Barberton - Cape Town and the wrong way home, my Epic Solo ride (Finally done)

[Chrissie B]

When we got to the concert we suddenly had a huge problem!  All the tickets were sold out and I didn't buy one ahead of time!  Oh dear, what now?   ???
We were still trying to work out how to sneak me in, when Millicia came back with a ticked she’d bought from someone by the gate, she was a life saver!!!  :thumleft:
In the end it turned out that it would have been quite easy to sneak me in, we handed them our whole groups tickets and they never even counted how many we were!

The concert was great, the place was packed and the people rocked!  The atmosphere is very different in Cape Town, unlike Jo’burg and anything surrounding it.  People integrated easily, no one seemed to worry if you’re black, white, pink or purple.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and our selection of food was divine.  Then some Germans parked off next to me, they also brought a feast, real German delicacies!  So I asked them in German if those were real ‘Landjaeger’ sausages (well sort of) and they promptly offered me one!
 
We danced, ate and drank and were of the last people to leave, and I think after last years ‘Epic Fail’ Birthday in Bethlehem, Wanita had one of the best Birthday’s ever!   :biggrin:

 

[Chrissie B]

Freshly Ground in action, I really enjoyed their Show.

 

[Geotraveller]

More please!

 

[cheesy]

Skryf meisiekind skryf :3some:

 

[Chrissie B]

I was going to do a whole big one tonight, but the storm just took the power out, so only have a phone whose battery will die soon too!  If it comes back early enough I will continue my story.

 

[Chrissie B]

Wanita had taken Monday off work to show me around Cape Town.  But since she does not have wheels, we decided to do things a little differently.  We agreed to use ‘Public Transport’… oh my, I don’t remember when last I did that?  Oh yes, I did take a plane from Jhb to Nelspruit and a bus back to Jo’burg and another bus to Harrismith last year, does that count? ???

So off we went to the Bus Stop; me, the skeptic, was not really expecting a bus to come (duh, that’s how Wanita gets to work and back every day?)… but seeing is believing!  And ‘s’true’s Bob’ a bus arrived!!! Wow, and it was clean and tidy and quite relaxing.  I could take pics while traveling, maybe not such a bad thing after all, in certain circumstances!  :thumleft:

The bus took us all the way down Main Street, to somewhere near Van Riebeek’s Castle (which we did not have time to look at; ah well, next time).  :-\

 

[Chrissie B]

And then things got even more interesting!  From there we hailed a Mini-bus Taxi to the V&A Waterfront.  Now this was thoroughly entertaining!  The Taxi was not full yet, just us and two young African chicks, so we chatted a while waiting for the driver to start going places.  But his ‘helper’ was determined to fill the thing up, so he performed all sorts of antics around the Taxi to draw more passengers, he did a whole song and dance… it was soooo funny.   :imaposer:

Eventually the other two chicks and us agreed we’re gonna boycott this Taxi as he was taking too long, Hahaha… ok…. But not wanting to lose his existing passengers, he agreed to start moving.  Yeah right!  He very, very, very slowly started going towards the road, with his assistant running next to the Taxi, still trying to draw more fares.  And then we stopped again; ah, one more passenger, then we moved again very slowly, stopped a few cm later to load up another passenger, and by the time he was properly in motion, the Taxi was full…. Hahaha, that was funny, so this being my first EVER ride in a mini-bus taxi, I found it rather entertaining.  Although I’m glad I don’t always have to do this!  :3some:

Eventually we arrived (alive) near the Waterfront, where we planned to have Breakfast or by now Brunch, since it took us quite a while to get there!  As we walked down the road towards the entrance, I took some photos of really pretty buildings; I have a bit of a fetish for nice architecture and interiors…   ;D

 

[Chrissie B]

We agreed to have our Brunch at Quay Four, which turned out to be a rather nice choice, with a lovely view of the goings on in the harbor.  :thumleft:

After a delicious meal we thought it would be really nice to go for a bit of a boat cruise.  Unfortunately we had a full schedule, so the Robben Island idea was not viable, it would take too long.  So we opted for the much shorter Harbor Tour.

Now I’m not much of a ‘sea’ person, so I had to get used to all that water around me… and how cold it suddenly got out there.  Fortunately I was prepared and brought a track suit top along.  The tour took us all around the harbor and we had a really good giggle at the tour guide.  He was so funny and entertaining with his bergie accent and antics, we figured he should rather get himself a career in the entertainment industry!  :imaposer:

He explained about the ships, the various ways of catching tuna, the seals and other interesting tidbits.  We really enjoyed our little boat ride and I found my sea legs to such a point that I decided to stand most of the time and try to surf with the boat to see how long I could stay upright without falling over.  Fortunately the water was calm, so I didn't end up falling overboard.  :ricky:

Oh yes… and we found the Nautilus, I promise, it was right there, I took a photo.  I didn't see Captain Nemo anywhere though!  :-\

 

[tgg]

come post more, this is good

 

[Chrissie B]

When we arrived back on dry land we wandered around, looked at the old ship – The Jolly Roger.  Wow, very cool, but no ways you’d get me out to sea in that thing!  We were not sure if we’d be allowed near the old ship, so we ‘sneaked’ down the gang-way, hoping no one would catch us.  But no one was around and we were ever so tempted to hop on board… but neither of us wanted to get into any trouble, at least not today.  :

Some more tourists joined us and one lady asked us to take a pic of her and her friends, so we asked the same favour in return, it’s not like we had many pics of us together. 

