Truth Coffee opened its doors just off Buitengracht Street a few months back, and eventually, after wanting to visit for so long, and hearing reports of how awesome the coffee was, I decided to inaugurate the first "Treat-a-friend-to-coffee day", and experience the legendary heavenly drink.
And heavenly it was. Few people know how to make good coffee, but somehow David seems to get it right every time. (Perhaps you remember the article that Kerry-Anne wrote about Origin Roasting, David's previous venue?)
Now, you may notice something strange about the photo. Yes! No coffee! The truth is (if you'll excuse the pun :D ) that the coffee was so good that we finished it only moments after it landed on our table, leaving us with the freshly filtered bottle of water you see on our table (that I'm fairly sure cost only R15 - a bargain, even though I didn't get to keep the pretty bottle!). :)
While driving on the N1 national highway, I passed this Mercedes Benz whizzing along at a comfortable 120km/h. Taking a photo while driving would have been tricky, so I handed my camera to Kerry-Anne who opened her window for this shot, almost losing my camera while doing so!
It may be of interest to you that the first Mercedes-Benz, the Benz Velo, arrived in South Africa in 1896, and in 1958 Car Distributors Assembly had the first Mercedes-Benz rolling off their production line.
In recent years our automotive industry has accounted for about 10% of South African exports and about 7.5% of our GDP. That makes the industry a huge contributor, providing stable income to thousands of people. The past two years have however been as difficult for the local industry as they've been for the global one. Fortunately however, the economy is turning and folk seem to be buying cars again... unfortunately I'm not one of those folk. :(
For some time I've been wondering what it's like to get old and how much you, your personality and your outlook on life, actually change over the years. I know many people over the age of 60 (which I believe is the new 50 ;) ) and while it's evident that years of life have taken their toll on their perspective on life, there are a few that I know who are somehow different, and have somehow retained a youthful outlook on life.
People say that "getting old" is simply a state of mind, and I find myself wondering how much control one has over the change in this state of mind. I wonder whether or not in 30 years' time I'll have a similar and (mostly) unjaded approach to day-to-day living.
I took this photo at Hussar Grill in Camps Bay a little while ago.
Strangely, pine cones like these remind me of school days and holidays. The school that I attended for grade 1 through 7 had several pine trees on the property, and I remember playing marbles amongst the trees during break (which you might know as "recess" if you're not a local), as well as picking out and eating the pine cone seeds. Not because I was hungry, but because they were so yummy! :)
The cones remind me of holidays because of the times that we spent at caravan parks during school holidays. Often parks would have plenty of pine trees to cast shade over campers' tents. The downside of this was that they were notorious for dropping sticky gooey pine gum onto tents, caravans and cars. :(
Don't you just love this idea? I wish I knew who decided that logs painted like fire extinguishers would get the message across. It's far more interesting and eye-catching than a sign that few would bother to read anyway.
Recently the weather's been super-hot in Cape Town, and with the lovely warm winds that we're having I guess it's the perfect weather for bush fires to blaze across the mountains. So folks, be careful not to drop bottles (they can act as magnifying glasses and start fires), and be sure not to drop your cigarette butts on the ground - some may argue that they can't start fires, but why risk it? Right? :)
One last thing: take a moment to save the Volunteer Wildfire Services hotline number to your phone - 086 110 6417. Give them a call if you spot a fire starting anywhere on or near the mountain.
I always find it amusing when we have consultants over from the USA or Europe (at my day-job, that is), and they don't bother to lock up their laptops when leaving their desks. I'm always having to warn them to lock up, and, without fail, I get a quizzical look in return and the question, "Why, do you think someone would take it?". While the folk working in our offices are perfectly trustworthy, we have many random people in and out, and laptops and cell phones have been known to go missing. They're so easy to steal and sell!
I'm interested to know if you experience the same kind of trouble wherever it is that you work.
A couple of weekends ago during a routine roadblock, traffic officers tested the alcohol levels of 85 drivers, and arrested 39 of these for being over the legal limit - see the article here.
While I realise that the legal alcohol limit is very low, and perhaps many of these 39 unfortunate folk could have been just slightly over, I also know from experience that many of the people I know regularly exceed the legal limit by a fair to good amount. Often these people seem able to drive perfectly well, but the reality is that their reaction speed is significantly decreased.
In the past few years I've seen and heard of far too many motor vehicle accidents in which people have been hurt or even killed. At these times I guess the reality of it all hits home and it's easy for me to imagine the impact that an event like this has on someone's life. Not just personal injury and loss, and the injury and loss to other people - there's also the law to contend with, trials in court, possible imprisonment, job loss, and so on. I guess the list of things that could happen spirals into an entirely different life to the one I lead today.
