5 March - Spent the day travelling Sydney to Jo'burg and then Jo'burg to Cape Town. Arrived safely with my entire luggage intact at 10pm and headed to my hostel Sunflower Stop which is located in Greenpoint overlooking the new stadium built specifically for the World Cup. Only 15 min walk to the waterfront so all good. The first advertisement I saw in South Africa was for a government agency specifically in charge of cutting down on electricity theft. I didn't understand this until I went on my township tour.

6 march -Early morning breakfast in local deli where I got chatting to some locals who loved Cape town before making my way to the waterfront where I was getting my ferry to Robben Island. There were some sea lions playing in the water which was nice to see before we took off. There was a dvd on the ferry which gave a history of the island and the prisons thereon. We all boarded busses upon arrival and our tour guide brought us around the island. Although famous for its high security prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated the island has a greater history. When leprosy was rife in Africa, all lepers were sent to Robben Island to stay in isolation so that the disease could not be spread. Leper graveyards still exist where the bodies of these unfortunate people are buried. Irish missionaries came out to care for these sick people and set up a community there. The only town on the island today is still known as Irishtown. All buildings apart from the church and the medical centre/hospital was destroyed for fear of the disease spreading.

There were three prisons on the island - the maximum security prison, a less stringent prison for common criminals (including murderers and rapists) and an isolation prison. The island also houses one guest house where all visitors including dignitaries including Nelson Mandela have stayed.

A limestone quarry is also located on the island. The political prisoners were made work in this quarry during their sentence. The heat and blinding reflection of the sun as well as the lack of proper tools made this hard work. The idea of making the prisoners work so hard was to break their spirit and tire them out so that they wouldn't have the energy to plan or orchestrate any political movement. However this plan backfired as the prisoners used this forum, particularly a cave which was used to shelter and have lunch as a basis for drawing up political documents and ideas.

The last leg of the tour was a tour of the maximum security prison itself. This tour was given to us by a former prisoner of Robben island. He was sentenced when he was 19 for the bombing of a political building in Jo'burg where 6 people were injured but thankfully no one died. He told us his experiences of living in the prison, the fight for the basic necessities including clothes and beds. (at one point the black people had no beds, only floor mats, and not enough clothing to keep warm.). What I found very interesting was that the categories of people in Africa during Apartheid was split into four groups and not two as I had originally thought. Whites were at the top of the pecking order with coloured people including Indians and Asians next. Blacks were at the bottom of the chain. The food provided to the different classes varied with the blacks receiving very little. He talked about the prison wardens who although cruel and heartless when they first arrived could be persuaded over time to become allies with the prisoners and were the prisoners greatest source of smuggling information in and out of the prison. One prison guard still lives on Robben island working in the local shop to this day. As a result, prison guards were rotated regularly so as not to get to pally with the inmates. He also talked of Nelson Mandela's influence in the prison and said that it was obvious he was a born leader with patience and courage. Nelson would hold political meetings in the toilets or in the exercise yard when police weren't looking or late at night after the lights went out drawing up a new constitution and new parliamentary documents for his vision of a new Africa where everyone was equal. He helped fight for prisoner rights including education and beds etc.

We were brought to Mandela's cell which resembled every other cell holding only a mat, a slop bucket and a small table.

Before leaving the island I took the "penguin board walk" where many African penguins could be seen.

Later that afternoon I explored the waterfront, a lovely area of Cape town with music and dancing and entertainment with lovely shops and restaurants. I also explored long street, the main street in cape town with lots more restaurants and bars and the numerous markets in the city where I wanted to buy everything I saw!!

7 march - This morning I took part in a township tour visiting two of the largest townships in Cape town. We first stopped off at District six, an area which was designated a white area during apartheid. This area was once populated by a majority of black residents and although their housing could be considered slums, it was their home, their community. They were forcefully removed and relocated to townships on the edge of the city and their old housing bulldozed. The only building that remained was the church. New housing was never developed and the area is now in the process of being given back to the residents who lived there. The first township we visited was Langa. The interesting thing I learnt was that there are different parts of the township. There if the Beverly Hills and the slums, similar to any town really. Some retired wealthy people choose to live in the township to experience another way of life, and the community and friendship that township life brings. Their houses are proper concrete buildings with first class facilities and security. However further down the street, these residences tower over the cardboard and corrugated iron shacks that other families live in.