As we walked along, we found a guy sun tanning on a large sailing ship, the Lord Nelson… we stood there watching him and I decided to take a pic…. Hehehe, all the while giggling as he was totally oblivious to our presence. 

This ship is sort of a training ship where disabled and able bodies could enjoy sailing together.  Neat idea, and although this ship looked somewhat safer than the Jolly Roger, I was still not sure I would venture too far out into the ocean on it.  As nice as the idea seems, I do prefer dry land! 

After strolling around for a while we decided it was time to move on, as we still wanted to get to Camps Bay and Hout Bay.  So off we went in search of another Taxi to take us to our next destination.  :3some:

On our way back up to Main Street, we found something interesting, an entrance to a historic tunnel, Wanita didn't even know this exists and she's been around there many times!  Cool.... well, at least I thought so. 

 

[Chrissie B]

We eventually found another Taxi, which duly dropped us off in Camps Bay, where we decided to have some Cocktails… as one does.  On the way there I admired the sea and all the fabulous Villas; wondering who lives there?

But since we didn't have much time left, we thought we’d better stop relaxing and make our way to Hout Bay.  The plan was to go to ‘World of Birds’.  So off we went to the Bus Stop.  While we were admiring a monument near the Bus Stop, a lady came along and offered to take a photo of us... again??  Do we really look like tourists, hehehe...  ???

But this time no Bus or Taxi came… we waited for quite a while and then decided to start walking (Eish, I didn’t know how far it was!).
Then we had the really brilliant idea to try to hitch-hike, something I have not done since I was quite young, in the good old days!  :thumleft:

We ‘gooi’d duim’… but car after car passed us.  Mmmm, did we really look that dangerous?  So we kept walking and every time we saw what looked like suitable wheels, we had our thumbs out, but still, no one wanted us!  :'(

We had almost given up and were trying to figure out how else we could do this, especially since still no Taxi or Bus had come along, when a cute young guy stopped.  Oh yes, this will do, hehehe.  He asked us where we were going and we told him.  Cool, he’ll drop us off there.  On the way we chatted and he said he’s a student at UTC, studying Geology.  Finally we arrived at World of Birds, thanked him profusely and bid our goodbyes.  Sjoe, that would have been one moerse long walk!   :3some:

 

[Chrissie B]

We paid our entrance fee and went to look at birds, but that’s not all we found.  There were all sorts of animals, penguins, bokkies, tortoises, even a kangaroo.  But my favourites were the little monkeys.  They jumped all over us, inspected our shoes and bags and thought humans were really cool jungle gyms!  :lol8:
 
But eventually we had to think of our return trip.  But Wanita had a plan, Millicia works around there, so maybe she could come and pick us up… brilliant idea!  I was rather tired of trying to find public transport, give me back my Broom PLEASE!!!   :3some:

We eventually arrived home, Anita joined us after work and we all went out to dinner at La Grotto Restaurant… and this time we were back on 2 Wheels.  :laughing4:

 

[Chrissie B]

Unfortunately Wanita had to go back to work on Tuesday morning, so I was left to my own devices again.  The plan was to visit my 2nd ex-husband’s wife, Michelle, in Hermanus.  How we became friends is a complicated and rather funny story… but for another time and another forum.

Wanita had given me directions on how to get onto the N2 towards Gordon’s Bay and then I planned to go along the coast.  But!!!  Wanita does not drive, so she did not know that the M5 does NOT have a turn off to the N2 if I was coming from her house!  Dammit, so here I was, in morning peak hour traffic, with no GPS (horrid things, lol), trying to figure out how to get onto the other highway… So me being me, I went around in circles for a while, found some new areas in Cape Town, like Paarden Eiland… and eventually zig-zagged my way in the direction I wanted to go in, until I finally saw a sign… it said M2!  Yipeeee, after 40min of fighting with cages in a strange City, I was finally on the right road and heading east.
 
Wanita had warned me not to stop and take pics anywhere along the Cape Flats (and now I know why it’s called that… it’s completely, well, FLAT!).  I thought it was absolutely fascinating and also quite sad and disturbing, that only minutes away from one of the most beautiful Cities I have been to, there is this…. mess, for a lack of a better description!  And they are occupying prime property… wow, if they all had to sell their shacks they would be rich!  Ok, they probably don’t own the land they occupy.

Not that I’m not used to this sight, the south of Jo’burg is much worse!  Where the shacks and low cost housing stretches all the way to Vanderbijlpark!  But still, it just didn't quite fit in here, the beautiful ocean, sea side places and then Mitchells Plain, smack bang in the middle of False Bay, nope… it was just weird! ???

