As I mentioned in a previous article (See: “Savoring South Africa II”), prior to embarking on our March, 2023, 21-day cruise along the west coast of Africa to Lisbon, my traveling companion and I spent five full days visiting wineries and restaurants in and around Cape Town. However… we also purposely planned activities of a more exploratory & educational nature…
After being pleasantly ensconced in the One & Only, our delightful Cape Town hotel, we were collected the following morning by Samson, our incredible driver & guide (read more about him in my previous article), for our Cape Peninsula Scenic Tour. The highlights of which are noted below…
It began with a journey along Chapman’s Peak Drive, 5½ miles stretching from Noordhoek to Hout Bay. The drive has 114 curves and is regarded as the most rewarding toll road in the country. On one side we had a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean; on the other, the western mountains of the Cape Peninsula (pictured: a brief photo op along the route).
Once arriving at Hout Bay Harbor, we took a boat from Mariner’s Wharf to Duiker Island, also known as Seal Island. The island is renowned for its marine wildlife, including Cape fur seals and marine bird species. One glance at the photo, and you’ll understand why it is called “Seal” island!
The site is visited regularly by both tourists and photographers. While doing research for this article, I discovered that on October 13, 2012, a small vessel carrying tourists to Seal Island capsized, resulting in the deaths of two men on board. Fortunately, nothing so catastrophic befell our excursion. But I do recall that the sea around the island was particularly rocky, so I understand how such an incident could very easily have taken place.
Another port-of-call was the Cape of Good Hope, the famous rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. A common misconception is that the cape is the southern tip of Africa, marking the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. In actuality, however, the southernmost point of Africa is Cape Aqulhas, approximately 90 miles to the east-southeast. When traveling along the western side of the African coastline from the equator, however, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point at which a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward.
Thus, the first modern rounding of the cape in 1487 by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was a milestone in the attempts to establish a direct trade route to the Far East.
Following lunch at the Foodbarn Café & Tapas (see previous article), we paid a call at the Boulders Beach Penguin Colony. Although set in a residential area, this is one of the few sites where these vulnerable birds can be observed wandering freely in a protected natural environment. Bordered by indigenous bush on one side, and the clear water of False Bay on the other, the area is comprised of several small sheltered bays, partially enclosed by granite boulders that are 540 million years old. The penguins are best viewed, as we did, from the adjacent Foxy Beach, where a boardwalk brings visitors up close and personal.
The following morning, we were met by a representative of Uthando (Love) South Africa (an award-winning Fair Trade in Tourism certified nonprofit organization that has created a unique link between tourism and community development projects), who would take us – and several other interested individuals – on a philanthropic educational excursion to several of the “Townships” in the Cape Town area…. In South Africa, the term Township refers to underdeveloped racially segregated urban areas reserved for non-whites. During the era of ideological apartheid, black people were evicted from properties that were in areas designated as “white only and forced to move into segregated townships. Separate townships were established for each of the three designated non-white race groups – Black Africans, Colored (those of mixed races), and Indians – as per the Population Registration Act, 1950.
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, many of the townships have seen remarkable rapid development with wealthy and middle-income areas sprouting up in various parts of the country. Our excursion presented a meaningful, authentic, and noninvasive glimpse of the broad range of innovative and inspiring community projects taking place in several of the townships in the Cape Town area.
Our first stop was the Eziko Cooking and Catering School, a community project located in Langa, one of the oldest townships in Cape Town. Eziko is an entry-level skill center in the catering and hospitality field. It specializes in food preparation and cooking courses, baking, and drinks service, preparing students for a career in cooking and catering.
Students come from previously disadvantaged communities within the greater Cape Town area, but also from other African countries such as Angola, Zimbabwe, and Cameroon. The six-month training program in basic cooking and catering skills facilitates in-service training to familiarize student with first-hand work experience. Eziko assists in placing its students at well-known hospitality businesses such as Cape Town International Convention Center, Cape Milner Hotel, Sky Chef, Bidvest Foodservice Training, Caturra Coffee, and International Wine Education Center. The cooking and catering school has been awarded provisional accreditation and registered with the South African Government Department of Labor.
This was an especially rewarding experience, as we were able to interact with students directly, ask questions, and carry on a very meaningful dialogue. It was particularly interesting for me, as my father was a chef, and I was able to share some of my personal memories.
The Zizamele Early Childhood Development Center is located in Site C, Khayelitsha Township. The government does not provide for early childhood development education or the provision of pre-school building. Over a million young children in South Africa receive no pre-school education. In 1995 Mrs. Mama Nosebenzile Madala started Zizamele Educare. In 2001, her daughter, Mama Bukeka Mandlantse, began working at the ECD and took over as principal in 2005. With the assistance of partners and donors, Uthando helped transform the pre-school from 3 informal structures into a world-class educational facility. The pre-school is run by three qualified ECD teachers, and, together with principal Mama Madala, provides quality pre-school education to over fifty young children. Like the other ECD centers, the school provides three classes: 0 – 18 months; 3 – 4 years; and 5 – 6 years.
Isibane se Afrika (“The Light of Africa”) is a choir & dance group for change founded in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha. The group was started by a local force-for-good community leader, Andisiwe Gaqa, when she noticed that many of the youth in her township had no positive activities to take part in after school. With no parental oversight or adult role models, many of the township youth fell in with drugs and gangs. Ms. Gaqa wanted to provide them with an alternative option to be part of something more wholesome, and so the group was born.
Isibane se Afrika is a registered non-governmental organization and all income raised from performances are used to uplift the lives of its members and the local community through soup kitchens and other projects. We were treated to a mesmerizing program of song, dance, drumming and spectator participation (note picture). Some of the groups most memorable highlights were performing at an international conference in Poland and at the official welcome of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, HRH Prince Harry and Megan, during their South Africa state visit.
Following our morning visit to the townships, we returned to Cape Town and once again met up with our trusted guide, Samson. We had lunch at a casual little creperie and then spent several hours in the nearby Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, a museum, specifically the “Truth to Power Exhibition,” dedicated to the life and legacy of the late Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
Desmond Tutu (October 7, 1931 – December 26, 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986, and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996; in both cases, the first black African to hold the position.
In 1984, Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize “for his role as a unifying leader figure in the non-violent campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa.” The Peace Prize not only increased his international standing, but also made a significant contribution to the struggle against apartheid.
In 1990, after President F.W. de Klerk released the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison, and they led negotiations to end apartheid and introduce multiracial democracy, Archbishop Tutu assisted as mediator between rival black factions. After the 1994 general election resulted in a coalition government headed by Mandela, he selected Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses committed by both pro and anti-apartheid groups.
On August 12, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
In 2010, Archbishop Tutu retired from public life.
In the early 1980s, it was an honor & privilege for me to hear Archbishop Tutu speak at the Riverside Church in New York City.
Bon Appétit!
Be Safe & Stay Well
TAD
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