John and Jane
Dan, Jane and John with Table Mountain in the background.
Dan, Elisa, Zoe, Jane, John and Jes
It was a momentous occasion getting together after all these years, we had not seen John and Jes since my other brother Cliff's wedding to Erin in South Carolina 6 years ago, and we had much to catch up family-wise. Sadly, their Mom and my stepmother, Joy Hodson, passed away last August. We missed her so much, how she would have loved being with us all in Capetown. She often came to the US to stay with Clifford and I saw her then, but it would have meant so much to be with her in the place where she and Dad had lived with the boys. Dad was killed in a car accident in 1971 on one of the mountains in Capetown, taking the family for a holiday on the farm of a relative of Joy. It devastated the family, the boys were between 9 and 13 years old. At the time of Dad's death, I was living in New York (yes, Flushing!) with my family - a toddler and a 3 month-old. I had not seen Dad since I left South Africa as a teenager. I was deeply upset that he would never see his grandchildren. 
The lunch at Blue Peter was good, but I couldn't concentrate on it much with all the talking and telling family stories. Dan and Elisa took turns taking Zoe to the beach across the road, she was very patient. It became quite hot as the day wore on, and finally we decided it was time to leave. John wanted to take me around the places they had lived with Dad and where the boys went to school, I was so thrilled he wanted to do that. It would have been too much riding around for Zoe, so she went with Dan and Elisa to visit the Kirstenbosch Gardens while John, Jes and I rode around the northern Capetown suburbs. Joy was living in Seapoint when she died, and that was where the family lived when Dad was alive. We drove around the streets, John pointing out the various houses they had lived in, and his school, where a course offered surfing. Very practical I thought, since across the road there is the best surfing imaginable. The little coast road gets clogged up all the time with traffic, and is basically a parking lot in the summer. It leaves plenty of time to watch the waves and the incredible views of the ocean and the mountains. Clifton and Camps Bay were suburbs I recall on the way to Hout Bay where Dad and Joy had lived for a time. Hout Bay is a fishing port and the dolphin come right into the pier where we went to look around.
Dolphin under a fishing boat at Hout Bay
There was a little arcade (the first little shopping centre in Capetown) where one could buy postcards and snacks, as well as some seaside-type shops. At one, Jes bought some snoek, a fish I had not heard of, and is delicious. We had it several times in South Africa. On the way back to the B&B we stopped at Jes' father's apartment in Clifton to say hello. It was right on the cliff above the beach overlooking the ocean. I could have stayed there forever, listening to the waves and watching the sunset every night. However, it was getting on to evening, so we reluctantly left and John and Jes dropped me off at the B&B. A most marvellous day, to remember forever.
Hout Bay
At Jes' father's apartment, see the ocean reflected in the mirror behind us
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The next day, Tuesday Jan. 4th, another fiercely hot day, we drove out to Groot Constantia in the southern suburbs behind Table Mountain. It's a beautiful drive past the Kirstenbosch Gardens and the University of Capetown to the estate, the oldest vineyard in Capetown, 1692.
 The house at Groot ConstanciaFrom the Dutch-style entrance gates a long tree-shaded driveway leads up to the house itself. Sadly the original house burnt down in the 1920s, a fire started in the kitchen, and as there were strong winds, the fire got into the traditional thatched roof and everything was burnt. A philanthropist vowed to rebuild the house with as many of the original furnishings as he could find, and now it is a very interesting place to visit. Behind the house are the stables which house some examples of wagons and wine barrels. While Zoe and I enjoyed the the house and gardens, Dan and Elisa took the opportunity of going on a wine cellar tour. They found it fascinating and bought a couple of bottles of wine to take home. They have a much healthier respect for winemakers now!  The Vineyards
The trees along the driveway provided additional shade for the small umbrella-covered dining tables, so it was cool enough to have a light lunch outside the restaurant housed in part of the old buildings. I had an appetiser of snoek pate and toast, it was delicious. Reluctant as we were to leave the peace and quiet of a drowsy afternoon in the beautiful surroundings, with the vineyards in the center of the valley, the mountains on the right and the sea in the background, we made our way back to the car, seeing on the way a baboon scarpering across the parking lot. Dan took a photo, but it was too far away to really see it.
We made our way around the southern suburbs to the Rhodes Memorial high above the University of Capetown. This was the last possible place for the lions to be and I held my breath as we drove up the windy road to the memorial. They were there! All 8 of them, 4 on each side of the steps leading to the monument to Cecil Rhodes.
