A Fort Wayne newspaper, News-Sentinel's copy editor, Faith Van Gilder visited Africa in the 1980s when she and her husband, David, served in the Peace Corps. She's recently returned to our shores & here's her account of her visit to Cape Town.

A COLUMN BY FAITH VANGILDER
Cape Town is mixture of races, cultures

Our train arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, as the sun set one evening in early June. The iconic Table Mountain was silhouetted against the dusty orange sky, as the city’s lights twinkled on and commuters streamed home from work.

It was perhaps an unusual destination for my husband and me to celebrate our 25th anniversary. As Peace Corps volunteers in neighboring Botswana in the late 1980s, we were discouraged from traveling in South Africa under its former apartheid government of racial segregation. But since 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president, tourism has boomed. We had heard how beautiful and cosmopolitan the city is, situated where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet, and wanted to see it for ourselves.

Train of thought

Trains are a great way to see a country “behind the scenes.” We traveled on the Premier Classe, a bit more upscale than Amtrak, with comfortable sleeping compartments and a dining car with white tablecloths and fresh flowers. The 870-mile trip from Johannesburg in the northeast to Cape Town in the southwest took us through mining areas, the Great Karoo desert, sheep ranches and, as we neared the coast, miles of vineyards.

We also got a glimpse of the rampant poverty. The poorest people live in squatter camps (the government calls them “informal settlements”), cobbled together from scraps of wood and corrugated metal. The government is bringing electricity, water and toilets to the camps, but they are growing quickly due to immigration from even poorer neighboring countries.

Outside Johannesburg, we passed huge cemeteries attesting to the toll AIDS has taken on South Africa.

Dutch heritage

The differences between Johannesburg and Cape Town were noticeable the minute we stepped off the train. The dry, dusty environment of the high plains in the east was replaced by the cool, humid air along the coast. The city is attractive, in a post-colonial sort of way, with historic buildings on wide boulevards lined with palm trees. Table Mountain, with adjoining peaks Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, add depth to every view.

Cape Town was founded by the Dutch in the mid-1650s as a supply depot for ships rounding the Cape – those that survived shipwreck, that is. Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company established the Company’s Garden to grow vegetables for the sailors. It is now a botanical garden full of fountains and exotic trees and birds. After changing hands between Holland and England several times, Cape Town became a British colony in 1814.

Downtown diversity

People of many races and cultures mingle freely, unlike the days of apartheid when nonwhites were forbidden to live in the city. The descendants of early slaves imported from Madagascar and Indonesia form the largest ethnic group and are called Cape Coloureds.

The downtown has museums, monuments, government buildings and wide, palm-lined streets. In Greenmarket Square, vendors sell carvings, jewelry, baskets and other handicrafts. Long Street is full of backpackers’ hostels and restaurants suiting every taste.

One night we ate at Mama Africa, where there is live music and house specialties include crocodile, ostrich, kudu and springbok. The exchange rate between the South African rand and the dollar made dining in South Africa a bargain. The most expensive entrée – 109 rand – was $15.

The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, built in 1988, is a working harbor with upscale restaurants, hotels, apartments and shops. At the Two Oceans Aquarium, visitors get up-close to marine life of the Indian and Atlantic oceans and can see a living kelp forest, one of only two in the world. Nobel Square honors South Africa’s four Nobel Peace Prize recipients: Albert Luthuli in 1960, Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984, and Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk in 1993.

The V&A Waterfront is also where ferries leave three times a day for Robben Island, where Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years. The prison closed in 1996 and the area is now a nature reserve. We were disappointed that rough seas canceled the trips on both days we made reservations, but we did look at the photos and other interpretive displays in the visitor center.
In the townships

We had arranged a half-day tour with an outfit called Daytrippers, which takes tourists off the beaten track to interact with local people. Isaac, our guide, gave us a brief history as we headed into the hills. He explained that, during apartheid, entire areas of the city were declared whites-only and people were forcibly removed.