Guys, make sure that if you drink too much you have a designated driver. And, if you don't have one, keep the number of a taxi service on your cell phone (under a name that you'll remember at the time, like "Beer" for instance ;) ).
If you're in Cape Town, you can keep the Rikkis Cabs number on your phone - 0861 745 547. They have cheaper inner city share-ride options, and more expensive options that'll take you anywhere in the Cape Peninsula. Check out their website before the time and familiarise yourself with their prices. If you're a habitual party-person then consider signing up with a company like Good Fellas that will drive you home in your own car.
MXit, taking instant messaging into deepest Africa
MXit ("mix-it"), a mobile-phone-based instant-messaging company born in Stellenbosch, could be one of the most successful South African technology startups in our history. Over 18 million registered users around the world, and over 20 million log-ons per day, make them a significant player in the instant-messaging world.
I mentioned in my previous post that we had the opportunity to visit two technology startup companies in Stellenbosch - the first being FireID, and the second being the larger MXit. I'm not sure if you can see it clearly from this photo, but the view from their offices is spectacular, seemingly the perfect view to stimulate creativity.
The exciting thing about MXit is their vision of expanding their operations in Africa. South Africa and Africa in general have a huge number of mobile phone users. It's perfectly normal for people in even the poorest townships to have mobile phones, as they are generally the only way for folk in these communities to keep in touch. MXit offers a *very* cheap alternative to SMS text messaging, as well as a host of other features and services.
Across the world, the internet has become a tool of learning, a way to make money, and a means of cheap communication. While many initiatives exist to use computers to expand internet access into deepest Africa, the reality is that due to infrastructure costs it's going to be many years before computers (and stable internet connections) become as ubiquitous as mobile phones. The introduction of MXit into countries such as Zambia, Rwanda and Ghana creates a dirt-cheap means of communication and access to education and information.
Find out how to get MXit on your phone or computer here, and if you'd like to learn a little more about it, click here to read the Wikipedia page about their history and services.
FireID, the first of two successful Internet startups
Thanks to Dave Duarte from Huddlemind we had the opportunity to visit the Stellenbosch offices of two Cape Town-based technology startup companies, FireID and MXit. In this post I'll tell you just a little about FireID; if you find tech stuff kinda interesting, then check out their website for more detailed information.
In short, if you've used internet banking before you may be familiar with the little security token that some banks give you. When a button on the token is pressed, it generates a brand new password that you can use to sign on to your internet banking site. The idea is that the password is a random set of letters and numbers that nobody (human or computer) can predict; and once you've used the password it becomes obsolete and useless to anyone who might have seen you type it in (or who may have gained access to it in some other way - through key-logging, for instance).
These devices are expensive and are yet another thing that you have to carry with you. FireID have written a clever application that works in a similar way, but on your mobile phone. The cool thing is that the FireID application can be used to generate one-time passwords on your phone for many different websites, reducing the need for you to remember a long list of passwords or carry a dozen security tokens.
FireID have the most awesome offices and working atmosphere. The offices are modern and bright, and the vibe is relaxed. Their core working hours are from 10h00 to 15h00, but apart from that their employees are encouraged to work whenever and wherever they feel they'd be the most productive. Isn't that awesome?
I've uploaded a few more photos to an album - click here to check them out.
I've always been the biggest fan of bumper cars - it's such a pity that most funfairs don't allow people over the age of 10 or so to play on them, though. Maybe they'll let me have a go on these cool bumper boats instead?
The Enseleni (at the back) was built in Durban in 2001 and has a bollard pull of 50 tons, while the Pinotage (just in front of the Enseleni) was built way back in 1980 and has a bollard pull of 43 tons. Bollard pull is basically an indication of how strong a tug is and how much force it can exert on another vessel (although my research tells me that it is a little more complicated than that).
So just remember, if you ever get invited to play bumper boats, make sure you get the boat with the greatest bollard pull.
Although this vessel is flying the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the chance that it actually originates from there is pretty slim indeed. According to the CIA Factbook, 990 of the 1049 merchant ships registered in the Marshall Islands are foreign-owned, and therefore flying what is termed a flag of convenience. There could be a number of reasons for this - tax avoidance, circumvention of tricky local regulations, or even the avoidance of political boycotts. I was a bit young to notice, but apparently many South African vessels were registered elsewhere during the apartheid years, in order to avoid the unpleasant consequences of international sanctions and boycotts.
Of course, being a girl, I'd probably just pick the flag that best matched my pretty ship's colour scheme, and get the vessel registered in that country. Which is probably why Paul won't let me have a sailing ship.