A resident of the township gave us a tour of his community first bringing us to a four bed "hostel". These hostels were originally built for the black males who would come from the "homelands" and work in the city. Each room has three beds and there is a shared bathroom and dining. The rent on each bed is R25 (€2.50) per month. Families began moving into these hostels, and now three families could be living in one tiny room. All the families' possessions including pots/pans/cutlery/clothes etc had to be placed over that families bed. People are still living like this and it was shocking. The entire room wouldn't fit all my possessions, never mind my families and two neighbours. For the slightly wealthier there are two bedroomed flats available. R500 (€50) per month for five years can entitle you to own the flat. These flats were sparsely furnished and cramped but better than the hostels.

We then visited a day care centre where kids were educated during the day while the parents were working. It is acknowledged that education is the greatest factor in breaking the cycle of poverty and all children are encouraged to attend class. The kids sang for us and we were able to leave a donation for the school.

We then visited the poorest areas of the township and that was quite disturbing. These inhabitants lived in cardboard boxes. Thousands and thousands of these structures. There had been a fire in the township only a few days previously and the fire had raged though these homes destroying peoples homes and possessions. Portaloos were dotted throughout this part of the township as was water facilities as none of these shacks would have running water or bathroom facilities. Although poor and lacking basic sanitary conditions, these people are resourceful and numerous businesses were spread through the township, either being operated from a corrugated iron building or a shipping container. (I wonder is this where the officials in Christchurch got their idea for a shopping centre made from shipping containers?!). Hairdressers, grocery shops, mobile phone shops, beauty salons, pubs and all other facilities you would find in a town had sprouted up in the township. The government are trying to provide proper housing for all the inhabitants of these slums and building works were evident. But with 2 million people living in one slum in Cape Town alone, housing is not going to be provided for everyone in the near future.

We visited a shebeen which was located in a corrugated iron shack and tried their local brew. The beer was made in the shack using starch, maize and barley. The beer was in a steel container and there was a proper method of drinking from the jug! I tried some and even though I'm not a beer drinker it wasn't so bad.

Electric wires crisscrossed over the entire township where residents illegally were hooking their homes up to the electricity power source and stealing electricity. Another very disturbing practice I noticed not only in the townships but all over south Africa was the advertisements for abortions. "30 minute abortions", sterilisations, and "medically safe abortions". I have learnt that one in four people in South Africa are HIV positive and the government are trying to stop the spread of STD's and provide free condoms in most public toilets. However the thought of going into one of these shacks to a "30 minute abortion" horrifies me. These procedures aren't carried out by medically trained doctors or with the proper sterile equipment. I wonder how many women die or are maimed by life by these procedures.

Our final stop was a B&B opened by Vicky where tourists could come and stay and experience real township life including having dinner. We were told dinner could be a smiley. What's a smiley I asked - a sheeps head placed in the middle of the table where the guests pick off the various bits of the meat. The cheeks are the best apparently. The brains and eyeballs not so good apparently!!

There were a white couple from Durban on the tour with us and it was their attitude that first alerted me to the fact that racism is still rife in South Africa despite the end of Apartheid. They were wealthy farmers but spoke of their "black workers" who brought all their families to live in slums on their farm. It didn't bother them that they were employing people but not paying them enough to provide basic food, clothing, housing and sanitary conditions for their families. And they spoke of this with pride. They were the only ones not to contribute a donation to the day care centre. It disgusted me. I know there are rich and poor in Ireland - but not to the same extent and I don't believe that many employers would watch their employees family suffer the way some of these Africans do as they rolled around in their millions. The poverty gap in Ireland doesn't seem as big and therefore I am finding it hard to comprehend the juxtaposition of the super wealthy and unthinkable poverty of the South African people.

After the tour finished I went to the district 6 museum, where I got lots more information on the people and the lives of the residents of this area. The museum was set up and contributed to my former residents of this area so it is no surprise there is a bitterness that seeps through the exhibitions. The main feeling is that although district six could be considered a slum with no proper sanitary or other facilities, it was home. It was a community. It was family. When the residents were moved, albeit to nicer accommodation, although they gained a house they lost a home. The residents have succeeded in getting compensation for the loss of their homes if they can prove ownership. This compensation can either be in the form of money or by getting back their land. Plans and building works are commencing to rebuild district six for its former inhabitants, so a success story of sorts!

Next stop was table mountain and although I had planned to hike it, my inappropriate footware of flip flops prohibited it so I took the cable car instead. The views were spectacular as were the walks at the top of table mountain. A German film was being filed at the top of the mountain so I might be in that one day!

My last tour of the day was a city sightseeing tour which brought me all around the city including camps bay where the rich and famous hang out. The more I see of the city, the more I fall in love with it! Honestly I could see myself living here. The people, the friendliness, the laid back atmosphere, the happiness, the weather, the views, the beach, the waterfront - all amazing.

