Another view of the beach

To show off the beach a little, today we're posting another photograph from Llandudno. The village of Llandudno boasts some of the most expensive property in South Africa.

As you can see, the houses are built on a slope. The streets wind in a seemingly unpredictable pattern amongst the houses, and access to the beach is quite tricky since there's only a very small parking area. This means that most visitors have to park quite high up the hill, away from the beach. Our visit was worth the walk though!

Llandudno - a truly awesome beach

Llandudno beach is a few kilometres from Camps Bay and Clifton (closer to Cape Point). It's a spot that many surfers do - and all surfers really must - visit. Today (can you believe!) is the first time that Kerry-Anne and I have visited this particular spot. It was a really hot Friday afternoon (at around 17h00) and the beach was filled with people tanning, playing cricket and throwing frisbees.

The guy in the photo was running into the waves with his bodyboarding fins on. It was really funny (have you ever watched someone trying to run with fins on?), although I think his mate (whom Kerry-Anne said was watching me from behind) must have thought I was a freak - taking snaps of his buddy running through the waves.

Pink Ice

This is a close relative of our national flower, the King Protea. The protea in Paul's photograph is called 'Pink Ice', and it's been growing in our garden for about four years. The flowers are always so perfectly formed, and since I work from home, I love to go out into the garden and admire them when I'm having a bad day.
Which reminds me... our national cricket team is named after our national flower (don't laugh - we've just gotten used to the idea ourselves :) ), and they had a particularly nailbiting match last night in the Super 8 round of the Cricket World Cup. Judging by discussions on the radio today, I wasn't the only one pacing the room and having heart palpitations while watching the closing overs of the game. Sometimes it's tough being a spectator.

Just a mussel shell

Today, a simple picture - a mussel shell lying on Blouberg beach. It reminds me of the scrumptious moules and frites I had last October in Cancale, France; and so it makes me think of my friends living in Bretagne. In fact, this shell brings back a host of memories from that holiday, and makes me wish I could be in France on holiday again. :) What does this simple image make you think of?

From ships to shipwrecks

From ships to shipwrecks... and back to Robben Island. I heard quite an amazing story on the radio today - on Sunday, the daughter of Robert Wilcox, an ex-Robben Island political prisoner, swam from Robben Island to Blouberg beach in honour of her parents and their resilience during the struggle years. 36-year-old Diane Wilcox completed the 7.5km swim in 2 hours and 47 minutes - and I can promise you, that water's CHILLY! The radio announcer joked with her that if her father had had her talent, perhaps he would have left the island a little earlier...

Officers and gentlemen

Simonstown's Naval Festival (held this past weekend) is a celebration of the South African navy. It's a day when the men and women of the navy mingle with civilians and show off their toys and talent. The weekend is filled with sea rescue demonstrations, tours aboard naval ships and submarines, trips out to sea on tugs, and much more. Kerry-Anne gleefully exclaimed that I should buy a naval uniform – apparently the boys in white look really good… true officers and gentlemen.
Festival Program

Solitary confinement

The brownish building on the left is the smallest prison in South Africa, and only ever housed one prisoner - Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. Sobukwe was the leader of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), and was first arrested in 1960. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but upon his release he was immediately re-arrested under a special Act of Parliament, and sent to Robben Island. The government evidently saw him as a greater threat than many of the other leaders on the island, and so he was placed in solitary confinement in this house, and was not allowed to make contact with any other prisoners.
It was fitting that we visited the island on Human Rights Day (21 March), as this holiday marks the event that led to Sobukwe's arrest - the 1960 PAC-led march against the pass laws in place at the time. On this day, 69 people were killed - including 8 women and 10 children - and scores more injured when police opened fire on protesters in Sharpeville.

The cell of prisoner 466/64

Cell 5. This is where our former president, Nelson Mandela, spent much of his time during the 18 years between 1964 and 1982. On the left you can see the toilet bucket, which prisoners had to make use of during lock-up; and to the right, the thin mattress and blanket issued to them. The conditions were designed to make these people weak, and yet the effect seems to have been entirely the opposite. To get a real idea of the resourcefulness and courage of these men, do yourself a favour and read Long Walk to Freedom, Dr Mandela's autobiography. It's truly inspiring. You can read an excerpt here. As our guide Sipho - himself a former political prisoner of the island - said: "We do not do these tours to remember the bad things that happened in the past, but rather to celebrate the strength and triumph of the human spirit."