The closest I've come to going aboard a cruise ship was watching Titanic in 1997. It's definitely on my long-term to-do list, but I'm generally of the opinion that if I'm going to go on a cruise, I might as well make it worthwhile - these little 3-day "cruises to nowhere" don't really get me excited. A three-week cruise to Italy, on the other hand... ah, now that seems like a good way to pass the time.
The ship pictured here is the Silver Wind, the second-oldest of the fleet belonging to Silversea Cruises. If you feel like escaping reality for a few minutes, you can create your own virtual voyage aboard the Silver Wind.
This is Argo, a yacht belonging to Seamester Global. Seamester, based in the USA, offers experiential nautical training - students spend a semester at sea, learning a wide range of skills and visiting places that they would otherwise probably only read about. Can you imagine what an amazing experience this must be? What a way to discover the world! If I had a child leaving school and considering taking a gap year, I think this would be high on my list of suggestions to them.
You can follow the activities of the students on board the Argo, by reading their regular blog posts and listening to their audio updates here.
According to isizulu.net the translation for the Zulu word "inkunzi" is "bull" or "male animal". In this case I suspect that because of its size and its ability to carry heavy loads, the Inkunzi floating crane was named with the word "bull" in mind.
I first became aware of the Inkunzi when my dad made mention of it about, I guess, 20 or 25 years ago. A that time he was working at the Cape Town harbour, inspecting cranes for mechanical problems. The Inkunzi was (and perhaps is) Cape Town harbour's largest floating crane, with its heaviest load capacity set at around 200 metric tons. (I took this close-up photo of a sign posted on the front of the Inkunzi, indicating the maximum weight that the crane is able to lift to a given height.)
We'll still post a couple more photos taken on my trip to the harbour, but if you're curious to see what I shot, I've already uploaded the photos to an album over here.
One of the large gangs in the Cape Town area goes by the name "The Americans", and one of the other large gangs calls itself "The CIA". We can't be sure, but it's possible that one of these gang members marked this wall with the name CIA.
Tsotsi is a Sesotho word meaning "thug" or "thief", and the word is often used to refer to a gang member. Tsotsi is also the name of an Academy Award-winning film directed by Gavin Hood that depicts the life of a gang leader in Soweto, near Johannesburg.
It's easy to judge gang members for who they are and what they do. The film Tsotsi gave me a little more insight into the life of one young man who grew up in an environment that practically forced him down a path of crime and gangsterism. The hard side of a gang member is a given, but the movie also depicted the softer side of a young man just trying to survive in the world in which he lives. I seriously encourage you to watch the movie - it really was fantastic.
Alas, this empty milkshake glass wasn't mine, so I presume that the other patrons cast their querying eyes in my direction as I jumped up to capture this photo before the waitress took the glass away. :)
I'd have to go with chocolate, but what is your favourite milkshake flavour?
You've been on a trip to Cape Town and it was awesome. Would receiving a bottle of our wine in the post remind you of your visit to the Mother City and help you relive your holiday? You're in luck! In 2006 friends of ours started an online company called Wineweb that allows you to order South African wine online. Take a look, and if you really love wine, consider joining the Wine Club. They'll send you a mixed case of wine every second month.
Isn't it ironic that looking at the world through a wine glass brings what's out of focus into focus, albeit upside down? :) I should point out though that this wine glass was in fact filled with white Grapetiser, so perhaps what you need to bring what's out of focus into focus isn't wine - perhaps it's just sitting back and slowly sipping a drink while reflecting on the world around you...
The Cape Grace Hotel (the brown building) must be one of the best-situated of all the Cape Town hotels. In the morning, people who stay on the other side of the building see the sun rising over the Waterfront and harbour while the group on this side have a view of Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill bathed in the wonderfully soft morning light. In the evening, while one group watches the lights of the shops and boats, and feels the vibrancy of the Waterfront, the group on this side of the hotel gets to watch these beautiful yachts bobbing in the basin, with the sky turning red as the sun sets behind the mountain. The Cape Grace must be a beautiful place to stay!
We've never been inside the hotel - and since we live not too far away and it's fairly expensive I doubt we would stay at the hotel. So, please, if you've stayed there, leave a note and let us know how accurate my description above is. :)
The flower above is commonly known as a water lily, but to the botanists among you it's more likely known as a member of the Nymphaeaceae family, possibly either the Nymphaea Alba (White Water Lily) or the Nymphaea Capensis (Cape Blue Water Lily). What makes it difficult for me to decide is that the only references I've found so far to water lilies in the Western Cape talk about the Capensis, and yet this flower looks yellowish - a lot like the Alba. But the Alba is apparently found in the northern hemisphere, in places like England and North America.
