12/01/19 Brussels Airport was really quiet, as my first flight (6h) was at 22.30. After a stopover in Addis Ababa I landed in Cape Town without knowing if my request for a shuttle was processed but a lovely lady had my name on a sign to pick me up, a great relief as I never received a confirmation so I thought I would need to find my own way on arrival. She dropped me at the Big Blue Backpackers and as I had some time to kill I sprayed all my clothes with the mosquito repellent specifically bought for it.
13/01/19 I walked to the waterfront area which is about 15 min from the hostel, wandered in the shop and had a hot dog by the water. My dorm bed was upgraded to a private room for the first tour night as there are only 3 people joining the tour, me and another couple who have their own room.
14/01/19 I took a bus to the city centre to join the free walking tour of Cape Town. I learned about the Kwai Kwai people, first nomadic indigenous people of South Africa. They were the ones who gave Table Mountain its name. Portuguese were the first settlers and named the city the Cape of Storms. Around 1600 the Dutch saw an opportunity to trade and established their colonies.
Indigenous people were gradually pushed away from the city or enslaved as the city grew. Gold was found in Johannesburg in 1886 which attracted more people so more houses and infrastructure were required. There were not enough resources to build the city so enslaved people were brought/bought from overseas to do the hard work.
The oldest part of the city we can see today was built by enslaved people.
Between 1700 and 1800 enslaved people actually outnumbered the free people in the city, which sadly illustrates how much control the settlers had over them at that time.
I am not sure when the land became British (maybe I got distracted) but South Africa only got its independence from the British in 1961.
We stopped by the Company garden where you can see the oldest pear tree of 350 years old, which still produces flowers and fruits.
Cecil John Rhodes, a famous British business man has his statue in the garden and could be the guy who introduced the idea that married women should wear a diamond, which was a good marketing campaign to make money with the resources found in South Africa. He also initiated a project to build train tracks to reach Cairo but he died of illness before je could make it happen.
I had lunch in the modern food court nearby and caught a bus back to the waterfront where I bought a massive and delicious wrap I took away for dinner.
I read in the tour brochure that it is recommended to have a mat under the sleeping bag when we will do camping and the tour does not provide them so I bought a cheap one at a camping shop nearby.
My meeting with the tour guide was at 6pm at reception but he showed up 1/2h late ? African time I suppose. He briefed me on the rules and itinerary, a lot of camping ahead, I hope my back is going to play fair ?. I also met Jane and Andrew, the Australian couple travelling with me on the tour. They are from Sydney too and seem really nice.
I also had a quick chat with 2 French girls who finish their tour tonight. They have been travelling with Tucan Travel for a few years now and gave me an idea of what it is like to travel in Africa.
