Bo Kaap Walking Tour

Yesterday we ventured off to the Bo Kaap Museum to discover some of the Cape's rich history. I knew were in for an interesting time when we met our guide, Faried. He has made it his mission to educate himself on the history of the area, and grew up in nearby District 6 until his family was forced to leave.

The museum is situated on the fringe of the city centre, at the foot of Signal Hill, in the area that became home to many freed slaves after the abolition of slavery. It depicts the lifestyle of a 19th century Muslim family and showcases Islamic culture and heritage. It is the oldest dwelling in the area, dating back to the 1760s.

Bo Kaap , with it's colourful houses and narrow cobbled streets, is one of the Cape's most colourful suburbs. Many of the residents in the area are descendants of slaves from various African countries as well as Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. These slaves had been imported to the Cape by the Dutch in 16th and 17th centuries.As Faried pointed out, the slaves were incorrectly known as "Cape Malays" despite the fact that they were not all of Malaysian descent. The name however has stuck, and the area is also know as the Cape Malay Quarter.

These two houses were obviously my daughter's favourite!

The colourful houses, once homes to the freed slaves, have either Dutch or British influence, and most are semi detached. The stoep (patio) is elevated from the street and has a 'skinner bankie" (gossip bench).

One can just imagine families and friends enjoying summer evenings together after a days work in the city.

 Faried entertained us thoroughly as he led us through the narrow streets and pointed out various facts. He arranged for us to visit the Auwal Mosque, South Africa's very first official mosque. This was most interesting and we were allowed to enter the mosque. (We have never set foot in a mosque before.) There he explained to us the ritual washing before prayers, why we needed to remove our shoes and many other fascinating facts regarding their religion and culture.

We slogged up cobbled streets to visit a Kramat and enjoy the view of the city below.

 On our decent, Faried took us to a popular corner cafe where we were able to enjoy the

 best samosas and doughnuts the Bo Kaap has to offer.

We also visited Atlas Trading, a treat in itself. They have been selling spices since 1946 and you can find every spice you have ever heard of and many that you may not know! The aroma is just incredible! 

Spices are sold in small packs or by the kilo, dispensed from great wooden boxes and weighed.

Some of the spices are imported from India. One can buy beans, rice, nuts, dried fruit and incense too.

 We stocked up on some necessities and leaf masala, apparently their best seller - a mix of 12 spices that will go will with  anything. They even supplied me with a recipe!

We ended our amazing day with rooti and home made mince curry for dinner.

Visit to a dairy with a difference

Our youngest recently finished reading one of his SA history curriculum readers.

 In the story, Annetjie ( wife of Hendrik Boom  who was Van Riebeeck's gardener), 

cared for the cows at the Cape colony all those years ago. 

In the last week he also discovered more about Louis Pasteur and his remarkable contributions to the scientific world . So with great excitement, we visited a dairy of a different kind on Friday morning! 

It was dark and rainy, as we headed over the mountain with friends......

the mountain that used to hold my dear sister on the other side.

Children chattered excitedly and my friend and I caught up with one another....

how nice to have the time to chat early in the morning!

We arrived at Imhoff Farm's goat dairy just as it began to get light...

We were greeted by Denise, who welcomed us warmly and answered our numerous questions.

 The nannies, all lined up and most co operative, were in the process of being milked. We peered through the parlour window, fascinated  as the machines did their work. Some of the nannies looked rather large and we learned that most of them are pregnant with up to three babies!

Once milking was over, we entered the cheese making "factory"....

We were hit with a really cheesy smell....

it took a little getting used to so early in the morning! 

We enjoyed watching the making of mozzarella with the curd from the day before

 (whey separated overnight)

.....a surprisingly quick process.

 Strips cut, laid in boiling water, moulded into balls, squeezed in muslin cloth,

and then left in cold water before being put into brine. 

We learned how other types of cheese are made...

 Goat's milk and cows milk cheese. 

Feta, Gouda, Cheddar and Cream cheese.

Fascinating .

I could not help thinking of my sister...

 she has begun making her own cheese on the far away farm. 

We enjoyed delicious tasters of feta, goat's milk gouda, and fynbos cheddar...

the fynbos grown right outside the door!

For the brave, there was fresh goats milk to taste too...

I enjoyed the taste and was surprised that my non milk drinking daughter did too! 

I could not convince my youngest to taste it...reason being:

"I only like cold milk mom!"

ok, ok....was not going to push it!

What a tasty treat!

Of course we had to take some handmade cheese home for the rest of the family to try...

Fynbos cheddar and chili cheddar....

Enjoyed today on home-made spinach and sun dried tomato bread, 

alongside steaming butternut

 and orange soup!

Just perfectly delicious!

Out and about

The past week has been a busy one for our youngest with a number of fun educational outings. I was thankful to a dear friend for taking him on two of the outings, giving me dedicated time to spend with  our eldest, who writes his first exam for this session tomorrow. 

The first was an outing to the Hout Bay Museum where the children learned more about the Khoi and San people. They were able to look at tools from the stone and iron age and enjoy a short movie. They learned of the Strandlopers who inhabited nearby caves at Llandudno.

 Fun was had exploring the caves, where they saw cooking areas, sleeping areas and a shell midden.

 One happy boy was delivered safely back home!

The second outing was "The 1902 Victorian Schoolroom" experience. Some preparation was necessary as this is totally different to his own experience of school. Big brother and sister did not do much to ease his fear of the strict Victorian teacher he was to encounter!

 Their memories of that outing years ago were still fresh in their minds.

However, we had some fun looking at websites and discovering what he would encounter, making a paper model of a Victorian school and colouring a British Flag. 

On the day, he was required to dress up and take a typical Victorian lunch in a paper bag: bread & cheese, a boiled egg, fruit and a glass bottle with ginger-beer.

No Tupperware lunch box allowed. It was all about role play and the total experience. 

The children encountered the strict teacher who required proper Victorian discipline, standing to address him with a "Yes Sir". They were seated in the classroom and went through their lessons, writing on slates and doing rote and object lessons.

At break time, they were treated to a Victorian sponge cake and played with toys of the day such as stilts, whirr whirrs and the yo-yo.

He was presented with a certificate of honour for good attendance. This was rather funny as he was supposed to be the "new boy" in the class, that being his first day!

He came home happy and having enjoyed the fun, even asking if he could go back again!

Today's outing was to the Department of Rural Development & Land Reform where we visited the National Geo-spacial Information centre, otherwise known as South Africa's national mapping organisation. K and I went along too and it was rather interesting but perhaps a little over their heads in some areas.

 (Note to self - time to do some map-work with them again!)

We were met with an enthusiastic teacher and his colleague who gave the children a presentation, showed them various maps and quizzed them at the end. 

We learned that NGI has an archive of aerial photography, dating back to the 1930s and photographic coverage of the entire country which is updated with their digital mapping camera.

One is able to purchase maps and access information easily. 

We were kindly given some maps to take home  and enjoy.

The museum houses a collection of maps and mapping & surveying equipment, dating back as far as 150 years ago. Much of this type of equipment is outdated due to advancements in technology. It was great to be able to see various equipment that we have read about or only seen pictures of....

far more interesting when one sees the real thing!

I am hoping that I can inspire the children to enjoy maps more than they do, gain a healthy respect for those early map makers and have some fun with map-work!