Cape Town, South Africa

Africa...mystique continent for most people...for some reason I never longed to explore this wild and according to many captivating part of the world. However, I must admit that a tiny, small part of me deep down was perhaps intrigued about it for a simple reason. From all of my experiences and journeys around the globe, magic was always found in the places least expected: Berlin, Mexico City, Lijiang and places where expectations never took flight before arrival.

Quiet rain welcomes a grey morning as I open up my eyes in Cape Town...as if Africa is welcoming those doubtful souls like me the way they deserve it for questioning the enchantment of this lost continent... A lone notion of realization where I am brings with itself an air of interest and wonder about what to expect...Zena and Craig are here with me as an early welcoming committee for all the other Nutrimetics people that will be arriving couple of days down the track for our International Seminar 2012.


First day is always a recovery…easy stroll down the city’s waterfront as the clouds like a gray, feathery comforter do not want to let us out of their secure embrace. We are walking amongst the old docks and shipyard today integrated with modern shops and entertainment aspects. Everywhere you turn, a remarkable contrast between old times and present…Old fishermen boats with modern yachts, architecture from decades ago sprinkled with today’s modernism…and through out it all a warm feeling flowing around us, people with smiles on their faces and pompous mountain in the background proudly observing life within its reach. A sense of piece in a strange land…Cape Town, I could not ask for me at the beginning of our time together…

One of the things that I truly did look forward to was visiting Robben Island…being able to walk down the pathways of history, listening the silence of times whispering untold stories of years of injustice and cruelty…another testament of how human kind can get it so wrong. This island was home to Nelson Mandela for 18 of his 27 years spent in prison, and many others whose names might not be known as well today, yet those who sacrificed just as much in the name of change. Looking in the eyes of our tour guide who was prisoner himself, I could feel dark abyss of what this place created within him. I wonder how does he feel, when roaming these hallways of hurt that are there to remind him of his past every single day? Surreal is the only word that surfaces amongst these freshly painted walls that hide so much underneath. Standing in front of Mandela’s tiny cell, the question emerges in my mind: “Would you be willing to spend 18 years in it, for a chance to change the history?” and it remains there long after our boat takes us away, back to our reality and comfort of our living.

Sun continues its battle through the blanket of fog and clouds splattered from somewhere above the Table Mountain as we make our way down the coast...hugging the turns down the Atlantic Seaboard that is taking us away from the embrace of the mountain rows that cradle the city; Fiesta feels like its taking it's last breath with every step on the gas pedal...where is a rental car upgrade when you need it :-) Sun is slowly giving up its fight, saving itself for another day, and as we reach Signal Hill rain claims its moment high above the city...and it gives the view even more mystical feel... as if Robben Island in the distance retrieves itself even more so in the decades of its painful history...empty Soccer stadium stands out in a stark contrast as if wanting to indicate opposite spectrum and the progress this country has made since then…despite it all Cape Town seems to me like someone that I used to know...We continue down the coast that carries on this weird resemblance…Pieces of it provide flashbacks of Australia and its natural beauty and at moments I have to remind myself that I am indeed 14 hours away instead on a drive outside of Brisbane...incredible Hout Bay framed in the river view mirror  stays behind us and with the first rays of sun we arrive at the Cape Point...

Stunning views and a small glimpse of this place in the sun light...Cape Point in the mist feels like a landscape out of Paolo Coehlo's novels and it just feels he had to write some of his thoughts in a place like this. We keep driving down one of the most beautiful cost lines as our sights reach horizons and minds slowly drift away...sleep catches up with me (or is it just usual me not being able to stay awake if I am moving and not behind the wheel) and for what it seems just a few seconds I am awaken with a raindrops on the windshield one more time on the entrance into Kalk Bay. Lovely little restaurant on the pier that must have its twin brother somewhere on the edge of Aegean sea on the coast of Greece...we get lost in the world of blue and white tones as waves keep slamming against the windows...outside fishermen bringing in their daily catches and "Sammy" the seal with futile wait on the stair case hoping that it is his day...

Alayna and I catch a break and embark on more exploration. Contemplating our options and inability to do some parasailing due to the weather, the choice falls on visiting Cheetah conversation project and Spier winery in Stellenbosch area. This wonderful Programme is set up in order to raise the awareness of the danger of Cheetahs becoming extinct spices. Not too long ago more than 100,000 Cheetahs roamed the globe but unfortunately their numbers have fallen to about 7,000...one of the ways to fight the danger of this beautiful animal’s extinction is by raising Anatolian Shepherd dogs which are given to the farmers in order to protect their live stock and therefore proactively prevent farmers from killing Cheetahs in the wild in order to protect their animals. We get a chance to pet Joseph, 10 year old male that even got to star next to Patrick Swazey in the movie “King Solomon’s Mines”. Unfortunately it seems like he either has had better days or simply had a nice dose of sleeping pills as he did not move while we were inside his cage which was a little bit disappointing. Adding to it was the fact that all the cubs left just a week prior to that so Alayna and I were left with no other options but to console ourselves at the second part of the property which contained beautiful winery...few sips and tastes and we are on our way again...

Heading towards the mountains we loose our track only to find ourselves in a place of magnificent beauty...on a contrary, sun finally finds its way and slowly shines on breath taking views of the valley surrounded by a sentinel row of mountains harbouring acres of wine yards...as we stare in the distance peacefulness come across us once again....no matter what happens before or afterwards, this day will always be special just for these few moments alone. Beauty and nature, in a perfect balance of harmony together, will always be a reminder that sometimes behind the roads less taken splendid beauty waits to be found.

Final episode of our South African trip took place miles away from Cape Town. We decided to stop by Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge on the way back to Sydney. After a quick flight to Johannesburg and not so quick car ride to the Reserve, we arrived just in time for an evening drive into the bush…At last a taste of true Africa as the sights in front of us finally connect with the preconceived pictures of African outdoors in my head. Elephants in the distance and rhino and its baby meters away, were just slices of wilderness that surrounded us. Still, the most incredible feeling was seeing the eyes of the night deep in the heart of the bush, as the guide's flashlight scanned the horizon long after sun disappeared behind it. Those were the eyes of animals observing us from the safety of the darkness. Red and yellow, that's how tiny is the difference between life and death for humans as the first color belongs to the eyes of carnivores and later one to those of herbivores. Nature and life as one, in this place of peacefulness, will always serve as a perfect memory of what an incredible journey we just had. As the sun raised itself above the bush on our last day on this astonishing continent, I stared in the distance while sentiments of delight ran through my body…And I had to admit to myself that as hard as I tried not to allow it, mother Africa extended its embrace and captured me forever.