Exploring South Africa
It was Wednesday morning I was up early just after 7.00am. We could hear the sound of children's voices as they made their way to school. We continue on the next leg of our journey. The thing is we just got news that the person we wanted to see in Lesotho is not going to be available to see us. I don't know the whole story but as Willie says, "A wee enforced rest will do us no harm". Most of the day we spend in the car covering over 300 miles.
We take a break for an hour to visit the world's biggest Bungy Jump. We have a long discussion but no one is courageous enough to jump the 200 metres. In the midst of all this discussion I hear an exhausted mother tell her 7 year old no he can't bounce down the 200 metre jump. It turned out that she was a Muslim lady wearing a full Burka. As we gathered round the 'lookout point' we were joined by the rest of the Muslim family including another two burka clad ladies. I must confess I was feeling a bit intimidated but before long one of the woman joined in the conversation and was quite animated. 
It was actually quite a strange and surreal experience to be talking to a pair of eyes that were full of fun sharing with all of us how scary it must be to be bungy jumping but how much she enjoyed her experience on the 'Flying Fox' and all of this from behind a burka. It turned out 12 of them had made it across the gorge on the flying fox wire. The mind boggles to think of what it must have looked like but you know what I say good on them. If the truth were told non if these ladies looked like they could only talk when invited.
We stop off 100 kilometres later at Jeffery's Bay for a late lunch. The place looked pretty deserted. I'm told by Duncan that it's one of the top 10 surfing resorts in the world. We sat in the empty Jack Dory's Fish Grill and looked out on the Indian Ocean. The tourist season hasn't started yet but it seems to me the surf capital is experiencing hard times. I'm told South Africa has over 40% unemployment. As I look about I see a great deal of over-manning. Drop into a petrol station and you'll be over run with a team of young men wanting to check your oil or wash your windscreen. After the Fish Grill its back on the road again. By early evening we had arrived in Grahamstown. This is a diverse community. We find ourselves in an edgy part of town.
It didn't take us long to move into a part of the town where we feel safer. We end up negotiating an excellent rate in a BB located near the University of Rhodes. This part of the town reminded me of a visit I made to Princeton a few years back. The owner Robyn James made us really welcome. She has completed extensive renovation an old colonial style cottage which is now known as St Aidan's. I'd certainly recommend this establishment to anyone looking for accommodation in the Grahamstown area. The full English breakfast was certainly sumptuous. Today we head out for 'Lady Grey' but there's no saying where we'll end up to sleep tonight.
