Bakkie i'll Be Back

In my previous blog I wrote of Biltong and Birds, Travel and Transport: All of which are general things that I'll surely miss when I'm home. Here I continue, with more things that I'll shortly be greetin' about. It's quite difficult to write about these places and people, knowing that I'll soon be without them. 

Cape Town: The Mother City. It's diverse and it's fascinating, it's beautiful and it's bursting with culture. From the colourful mosques of Bo Kaap to the shining shacks of Kayelitsha and Langa, Cape Town is like the whole world in one city. Not to mention it's backdrop, the Waterfront, the Gardens and the old dutch architecture of Long Street. And then there's the wine farms, the extreme sports and the stunning coastline that reaches out to meet not one but two oceans - The Atlantic and the Indian. This city is just incredible, I want to live here.

Cape Town looking as beautiful as ever. View from Blouberg Beach.

                                      

Table Mountain: Table Mountain is a Natural Wonder of the World. It's beautiful and bizarre. I can easily pin-point my favourite Table Mountain memory. It was after midnight and Nelson Mandela had just passed away. The sky was so clear that you could almost see the milky way, even though we were just above the city. We had written a message in the memorial book to Tata Madiba when we decided to make the trip. I lay in the middle of the road, about half way up the mountain. It was peaceful and it was silent, we watched the stars. I then decided to take a roll down the road. It was incredible. I have literally rolled down Table Mountain.

On top of Table Mountain, View over Camps Bay with the Atlantic Ocean.

                                       

The Beach: The beaches are picture-esque, like post cards. White-gold sand with cool, clear, shark infested waters. Whether we want to surf, swim or simply sun bathe, there's always a beach for us. I love being in water so going to the beach is always a treat for me. One time with Yvi and Rachael, we REALLY went for a swim. We couldn't stop laughing the whole time as the currents pulled us back and forth. At one point, Rachael got herself caught in a whirlpool. It was all in good fun.

Surfing at Blouberg Beach. Well, at least TRYING to surf.

                                

Bakkies - Bakkies are essentially pick-up trucks. They are everywhere here, every second vehicle is a white Bakkie. I'm being stereotypical here but three type of people drive Bakkies. First, you get the big Afrikaans guy. His Bakkie is always spotless. Then you get the soccer mum who doesn't actually need a car that size. Sometimes her kids are sitting in the back. Then, you get the guys on their way to work... Bakkie overload! It's almost like a game of how-many-upright-people-can-we-squeeze-into-the-trunk. I think it should be legal to ride in the back of a Bakkie EVERYWHERE. It's so much fun. Think of the saved petrol when you can shove you're entire collection of friends and family into the trunk of your Bakkie.

Riding in a bakkie on the way to the beach. Surfboards and all!

                                     

Signal Hill: My favourite place in the entire world. From Signal Hill, Cape Town is a silent city. It's a beautiful golden glow that dips into the horizon where the waves come in. Table Mountain becomes a dominating sillhouete. You can hear yourself breathe. I'll never forget the feeling of sitting here with my friends, there wasn't a word between us as we gazed over Cape Town. 

Sitting on Signal Hill with my friends. Table Mountain to the Right.

                                      

March, Mandela and Rabies...

01/03/13

February has now come and gone, but it didn't fly by like January. Don't get me wrong... it still feels like my selection course was yesterday! Thankfully, February was a much more productive month - I raised a total of £955, the most I have ever raised in one month. To break it down, £55 came from my Cake Sale, £100 came from my Brother (for making him a cheese toastie, see previous posts) and then a wonderful £800 came from Charitable Trust No.6. Very happy month! I also won a competition for a bunch of Beautiful Creatures goodies (Signed by Alden and Alice). Maybe February is my lucky month...

At the last Project Trust coffee evening, the film "Invictus" was recommended to me. I have now watched it twice and it's a really good film. Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman are brilliant in it too. I have bought the book "Playing the Enemy", which the film was set around. I have been educating myself on South Africa history recently, especially around the Apartheid. 

"Nelson Mandela and the Game that made a Nation" It really is that. It is so amazing how Mandela changed the way a nation thinks through something they are passionate about - the South African Springboks. I hope I get the chance to see a game while I am over there! I recommend both the book and film to everyone.

The shot of Mandela and the captain of the Springboks

I also got Nelson Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom. It is a massive book that I am yet to start but I've heard it's a book and a half. I would like to add the poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley. The film is named after the poem, which Mandela read everyday in his prison cell. 

"Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul."

-

I have now visited the Doctor regarding my Inoculations  I have already had two at school, so the ones I need to get are: Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Rabies. To my surprise, my doctor told me he worked in South Africa for 6 years and can in fact speak Zulu... how fascinating! The world is a small place, I have met about five South African's since I started fundraising, it is incredible.

At first my face lightened at the thought of four injections instead of 6. That was until I found out two of those injections come in a course of 3. So in the end, I have 8 injections to get. I am also yet to hear about the country specific injections...the joy! I have my prescription so I'll be off to the chemist soon. 

That's the end of another post. The more I learn about South Africa and it's people, the more I can't wait to go. I am more excited everyday! Car boot sale tomorrow at The Salvation Army, Saltcoats, 10am-2pm.

TOTAL £4800