At last I had found them and can go peacefully to the end of my days knowing where that photo of me was taken. Now all I have to do is find it! Mum or Dad must have taken it on one of our holidays from Johannesburg, when we camped in the bush on our way down to Capetown, and now we have
darling Zoe following in her Grammy's steps. She will always know where her photo was taken! The first lion is obviously the favorite for photos, as it had been worn down with no doubt countless children sitting on it, but it was too hot for me to sit on, so I stood. Zoe's lion was in the shade so she got to sit. Of course we had to have afternoon tea after all that exertion. There is a nice tea garden behind the monument with a playground for Zoe, so we sat in the shade and enjoyed a scrumptious scone with jam and cream. In my quest to visit all the a) luxury hotels, b) Tea rooms, c) Quaint loos. We scored 2 out of three. The loo was the quaintest I had encountered so far in Africa.
The Rhodes Memorial loo
Wednesday, Jan. 5th . Just as we were finishing up breakfast at the B&B, Lynn Crowhurst and Pamela Graham Wolfe came to fetch me for a day of remembrance. Pamela had met Dan on a visit to the US some years ago, but Lynn had never met my family, so it was lovely for them to meet Elisa and Zoe as well. It was good too for Dan and Elisa to put faces to names of family that they have never met. We are all family, in that Pamela and Lynn are cousins (both had Wolfe ancestors), and I tag along as a daughter of a former Mrs Wolfe, so perhaps I am a step-cousin. In any case, we are all interested in the Wolfe family in Capetown and that is why were were spending the day together. A bit of background of the Wolfe family. Originally an aristocratic Irish family, eventually a branch went to England and in the mid 1800s, a Richard Wolf went to the Cape as an army veterinarian. He stayed and prospered and eventually there was a Wolfe street, still in existence today, and a lovely house "Forenaughts", which remained in the family until well in to the 20th century. We started off by driving to St. John's Parish cemetary where there are graves of the Wolfe and related families. This was a very sad part of the day for me, as in 2007 my beloved eldest brother, John Wolfe, died suddenly a month before I was to visit him and Betty in Capetown. It had been 44 years since I had been to South Africa and was so looking forward to being there with them to go to all the family places. It was a very tearful journey instead of the excitement of a long-awaited trip. The cemetary is a small, hidden behind buildings that have grown it. It is old, some of the graves go back to the 1700s. It was to hot to spend much time there exploring. Lynn has done quite extensive research into the families and knows where the graves are. The two Wolfe graves are together, Richard Wolfe from the 1800s. Below his headstone and grave is that of Arthur Kilwarden Wolfe (known as McGregor). He was my mother's first husband, and father of John and Elizabeth. John was cremated and his ashes were buried in McGregor's grave, after the funeral in Fish Hoek where he and Betty had lived for many years. Although it was a dreadful day, I was thankful to be with there with the family to say goodbye. I miss him dreadfully, and am so grateful that I had him as my brother and that he always looked out for me. A very precious part of my life has gone forever.
  We went on to Plumstead cemetary, as Lynne knew of some Wolfe and Crowhurst graves. Pamela is a wonderful guide to drive around Capetown with, she knows everything. Between her and Lynn, we found the cemetary easily. Again, it was a fiercely hot day, and it is a large cemetary, so Lynn found someone in the office to help us locate the graves, rather than wandering around in the heat. Lynn had actually come pretty close to the lots. It is quite a well-kept cemetary. It was interesting to see pop bottles filled with plastic flowers. Mourners prepare them that way to put on graves, they don't lose their colour as fast. We found a Crowhurst and Wolfe grave, McGregor's sisters (John's spinster aunts) Sheila and Nora are buried there, as well as some Crowhursts.
 Pamela and Lynn at the Wolfe/Crowhurst grave in Plumstead cemetary.
It had been a hot and emotional morning. We were glad to accept Pamela's invitation to lunch at her granny flat in Claremont, a southern suburb not far away. She had been staying there for about 9 months while in South Africa. The converted garage was perfect for her - a cosy little sitting room and bedroom overlooking the garden and a kitchen and shower bathroom. The main house was owned by friends of hers. Pamela had prepared a salad with gammon (ham) and Lynn had brought a Christmas pudding made by parishioners from her church. Each year they sell them as a fundraiser, and it was delicious. We couldn't help but have a little snooze after lunch! Although we certainly didn't need it, I wanted to treat us to afternoon tea at the Vineyard, a lovely hotel in Claremont. It was John and Betty's favourite hotel where they would stay for a few days after the long flight (around 19 hours airtime) whenever they returned after visiting their daughters in the US. It was a chance to celebrate being together and to remember happy times when Lynn and Pamela joined them at the hotel. It was also a nice way to celebrate Pamela's upcoming 89th birthday! The hotel had originally been built in the 1700s and forms the centre. It overlooks beautifully-landscaped lawns going down to the river, and there are winding paths all around the gardens. We enjoyed a leisurely walk around, getting some exercise after the pudding, admiring all the nooks and crannies, with benches for sitting, while taking in the peace and quiet and the lovely scenery.  I could see why John and Betty liked it so much, a perfect place to get away from it all. The afternoon tea was all it should have been, a 3 tier plate holder with little sandwiches, petite fours and of course scones, jam and cream. We sat on the patio, enjoying the fact that the slate paving stones had come from "Fornaughts" when it had been demolished. John had made arrangements for the hotel to have them and they are just right in that setting.