Gateway to the island

The inscription above the archway marking the entrance to Robben Island has a sad ring of irony to it; it's hard to believe that anyone could have been proud to be involved in the events that played out here during the apartheid years. Tourists to the island enter under this archway in buses, but new prisoners would have been on foot, and chained together. Black prisoners were not given any underwear or shoes and socks, and wore short pants all year round. It's still incredible to me that human beings are capable of treating one another with such indignity and cruelty. More tomorrow...

Heading for Robben Island

We left the V&A Waterfront at around 09h30 yesterday morning, on the Sea Princess, bound for Robben Island. The island is about 12km from Cape Town; this is the same trip that political prisoners would have undertaken to reach the island in years gone by, although in considerably less comfort, and with rather grimmer prospects. We picked a perfect morning to visit the island, as you can see from that almost-too-blue-to-be-true sky, and the water was flat and calm, making the ride out a really pleasant one. The next instalment tomorrow...

Our winner: Well done to victoria and kala for getting it right - the beaded creature in the picture was indeed a gecko. Victoria, as the first person to name the mystery animal, you are officially our very first CTDP prize-winner! :) Please email me your postal address and I'll send you your new pet.

Do we look like tourists?

We spotted this colourful chap at Green Point Flea Market on Sunday as well. He was singing and chanting for passers-by, who were dropping coins into his basket. We gave him a few Rand, and he thanked us and then chanted, "Well-a-come, well-a-come! Well-a-come to Cape Town!" in his delightful accent - there's nothing quite so heartwarming as being welcomed to your own city. :-) I guess the cameras must have given us that touristy look...

I'll post the winner of yesterday's little competition tomorrow. For now, it's Human Rights Day in South Africa, and we're off to Robben Island - see you later!

Curious little creature

Nathalie and Alice, your wish is my command... I'll definitely post more close-up images of handcrafts in the future (after all, one of my day jobs is running The Red Balloon Craft Junction, so you'll realise that I have quite an interest in crafts), but for now here is one of the things we saw on Sunday. This is just one example of the beautiful 3-D beading done by our local people, and in fact, I liked these so much that I bought one. He's looking for a home now, and I'll send him to the first person who correctly identifies these little critters.

Cape Town souvenirs

Since the weather was warm, and the sky very blue, we decided to make a trip to the Green Point Flea Market yesterday (not to be confused with Greenmarket Square - that's a story for another day). The atmosphere at the market is so relaxed, and typically African, and the stalls are jam-packed with all kinds of souvenirs and handcrafted goods. It's always amazing for me to see what people can create, even when they start out with very little. The beadwork, especially, just seems to become more and more creative as time goes by.

Windy day

The wind was blustering over the city yesterday, though the air was crystal clear and the sun was shining brightly. This photo has Cape Town CBD (Central Business District) and Table Bay Harbour in the background. If you look really closely you may be able to spot Robben Island (an apartheid-time prison for political prisoners) on the horizon - later in the week we'll be visiting the island and bringing a photo or two back for you!

The legend of Van Hunks

This is the view of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak seen from the back of the Table Bay Hotel. Devil's Peak (on the left) supposedly got its name from the legend of Van Hunks and his pipe-smoking competition with the devil. You can read the full story here - it's a lovely old legend that attempts to account for some of our Cape Town weather phenomena.

All play and no work

This trendy beach seems to be bustling every day of the week. I find myself wondering "What do these people do that allows them to spend their days at the beach?" Camps Bay beach is backed by a palmtree-lined street filled with upmarket restaurants, beautiful hotels and... a petrol station? Strange but true. Behind Beach Road towers the Twelve Apostles mountain range - mentioned in a previous post.

A quick detour

I had to drive out to Stellenbosch yesterday to fetch my driver's licence (our licences have to be renewed every 5 years - what's the rule in your country?), so I took a little detour to buy some yummy lemon butter biscuits and get a photo for you. This was taken at a deli and restaurant close to Stellenbosch (which is about 40 minutes from the centre of Cape Town). Stellenbosch is wine country, and in the background you can see just a small portion of the farmlands stretching out over the horizon.

May I have some salt please?

We found this kind of amusing when we were having lunch at the Waterfront the other day. The one on the left is the salt shaker - what gives you the idea that they have a problem with the sea air making the salt damp? Click for the larger version if you can't see what's in the "salt" shaker...

Flying high

I took this picture at the V&A Waterfront on Sunday afternoon. I believe ours is the only national flag in the world that features 6 colours - this, coupled with its relative youth (the new flag was first flown in 1994, the year of Nelson Mandela's inaugauration as president) means that most South Africans over the age of 30 would probably not be able to draw the flag correctly if asked. It's a wonderful symbol of our "rainbow nation" though, don't you think?

