Much like I did in Miami... and New York... and Connecticut, I have found myself showing off my city. Yes, my city. In this round, it's Cape Town, and I couldn't be happier to demonstrate that this incredible port, nestled between mountain and ocean, is much more than her violent, unforgiving reputation. South Africa is more.
In the last few days, we (once again) went up the cable car to Table Mountain, pointing out all of our unique suburbs and scanning the horizon for Mitchell's Plain (where my South African stays), laughing at masses of school children running wild across the supposedly delicate ecosystem on the mesa top. We revisited (after a three year hiatus) the fantastic exhibit of marine life at Two Oceans Aquarium on the Waterfront, where we relearned the South African fish species Kob, Kingklip and Snoek, as well as said hello to the adorable Knysna seahorses. Incredibly well maintained, Two Oceans is a great way to spend an afternoon getting to know the diverse and unique marine life at Africa's southern tip, mixing exhibits from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as inshore and offshore species.
We've sampled incredible crisp, creative blended wines at Spier, opened in 1692 one of South Africa's oldest wineries, paired with delectable and overwhelmingly delicious chocolates (cardamom and passion fruit? cayenne white chocolate?) in Stellenbosch's gorgeous rolling winelands. Afterwards, we visited the incredible bird of prey rehabilitation program that Spier hosts on it's property, getting up close and personal with Black, Martial and Fish Eagles, petting the heads of little Barn Owls, and marveling at the Peregrine Falcons and Harris Hawks they had fastidiously trained. We finished off the day with lunch at Eight Restaurant, a farm to table initiative that left us stunned, and then stuffed. The freshness of their ingredients coupled with the gorgeous outdoor setting was a fantastic entry into the world of Western Cape.
Back in the city center, we sauntered down the old colonial paths of the Mount Nelson onto Government Avenue, a road I am all too familiar with, as it's where I walk my dog each and every morning. Without fail, each day, I see South Africans (usually school groups; masses of children in their tell tale uniforms) and tourists (backpacks, cameras, money belts outside their shirts, etc.) alike walking in and out of the giant yellow and white building at the head of one of Company Garden's many squares, though I have never thought twice about going inside for myself to see what exactly they have on display. For some reason, I had assumed this South African Museum was one dedicated to their political history - one that is apartheid-central, racist, and in almost all cases, quite disheartening. I made this assumption as the building is surrounded by other government structures and is situated on government avenue. However, yesterday we were given reason to venture inside. How wrong I was. How surprised - no, impressed, I am.
The South African Museum all but ignores the apartheid era. Their focus is on the Khoi-San and other Bushmen ethnic groups that populated much of South Africa in the time before the Dutch and British (and all the other ethnicities of the world) made this country a melting pot of black, white and colored. The first exhibits are dedicated to preservation of their traditions: incredible rock art (both etching/engraving and painting traditions), their worship of certain animals to bring about changes in the natural world, as well as the use of trance-induction during ritualized dances to help combat an illness or condition. The exhibit has a huge array of artifacts, and strives to immerse the viewer in the world of the Bushmen. It is a refreshing taste of South Africa, one where a very marginalized population is given a more permanent and important voice.
The rest of the museum (an astonishing four floors with massive galleries and huge open atriums) is dedicated to the fauna of South Africa - from the depths of the ocean to the Kalahari and Kgalagadi. The first segment showcases some impressive pelagic specimens; massive Black Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna and even the adorable Mola!
Just as there was in Two Oceans, the South African Museum has a great section devoted to the preservation of shark species in their waters. Huge cases are filled with specimens of a multitude of sharks, from the tiny six and seven gilled variety to the iconic Great White. They even had this fantastic bit of information about the relative mortality of shark bites in the United States (wooohoo go Americans!):
Whales, dolphins and porpoises hang from the ceilings, bridging the divide between the oceanic realm and that of mammals. The upper floors progress from dinosaur fossils and massive reconstructed skeletons to the incredible modern diversity of life that stretches from the Cape to Kruger. Taxidermy lions and hyenas fighting over scraps, a striped hyena taking down an adult antelope, cheetahs stretching majestically as they would on the Savannah, all the varied species you would expect to see on safari.
There's even a small bit dedicated to mineral formation and different types of rock. Not knowing much about our mineral world, I was fascinated to see the various formations and color combinations that can be synthesized in the mantle and core.
In any case, check it out if you're in the area,
- Rh
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