I went up Lion’s Head with Mia the Travel Coordinator at New Backpackers, her friend Tammy, and David, an Aussie vacationing here in South Africa.

Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill are well known for providing scenic climbs to the top.

But no one warned me you had to be part billy goat to do this…

But first, as we were walking up the mountain, we saw this woman paragliding for the first time. The instructor straps to your back and then you take off running down the slope to catch some air.

Getting to the top of Lion’s Head is certainly not impossible but much more difficult if you are out of shape or scared of heights. Fortunately I am neither of these things, nor was anyone else I was traveling with.

But the interesting side trip was going to Boulders Beach, also known as Penguin Beach because it is a nesting ground for African penguins. Who knew Africa had penguins? With it’s close proximity to Antarctica, it does make sense though…

The draw is that you can sit on the beach with the penguins and swim with them. It is pretty much I won’t bother you if you won’t bother me on the beach. The birds are not tame but tolerate the humans among them.
Don’t let these pictures deceive you. There are thousands of penguins on this beach. This is just one section of beach easily accessible by both man and bird.

And if you stand there among the penguins…dead silence. It is like you’re in the middle of a alien planet.

As for loyal reader “Bonnie”, who wanted a picture of me holding a penguin, your wish was granted. I could not hold a live penguin. They are not tame and one could take your eye out with those sharp beaks. But again I come through for my readers!

Happy Feet in South Africa is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

Beyond the heavy political and economic issues of South Africa, Cape Town has a remarkable amount of things to do. Skydiving, parasailing, deep sea diving, hiking, biking, the list is virtually endless. Combine that with fantastic weather (highs in the 80s, little humidity) and you’ve got a great place for an active vacation.

I went to the top of Table Mountain that overlooks Cape Town, aptly named because the top is level. Magnificent views of Cape Town and the Atlantic from there. Table Mountain, Signal Hill and Lion’s Head make up the 3 natural structures that overlook Cape Town.

Across from Table Mountain is another structure called Lion’s Head

I also went to Seal Island. Had to catch a ship from Hout Bay, a 20 minute drive from downtown Cape Town. The trip was JUST 38 rand ($4US). The conversion rate is ridiculously good here. I had a few sit down, waiter attended, good silverware, in restaurant steak meals for $10-12US. Other meals, again sit down with a waiter, for less than $8US. For Americans the dollar goes far here, unlike in Europe.

Seal Island, is full of….you guessed it, seals. The boat ride to Seal Island was longer than the time we spent looking at the seals. We were hoping to see a great white shark try to come in and grab a seal for lunch but no such luck. The potential was there though.Summer beach scene. You’re just replacing humans with THOUSANDS of seals.

More madcap antics on the way….

Fun Stuff in South Africa is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

So after my time in the township, I had lunch and then headed right over to Robben Island.

Robben Island, the notorious maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held, is now an site dedicated to showing the power of the human spirit.

The ticket for the ferry from the Cape Town waterfront and the Robben Island tour cost 180 rand ($18US)

First we headed over fron Victoria Wharf by high speed boat to Robben Island.

Once there, we jumped on buses that drove us around Robben Island while the tour guides gave us the history of the island, and in turn the history of South Africa.

Our tour guide is holding a “Pass Book”. All black South Africans had to have one. It listed your race and told where you could and could not be if you were stopped by the police or other authorities. It had to be carried at all times and not having one could mean immediate imprisonment.

On Robben Island, authorities tried the “divide and conquer” technique with the prisoners. To sow dissension among the prisoners, Black prisoners had different MEALS than Colored or Mixed race prisoners. Authorities hoped that this would cause resentment and break solidarity within prison walls. But this backfired, as the Colored and Mixed prisoners SHARED their meals with the Blacks, creating an even tighter bond.

These gentlemen were taking the the tour like the rest of us and were either incarcerated on Robben Island themselves or had family and friends held there. They were a bright point for the tour, as they provided a living oral history as the tour went along.

Nelson Mandela’s prison cell. Kind of mundane looking. I have no idea what I was expecting. It is a prison cell after all. His cell is the only one in the prison still furnished as it was when the prison was active.

All he had was a rug on the floor to sleep on, some blankets, a small table and a bucket to urinate in. For 18 years.

The cell is so small I can’t even get a good shot of the whole thing at once to give you a better perspective.

“We want Robben Island to reflect the triumph of freedon and human dignity over oppression and humillation.”

It all seems a little more real now and not just a news report or an encyclopedia entry. The phrase, “If these walls could talk…” never felt more apparent than on Robben Island.

Robben Island – Walking Through History is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

After landing here in Cape Town, I checked into the New Backpackers and African Travel Centre in Cape Town. Cost per night, 145 Rand or about $15US per night. More on that later.