District Six was one of those areas. It had been a vibrant mix of 60,000 Indian, black, Muslim and white residents until the government razed it starting in 1968 to enforce racial separation. The District Six Museum, housed in a synagogue left standing, is a tribute to the many families who lived there. Photos, letters and personal possessions give a glimpse into their community.

The infamous townships were in the news in May because of violence toward immigrants from other African countries. Fortunately, by the time we visited, the xenophobia had settled down.

In Langa (“sun”) Township, we observed how millions of working-class blacks live in poor conditions similar to the apartheid years. Women plucked chickens on the corners, then cooked and sold the meat, while barefoot children played in the trash-strewn roads. We visited two families’ cramped apartments, a crafts workshop, a traditional healer (witch doctor), and a shebeen where beer is brewed and drunk.

Cape of Good Hope

Cape Town is unique among cities because of its proximity to a huge national park that encompasses Table Mountain and much of the Cape of Good Hope peninsula. Our full-day tour started in the fog-shrouded fishing village of Hout Bay, about 15 miles south along the Atlantic, then continued on Chapman’s Peak scenic drive, which winds along sheer 700-foot cliffs over the coast. Near Hout Bay, visitors can take a small boat to a rocky island offshore that is home to thousands of Cape fur seals.

The sun emerged as we crossed the peninsula to the Indian Ocean side, where at Simon’s Town there is a colony of rare African penguins at Boulders Beach. Visitors walk on raised walkways so as not to disturb their breeding grounds. In the summer, the sheltered beaches are popular. We were there in the Southern Hemisphere winter, a bit too chilly for swimming.

At Cape Point Nature Reserve, we were in for a wild and windy afternoon. First we biked through the “fynbos” (“fine bush” in Afrikaans) vegetation, trying to avoid ostriches and Chacma baboons looking for a handout. Then we hiked along the southwestern-most tip of the African continent, fighting vertigo as we looked down hundreds of feet to the waves crashing on the boulders below.
The future

After years of global ostracism and trade sanctions, South Africa seems determined to present a new, more progressive face to the world. The country was chosen to host the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2010, and the new stadium in Cape Town is one of several under construction to host the event. The Cape Town airport is being renovated, and walls are being built along major highways to block the worst of the squatter settlements from view.

Many whites remain frustrated by what they perceive as a lack of leadership from the current black government led by President Thabo Mbeki. He stirred controversy over his denial of the link between HIV and AIDS, and he’s been blamed for the frequent electricity outages. (In January, some 500 tourists were trapped on Table Mountain for three hours when the power went out on the cable cars.)

A retired Cape Town resident whom we talked to on the train said many young urban whites are considering emigrating. They are worried about crime, safety and economic growth under Jacob Zuma, who will likely be elected president in November.

Despite the challenges they face, most Capetonians we talked to are optimistic about their country. With its rich heritage, abundant natural resources, and proud, hardworking people, the city seems poised to help lead South Africa into its next chapter.

Quick Facts:

Cape Town

Established: 1652

Currency: rand ($1 equals 7.8 rand)

Government: one of three capitals of the country, with Pretoria and Bloemfontein

Population: 3.5 million (2007), second-largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg.

Racial makeup: 48% coloured (biracial), 31% black Africans, 18% whites, 1.4% Asians.

Area: 947 square miles

Climate: Mediterranean

Languages: Afrikaans (derived from Dutch), Xhosa, English, Sotho, Zulu, Tswana

Economy: Tourism, agriculture, real estate, mining

Challenges: HIV/AIDS, crime, xenophobia
Useful Links:

♦Premier Classe train: www.premierclasse.co.za

♦Daytrippers: www.daytrippers.co.za

♦District Six Museum: www.districtsix.co.za

♦Mama Africa: www.mamaafricarest.net

♦Victoria & Alfred Waterfront: www.waterfront.co.za

♦Two Oceans Aquarium: www.aquarium.co.za

♦Robben Island: www.robben-island.org.za

This article appeared on the site: www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/LIVING/808200329

Posted on Wed. Aug. 20, 2008 - 12:31 pm EDT