Day 4 - Langa Township Tour

Note. we posted photos from Table mountain hike and abseiling in day 2----

Andrew - This is going to be a quick entry as it is 1 am and we are getting up at 5 am to go to the airport for Namibia tomorrow- Today started off slowly as we only got up around and decided to go down to the Waterfront and catch the ferry to Robben Island. Robben Island is the prison where Nelson Mandela was a prisoner and is on an island off the coast of Cape Town. When we got to the ferry ticket booth there was a sign saying the ferry was sold out for the day so we had to change our plans. We did not account for the fact that it was Easter Monday. We went to the tourist office and booked a township tour for the Afternoon. We then had a quick lunch in the harbour (pic below}and went back to Jes' place for pick up.

The townships in Cape town are a holdover from the Apartheid era where the blacks and coloureds (mixed races) were moved into communities based on the colour of thier skin. Langa is the oldest township in Cape Town. The tour operator named Mandla lived in the Townships and uses the tours to raise awareness and support the community. The 3 hours tour .took us through the township, into some of the houses, and into a local she'baan, or pub. It was a a pretty amazing tour. We bought vegtables in the townships to bring to the houses we were visiting and had brought some of the pencils and pens we brought over for the kids.

Lois - We have been living the life of the rich here in capetown. We are living in a mansion on the hills, drinking fine wines and going to the trendiest restaurants and bars in the city. In this city little money will get you far and whereever you venture, you are treated like royality. This is great but this does not allow us the experience of getting a feel for the culture of the local people. Our visit to the township today was a great way for us to mingle with local people and hear of their struggles through history. The people we meet today welcomed us with open arms and greeted us very kindly. The cilderen were adorable and the smiles on their facess will forever be in my memory. Although the people of Langa have very little material wealth they are amoung the happiest people I have ever met. There strong sense of community is something we should all aspire to. The most amazing molments we experienced today could not be captured on film but we wil, share with you our storeis when we return. You will see in the picture below that we had the chance to experience a local beer which is brewed by the people of Langa. The beer is made of sugar gum, mealie meal, wheat, spices...and many other ingredients I will not even venture to name. We drank it out of a giant paint canister in a local taverne (wood boards with a tin roof basically). The canister was passed around the bar for all to share.

Jeff - Went out to Camps Bay for dinner at Blues. Really nice spot overlooking the ocean and the usual suspect dishes could be seen around the table including ostrich, springbok and calamari. I had a huge plate of fresh seafood which I won't soon forget. On the way home Jes took us by the way we'll have to head tomorrow to get the airport. This will be the first time navigating ourselves in Cape Town and let's just hope we arrive in Namibia safe...if at all.