South Africa with Family – Cape Town

We arrived in Cape Town from our Garden Route drive on Saturday (this was 2nd June), to spend 6 days there. I enjoyed showing them what is one of my favorite places, and most especially to introduce them to the children at Baphumelele.

Unfortunately, the weather this time of year in Cape Town is not very friendly and we had only one day – Sunday – with plenty of sunshine, bright blue skies and a crisp breeze blowing in from the ocean – weather that typifies the city to me. The rest of our visit, it was cold and rainy. But, we took advantage of that sunny Sunday by touring the city from atop the double decker bus, seeing Table Mountain and having lunch on the beach in Camps Bay. I think my family was taken aback by how beautiful so much of the city is, proclaiming they could easily take a beach front home in Camps Bay, Clifton or Greenpoint – at prices, believe it or not, that currently rival those in the Hamptons!

On Monday then, after a Cape Malay lunch at Biesmiellah in the Bo Kaap section of the city centre, we drove out for a drive through some of the townships, ending up in Khayelitsha and the children’s home where I previously volunteered, Baphumelele. I had not been back there since I left in January and seeing everyone brought back a flood of emotions. I believe this visit was hard for my family as well – seeing all of these orphaned or abandoned children, being overwhelmed by the smells of their nappies, illnesses and medicines, driving through Khayelitsha on a grim rainy day, with its tin shacks for homes and containers for stores, its open fires and piles of trash, you see, smell, feel the utter despair and life’s unfairness. My mother cried after the visit to Bap, something not easy.


It is difficult, after a day spent in Khayelitsha, to then head back out to tour some Cape Town’s more beautiful locations, worlds away from the townships. But we did, spending Tuesday out in the wine country of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, Wednesday back shopping and relaxing in Cape Town, and Thursday on a tour to the Cape of Good Hope, Simon’s Town to see penguins and one more winery at Constantia. Then, everyone headed back to the US, and I, back to Kenya.

(Pictured: My mother, sister & I at Table’s Mountain with Devil’s Peak behind; Family at Haut Bay; My father with Jessica and Shakes; Matt & Jesse in front of Fairview winery, also known for its goat cheeses)