Warm greetings from the windy ‘Mother City’! It’s been nearly seventeen years since my family left Nairobi, Kenya for the United States. Two-hundred months spent dreaming of the day that we (or I) would return to the African continent. And here I am, at last… though now more than ever do I realize that Cape Town is an entirely different breed of Africa. To put it simply, this is not the Africa that I know, but it is still an Africa that I love. Perhaps a little trip down memory lane will allow me to explain.
I called Nairobi home from the age of five to eight, so bear in mind that my memories of Kenya are largely tainted by childhood innocence, and I in no way mean to romanticize poverty with the following imagery. Having said that, Africa to me means Maasai people in cow dung huts and shoeless children in open fields, women walking with baskets on their heads and donkeys pulling carts on the Kenyan uplands, overcrowded matatus racing through the streets and sprawling slums housing thousands of families. Cape Town, however, is very different.
South Africa is a country that has survived both apartheid and slavery. As such, today’s population of close to sixty-million people is as diverse as it is multicultural, hence why post-apartheid South Africa is commonly referred to as the ‘Rainbow Nation’. Moreover, the country boasts eleven official languages and has the largest population of white people in all of Africa, at nine-point-two percent in twenty-ten. As for the city of Cape Town, given its Mediterranean climate and varied topography, there’s an abundance of beaches to discover, a multitude of mountains to explore, and no shortage of adventures to be had.
It’s been exactly one week now since I touched down in Cape Town, South Africa and I’ve covered a whole lot of ground. From hiking Lion’s Head and joining a historic walking tour of the Central Business District, to café hopping in Green Point and traversing a half-dozen beaches along the Atlantic Seaboard, to people watching on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and experiencing ‘First Thursdays’ in the City Bowl, to strolling around the Sea Point Promenade and visiting the World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary & Monkey Park… I’ve certainly kept busy. And I’m only just one-quarter through my month-long stay here in Cape Town!
When I booked this trip back in January, I actually thought I’d spend these five weeks backpacking from Cape Town to Johannesburg, working my way along the Garden Route and up the Wild Coast. Then the coronavirus spread and health authorities raised concerns about hospital capacities and at-home quarantines, so I decided to base myself in Cape Town instead – closer to medical services and comfortable lodging, should the need arise. Truth be told, I was tempted to scrap my backpacking plans in favour of more time on the Western Cape anyway, seeing as my Cape Town bucket list is ever-growing. As they say, everything happens for a reason, I suppose.
So I’m here for the month of March, staying at a three-bedroom cottage in Bantry Bay, an affluent coastal neighbourhood below the slopes of Lion’s Head. In the other two bedrooms are Jonathan from Germany and Saul from Johannesburg, and then there’s Tiger – the lovely house cat. Bantry Bay is known to be a relatively safe suburb of Cape Town, hence why I chose it as my home base, and it’s been both a comfortable living situation and pleasant roommate experience since day one. To top it off, there’s a MyCiTi bus stop at the corner, which is an affordable and reliable way to get around the city, plus plenty of shops and eateries within walking distance.
Once the first of April rolls around, I’m off to Johannesburg for a four-day safari in Kruger National Park. Then it’s back to Norway for me, just in time to spend Easter with the family… hopefully all will go according to plan. In any case, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little glimpse of my life here in South Africa. If you have any specific posts you’d like to see from Cape Town, or any suggestions for things to do on the Western Cape, I’m all ears. And as always, thanks for reading!
With ♡, Julia Elizabeth
