Our First Day in Cape Town

We are finally in the lovely city of Cape Town, settling in for the last part of our class.

As we left Oudtshoorn yesterday, we stopped at a wild animal sanctuary to see the large cats that we didn't manage to see in the wild when we were at Kruger Park. The place we stopped was both a kind of zoo and a breeding facility, so it was a strange mix of education and entertainment, but we did see some amazing animals we hadn't yet seen. Huge crocodiles, cheetas, lions, and tigers (from India) were all there for us to see. Part of the way the facility raises funds for breeding and rescue programs was to sell the chance to go into an enclosure and gently pet a few of the large cats that had been raised by humans and rescued by the facility. Many of our students chose to meet the cats up close, and there are some pretty great photos heading home from the experience.

We also stopped at a working ostrich farm, where we learned about breeding, raising, and managing large groups of ostriches. Again, there was some entertainment involved, and Angie, Becky, Laura, and Jocelyn all were convinced to try riding an ostrich, which they managed to do without too much screaming. It was...different, to say the least!

But our main purpose yesterday was to drive the long trip down to Cape Town along the so-called Garden Route. This route is famous for its beauty, and even though we were on the bus for many hours, we certainly got to see the gorgeous rolling fields and the long purple mountain ridges that followed us all the way to Cape Town. We drove through the Lowry Pass in the mountains and rounded the corner at the top of the pass just as the sun was setting over the city. Our first glimpse of Cape Town was a view of the city lights curving around the large ocean bay at twighlight, with the giant looming form of Table Mountain lit from behind by a dark pink, orange, and purple sunset. The sight was breathtaking. The city was spread out before us, and the lights even seeming to twinkle in the slight mist. It was such a wonderful welcome!

We are now settled at our hotel, and we should let you know that we are staying at a different place than listed on our itinerary. We are now at The Backpacker (or Africa Travel Center. The hotel is small and charming, with a colorful tile pool, lovely flower and herb gardens, and open courtyard and a cafe that stays open late. It is also well located, just a block from the action of Long Street. I think this will be a great place to end our time in Cape Town.

This morning, we started our day with a visit to the District Six museum and memorial. District Six is an area in Cape Town located centrally near the waterfront. It was an older section of town, and it had been one of the neighborhoods that was racially integrated long before Apartheid. Sadly, during the years of Apartheid, the government, with no warning, declared the area to be for Whites only, and forced the inhabitants into townships based on their race. Families were separated based on race (interracial couples had to live separately, in some cases not only from each other but also from their children). In order to see each other, families had to apply for passports to visit, which were only granted once every three months for 2 hours at a time. And the government bulldozed the entire neighborhood. What was once a charming older section of the city, filled with families and shops and cosmopolitian life, had been decimated by Apartheid policies. While this story was repeated all over South Africa during Apartheid, what makes District Six so poignant is that Whites refused to move in, and nothing was ever built in place of the bulldozed homes. The area is just an abandoned wasteland of grass and rubble, right in the middle of the city.

We met a former inhabitant of District Six, Noor Ebrahim, who talked with us about his experiences and his story. His family lived 4 generations in their house, and they lost everything. One of the most touching parts of our visit was seeing the giant map of the former neighborhoods. People who used to live there have come back one by one and written in their names on the map where their houses used to stand. Each name has a kind of power to it, and seeing the entire giant map (taking up the whole floor) really conveyed the sadness of what was lost.

Students have been out exploring and we all really love the city so far. We'll report again on our adventures again soon....