CAPETOWN :
Landed at
Capetown International Airport around 1400 Hrs
After completing
the immigration clearance & collecting the luggage, as we proceeded towards
the exit gate a huge banner having the words “Welcome to the Mother City”
greeted us. The tour manager Mr Dev Bhagat along with his team welcomed us at
the gate & led us to the coach that was waiting for us. He introduced us to
Mr Charl (with the ever smiling face) who was the local tour guide & Mr Riaard
who was the coach driver/ captain.
Considering that
we had already lost 24 precious hours off our original schedule, Dev had
already planned an alternative one, of course subject to the participants’
approval. After a brief discussion, in which everyone unanimously agreed to the
alternative schedule, and without further waste of time (even without waiting
to check into the hotel that had been arranged for our stay at Capetown) we
plunged headlong into the sightseeing by proceeding towards the Table Mountain
Table Mountain –
Official New 7 Wonder of Nature…
Dev & Charl
quickly arranged for the tickets. The ride up the table mountain was to be done
b travelling in a cable car. Having read about the funicular (Wikipedia - A funicular
is one of the modes of transportation which uses a cable traction for movement
on steep inclined slopes. A funicular railway
employs a pair of passenger vehicles which are pulled on a slope by the same
cable which loops over a pulley wheel at the upper end of a track.), everyone was eagerly looking for the ride. The cable car ride was
an ideal beginning for the SA vacation. This particular ride was unlike
anything which I have experienced in my life. To compare the cable car ride
with anything else would be doing a gross injustice to this. (The author was
reminded of riding in a haulage winch operated by the temple authorities, when
visiting the temple town of Pazhani in Tamil Nadu during his school days.) This
particular cable car ride gives one a 360 degree view as the car gradually
rises to the top of the mountain.
Reaching the top
of the Table Mountain, travelling in the cable car / funicular was an
exhilarating experience. From the top of the table mountain one could have a
panoramic view of the city of Cape town on the one side and a breathtaking view
of the Atlantic Ocean on the other.
The surface area
of the table mountain itself was resplendent in its beauty with its bright
display of the flora of the land.
The group enjoyed the mildly chilly climate and the colourful surroundings. The area afforded abundant scope for photography. Most tourists were seen clicking photographs / selfies in their mobile phones &/or digital cameras. Though Dev had allotted us only an hour to spend in the table mountain, the group members’ enthusiasm level suddenly shot up several notches. The mood & the josh of the group was not exactly at the high at the time of landing, especially because the experience of having the landing in SA being delayed by 24 hours.
The group enjoyed the mildly chilly climate and the colourful surroundings. The area afforded abundant scope for photography. Most tourists were seen clicking photographs / selfies in their mobile phones &/or digital cameras. Though Dev had allotted us only an hour to spend in the table mountain, the group members’ enthusiasm level suddenly shot up several notches. The mood & the josh of the group was not exactly at the high at the time of landing, especially because the experience of having the landing in SA being delayed by 24 hours.
After spending
about an hour drinking in the beauty of the place, it was time to proceed
towards the next place which Dev had identified for us to cover on day one
& that was the water front area and a ride in the cape wheel.
The ride in the
Cape wheel (a giant wheel) – The members
formed groups of 6 and filed into the air conditioned cabin which took us all
several metres high above the ground, from where we got a spectacular 360
degrees view of the Cape Town from the Waterfront area. The ride took around 20
minutes.
After the Cape
Wheel ride the group proceeded to check into Hotel SS Cape Sun where lodging arrangements
were made for us. At around 2000 hrs a sumptuous dinner was served after which
the members retired to bed as the next day was slated to begin early - by 0800
hrs, Dev informed at dinner time that the next day’s schedule was packed with a
reasonable distance to be travelled & more importantly if the group could
co-operate with him in terms of the time schedule he would ensure that we are
able to cover up the 24 precious hours which we had missed.
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