That aside, I discovered an online store that sells what appears to be dried Nymphaea Alba. One can apparently use the dried flower to make a tea that, according to them, has the following effect: "White Lotus is both narcotic and euphoric. Like Blue Lotus, the plant is said to increase sexual arousal and enjoyment."
Now, while the name Nymphaea appears to support this, I'm keen for someone to (at their own risk ;) ) get some and give it a go. If you have tried the tea, then please do leave a comment below and let us know if you experienced any effects!
Besides the proximity of Table Mountain being fantastic, this area of Cape Town, Vredehoek, has gorgeous views of the city, harbour, and Table Bay. As I'm sure you can imagine, this particular spot in Cape Town is highly sought after, making it impossible for most to afford a home here.
However, there's another price to pay for living in this area - and that would be the wind. When it's a beautiful day, it's awesome, but around this time of the year every now and again the wind howls like a troupe of irate banshees, leaving the only means to a peaceful night's sleep a comfy pair of earplugs! :)
We recently joined a newly-created impromptu sushi club - actually just a few friends from Twitter who need an excuse to fit in an extra sitting at a sushi restaurant each month. :D The objective of the club is to find, evaluate, and and then frequent the best sushi spots in Cape Town.
I'll keep our findings closely under wrap for now, but expect a post in due course (heh) that fills you in on which were voted the best spots by our group.
I've mentioned it previously, but to clarify the reason for the photo, let me state it again. The part of sushi that I like absolutely least is the seaweed (nori). It tastes absolutely awful to me, so I avoid maki rolls like crazy. I mean, I just can't understand how someone ever looked at a piece of seaweed like this and thought, "Awesome, I should try that on my sandwich!", or "subarashii , watashi wa doryoku shi nakere ba nara nai watashi no sandoitchi!". ;)
We visited friends of ours at their home in Constantia for a sunny afternoon outside by the pool. Before you think that this is the pool to which I'm referring - well, no, the pool in the photo is a little garden rock pool filled with frogs, tadpoles, fish and a plethora of other aquatic critters.
From what I can tell, the little fiend that you see in the rock pool is a very young Lycodonomorphus rufulus, also known as the South African Brown Water Snake. We stood and watched the snake come up every five minutes for a breath of air and then descend below the water, behind a couple of rocks.
The last time we watched him descend I'm not sure that it was out of choice - he was being hounded by a small fish that seemed to be nibbling at his tummy. :)
What I can say about the experience is that it's strangely intimidating walking into a full ballet class, camera in hand. But it seemed as though the dancers were friendly enough, and soon I was clicking away without any fear that they'd bandy together in a circle around me, hissing and snarling. :D
Okay, they weren't *that* scary... I guess that's just my picture-oriented mind getting carried away. Truth be told, I sat in a corner for most of the time clicking photo after photo and listening to Professor Triegaardt directing the dancers - "No, look that way...", "Less cheek to cheek, more eyebrow to eyebrow...", "Throw the balls that way and try not to hit the camera." :)
How to support Cape Town City Ballet
Cape Town City Ballet is a non-profit organisation, so if you have a passion for ballet and would like support the art, visit this page for more details.
I posted a close-up photo of the Robinson Drydock filled with boats once. So, when I passed by and saw that she was empty, and since the ambient light was so exquisite, there was no question, I had to take a moment to capture this photo.
This photo was taken from the other side. The Pumphouse, mentioned in this post, is also on the other side, but off to the left of this shot.
This is really a beautiful time of the year to be in Cape Town, wouldn't you agree?
So, in my previous photo I showed a view of the Cape Town Stadium in all its majesty. I zoomed in from the same vantage point (just above the highest road in Green Point) to capture this photo (and this one) of workmen furiously putting the final touches on the 68,000-seater grand structure.
There were many South Africans (around the time of the announcement that the 2010 Football World Cup was to be hosted here) that were negative and said things like there's no way that we'd be ready to host the World Cup. They said that there was no way that we'd be able to build the stadiums required to host such a large event.
Since the announcement we've seen several new roads, bridges and stadiums spring up out of the earth. With the World Cup only a few months away, there's still a lot to get done and time will tell whether or not our country was able to host such a large event successfully, and whether or not we'll end the month proud to be African.
If I were to put my money on it, I'd say June's going to be a good one.
The predecessor to the Cape Town Stadium was known as Green Point Stadium. The old stadium was somewhat underwhelming when compared to the new one that you can see in this picture.