I actually didn't stop to take any photos all the way to Hermanus, as I was already late for my ‘date’ with Michelle, thanks to my getting lost exercise.  And I totally misjudged the distance, somehow it didn't look that far on the map… but the signs kept telling me that I was not there yet, all sort of other little towns cropped up on the way, Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay, Kleinmond, Hawston, Onrus and finally Hermanus.  I did try to shunt it a bit, which would have been really cool around those nice bends, but the wind, as usual, was stuffing me around a bit… what’s it with the darn wind around here?  :-\

But finally I arrived and found Hermanus to be quite a nice little place.  I met Michelle at the Fusion Café, overlooking Walker Bay.  By this time I was absolutely famished since I never had breakfast.  But Michelle declined to eat, she’s a personal trainer and this was obviously not her eating time, so she settled for a Café Latte.  I ordered the mini kebabs and got quite a surprise when they arrived complete with a braai, huh?  Now I have to cook my own food, really now, hehehe… but that was fun.  :ricky:

At one point Michelle pointed animatedly out to the bay, and there it was, a real live whale, I was so excited!  This was the first time ever that I had seen one out there in the real sea!  I've never even seen a dolphin, they just elude me!  Unfortunately I was too slow with the camera, by the time I took the pic it had disappeared under the water and point blank refused to come out again. 

All too soon it was time for her to get back to work, so I strolled around a bit, found a really cool little Rasta shop where I bought some earrings for my daughter.  But eventually it was time to get back on my Broom for the ride back.

 

[Chrissie B]

Now that I had a bit more time, I could stop at some of the places on the way back.  This coastline is truly beautiful, and quite rugged.  The wind was still blowing me around a bit, but not as bad as earlier in the day.  I was enjoying the ride, the scenery and life in general.  That surreal feeling was still with me a lot of the time though!

At Betty’s Bay I spotted a sign with a picture of a Penguin on it, so I decided to go and see what it’s all about.  I don’t really know much about this side of the country, and I didn't do the tourist thing and read all about it, I figured I’d just go and see what I find as I go along.  :3some:

Sometimes that’s a good idea, sometimes not, because I miss a lot of good stuff, not knowing I’m looking for it.  In this case it worked out just fine.  I only found out in subsequent conversations that this is quite a well-known, protected Penguin colony, Stony Point Nature Reserve.  I find Penguins quite intriguing and after watching Happy Feet I really grew to like them, Hahaha…  :snorting:

 

[Chrissie B]

But I found something even more interesting, the close relative to the Elephant!  That made me laugh, but yes the Dassie is a family member of the Elephant!  When I saw the sign board I was really hoping I would get to see one of these little critters, since that was another thing I had never seen in real life before.  So I duly paid my entrance fee and proceeded down the wooden walk way. 

And yes, there were lots of Penguins, but how would I find a Rock Dassie if I have to stay on this board-walk?  Well I need not have worried!  As I ambled along, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye, but no, it was just a really pretty lizard.  But as I got closer to take a photo, another little face looked up at me, yay, I found my Dassie!  :laughing4:

But not just one, as I looked over the railing, there were a whole bunch of them, sun tanning, playing and scurrying about.  They are so cute! 
Shortly after I spotted the Dassies, I also finally found my ‘Drie Pikkewyne’ and decided ‘die middleste een sy is myne’… stupid song stayed with me the rest of the ride!  And some of them even put a choir together and sang for me, really they did!  :3some:

 

[Chrissie B]

Eventually I hit the road again and only stopped once more to take few pics, as by now the sun was starting to catch me at a bad angle, heading west an’ all.   :-\
 
I knew I’d be getting back into town too early to go back to Wanita, as she was only getting home from work around 18h30.  So I decided to go in search of the Pub she showed me on our Bus trip, the ‘Something or other’ Tavern on Main Street.    :bar: :bar: :bar:

There I passed the time chatting to some looney girls who invited me to go sit with them.   I had parked my Africa Twin on the pavement right outside, as I had to charge my phone (yes, I have a plug on my bike for that and other purposes, courtesy of Hermit, thanx Skattie, it came in handy).   :thumright:  :-*

Finally Wanita called to say she was home and we spent a quiet evening chatting and looking at photos.  Anita came by to fix the blow up mattress and bring me a globe for my rear light, which blew the previous evening.  At least now I could have a good night’s sleep!  :sleepy1:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Great stuff.

8)

 

[Mr Zog]

Eish... this is sooooo lekker Heksie! Just taking the day and the road as it comes....  :drif:

My better half has never seen the Cape either, so I'll be taking her down in May for her birthday treat. I'm getting so many ideas for the trip from you  :thumleft:

Keep writing  :deal:

 

[Ganjora]

My better half has never seen the Cape either, so I'll be taking her down in May for her birthday treat. I'm getting so many ideas for the trip from you  :thumleft:

does she gale force winds,  and sea too cold to swim in?
why not take her somewhere nice?

 

[Mr Zog]

My better half has never seen the Cape either, so I'll be taking her down in May for her birthday treat. I'm getting so many ideas for the trip from you  :thumleft:

does she gale force winds,  and sea too cold to swim in?
why not take her somewhere nice?

Yip... she was born in Northern Germany, where the sea freezes over  :eek7:  She loves the cold and the wind... so I'll bite the bullet and take it like a man  :ricky: