In South Africa we refer to the Old South Africa and the New South Africa. The Old South Africa was the unfortunate period when we had discriminatory policies and a time most of us would prefer to forget. But we can’t and we know we never will.
The New South Africa came about on 27th April 1994 when we had our first free and fair election and with it came a new flag, new anthem and a whole new way of life. Nelson Mandela is the leader who took us into this era. Madiba, as he is known here, is loved by his people for the peaceful way he managed this transition. He united us into what Bishop Tutu called – The Rainbow Nation.
It may be that I am biased, but I do think we have a pretty flag. It has loads of bright colours which all mean something but I am not sure what. It stands boldly against most other flags.
Before the Old South Africa was a very old South Africa. A time before the draconian laws came into place. The most memorable leader during that time was Jan Smuts. His contribution to the world was the establishment of The League of Nations and he assisted in forming the United Nations.
Here in South Africa, if you order a cup of tea, you will asked if you would like Rooibos tea or Regular tea. Rooibos means red bush in English. Rooibos tea is a deep reddish colour and is naturally caffeine free and low in oxalic acid. It is also high in vitamins and minerals relative to other teas. We use it as a thirst quencher for babies.
I drink mine as I do regular tea, with milk. It can be drunk as one would a herbal tea, with lemon or honey.
Rooibos is indigenous to the Cape and is part of the fynbos – fine bush in English – family of plants. The Cape with it’s Mediterranean type and sometimes harsh climate can be unforgiving to vegetation. Fynbos thrives where no other plants will grow. There are over 2600 species of indigenous plants in the Cape Peninsula alone – more than the entire United Kingdom.
Most cities have the same old tours. We have them here too. Scary ghost tours? Tick. Walking tours? Tick. City underground tours? Tick. Open top red bus tours? Tick. Go to this site City Sightseeing for more on the red open top buses.
The two main Tourist Information offices in Cape Town are at The Clocktower Gallery at the V and A Waterfront and the other is located corner Burg and Strand Streets in Cape Town city centre. There you will find all manner of brochures for tours and excursions.
But how about something completely different. A side-car tour maybe? You can find them in Glengariff Road in Sea Point. And no trip is complete without a township tour. Check out Nomvuyos website here – Nomvuyos Tours. Start practising your clicks and clucks so you can impress locals with some Xhosa words.
Today, it’s exactly 60 days to go to the 2010 Soccer World Cup here in Cape Town.
Last night they had another practise game at Cape Town Soccer Stadium. There were so many police and security vehicles about that the area had a blue glow. Even the heavens had helicopters zipping back and forth.
In the picture is where the Noon Gun is fired by the South African Navy every day, except Sundays, at 12 o’clock midday. Long ago they had cannons all around the circumference of Signal Hill. As a ship sailed in and passed a cannon, a signal would be fired. That was how they knew when a ship was coming and how close it was to Table Bay Harbour.
Some people go up to watch the cannon being fired. It’s loud enough here in Green Point so I can only imagine how loud it must be next to the cannon. There is a museum at the V and A Waterfront for enthusiasts who want to know more about our canons and the Noon Gun.
I hardly slept last night. Some machine that sounded like a steam train went on all night down on Green Point Common. It’s still going now.
The first match kicks off between France and Uruguay on Friday 11th June 2010. Call it 2 months from now.
There is still a lot of work to be done here. So I guess during the next 2 months the contractors are going to be working flat out.
And it’s raining today. I’m pleased as it’s been hot and dry but I’m sure the contractors won’t be so thrilled.
Can’t wait for all this construction to be over.
So while I am blogging that SA is not the most dangerous place on planet earth yesterday, tabloids and broadsheets both here and abroad are having field day with the murder of Eugene Terreblanche.
People forget that this land has survived all manner of hardships – political and natural. I will not enter into debate on the who, what, where, when and hows of the incident. I will say, my experience, is that most South Africans are warm, a bit conservative and not inclined to the behaviour that is being portrayed in the news.
Most of us are out doing our usual things and tut-tutting at the headlines. We have a habit here, of chatting to strangers as if we know them. Post Office and supermarket queues around the land will have us sharing our opinions on this one.
