Another long holiday weekend, the Fynbos course and some other stuff
(I think this is going to be a long post^^)
Last Monday (27th April) was Freedom day here in South Africa ... this day commemorates the first elections after the apartheid. These elections took place at the 27th April 1994 and were the first non-racial South African elections.
During this weekend, I hosted Jon (a couchsurfer from the States) at our place and we spent a nice time together. We used the Saturday to go to the slowfood market, to explore Stellenbosch a bit, to visit the botanical garden, to share some beers and to have a lekker braai in the evening. It was a nice day and I have seen some new sites of Stellenbosch. However, there was one incidence that made quite sad: I stopped with Jon in a little touristy shop and while we were exploring the different things in this shop I have seen a postcard with a picture of the old district six. Although I was roughly familiar with the history of the district six (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_Six) I thought it might be interesting to hear some information from local people and so I went to the shopkeeper (an older white woman) to ask her if she could tell me a bit more about the background of district six and what was going on there. I have seen that she felt quite uncomfortable with this question and the only stuttering answer she gave me was "Hmm ... I don´t know the historical background ... the only thing I can say is that district six is now a better place." Gosh ... can you believe it???? I couldn´t say anything at this moment because I was so perplex about her racist answer but there was one word crossing my mind again and again in this moment which characterized this person quite well. However, I decided not writing down this word here because it is really not a nice one. This incidence and several others in the last weeks show me more and more the contrasts in this country ... especially regarding the ignorance and arrogance of some people. The contrast between poor and rich is much more noticeable than in Europe and I think much more people with enough money (and there are tonnes of them here in the western cape region) could help to support poor people instead of playing golf or having a manicure ... even if it´s just a soup which is donated to one of the shelters for homeless people.
Ok ... sorry for this more or less emotional excursion ... let´s carry on with the weekend activities:
At Sunday, Jon and I went for a hiking tour to the Jonkershoek nature reserve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonkershoek_Nature_Reserve). I booked a rental car and (believe it or not) I managed the left-hand driving quite well ... at least we are still alive. However, the Jonkershoek reserve is a fantastic place for hiking and it provides an amazing insight into the Western Cape nature. We decided to hike the Panorama Circuit which is one of the longest (17 km) and more difficult trails in Jonkershoek but the one with the best views of the Cape Peninsula and so on. Ok ... we made it to the reserve entrance, filled the permit form with our contact details, payed the entrance fee and entered the reserve to drive along a gravel to find the trail head. During this drive we have seen several baboons crossing the street and climbing in the trees ... gosh guys ... I have seen baboons before in a zoo but when they cross the street directly in front of your car they are huge!! I was quite happy to sit in the car. :) Several kilometers later, we found the trail head and we started our hiking tour through the Jonkershoek mountains. It was quite an intense hike with parts which reminded me more of a climbing tour instead of a hiking tour ... however, we were rewarded with fantastic views, a nice waterfall and seeing some nice sugar birds and lizards. During our lunch break (4 pm), we decided that we don´t have enough time to hike the complete trail because it is getting dark about 6 pm and so we said that it might be better to turn around to take the same way back to the car. Nevertheless, it took longer than expected and finally, we had to manage the last kilometers of the trail when it was already dark. Fortunatly I have this torch app at my cell phone ... I guess otherwise we would have been a bit lost and it is also quite dangerous to walk in the dark because you´re not able to see if there might be a snake at the path. We were really happy when we found the car and after a short rest we started our drive back home ... but when we arrived the reserve entrance we had to recognize that the gates were locked. Hmm ... and now? We called the emergency number that we found at one of the boards and they sent somebody to open the gate for us. However, while we were waiting there, three strange characters were walking down the street to enter the nature reserve ... I wasn´t really afraid, but these guys were drunken and were talking some weird stuff in Afrikaans. After they passed us, one of them came back and tried to explain us something ... I still don´t know exactly what but he came closer to us with a clenched fist ... you now ... in a similar way how some people use it as kind of a greeting ceremony. When he came over to me I just started to talk his ear off explaining him how we use this kind of greeting ceremony in Germany and bla bla. I guess the only thing he was thinking at this moment was "gosh ... what is this crazy white girl talking??" ... finally, he asked for a fag and after I gave him one he dissappeared in the dark to catch up with his friends. I don´t know if this situation might have ended differently if I would have been alone there (some people here mean definitely YES) but I still try to cling to the opinion "Believe in the good in man". Nevertheless, two days later I heared that Bridgets friend Margie (who went with us to Velddrif during the easter weekend) was threatened with a knife by a guy while she was removing her promotional boards along a street in Stellenbosch at Sunday evening (about 5 pm). He ripped her necklace and her earrings off and when Margie started to scream he ran away ... I´m happy that nothing worse happend. I think to hear such things is quite creepy and it shows that it can be dangerous ... even during the day and even here in Stellenbosch. I try to follow my sixth sense and to take Sybil with me when I´m walking ... somehow it makes me feeling safer to have a big dog with me. But I also try to be not too paranoid ... it´s just good to be more ore less aware that it´s different here.
Ok ... let´s carry on after this second excursion:
Jon and I arrived well at home after the hiking trip ... but we were really exhausted from the intensive hike. :) So we just ordered pizza and spent the evening at the couch to watch a movie. At Monday, Jon went back to Cape Town because his flight back to the States was planned for Tuesday. It was a really nice weekend and a enjoyed to speak with him about his volunteering work in Tanzania, his life in Alaska, his traveling experiences and so much other stuff. Actually, I have a new travel destination for my bucket list ... Alaska!! :)
The last two days, I spend in Cape Town ... ok not really in the urban part of it but at the Table Mountain National Park because I´m joining a fynbos course. The course is arranged by Eugene Moll. Eugene is a fantastic character ... he worked as a professor at the University of the Western Cape and is a well-know botanist ... he knows so many things and it is really interesting to hear all the things he is explaining to us. There are three more days of the course next week and I´m happy that Suzaan (a really nice colleague at our department) told me about this course. Besides all these interesting information about the unique flora of the Western Cape, I´m also rewarded with seeing all these nice fynbos locations. Again, I can just say: The nature in this country is absolutely awesome and overwhelming!!!!
Ok ... so far, so good ... these are the things which happend during the last days and which kept myself busy :)
Here are some pics to complete this post ...
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| at the botanical garden in Stellenbosch ... Welwitschia mirabilis (>1000 years old) |
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| at the botanical garden in Stellenbosch ... Welwitschia mirabilis (a younger individual) |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve ... waterfall |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve ... waterfall + Jon :) |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve ... Jon tries to find our actual location |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve ... Protea |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve ... during our lunch break |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve |
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| Jonkershoek nature reserve ... sunset starts |
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| Fynbos course ... day 1 ... Afromontane forest at Orange Kloof, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 1 ... Afromontane forest at Orange Kloof, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 1 ... Afromontane forest at Orange Kloof, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... Suzaan and Eugene |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... a Cape sugar bird |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... turtle!!! :) |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... mountain fynbos at Silvermine, TMNP |
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| Fynbos course ... day 2 ... at the way home along the coastal route |
