Jack Parow at Kirstenbosch

Back in November I got the opportunity to see Jack Parow, South Africa's most popular Afrikaans rapper. He was performing at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden's Sunday evening summer concert series. The venue was amazing and the weather could not have been better. We took a blanket and food to have a picnic on the lawn with hundreds of Cape Town locals. The show was great with three rock bands playing and Parow performing a few songs with each band. After the show we even got to meet Jack Parow when we spotted him walking through the gardens. He was nice enough to take a picture with us and even waved out of his car when he passed us on the way way out. 

View of the stage and mountains in the background.

Blair, me, Jenna, Matt, and Vincent.

Jack Parow with his signature extra long brimmed hat.

You can tell by our faces how excited we are to meet him.

The Top of Table Mountain

I have hiked multiple times in South Africa, but never made it to the top of Table Mountain until November. Matt, Jenna, and I set out around noon planning to hike up Platteklip Gorge, traverse the top of Table Mountain, and then down Skeleton Gorge into Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. That hike can take over six hours, which we prepared for with food and water, but we were not prepared for the weather. When we started out the skies were blue and it was already pretty warm. All three of us were wearing shorts and light shirts, with lots of sunscreen. I was mostly worried about being hot and running out of water, but then we started passing groups on their way down with bad news. Every group warned us that it was cold, windy, and rainy at the top, but because we were so intent on reaching the top, we decided to forge ahead despite our obvious lack of appropriate clothing. 

We have to make it to the top!

This rock told us where we were going. I had always imagined Candy Mountain as warmer...

The weather reports did not disappoint. The higher we climbed the windier, colder, and rainier it got. At some points it felt like we were going to be blown off the trail.

The view back down Platteklip Gorge.

Matt and I enjoying a brief moment in the sun.

 When we reached the visitor center at the top, not only was the cable car shut down due to the wind, but we were the only people there. We ran around screaming in the high winds to every viewing platform trying to catch a view between clouds.

Jenna peaking over the ledge.

This is the view that we mostly got.

Matt bracing himself against the wind.

Trying to get some shelter from the cold.

A three second breathtaking view of Cape Town and the water.

We ate our lunch at the top and then thought about hiking to Skeleton Gorge. After about a minute of running through the cloud we decided that it was so cold and visibility was so low that it would be easy to get lost and in trouble. So, we turned around and headed back down Platteklip. It turned out to be a blessing that we couldn't finish the hike because right after we got back I was hit with food poisoning and spent the rest of the day running to the bathroom. If we had kept going I would have been caught on the side of a mountain instead of in the comfort of my house. Even with the less than ideal conditions and food poisoning, it was still a really fun day and beautiful hike. 

Great White Shark Cage Diving

Great white shark cage diving is on my list of amazing things to do while I’m in South Africa, so I was very excited to go in December. The company picked us up at our door and bussed us to Hout Bay for a quick breakfast before getting on the water. About fifteen excited cage divers got on the boat for a ten minute ride out to the dive spot. They weather was perfect at about 30°C with smooth water. When we got there, the captain gave us a run down on directions and safety while the crew started throwing out fish heads attached to a rope. 

"Don't pet the sharks."

About two minutes into the captain’s spiel, the sharks showed up! Since we were paying attention to the captain anymore he told us to go for it!

Grabbing the bait.

I was so excited that I could hardly put on my wet suit. Although I fared better than my friend Jen who got two right shoes. 

So excited I can barely function.

The cage was tied to the side of the boat so that we could all rotate in and out of the cage at any time. We could fit five people in the narrow cage side by side. Every time a shark swam up to the bait the crew would shout “Down!” and the people in the cage would take a breath and duck down for a look. Most of the time I was so excited that I forgot to take a breath before going under water. 

View of the cage from above.

 It was incredible. We had sharks around the cage almost continuously, sometimes as many as three at one time. The biggest shark we saw was over three meters! The sharks were all going for the fish heads and could have cared less about the people cage in the water, so it wasn’t very scary at all, but still amazing. Their size and power is unbelievable to watch that closely underwater. The sharks would lunge for the bait and come within inches of the cage. I could have counted their individual teeth they were so close. Even the view from the boat was incredible with the sharks jumping clear out of the water for the bait. It was an amazing experience to get to be that close to such an overwhelming species. 

Jen and I tried to take underwater photos, but I was so excited for every shark that I could barely figure out how to work the camera. We haven’t developed the photos yet so I’m not sure yet if any of them came out, but here is a video from Alex Hoelscher, another intern. He did a video editing internship here in Cape Town and now is in India on a very cool project called Dances to Vanquish Demons. If you get a chance, check out his website and other great videos.  

Belated Random Happenings #2

The Friday VAC activity for November 18^th was a trip to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens for a picnic of champagne and strawberries. The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a great time relaxing on the lawn. Life has been really rough here in Cape Town…

Relaxing on the lawn.

Jen, Oliver, and Vanessa with Table Mountain in the background.

Sam, Jen, and Bree.

After Sly fell asleep we surrounded him with the empty bottles. He got some good stares from other tourist groups. 

Right next door to our house is a restaurant called the Gypsy Café. When I first moved here it was a strange place where people sometimes stood outside roasting meats and offering to throw in free cocktails if you bought their gypsy chicken. Then the place was bought by new owners, who kept the name, but renovated the inside into an adorable little café. Now the Gypsy Café opens for dinner with their menu scrawled on large chalk boards and stays open until three or so in the morning. I’ve been wanted to go to this mysterious place next door for a long time and when Jen and I heard that they had snails on their menu we had to go. The snails were cooked in an amazing bleu cheese sauce and were completely delicious, plus the appetizers were on special for R20 or about $2.50. We will definitely be back there soon. 

So excited for snails!

Along the lines of food I have to write home about boerewors. They are the South African version of a hot dog, but (sorry U.S.A) so much better. Boerewors are a sausage made of minced beef and spices. Every night the vendors set up small stands and start selling “street meat” and onions on rolls. Besides being able to get this amazing dish for 10R all night, the best part of boerewors is that the vendors have about ten sauces available, which must be used liberally and all at once. I am definitely going to miss street meat when I leave South Africa.  

Street meat!

You have to put on every single sauce.

We found out how to get on our roof!

Elisha, Robert, and I hanging out on the roof.

Cape Town Round Two

After an amazing two weeks with the family in Mexico I am back in Cape Town! We are now in the middle of the South African summer with temperatures around 30°C every day. I am working at the Marine and Coastal Management aquarium for another three months.  Already getting back into the swing of great Cape Town activities like hiking and wine tasting. Stay tuned for new posts and belated ones as well!

Feel that South African sunshine.

Cape Town Music

On October 26^th Kings of Leon performed at Green Point Stadium. Seeing a concert at the 2010 World Cup Stadium was one of the things I wanted to do while in Cape Town, and since I love Kings of Leon I was excited to check another thing off my list. 

Making our way over the pedestrian bridge on the fan walk to the stadium.

During the World Cup Cape Town started a tradition of doing a “fan walk” from downtown to the stadium in Green Point, and a year later fans still do the walk for big sporting events and concerts. I've even been told that the fan walk can be more fun than the actual show. After Jennifer and I got off work we packed into the crowded train and headed downtown to see what this fan walk is all about. We were unsure of the exact route for the fan walk, but from the minute we stepped out of the train station it was obvious where the crowds of people were going. All along the fan walk restaurants had specials and extra tables set outside. Jennifer and I were starving and decided to stop almost immediately at a Peruvian restaurant advertising pisco sours and ceviche. The owner of the restaurant told me that the juice in my ceviche is called tiger milk and people drink it out of the bowl after eating the fish. I was a little concerned he was pulling my leg, but I decided I better try it just to be safe. Not bad at all.

In South Africa? Might as well see a band from the United States and drink South American drinks.

Drinking the tiger milk.

After our meal we wandered rest of the way to the stadium just in time to see the South African opening bands Shadow Club, The Black Hotels, and Die Heuwel Fantasties. I didn't recognize any of the band names, but was really excited when Shadow Club played because I've been listening to their song Good Morning Killer on the radio for weeks now and didn't know who it was by. Also Jack Parow made an surprise appearance in the last opening act, which made the crowd go absolutely crazy. Jack Parow is a really popular Afrikaans rapper who always wears crazy ridiculous hats (see below). For all his silliness he is a great performer.

Jack Parow in all his glory.

Jennifer, Emily, and I in the stadium.

Green Point Stadium at night.

Also a couple weeks ago I went to see a South African band called Goldfish. Again I didn't realize that I knew any of their songs, but was so excited to find out that I have been listening to their songs for weeks and had no idea. One of their songs was even featured in an American car commercial.  I hear this song in restaurants and clubs all the time.Most of their stuff is super fun dance music, which made for a really great show. 

So far the music scene here in Cape Town has been really fun and I can't wait to see (or hear) what's next.

Random Happenings #1

Keeping up with blogging is difficult! Sometimes I get too busy to post and by the time I get around to writing about what I've done I've forgotten some things... or they are too random to fit in a normal blog post, so here is the first installment of things that must be shared! List of random happenings... part one.

To start off, last week's Friday VAC activity was a hike up Constantia Nek Trail in Table Mountain National Park. The hike took about ten minutes to get to the top and then about half an hour of taking pictures at the top.

The most fun was deciding what pose to do on the top of the white post.

Some chose sitting.

Standing.

Planking.

Owling.

I settled on yoga pose. The wind was picking up which made it... interesting.

 Some of the interns decided to hike Lion's Head again during the full moon. Last time I went was a day or two before the full moon and I couldn't believe how many more people there were on the actual night of the full moon. It was packed! The trail was so bottle necked at the part where there are chains and metal handholds to climb up that a few of us rock climbed up the side when we got tired of waiting. At the top was a big party with people bringing snacks and drinks to watch the sunset. Hiking down by moonlight was also fun with torches (what South Africans call flashlights) flashing all over the mountain side and the amazing view of the city.

Another amazing picture overlooking the City Lights.

Now here is something truly worth mentioning. Last Saturday while on the train to the beach we sat down next to a guy with a giant bag of dirt. Upon further inspection I realized that he had cactus in his bag of dirt, and after I complemented him on his plant of choice, he offered me one! Of course I would like a cactus! It got even better when Jeffery (cactus man's name) started telling us about his life. I'll give you the highlights. The first time he ever jumped on a bike he won the biggest BMX competition at only 16. For one year he never left his house and never saw the sunlight. He is a Leo. Apparently Leos are humble and nice, but if you step on their tails you get the PAW! He told us that he can't read, but when he insisted on giving me his number he seemed to write fine. Jeffery also gave us a short lecture about plants and life and something to do with the cycle of life. I would write more because we had a nice half hour talk, but it got kind of confusing. All in all, it was probably the best train ride ever.

Can you tell how excited I am about my new cactus?

Food update! A few weeks ago we were at a nice restaurant on the waterfront that had a "Duo of Game" on the menu. Because it wasn't specified what the game was that day we had to ask the waitress to find out that the duo was Kudo (a type of antelope) and ZEBRA. Yes, I ate zebra. It was delicious.

Kudo and zebra just asking to be eaten.

Also I had warthog ribs! I go into a local pub thinking I'm going to get myself a nice burger, and what do they have on the special?? I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat warthog and again I was not let down. Falling off the bone deliciousness with a nice warthog twist.

That's me.

We visited the planetarium on a VAC Friday activity for a lecture on stars. Unfortunately the reclining seats and dimmed lights lulled most of us to sleep, but I think my love of marine creatures rubbed off on the other interns (by the way, since when do planetariums have animal sculptures?).

Hugging a whale jaw bone and showing off our teeth.

Jumping for joy because we love whales!

That's all I have right now for random happenings, but stay posted because they are happening all the time!