book to be judged by its’ cover. He was true to his word. According to him we could all climb to the top if we completed part of the ascent by car, parked up and used a route designed for the average non-professional climber.

Our party represented a range of fitness levels including my exercise shy brother LG , the pale sickly thirteen year old L junior who neither had any apparent  traces of muscle tissue, nor appetite for food, 53 yr old N with knee issues, and his 19yr old son B with a severe rugby injury. B’s girlfriend tagging along would play the maiden in distress, which left me  and even I was still nursing an old ankle injury. Only a lean and toned Al had no excuse thankfully as he would be leading. We set off from a road 1/4 way up Table Mountain  which allows tourists to park up and climb the rest of mountain via Platteklip Gorge, a roughly excavated series of steps and rocky paths that was signposted to take 2.5hrs to complete. It took me precisely  that length of time to reach the top ( including 30min waiting time for the rest of the party to catch up) thanks to my 2 'virtual' personal trainers back home in my living room every morning: Shawn T and Tony Haughton (downloads actually) . 

 The scorching heat was our worst tribulation and search for some rocky shade kept us climbing. Water supplies started to run out an hour before the end of the journey and B who arrived early had to descend back to  the rest of the party to provide a top-up. Sweets and fruit packed in a small rucksack were very handy accompaniments and I had insisted we brought these along despite the understandable reluctance to carry any weight at all.

LG clocked in at 3.5hrs having overcome many trials and tribulations both physical and mental. Everyone including L junior who surprised us all by coming in second place, felt triumphant as they stepped onto the cable car for a quick and Easy descent. We did not choose to eat in the tempting selection  of cafes and restaurants in the top of table mountain (serving both western and African quisine, plus health bar and icecream parlour) so as to avoid tourist trap prices. A dip in the sea afterwards was our top priorty but where we were the cold ocean breezes meant the water was still forbodingly cold. I was content just to soak in the light, and warmth of the sun on the beach, while gazing at the awesome beauty that surrounded me....

21st Dec

Cape Vinyards

Al magiced up some complimentary wine-tasting tickets which he had no use for, and gave to my 2 brother and I. We wasted no time in visiting the Cape Vinyards, where we were greeted and shown around by a wine boff who had 6 wines for us to try. There was food and cheeses on offer, which we were too hot to be bothered with and were just grateful for some chilled white wine. He gave us the opportunity to make our own descriptions and then gave us a complete education into the wines they produced. I made some brief notes at the time:

'Savignon and Semion grapes are blended in different proportions.

The Flagship wine of the Cape vinyards contains 30% semion 60 % old French oak and is marketed under different names depending on which country it is exported to.

The older the wine the less acidity.' 

Wine Tasting

Slightly inebriated we headed for Cape Point for a walk up to one of Capetown's most famous historic and geograpic land-marks.

The Night Scene
On the eve of brother LG's birthday, we were scheduled to have yet another  braai at big brother N's and wife H's house, where we were staying whilst in Cape Town. The plan was to finish the evening with drinks at a Jazz club, at Waterfront, recommended by Al. However we had to change plans at the last minute upon realising that said birthday boy was in violation of the dress code by only bringing trainers to Cape Town but not any smart shoes. This led us into the CBD where we were able to take in the night life at a glance both by car and on foot: the different clubs for various age groups, social groups, sexual orientations, cultures, races (yes races) and various genres of music.This form of segregation is chosen naturally, not enforced, so it seems okay...or isn't it? This may well be the subject of debate but as a middle class mixed race tourist with working class African roots and a chameleonic ability to blend, nowhere seems off limits, except the red light district, which we of course avoid.

The first club we tried was called Tjing Tjing chosen for being a relatively grown up  scene and teenage free. The decore comprised minimalistic plain glass tables and bar counter, larva lamps and various coloured light features. A range of Grunge,  Indie and Rock hits were blarring at an ear-busting volume so that any attempt at conversation was completely useless and the fact that no-one was even remotely interested in dancing made it even more pointless. After  pretending to chat while staring at others over a drink (as you do) little brother LG, big brother Nick and I fled  with the law graduate and his girlfriend back into the night.

Al's next choice was a Samba club called Ashoko. We walked in to the rhythm (actual rhythm) of Latin American music, laughing and smiling people which meant they could at least hear each others jokes and lo and behold, actual people dancing! We were immediately comfortable and Al ordered  cocktails to celebrate LG's birthday, as it was now midnight and therefore officially the 22nd of December. I surprised myself by being the first to hit the dance floor (for the  first time in a night club, since I got married ....17 years ago)!

 It was with stiff aching joints that I climbed into bed in the early hours of the morning. The 17 hour flight back home awaited me later that day, with so much ground covered in just 3 days and yet so much left undone. Still, they'll keep until I return with my own family. For the time being I couldn't think of a better way to end the most memorable holiday I have had to date.....which I owe to my fantastic brother LG and his gorgeous wife  G.