Where were we?

Apologies for the long absence, the result of a few factors, firstly I have used up my storage quota with goggle hence I need to decide if I will continue blogging and go ahead with buying more storage.  A decision I am yet to make.  And secondly the internet connection at The Rockwell is average and I am achieving very little online.

Anyhoo enough about that... we are in CAPE TOWN!!! It is unreal, hot, busy and a city.  The wide, foggy, dusty & cold streets of Swakop seem so far away and it is with some distance that I am in awe of the life we just lived! I'm a city girl who now lives at the beach but never have I lived in a small "country/desert" town  and it is only now that I am back in the city that I realise how small Swakop really was.  It was great but hello big smoke we missed you.

Since arriving almost 3 weeks ago it has been non stop. Birthday parties, Nash's at the The Aquarium, Marli & Tyler's on the Jolly Roger and Jen's 40th birthday sunset cruise. So much shopping, an evening at Zara, across the road at the Cape Quarter and Saturday mornings at the Old Biscuit Mill Market. Adventures at the beautiful Green Point playground,  a harbour cruise on Tommy the Tug, mornings at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, day trips to World of Birds and Boulders Beach to frolic with the penguins. Some hairy moments on top of the magnificent Table Mountain.  Long lunches with Ryan and his new family.  Lots of time with a dread free Jen. Swimming in the pool, almost swimming at the beach.  All the while Steve continues to slave away doing 6 day weeks at work but its only two more days to go now ...  of course that would be two more day/nights, thank you very much!

Cape Town is an extraordinary city, there is so much incredible fashion, design and food. There is the beauty of the mountain & the beach juxtaposed with the realities of African life, the begging, the poverty and the townships.  The beaches are gorgeous but forget about swimming, it is so bloody cold a two minute dip/submersion is all I could manage.  This amazing city on the southern tip of Africa is so utterly African and so utterly global, a true mix of worlds, first, third and everything in between.

I feel so lucky to be here, to look out our window and marvel at Table Mountain. We are having a ball, it feels like a holiday (don't tell Steve) and the perfect way to end our African safari.  I am so in the mode of being away it is almost impossible to imagine being at home but in 2 short weeks this little family of travelers will once again call Australia home.

PS - so many great photos to share but until the storage situation this all I can manage.

Danke Swakopmund.

So.... the past week fews have been epic, saying goodbye to my parentals, saying good bye to Swakop, the school concert, braiis, lunchs, one last trip to everywhere, a first trip to the recently opened Aquarium, crew wrap party, packing and the inevitable last swakop cough & cold!  Steve left on the crew charter a few hours ago and the boys have been asleep for close to 3 hours!  Tomorrow is Ace's last day at Bugs & Beetles, we have a lunch with Sharon to thank her in some small way for the kindness and generosity she has shown us by driving us to pre-school each and every day for the past 5 months. 

The sadness and nostalgia for this crazy little town is setting in... we will miss the wide empty streets, the ladies who love the boys in the cafes we visit, the security guy at Spa that looks after Ace's scooter when we do our shopping, Leonard who always signs hello to his little namesake as we pay for our groceries, Vitto & Janis who toil away in our garden and clean our buckie so well each weekend, no traffic, no traffic lights, rarely driving a car, Bugs & Beetles, walking everywhere, being able to eat out so much, the colorful dangerous playground, the chocolate milkshakes, the quiet, the Atlantic ocean, the guinea fowl, our new friends and our old friends.

Next stop Cape Town.. till then here are some pics of the past 2 weeks.  Ace's school concert was UNREAL.  I could not be more proud of our little sheep.

xxx

A dose of reality.

Sure Swakopmund might see like all cake, coffee and shopping but of course the reality for more than 50% of the population is just simply hard core poverty.  That 50% of the population of Swakop lives in Mondessa and DRC whilst the rest of Swakop wallows in deserted streets and empty houses.

We went on a Cultural Tour and it was incredible.  Since then money, food and clothing have been flying out of my hands as I try somehow to make up for having so much when people down the road have so little.  Sure we can fool ourselves into thinking we aren't wealthy by our middle class white standards but we are kings in comparison.  One thing is certain we may have more food, clothes, and money but happiness, family and community are thriving and strong in Mondessa.

Mondessa was built during apartheid which was part of life under South African rule.  The "black" suburb was further broken down into tribes and has pretty much stayed that way. At some point in recent times the houses were given to the families who resided in them and they are now passed down through the families.  Recently the government has embarked on a "Build Together" campaign where the locals apply for their own mortgage and with the government build a one or two bedroom house (all identical) with the view that you may add on to it in the future.

All the homes in Mondessa have electricity, sewerage and running water.  Once you own your home you are allowed to do whatever you want with it as long as its legal.  So in many front yards you can find shops, hairdressing salons or bars.  In the backyard you will often find many makeshift humpy type dwellings attached.  These shacks pay rent to the owner of the home and are built by the occupants and are dismantled and taken with them when they leave. Many of the residents (many men) of Mondessa and DRC have come to Swakop to find work mostly in the uranium mines.  They live in these shacks and send money home to their families in the villages and once a year save up all their holidays and return to the village, apparently Mondessa can seem deserted come December.

And then there is the DRC or Democratic Resettlement Community which is just beyond Mondessa. Started as a temporary resettlement community the inhabitants are not allowed to build any permanent structures, however after 10 years there is a degree of  unrest as the community campaigns for the government to finally "formalise" the settlement and provide basic infrasturcture.  The shacks in the DRC do not have running water, toilets or sewerage.  There is a tap at the end of every 2nd street and toilets similarly located.  I recently found out our lovely cleaner Katrina live in DRC, so sad! What more can I say about DRC, the photos (whilst very average) speak for themselves, it is sad, wrong and a fact of life in Africa.

We were taken on our tour by a young 23 year old guy Michael who was confident, articulate and knowledgeable.  He took us to his home in Mondessa which he inherited from his grandmother.  He had about six shacks in his back yard and lots of dried fish heads hanging in the back yard.  Many of the men here from the villages buy huge bags of fish heads, dry them and send them home to their families.  We also visited an orphanage that has benefited a lot from the work of a couple of crew mums.  We learnt about the traditional dress of the Herero women, the family structure of the tribes, visited a primary school, had a traditional meal with Coke and enjoyed a performance from Vocal Galore.  It was educational, real, upsetting and fantastic.

Do I wish I could have done more? Do I wish I had learnt more? Damn right but we did what we could with two rugrats, giving Katrina & Violet food and clothes, feeding the window cleaner out of the third floor window each month, giving Vitto & Janis a generous sum for the weekly car wash & feeding them when I could. There is not much more I can say, life for so many in Africa is just bloody tough but one thing that struck us all was when Michael told us that many of the people that do well and earn enough money to live in the "white" part of Swakop DON'T.  Instead they build their dream homes in Mondessa and continue to be part of a real community!

xxx

PS - I just realised this post had been half published, I hope you get to read it all cos it might the only "real" post of this whole blog.  And please excuse the average photography as it felt a little wrong snapping away.

There was a set of one year old twins living in the back shack. You can see him peeking out.

Michael's backyard

For the time being.

Here are a few pics of the past weeks whilst I gather my thoughts and our belongings.  We have farewelled  Mum & Dad and I have turned my attention to the next phase.  In the meantime below are some photos of Sonny looking cheeky, Ace insisting he isn't tired and a quick trip up the coast to see a recent shipwreck, it isn't called the Skeleton Coast for nothing.

xx

The Circle of Life.

After two weeks of Swakopmund and surrounds sight-seeing (otherwise known as shopping!) we set off for the wilds of Africa experience.  We drifted into Erindi just in time for lunch which kicked off 3 days of epic eating... a battle that was easily won by Dad.  It was gloriously hot and much swimming was done.  Mum and Dad went on several Game Drives with their trusty guide Alphonzo and got up close and personal with lions, cheetahs, elephants and more.

Meanwhile Ace and Sonny tore up the joint on their scooter and motorbike.  The waterhole beside the restaurant was dry but there was still so much to see and this time round lots of babies!  Zebra foals, hippo calfs, pregnant giraffes and the holy grail, lion cubs feasting on a warthog which we were lucky to see on the Kiddies Game Drive!!

On this trip to Erindi, I was able to go on my first non Kiddies Game Drive and was lucky enough to see 2 male cheetahs, a female cheetah, 3 female lions and the king of the jungle a male Lion.   However this time round I really loved all the less celebrated animals, like the ugly warthog, the incredible looking zebra and the fastest animal on two legs.. the ostrich! 

Please bear with the photography, we left Steve, the family wildlife photographer behind at work.

 xx

Here we go again.

It has been great having Mum & Dad in Swakop and sharing with them the highlights of our six months here, particularly as we get ready to leave for South Africa in 2 weeks time.  It is hard to believe our time here is almost over!  I am starting to feel a little sad and nostalgic for this funny little town. I also love hearing the new words in Ace's vocab that are a direct result of our life here, like desert & dunes and Swakopmund & fog!  I wonder what he will swap them for back in Sydney, maybe traffic & car and busy & noisy!

Anyhoo last weekend Steve traded in the buckie for a mini van and we bundled up the family unit and visited Dune 7 then enjoyed lunch at Anchors on the waterfront in Walvis Bay. Twas fun!

xoxo