Bicycles bicycles everywhere

Yesterday saw 35,000 cyclists taking on the winding hills of the Cape Peninsula, in the the largest timed cycling event in the world, the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour. Yesterday's 109km race was won by a South African, Robbie Hunter, in a fitting celebration of the event's 30th anniversary (not only because he's a South African, but also because he himself will be celebrating his 30th birthday next month!). I took this shot in Camps Bay, which is pretty close to the finish, and on the flat. The city was absolutely overflowing with people this weekend - as much as HALF of the income brought in by Cape Town's top 5 events each year comes from the cycle tour alone.

Summer in the sun

This scenic vista was taken from one of the posh apartment blocks overlooking the Clifton beaches. The Clifton beachfront is broken up into four beaches, each separated by large granite outcrops. Clifton 4th beach is the largest of the four, very trendy and our favourite beach ever. The beaches are numbered 1 through 4 with 1 being closest from this photo's perspective. Bear in mind that it's not what I would call a family beach, as the water is freezing cold and topless tanning is permitted. This photo shows off the Twelve Apostles mountain range - for reference, Table Mountain towers off to the left (not visible in this shot). If I have it right, then this link should load wikimapia's satellite images of Clifton.

Cute and furry

These cute and furry creatures are plentiful in the Cape Town area. Yes ladies, squirrels look sweet and playful, but beware - they can be vicious. This one was blending in to the oak tree so well that I nearly missed it being there. I fortunately managed to escape its ambush through a series of carefully placed side-steps. Can you see how his dark and beady eye is following my every move? I'm normally much braver than this, really...

Egyptian geese

Last night we visited friends out in Uitzicht, which is a relatively new suburb out to the north of Cape Town. This is the view from their back garden - it's very peaceful, until the Egyptian geese start quacking. Actually, they don't quack so much as bark... There is something of a plague of Egyptian geese around Cape Town, and the possibility of culling has been mentioned once or twice. It doesn't seem like a very appealing idea, until you realise how the population has exploded in the last couple of years, and how they're chasing away other species of duck and waterfowl. To be honest, I'm just glad it's not my decision to make.

Rush-hour traffic

This is our rush-hour traffic into the city centre, photographed at about 08h20. If you have to get stuck in the traffic every day, you might as well have something pretty to look at, not so? Rush "hour" usually lasts from around 06h30 until 09h30, with most people having to start work at around 08h00 or 08h30. Tempers flare when minibus taxis (a ubiquitous form of public transport in South Africa) ignore traffic regulations and drive in the yellow line to get ahead of the slow-moving traffic. The yellow line is meant to be kept clear for emergency vehicles and police, and besides, people just don't LIKE other people getting ahead of them by devious means... :)

Our Pink Lady

Paul took this shot yesterday, when he went to a seminar at the grand old lady of Cape Town, the Mount Nelson Hotel - affectionately known as the Nellie. She's also called the Pink Lady, and if you look at the walls behind the mirror, you'll see why...
That's Table Mountain hiding coyly behind the trees, by the way.

Garden concerts

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are a great place for a Sunday afternoon picnic or nature walk, but from time to time they also double as a concert venue. Last Monday and Tuesday, for instance, the concert area was host to popera stars Il Divo; tonight, Wednesday and Thursday it's the turn of the legendary Sir Cliff Richard. Seating is unreserved - and picnic-style on the lawn - so concert-goers have to start queuing really early if they want to get a good spot. It's all worth it though - on a clear night, with a full moon, the silhouette of these mountains forms an awesome backdrop to the stage.

Carnival Time

This weekend was carnival time in Cape Town. The annual Maynardville Carnival is a fundraising initiative run by the Community Chest charity organisation. The main focus is on food, with stalls selling everything from Austrian cheese and Chinese food, to Belgian waffles and seafood. This year we were brave enough to try a piece of chickpea fudge from the Hare Krishna stall - and hey, it was pretty good!
The carnival has been an institution for as long as I can remember, and has a very particular smell - a combination of all the food being cooked - that brings memories flooding back each time I visit.

Welcome to Cape Town Daily Photo!

Welcome to the Cape Town daily photo blog. Each day we (Paul and Kerry-Anne) will bring you a new photograph, taken somewhere in or around our beautiful city, here in the south-west corner of South Africa. We'll share a little bit of history, a little bit of culture, perhaps some entertainment, a smidgen of sport, and a whole lot of enthusiasm for the place we call home. Come and explore with us...