I remember a few years back going to watch bands like Metallica and singers like Robbie Williams performing at Green Point Stadium. I even remember having a school athletics competition there many years ago. The old Green Point Stadium holds many memories for many South Africans, but even so, I can't say that I'm sad to see it replaced with a sparkling-white shiny new stadium. :)
The suburb Oranjezicht (which means "orange view" in Dutch) was named after the old fruit and vegetable farm that used to exist here in the 17- and 1800s. Several theories remain for why the farm was called Oranjezicht - a popular one being that it had many orange and lemon trees, which (when in season) must have given the view from the homestead an orange hue.
However, the theory that I favour is that it got its name from the fifth bastion of the Castle of Good Hope, called "Oranje", which on a clear day would have been visible from the farm. This bastion in fact points towards where the farm would have been situated. See the the purple line that I drew on this Google Map, from the Castle of Good Hope's Oranje bastion to the suburb Oranjezicht.
Of course, you could argue that the bastion got its name due to the orange and lemon trees growing on the slopes of Table Mountain. But you'd be wrong. :) The bastion actually took on the name of the Dutch prince of Orange, Prins Willem van Oranje.
I took this photo in the opposite direction from the one in my previous post; that dark patch with cloud above is Table Mountain, so at this point I had my back to the Castle of Good Hope, and the bastion Oranje.
At the risk of sounding uncultured and like a broken record, I'd have to say that I'm not a ballet-appreciating kind of guy. The thought of watching an entire performance would normally draw tears from my eyes (or yawns from my jaw).
But, hugely to my surprise, while shooting photos only a couple of metres from the stage, I somehow developed an affinity and appreciation for the art. The show put on by Cape Town City Ballet (at Aqua Festival) was absolutely amazing! The precision by which the dancers moved every part of their body, the perfect timing, their flexibility - it was all out of this world (see the photos here). I think for me it made a huge difference being able to see the dancers really close up (with my zoom lens). I was able to see expressions on their faces that told the story of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. I was even able to see the perspiration on their brows that revealed how much effort they were exerting and exactly how strenuous and non-nancy-pancy the performance was! :)
Guys, seriously, at least once, take time out to watch a ballet performance. And, when you do, buy the most expensive tickets that you can, as close to the stage as you can. And, once you've done all of this, take along your pair of Bushnell binoculars (or riflescope if you really want to look macho). ;)
If you're in Cape Town, you could try to make a date to see dancers from the Cape Town City Ballet company perform The Sleeping Princess, the story of Sleeping Beauty. It's still showing until 10 January at the Artscape Theatre Centre and tickets cost between R70 and R105.
I'm not much of a jazz fan, but I have to admit that the AquaJazz show at the V&A Waterfront's Aqua Festival was pretty good. I took this photo to the right of the stage, a little while before the show - as the light was fading. Isn't the yacht basin just beautiful? It must be awesome to own an apartment that's part of such a beautiful view... even more, it must be awesome to own that huge yacht in the middle of the photo!
The seals that you see on the jetty are interesting creatures. For each show that I've attended they've sat on the jetty talking to each other in their dog-like grunts and barks. The jetty connects to a landing that the performers use to walk to the stage, and often the stage security guys have to spray water on the seals to encourage them to move off the landing so that the performers can make their way to the stage without being pushed into the water by a huge lumbering seal.
It's really entertaining to watch the little dance between the seals and the security people. :D
Edit: I've just published an album for the AquaJazz show here.
For South Africa, 1 January 2010 in some way marks the start of a new era. As I walked through the Waterfront I wasn't sure whether or not it was reality or my own thoughts that caused me to think that something felt different in the air, in the vibe.
Perhaps it's difficult for people who're not at all interested in football to understand the significance of a country hosting the Football World Cup. Two of the reasons why it's important to us are:
Football is a huge sport worldwide, and the country hosting the event in a sense has a massive captive audience. Tourism is a big industry in our country. Increasing tourism in the long-term leads to more jobs for people who currently don't have work.
The vast majority of our population is black, and during the battle with apartheid, football was the one outlet that they had. From what I've read, it was a place to have fun and (in a way) temporarily forget about their oppression. Although apartheid itself is a thing of the past, the legacy it left still continues to affect our society in many ways. And so the excitement and passion of The Beautiful Game continues to be an escape for many from the difficulties of their everyday lives.
For several years, the dream of hosting the World Cup, with a chance to see the stars in action, has been just that - a distant dream. Perhaps the realisation that this dream is finally about to come true is the greatest reason why 2010 has been met with huge optimism, excitement and expectation. Make sure you can say, "I was there." ;-)