I hope John was looking down at us 3 ladies enjoying their afternoon tea!
It was a special ending to a memorable day, it was so good of Lynn and Pamela to have taken me around on such a hot day and helped me get a sense of my mother's life in Capetown. We drove back to the B&B where I said goodbye to Lynn and Pamela, who herself was to return to her home in France in mid-January. Unfortunately Dan and Elisa weren't around to say goodbye, it turned out they were with Zoe in one of the swimming pools. I had promised them I would stay with Zoe in the evening so they could go up Table Mountain to watch the sunset and that's what they did and had a marvellous view. Zoe had some supper, I was not at all hungry (I wonder why?) and enjoyed hanging round the pool where some children were swimming. A bath and a few book settled her and with the airconditioner she soon was sound asleep. She had had a fun day visiting the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, and the aquarium.
Thursday, Jan. 6th. Our last day. So sad in many ways. This was my mother's birthday, and it was one of those coincidences that I had been to Wolfe gravesite the day before and thinking about her a lot. Packing up and loading the car, as usual, took longer than we expected and it was mid-morning before we left the B&B. We had decided to take all our luggage and go straight to the airport at the end of the day. It had a been a lovely stay, very quiet and relaxed, away from the hordes of holiday-makers at the beaches. I'm glad for them the weather was so good, I think it had been chilly and stormy before we arrived. Many of the holiday-makers come from the UK and Europe winter, so are glad of the heat and sunshine. We decided to spend the rest of the day in the Cape Point Reserve, then drive around through Simon's Town and Fish Hoek so Dan and Elisa could see where John and Betty lived. It was a glorious drive on a glorious day, I will never forget the color of the sea and sky from the Point. Although there were many warning signs about baboons and not to feed them, we only saw a few. I think since it was mid-day, they were in the shade taking a nap. They can be very dangerous when looking for food, so I was relieved. Cape Point is not exactly the tip of Africa. That honor by a few feet is Cape Agulhas - located about 200km to the east of (and south of) Cape Town. This is not only the southern most tip of South Africa, but also of the African continent. Cape Agulhas is also the meeting point of two ocean currents, the warm Indian Ocean current which travels down the east coast of Africa and the cold Benguela current which travels down the west coast of Africa. This gives rise to the frequent mist/ fog off of the coast. However, at Cape Point there's no getting away from the fact that you can stand looking out over the ocean and there's nothing between you and Uruguay, except for the tiny island of Tristan da Cunha. halfway. There were quite a few visitors to the Point but it was not overcrowded, and we took the funicular up to the top. There are further steps up to the lighthouse, but Zoe and I didn't make it up there.
Time was apassing far too quickly, and we had a long way back to the airport, but still many places to visit. The drive down to Simon's Town has the same glorious as from the point. We frantically looked for the Boulders and Penguin Sanctuary that Dan has specially wanted to see. When we did eventually find it, Dan and Elisa jumped out of the car (Zoe was asleep), and managed to see a few. We sped off to Fish Hoek where John and Betty had lived for many years, and saw the little tea room "The Windsor" that John and Betty had run so well. Sadly it was not at all the same, it looked run down and seedy, so we went to The Chit-Chat Cafe, where family and friends gathered after John's funeral. It was a favourite of theirs and the owners remembered him and Betty when I told them who we were. I'm glad that we left Fish Hoek to our last day. It really was an ending and a goodbye.
After that, it was just pure anxiousness to get to the airport. Dan and Elisa were supposed to be there by 6pm for their 7pm flight to Johannesburg and then to Nairobi. We arrived at 6:25pm. All we had time for was to unload their luggage, car seat, stroller and check in. British Airways was marvellous. No problems. The worst part , saying goodbye, was over very quickly and they were gone. I could not fall apart as the car was parked illegally and I had to get it back to the rental office. Through my tears I crawled around the airport, not knowing the location. When I did find it, thank goodness the agent drove me back to departures, unloaded my luggage and off I went to Virgin Atlantic. Not a good experience and do not recommend them. They would not check my luggage all the way through to Raleigh, so after an eleven and a half hour night flight in a very uncomfortable seat, I had to get my luggage, go through customs and immigration in London, and then turn around and check-in for Raleigh. All in 3 hours. I was pooped, thankfully the American Airlines agent was helpful, and as the flight was only half full, I was able to get three seats, so could lie down and sleep for a good part of the eight-hour flight. Nineteen hours total flying time plus three hours in transit in London. A long day, a long way.
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