Cape Town – Day 1

We had a beautiful drive through spectacular mountains from Swellendam to Cape Town. After dropping off our hire car we were picked up by our pre-arranged taxi and taken to the District Six museum in the city, (with our bags being taken off to our friend Jo’s house where we would be staying).

The area known as District Six got its name from having been the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town in 1867. District Six had close links to the city and the port and was a vibrant community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants before its destruction under Apartheid. It was a diverse community on a number of levels – language, religion, economic class, geographical area of origin. On 11 February 1966 it was declared a white area under the Group Areas Act of 1950, and by 1982, the community life there was over. More than 60,000 people were forcibly removed to barren outlying areas known as the Cape Flats, and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers. A sobering reminder of the effects of Cape Town’s political history. The exhibition also drew parallels with communities around the world which had suffered similar fates.

The geographical phenomenon of Table Mountain was next on our agenda.

The floor rotates as you rise up the mountain so that everyone has a good view.

It was a beautiful clear day and we were able to get fantastic views from both sides of the flat top of this mountain. From there we went to Haut Bay where Jo is hosting us for our final couple of days.