Shortly before Covid came into our lives in 2019 we attended a really great presentation by David Bristow at the Cock House Restaurant in Grahamstown, followed by a magnificent three course meal and some really very good wines. David’s presentation covered his most recent two books in his ‘Of Hominins, Hunter-Gatherers and Heroes - Stories from the Veld’ series, and as I write this I am just finishing the second of these, “Searching for Twenty Amazing Places in South Africa”, and felt a need to share the experience with all those of you who might read this piece.
David has spent more than three decades as a travel and nature writer and has probably seen more of South Africa than all of us put together - but more than that, he has degrees in journalism and environmental sciences that allow him, better than all the other writers in this field to add something very special to the content of what he puts on paper regarding his time in the field. But more fascinating from my point of view as a reader of the stories about these amazing places is the degree of research that he has obviously put into each of them, yet managed to distill into captivating stories and summaries of each of them without for one single minute becoming tiresome or boring……………and what makes them even more appealing for me is that I know that each and every peak that he speaks about in “Mont aux-Sources and the Amphitheatre” he has scaled, and that each and every craggy outcrop and river crossing that he covers in “Lambazi Bay, Port Grosvenor” he has actually walked himself. Similarly with all of the other stories ……….. he knows each of the sites intimately and writes with absolute authority regarding their history and various attractions.
Every story transports the reader to the place in question, and whether or not you have been there (as I have in every every case but three), he manages to instil a need to return (or visit), without delay - to grab again and better appreciate what each location has to offer. Thanks David - and per the final sentence of your introduction, I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey with you ………….. it really never is too late to have a happy childhood.
This past week too has brought Pat and I back to Cape Town after a hiatus of close on three years. Much has changed ……… and nothing has changed. As I sit here writing the South Easter is blowing as hard as I have ever heard it blow, and I am grateful that we no longer need to suffer its often discomforting side-effects. There are new junctions and roundabouts in the Southern Peninsula roads designed to accommodate the every increasing number of people moving into the area, yet the same sellers of The Big Issue and the same beggars are at the Traffic Lights.
The shacks along Baden-Powell on the way to Stellenbosch now stretch to the N2 and are literally on the road .......... visions of extreme poverty - yet each and every one has a DSTV Satellite Dish????? Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay seems to have almost reached the top of the mountain while the filth of uncollected garbage is piled everywhere along the road into this once beautiful little enclave where we were once so happy for 10 years. The stench as one drives by the settlement is beyond description. Similarly - but to a lesser degree Masiphumelele on the Kommetjie Road presents a never-ending eysore with litter strewn everywhere and informal traders parked off along all of the road's pavements. There are new shopping malls that weren’t there when we left, in Simon's Town and Constantia, and I really do wonder at their purpose - I simply can’t believe we need more of the same old, same old retail outlets and franchise restaurants.
What we have most enjoyed thus far (aside from being with the family and catching up as quickly as possible with old and valued friends), was the trip in through the Overberg ……… those wonderful rolling hills framed by the surrounding mountains. And the mountains! We really have missed them …………. amazing how blase one becomes about them when one lives in the Mother City, but move away for three years to flatter climes and you quickly realise what an important part they played in your life as a Capetonian while there, and how moving away has left a sizeable hole in your heart.
I took some pictures of the garden at 6 York Road the day we left - it was looking magnificent - the best ever since we moved into the house and Pat got stuck into landscaping and restoring it - I even managed to get all of the grass cut just before leaving, but I fear that it will all grow beyond even what I can imagine during the time we are away …………. and Oh Dear! The cutting will have to begin all over again. Until that then is done, Ciaio.
For more about David Bristow please go to http://www.davidbristow.co.za
