A visit to
South Africa??? I didn’t
think it possible at all..
not even in the wildest of
my dreams…. But here I was…
in bright, beautiful and
coastal city of Port
Elizabeth , South Africa on
a business trip.
Before I embark on my
narration, there is something that I
would like to mention. Not all of us
would have South Africa in our list of
"must-visit-destinations" (it would
probably be an exotic European nation)…
but people.. believe me when I say that
I was completely stunned by the
magnificence of this nation which seems
to be so unfairly underestimated in it’s
tourism value by so many of us!!!
A weekend drive to the
stunning city of Cape Town for a well
deserved break from the hectic schedule
was being planned by my colleagues (this
was for them.. for me though.. it was
just the beginning of a never-to-forget
whirlwind tour ). We were busy
looking up "Places of interest" and
"Route to Cape Town" a couple of days
before the journey began. And finally…
the D-Day dawned..
When was last time you
looked out of your car window while
going out on a drive and exclaimed "wow
that’s breathtakingly beautiful!!!!"??
Ask us here in Port Elizabeth... And
we’ll tell you about the ride of our
lives …a journey that may have lasted
just 2 days but has been etched in our
memories forever… starting from the
Eastern Cape and stretching all the way
to the Western Cape of South Africa….
Day one began on a bright
Saturday morning… a gentle breeze was
floating around. Our team of four
(comprising of Anand, Ganesan, Partha
and I ) was well prepared (Thanks to
Partha the Perfect Planner) for the long
drive ahead... complete with maps , a
Gorgeous Audi car (Ganesan’s brainchild
)and a GPS (Yes.. we use latest
technology out here… ) to
show the way through. After initially
losing our way (even with a GPS!!) we
were right on track.
Driving through the
"Garden Route" is one of the most
exhilarating travels one can experience.
The scenery is pristine... to say the
least!! Perfect Car, Perfect weather,
Perfect roads and a Perfect view of
sparkling water bodies at regular
intervals… it was what they call "
Picture Perfect". We even got to see an
odd baboon or two on the way!! Quite
cute... I must say… funny noses they
have..
It was Anand, who first
came up with the idea of Bungee
jumping.. It was apparently right on top
of his "to-do" list. The fever kinda
caught on.. though the idea of sky
diving seemed more appealing to me (
rather fall straight than dangle upside
down!! ). But it was when we actually
reached the place and saw the depth of
the bridge that the magnitude of what we
were planning to do struck all of us….I
felt like running away from that place..
as far as my legs could carry me.
Ganesan and Partha managed to keep a
straight face..They actually tried quite
hard to do that ( ok guys.. don’t punch
me for that comment). As for Anand, he
was ecstatic!!! Talk about the
different moods of mankind... whew!!!
Now, a decision had to be
made… we all decided to take the plunge…
but Ganesan and I were for "Bridge
jumping" , Anand was for "The Bungee" (
me thinks.. we can now call it " The Big
B" ha ha…..) Partha decided to be the
official
videographer
of the rigmarole. We first had to
register ourselves for this outrageous
act that we were going to perform.. and
it was when they scribbled our serial
numbers on our wrists( apparently, this
was how they would recognize us in case
our physical selves turned out to be
unrecognizable later… someone tell these
guys to be more encouraging…..) that our
knees actually began their slow
transition from being bones.. to
becoming jelly!!!!
It was really was quite a
scene there. We decided to watch Anand
go first. Strong, elastic straps of
various colours flew across the body.
Legs bonded to each other… advice were
being given by the "experts" there. They
even take a video of the whole thing…
the rest of us are in it too… as
"witnesses". Hmmm………
I think none of us dared
to breathe when Anand’s turn came up…he
, on the other hand seemed his usual
totally relaxed self .The countdown
began.. 1..2…3..aaannddd…jumping!!!"
whoooshhh!!!! Down he went... we were
trying to keep track of where he was by
looking out for his shadow….. and within
a few seconds.. there he was…..
swinging…. Upside down… smiling away…
like this acrobat who finally won the
gold medal at the
Olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Real guts I
say!!!!!
Next came the turn of the
"Daring Duo" (Ganesan and I.. in case
you haven’t guessed that by now). This,
I think would have been a sight to
watch.. truly.. there was this girl…busy
shooting a video of us getting all
weak-kneed . Then came the
"instructions" .. it was as if someone
was reading out my Miranda rights..
Matter of fact. Giving out a sense of
impending doom( example : "if this rope
snaps.. you snap"). They really are
experts at scaring the living daylights
out of you.
We looked around.. only
to find that we were next in line. The
only thing going on in our heads was
"What on EARTH am I doing here?? ".
That’s all the time we had to ponder..
the next second.. our left legs stepped
into nothingness.. with the wind
billowing against our faces. One moment
we were falling at an incredible
120Kms/Hr.. and then.. a small jerk..
and that was the end of it!!!
Absolute Adrenalin!!!
That’s what I would call it. Anand was
down.. waiting to see our deathly white
faces( they were a better colour than
that) . We had a long long way to climb
back. We even got "certificates of
bravery" for what we did (if only they
knew.. hee hee)!! . But.. seriously.. it
was worth every penny and every moment
that we spent there. By the time we
moved out of the place.. there was one
expression written all across..
SATISFACTION….
It was almost 10:00 in
the night by time we reached the main
streets of Cape Town (Our original plan
was to reach by 7:00.. not to mention
that we had stopped in between for
clearing up a work-related issue … much
too much dedication eh???). It was a
fantastic sight to behold. The city
looked HUGE.. sprawled across a vast
plain.. bright lights shining all the
way through. We decided to pay a visit
to the "Waterfront"- a hip and happening
location… filled with a yuppie crowd
that was out spending a leisurely
Saturday evening. After taking in the
sights... We decided that it was high
time we called it a day. Finally before
going to sleep.. there was this big
smile on our each of our faces.. the
remnants of a day well spent.
It was a bright sunny
morning in beautiful Cape Town on day 2
and it dawned with another of the
classic "Ganesan Vs Partha" clashes.
(don’t ask me what it was about but it’s
definitely hilarious to watch from the
sidelines). It’s like the 11th
commandment. Partha suggests, Ganesan
retorts. Period.
Our first stop for the
day would be at "Table Mountain" which
is supposed to be one of the 7 wonders
of the Geological world (read this on
the in-flight magazine).I think it took
us about an hour.. or slightly more than
that to reach our venue. It wasn’t that
far.. but you just had to stop at every
possible point and take in the
breathtaking view of the city and with
every turn.. every bend… Cape Town
seemed to glowing more and more in its
splendor.
Numerous photo shoots
later, we finally made it. To reach the
actual "Top of the Table", you have to
take a ride on the cable car which moves
at an incredibly steep angle on it’s way
to and from the mountain (remember "
Where Eagles Dare"??). The car’s
rotating view ensures that all
passengers get a 360 degree aerial view
of the city. It was 9:30 AM then. I
remember this insignificant bit of
information coz Partha, as usual, had
begun planning the time of our descent
in order that we make it to our next
stop by 11:00 (chill Partha..
).This
drew a sarcastic comment from the
inimitable Ganesan and guffaws from me
and Anand (what else could we do??).
We finally focused on
what lay in front of us.. and needless
to say.. we were left gaping at the
view. The city seemed to have opened
up.. surrounded by hills on one side and
the vast blue-green ocean on the other.
Rays of sunlight streamed through the
clouds and gently kissed the landscape.
It looked as though the entire place was
engulfed in a heavenly aura .When John
Milton wrote Paradise Regained, he
probably had Cape Town in mind
(alright... alright… I may be
exaggerating just a wee bit here.. but
when it feels like words are
insufficient, this the best one can do…
and I am an incurable chatterbox..
imagine!!! )
Our next stop was at the
"Alfred and Victoria Wharf". From here
we would have to take a boat ride to
Robben Island – A world heritage centre
where Nelson Mandela has been held
prisoner for 18 years. But as luck would
have it, the trips had been completely
booked and we decided to move on to
"Cape Point (we collected colourful
pamphlets of the island though.. to get
the feel of having visited the place…
smart eh?? )
Before I forget… I must
mention that the water bodies
surrounding this place are among the
purest you will ever see in your
lifetime. Crystal clear and pulsating
with life , it is a nature-lovers dream
come true!! At this point.. I couldn’t
help but compare it with the
pale-grey-stinking liquid that seems to
be filling our Marinas and Marine
Drives. Our way to Cape Point included a
short stop at Camps Bay, a quaint and
picturesque place with the beach on one
side and restaurants on the other
Our excitement mounted
when we reached Cape Point (A nature
reserve apart from being the entry to
the Cape of Good Hope which I shall
refer to from now on as COGH). The cape
point nature reserve in known to be one
of the most spectacular viewpoints in
South Africa… and we very soon found it
to be true with a capital ‘T’. As we
neared the historic point, miles and
miles of untouched and unpolluted ocean
opened up in front of us. All we could
do was stare and stare at the sight that
lay ahead… trying our best to capture
and imprint every single sight into our
minds. The sight of wild waves crashing
against the rocks…took our breath away
with each wave higher and better than
the previous one. We then had to climb
up a view point to check out the entire
landscape… took us quite a while to get
there though… because "yours truly"
didn’t have the energy (in my defense
the path was extremely steep). Once we
got there, the tiredness just vanished.
Any superlative that I would add here
would be sound really clichéd... but..
it doesn’t matter..
COGH
is also popularly (but not rightly)
known to be the dividing point between
the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean (It’s
actually Cape Agulhas which is about 150
Km further south east of cape point).
Where it divides exactly.. no one
knows…. And at the height from where we
stood.. none of us really cared. What
really struck me was that this portion
remained totally non –commercialized and
hence, had this unpolished, rugged charm
which is impossible to replace. I guess
we would not have decided to leave until
we all realized that we had had nothing
to eat all day…. And that dawn would
bring another Monday with it!! (talk
about Monday morning blues…. For us.. it
began on Sunday noon!! )
As we began the journey
back to Port Elizabeth, I wished this
trip would never end.. it was like a
dream-come-true road trip (a la Dil
Chahta Hai). The feeling of going
through a long arduous journey back was
reduced to a huge extent .. courtesy..
our vocal chords (we were playing
antakshari throughout..). We did have
our share of heart-stopping moments
though.. talk about driving on the
highway in the pitch dark and then
suddenly ramming into a think wall of
fog!! Visibility was .. I should say…
almost negative… It was then that we
remembered about a thing called
"Prayer"… and then….. the roads just
cleared.. just as they has closed upon
us… close call huh??? Very!!!
When we finally reached
P.E , we were dead tired but
exhilarated. Our car was however.. a
gigantic mess (snacks and ice cream was
strewn on the floor.. yikes!!! ). I had
a hard time believing that this was the
end of it all….. and that It was "back
to work" the next morning. Each of us
finally fell asleep.. thinking of our
personal "best moment" of the trip – be
it Table Mountain, Cape Point or just
plain singing in the car… we had all had
our fair share of "best moments". What
else could we ask for??????
************
