SA13 Cape Town, Robbin Isl, A Day in Hospital, The Birkenhead Wreck.
Sunday, 10 April 2016 3:53 am
Here we also watched a team of locals hall in a massive fishing net.
At the Cape Town Waterfront it was tourist++
The old clock tower and original Harbour Masters office
A044: Ou Skip Caravan Park-Melkbosstrand-Cape Town
Cost: R200/site
Altitude: 3 metres
S 33* 42.748 E 018* 26.917
Today: 83 Km
Trip Total: 8,081 Kms
Sunday 10th April 2016:
He gave personal accounts of the 6 1/2 years he was imprisoned for being involved in the student protests where Hector Peterson was shot in Soweto back in 1976.
At the time he was 19 years old.
We have been watching with interest the political situation here and the reported massive corruption by the now president Zuma.
It was somewhat moving to hear of this ex-political prisoner talk of his pain and then to say “I never expected to stand here in front of such a group and feel disappointed and ashamed with the current president”.
Such efforts of so many; lost, due to the greed of one man !
Nelson Mandela's cell. At 6Ft 1” the cell was not even long enough for him to sleep straight.
Our guide stated not there was not one suicide during those times at Robin Isl. The small amount of filtered information that the rest of the world was watching and responding was what kept them hopeful.
Only 2 successful escapes have been recorded.
One prisoner swam the 7Kms to the mainland in 1659 and 1 by boat in the 1800’s.
The island was proclaimed a World Heritage site in 1999.
Table Mountain from Robbin Island.
A045: Hardekraaltjie Caravan Park-Cape Town
Cost: R220/site
Altitude: 65 metres
S 33* 54.166 E 018* 36.782
Today: 56 Km
Trip Total: 8,137 Kms
Monday 11th April 2016:
Our day in Hospital, well not exactly, we did visit the Groote Schuur Hospital where Dr Chrisiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant back in 1967.
Lyn is a bit medical inspired so it was on her ‘must see list’ for Cape Town.
So famous is he that they had him stuffed and here he is at his original desk !
The two hour tour was inspiring and we were walked through the original emergency room, and operating rooms where the actual equipment is still there.
The patient Louis Washkansky had only days to live and offered the young doctor the chance to perform the operation. A young lady who tragically lost her life in a car accident became the donor.
Following removal from the donor the heart was connected to the valves in recipient and when the warm blood started to flow, activated the heart into pumping. The room went quiet.
Finally Dr Barnard said “My God, it’s working”.
Dr Barnard went on to perform many such transplants and the longest living transplant is an Australian, Fiona Coote. That operation was performed by Dr Chan in Australia in1984, and Fiona is still alive and looks amazing.
Lyn wrote a good account of the personal side of this event:
Now in the wine growing district of Stellenbosch.
A046 : Berg River Camp Site - out of Cape Town
Cost: R150/site
Altitude: 116 metres
S 33* 47.819 E 18* 57.802
Today: 94 Km
Trip Total: 8,232 Kms
Wednesday 13th April 2016:
Collected our leaf spring bushes yesterday after arriving by FedEx from Australia. They lasted 160,000Kms and I could just feel the knocking so elected to replace all front and rear bushes and the greasable pins.
Thursday 14th April 2016:
The replacement of the bushes and an oil change takes time so we are back again this morning for completion of the task. Around lunch time all is done. The rears were the real problem, one had seized, and the others showed considerable wear. The fronts were only marginally worn. Back on the road and all good.
Travelling the coast south of Cape Town - really beautiful.
A047 : ‘On the Beach’ Camp
Cost: R115/site
Altitude: 2 metres
S 34* 14.197 E 18* 51.098
Last few days: 397 Km
Trip Total: 8,629 Kms
A great camp site !
Friday 15th April 2016:
Danger Point Lighthouse.
Built in 1895 following the wreck of HMS Birkenhead in February 1852 on a shallow rock just 1500m of the shore.
Originally a steam frigate it was converted to a troopship for the Boer War. Just 140kms from CapeTown when it struck the rock, the soldiers stood firm whilst the women and children were allowed to board the all too few life boats first.
Conveying troops from 10 different regiments, all up there were about 643 men women and children on board of which more than 450 lost their lived.
This single disaster, highlighted by steadfast bravery of the soldiers gave rise to the “women and children first” protocol from here on when abandoning ships !
A048 : Pre-Shark Attack Campground
Cost: R220/site
Altitude: 6 metres
S 34* 36.188 E 19* 24.757
Today: 160 Km
Trip Total: 8,789 Kms
Tomorrow: SHARK ATTACK !