8 March: I took a tour of the Cape Peninsula through Table Mountain national Park to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope with Baz Bus and it really was excellent. We first passed Camps bay and the 12 apostles mountain range (different to aus in the fact that they are mountain peaks and not limestone formations but similar in that there is actually 17 and not 12!) On to Haut Bay where we stopped for breakfast. Haut Bay is an area about 1 hour south of Cape Town with spectacular views of the sea. From our viewing point we could see three distinct settlements in Haut bay. Our tour guide was excellent and gave us a little personal history lesson. The three settlements were for the three divisions in Apartheid. The whites, the blacks and the coloured. The whites had the best area, with lovely one off houses. The coloured had housing but was more apartments and flats. The flats had the worst area, with no views and they lived in shacks. Personally he told us his own story. He is coloured and fell in love with a black girl. His parents didn't approve as in their eyes black people were beneath him. When he asked her to marry him, his parents were very disappointed and viewed it as bringing shame on the family. It has only been recently that his parents have seen the type of person his wife is and not the colour of her skin and treated her accordingly. It seems that it will take many generations to break the cycle of racism and poverty among the coloured and black members of society. Although everyone is free to live where they choose the reality is that no coloured or black people can afford now to move up the social ladder into the better areas populated by the whites. It will only be when this generation of kids get an education and get the high paying jobs that any real change is society will begin and where races will mix freely living beside one another.

Just past the pretty town of Simonstown we stopped off at Boulders Penguin Colony where we saw hundreds of African penguins. This colony started off from 2 penguins in 1982 and now has approx. 2200. We then drove to Cape Point park where we got on our bikes and cycled through the park. The scenery was amazing and great to get some exercise. Lunch was a picnic before driving to the most south western point of the African coast - the Cape of Good Hope. We then drove to Cape Point and we hiked up to the top to the lighthouse for some amazing views over the ocean. This park is full of wildlife and we were lucky enough to see some baboons which naturally reminded me of Carisa! They are attracted by food and even climb in car and bus windows to get food! On the way back we stopped at an Ostrich farm where I saw my first African Ostrich. Great tour!

9 March: I left Cape Town and onto Stellenbosch - the winelands. I organised the easy rider wine tour where we went to four different wineries and drank lots and lots of wine! Stellenbosch is a pretty town but it's the scenery and the vines that make this place unique. We also saw some Zebra, Ostrich and Oryx on the tour. The wine tours in the wineries itself were not amazing and I learnt no more about wine making and storage than I did before. However we did lots of wine sampling and in one winery they also made cheese so had a lovely wine and cheese tasting. We got home about half five and I arranged with the girls that did the tour with me to go for more drinks later on in Stellenbosch. I was all wined out by that time so had soe local Hunters cider, also made in Stellenbosch. Fun day.

10 march: Bus to Hermanus where I had arranged to go diving with the Great White Sharks. When I arrived the town market was taking place so strolled around that spending a lot of money on rubbish! Then I went for a walk along the lovely sea front where whales can be seen at certain times of the year (September). I didn't see any whales but there was some gorgeous views.

11 march: White Shark Cage Diving!! Was picked up and brought for breakfast and a briefing on how not to get eaten by sharks! Got boat out to sea and stopped in an area full of whales. It is their breeding season. The crew lowered a floating cage into the freezing cold water and threw some trout heads in as bait for the sharks. The sharks came immediately and swarmed the boat. We put on our wetsuits and lowered ourselves into the cage. The sharks came right up to the cage and their fins came into the cage at one point. Sometimes they would jump up in the air and try and catch the bait. I spent most of my time trying unsuccessfully to catch this on camera. Massive animals though. I can see why so many people are fascinated by them. We went back for lunch of wine and lasagne before heading back to the hostel for a relaxing evening.

12 March: Bus to Knysna where I was doing a family homestay. The lady I was staying with was in her 70's and her husband had died. She had her cousin and aunt staying with her also so was nice to meet the family! She was a coloured woman so was not living in the real townships but not in luxury either. She was moved from her original home during Apartheid and the whites moved into her old home which she is quite bitter about given that the real estate is now worth millions. She cooked dinner which consisted of ox tongue and salad! I ate it and wasn't the worst thing in the world! We went for a walk later around her community. All small communities are the same - a police car pulled up at her neighbours house and we had to walk really slowly so she could eavesdrop to see what happened!!

13 March: I had a cooked breakfast to set me up on my day around Knsyna before heading to Port Elizabeth. Knysna is a very pretty town with a lovely forest and lagoon where people go fishing and canoeing etc. Arrived late to Port Elizabeth due to the incompetency of the Baz Bus driver so didn't get to see any of the city before I flew to Windhoek the following day.