From childhood paradise to grown-up reality.
When I was a kid, it was the turtle doves cooing in the pine trees of Pinelands, along with the subtle hints of salt air and “The Mountain”, which said to me: Cape Town – Best Holiday Ever.
Later, as teenagers, we would be left to go alone into the city itself, either by bus and train (via Mowbray station) or direct via Mutual station (so called because it was right next to the headquarters of the Old Mutual group.
We would sometimes hop onto a train out to Muizenberg to spend the morning swimming.
It would take our family three full days to get there from Zimbabwe and Cape Town always felt like an oasis after the dry, endless Karoo.
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On the last day of the journey, I would get up at dawn to witness the spectacular progress of the train through the Hex River Valley on its way to the peninsula. For many years, I thought Cape Town was an earthly paradise and I hoped I might end up there one day.
My mother – who was born in the city – had a less rose-tinted view, having left for the sunny climes of Rustenburg, Joburg and later Rhodesia. Once you leave, she said, you realise how small-minded the place is… and you never go back (other than on holiday).
And she never did. The scales first fell from my eyes back in the mid-’90s when, with a small family, we travelled the gruelling 1 500km from Joburg to meet my in-laws in Simon’s Town.
Getting to and from our small flat at Boulders Beach was a nightmare because the traffic turned most trips into a two-hour ordeal.
I hated going to the Waterfront, which was, in effect, Sandton with boats and waves. The prices were calculated in pounds, dollars and euros because they certainly were unrelated to the buying power of the rand.
Going back again last month to meet my son and his family, who were out from the UK, I felt I might have been a bit harsh on the city. The mountain is spectacular, as are the views… But, something was missing.
Too many people, too much hustle and bustle, too much traffic and even the sea breezes seemed muted. In travel, as in life, it can be problematic to meet up with your heroes years later.
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