The main thing I came to see in South Africa was Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for most of his 27 years in jail. That also included a tour of the townships first.

The township tour was lead by Livingstone, who first took myself and two guys from Iceland to the District Six Museum. The museum tells of the forced removal of blacks from an area called District Six in Cape Town area after the South African government declared it whites-only. The area’s proximity to the harbor and central Cape Town made it especially attractive to whites, hence the government making it white-only.

Artifacts of the past at the District Six Museum

Since apartheid ended, the government has recognized the claims of previous residents of District Six and has pledged to rebuild new homes for them. But with anything fraught with political and personal motivation, the project has stalled. ONLY 24 homes have been built.

For more info, check out

The District Six Museum

After about 45 minutes at the District Six Museum, Livingstone drove us to the Langa township, the largest area of “re-settled” blacks in Cape Town. Trust me when I say that a blog post does not do this justice. You do not realize the poverty and squalor that people live in until you get here and see it.

Most township homes have no running water. Food is cooked on hot stoves, which makes fires in the townships so prevalent and dangerous.

People live in there

Much like the little girl below, people have hope for the future, despite their current conditions.

We then went to a traditional healer who uses animal skins and organs to cure sickness.
This healer’s name is Ndaba. I even asked him about a cure for HIV/AIDS. He said that healers were working on one and that it would take time.

I have no idea what animal I am holding in my hand, but I am smiling nonetheless. Ndaba has the skin of a large cat on his head.

I could not tell what animals are hanging up here, but there is a wide variety.

I hit the ground running in South Africa after my long journey and I was not disappointed. The realness of the Black townships hits you right between the eyes when you’re standing in the middle of it, as opposed to seeing it on the evening news or on the Internet.

Cape Town is beautiful and there is so many activities to do. But how many visitors make their way to the townships, to see another side of the country besides what the tourist board gives you? That is not easy to take but important for anyone coming here.

Next time: Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island

The Black Township of Langa, Cape Town, South Africa is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

…and hit the ground running.

After OVER 24 hours of continuous travel…

Hong Kong to Bangkok – 3 hour flight – 2 hour wait at Bangkok
Bangkok to Doha – 7 hour flight – 7 hour wait at Doha
Doha to Johannesburg – 8 hour flight – 1 hour wait at Johannesburg – It was the same plane so we did not even get off the plane in Joburg
Johannesburg to Cape Town- 2 hour flight

I have the following to report:

The airport food in Doha International is horrible. Simply horrible. If you’re ever coming this way, prepare to force down some stale stuff or bring something with you.

You better have a return ticket if you’re traveling internationally. Qatar Air was not going to let me board the plane to Doha because they couldn’t figure out how I was getting out of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

And I say, what concern is that of yours?! I’m going from Bangkok to Doha.

I know, I know terrorism and all that, but I was getting really angry. I had to go to an Internet terminal in Bangkok Airport and print to an old itinerary that had the wrong dates just to show them. I still don’t have a flight set out of Addis Ababa so it doesn’t really show anything different.

It is amazing that with air travel you can be anywhere on the planet in a matter of hours. Want/Need to be somewhere, anywhere? Buy your ticket, get on the plane and get there. Sounds really simple doesn’t it?

More posts coming on my first full days in South Africa!

I Landed in South Africa… is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

Whenever we travel to a certain spot we have all kinds of reasons for going. For this round the world trip (RTW), I have got my own set of circumstances and experiences.

Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, luaus, volcanoes, spam (the kind you eat, not the kind in your inbox). But my best thought of Hawaii is from a famous cop who put a phrase into street vernacular.

Before there was Miami Vice, Law & Order or CSI, there was…

Book ‘em Dan-O…Murder One!

As an aside…weren’t the 70s and 80s the best for TV theme songs? Mission: Impossible, S.W.A.T, Baretta, Starsky and Hutch, The A-Team, Magnum P.I…but I digress…

Tokyo, Japan
The Land of the Rising Sun. Famous for sushi, ninjas, Playstations, and Godzilla. Big influence on from everything to anime to Nintendo. Had to get there.

Bangkok, Thailand
Talk about being influential – two words – Muy Thai. Jean-Claude Van Damme was there with AH-nold and Steven Seagall in terms of action movie stars. Kickboxer is arguably his best.

I promise, I will not be be doing any dancing like this in Bangkok or anywhere else.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Beautiful temples, temples, temples. And eating cobra hearts. Soon as I saw that, had to go.

Cape Town, South Africa
Nelson Mandela.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Met a woman in Ghana last year who implored me to come to Ethiopia for their millennium celebration. Ethiopia goes by a different calendar and their new century started last September. Her passion made me want to go and check.

London, United Kingdon
Have family I haven’t seen in a while. Excellent reason to go!

Why Go There? is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel