Running Along Nicely

Last week was my first holiday since Christmas, and Helen and I decided to do a bit of a road trip to explore more of South Africa, which has been one of my ambitions since I returned here. We set off from Johannesburg in the faithful Porky (my little red Chevrolet Aveo) on a surprisingly damp and windy Saturday morning. It seems that Autumn is most certainly on its way, and we felt the chill keenly when stopping in the open plains of the Free State Province to re-fuel and buy snacks along the way.

We stopped off for lunch in Bloemfontein, and as Helen spent some of her childhood there, we decided to go and find her old house and also visited the girls school where she was a scholar in two separate periods of her junior-school life. It was fun to see how little everything is in schools when you’re a big person - and to remember how big they feel when you are only 3’9” tall.

After many hours of driving we finally reached Beaufort West shortly after a brilliant sunset over the mountains in that part of the Karoo. We were very happy to arrive at our camp, and after some confusion over which unit we were staying in, our cottage in Karoo National Park. It was fantastic to spend two lovely nights in a peacefully quiet place where there is very little artificial light, only brightly shining stars and a moon so full that it cast shadows. Having had a hankering for ribs for some days, we enjoyed cooking them over the braai and eating them with salad. Actually, that wasn’t the only thing that got cooked over the braai – I was a little exuberant with the benzene as a quick fire-starter and lost a few hairs on the back of my arm as there was a surprisingly large whoosh of flame as soon as the match hit the wood! But luckily no harm done.

Sunday was spent lazing in the sunshine reading on the sofa which we dragged out onto the balcony of our cottage. It was a great luxury to be able to relax away from any cares of work or normal life. We had actually hoped to have a nice long run in the park as part of our training for running Cape Town’s Two Oceans Half Marathon the following Saturday, however we learned that the park has at least one lion, and therefore while walking tours are arranged, these are with a guide who carries a gun, and guests in the park are not allowed to walk or jog outside the camp by themselves!

On Sunday evening we took a drive out to find a nice spot for a drink to watch the sun go down. We saw quite a few antelope and even some mountain zebra along the way, and eventually picked a spot with a view (we only saw one other car in the drive) and got out of the car and sat on some rocks with drinks. The open expanse of the karoo mountains around us was a dramatic setting for the blues, purples, greys and gold colours we saw in the shifting skies. I got a helluva fright when we were packing stuff back into the car and Helen suddenly jumped in alarm, I whipped around expecting to see a lion eyeing me up as a snack and instead, once I had receovered my wits, got to listen to Helen competing with some antelope who had made a funny snorting noise on seeing us, to determine which of them could make the loudest tttthhhhpppp noise at the other!

On making our way back to camp we discovered that in fact there was a barrier across the road barring the track we had taken, which had been locked closed for the night. With no cellphones with us, and no sign of anyone else in the area, and none too keen to walk too far from the car in the dark, we got out of the car to find out if we could open the barrier. Not surprisingly, the chain and padlocks, holding the two booms across the road together, did not budge. However, I soon discovered that the end of one boom was not fixed to the pole on which it pivoted, and was in the process of lifting the swivelling end off its post when the family of some park employees drove by (resulting in some hasty re-shuffling of the boom to a half-cocked position not quite back on its post!) They kindly called someone in the main camp who graciously came to let us out by the more traditional means of unlocking the padlock. 

We enjoyed another lovely braai that evening (minus flamethrowing tricks) and then relaxed under the starlight and almost complete stillness on the sofa which we moved in front of the outdoor fireplace to ward off the chill in the air. Living in a big city it is easy to forget how much ambient noise there is all the time, and the Karoo was a welcome contrast of peace and tranquillity.

The next morning we set off for Tulbagh, which is a less well-visited but very beautiful part of the Cape Winelands, about 90minutes north of Cape Town. On the way, we had lunch in a small restaurant in Ceres, which is a town famous in South Africa for its fruits. Although there was quite a lot of driving both to Cape Town and on the way back, it was most enjoyable for the Helen and I as time to chat together about ourselves, our families, our friends, and our experiences in life, and just to learn more about each other and how we think about things. We had luckily found ourselves a promotion deal which allowed us to stay on a wine farm called Rijks, in a beautiful hotel with scenic mountain backdrops and a lovely swimming pool, all at a very reasonable rate. We finally managed to have a little training run that evening and both found that the lower altitude and wide open spaces made for seemingly effortless running.

We enjoyed Rijks so much that we requested a second night (at the same discounted price), and spent Tuesday cycling around the different wineries not having to worry about driving to Cape Town afterwards. Our first stop was at Twee Jonge Gezellen estate (“two young bachelors” in Dutch), home of Krone, a Method Cap’ Classique sparkling wine (Champagne in all but the fact that the grapes are grown in a different area of the world) which is produced in an incredibly careful and labour-intensive process (with everything from picking the grapes at night, to turning the champagne bottles by hand as part of the process of getting the sediment re-absorbed, all being done by hand). Thereafter we stopped at several other more traditional wineries (with mixed results – in one winery the highlight for us both was definitely the small snacks served with the tasting rather than the sugared vinegar in the glasses). Cycling around was a lovely way to shake off any effects of the alcohol, and because it was a very hot day, we actually found it quite a workout. We did also stop in the middle of Tulbagh where there is a street of restored historical houses, many of which date back several centuries: now containing small museums, quaint coffee shops, a choclatier, and several curio shops selling succulent plants and assorted crapola that people buy to fulfill their need to clutter a house with junk.

On our first night in Tulbagh we ate a platter of traditional local foods in a restaurant which was tasty although not outstanding. On the second night, it being our anniversary of being together for five months (feels oddly like we’ve been together longer, given how much enjoyment has been packed into that time) we splashed out and ate at Rijks, including ordering a bottle of Krone  - it seems that touring a winery does inculcate some brand loyalty!

The following morning was my birthday and Helen thoroughly spoiled me by filling the room with balloons and giving me lots of presents. I also received a present and a call from my parents from the UK. We enjoyed swimming in the pool and a leisurely breakfast, as well as a cheeky tasting of Rijks own Pinotage wines (it did feel odd tasting wine at 10:30am), which are a particular specialty of theirs. Thereafter we drove into Cape Town and happily settled into the flat in Greenpoint which my cousin Shaun very kindly let us use. It was nice to have a home base for the rest of the week, and the location was very convenient for much of the city. It being my birthday, we made our way to Clifton beach (and were met there by my old friend Andy Young, out from his current work in Bermuda to visit his family) where we braved the frigid waters of the Atlantic for a refreshing swim.

For my birthday evening we met several friends: Andy, his brother Bruce and Bruce’s girlfriend Lexi, as well as Kait (who unfortunately was beset by car troubles) and another friend of ours Paddy. We ate at Cafe Paradiso on Kloof Street, and had been hoping to enjoy their outdoor tables, however the wind was howling a gale so we instead got warm and cosy inside. It was a lovely dinner and great fun to catch up with friends and share some laughter and stories. I was also lucky enough to chat to my brother later in the evening when he very kindly called from London.

On Thursday morning I played some tennis with Andy and Bruce, and then later Helen and I went on a tour of the Houses of Parliament (free, and extremely well-done and very informative) where it was very interesting to see how the buildings’ evolution in many ways mirrored that of South Africa’s political systems and representation. Thereafter we collected our race numbers for the Half Marathon (and waded through numerous stalls in the convention centre trying to promote weird shoes, odd medicines, and even stranger ‘energy’ foods for serious athletes). In the afternoon we had lovely hamburgers at Royale on Long Street (definitely a recommendation for Cape Town tourists) and enjoyed a bit of browsing in clothes and interiors shops, including a stopover in a surprisingly expansively stocked antique shop where Helen was able to get a tiny dose of her fix for old and beautiful things (tasteful things, not quite the same as the knick-knacks in Tulbagh – although I suppose one man’s Nik-nak is another man’s Ghost Pops – sorry, private joke for those of you who aren’t familiar with South Africa’s brands of chips or crisps as you would know them in the UK). It was a lovely hot day so we made our way to Lluandudno beach where we enjoyed the sun’s warmth, and also swam again in the cold Atlantic (I’d estimate that the water was about 12-13 degrees Celsius) and even Helen got in up to her neck, albeit very briefly.

That night, we enjoyed a fabulous Mexican meal at El Burro, which is opposite the Soccer World Cup stadium in Greenpoint. It was for me among the two best meals of our trip, and somewhere I would also thoroughly recommend to any visitors. Unfortunately we were rather conscious of our impending run, and therefore chose not to also sample their extensive and tasty range of cocktails.

On Friday it turned out to be a grey and rather gloomy day. Mindful of our run the following day, we took it relatively easy (I had a nice nap on the sofa at mid-morning), although it was nice to get out and shake off the bad weather by climbing Lion’s Head – unfortunately there was no view from the top at all as a result of the heavy cloud. In spite of the conditions, Andy joined us for another swim at Clifton beach; this time Helen decided to remain on shore! We also took in a movie at the V&A waterfront: Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was a star-studded cast, and a good fun film which will no doubt pique interest in travel to India, although one does sense that some of the character development was over-accelerated in the movie, whereas no doubt the book the film was based on took a bit more time about it.

Up at 4:30am, we still found ourselves running late and desperately trying to find parking near the start of the race. After a bit of a mad dash to find the start and get our bag stowed with the bag-keepers, we began running about 9-10 minutes after the first half marathon runners had set out at 6am. Within 2 km however we reached the back of the field and from there we slowly worked our way through the pack a bit. I then left Helen to run by herself as I know she enjoys getting into her own rhythm and space. I had been a bit worried by the profile of the race shown in a diagram, which made the hills look incredibly steep, and also showed that at least two of those hills were several kilometres long. As it turns out, while the half marathon is probably not as scenic as the Ultra marathon (also run on the same day, but 56km long) it still weaves its way through some lovely suburbs in the shadow of the mountains and the terrain is challenging but not ridiculously so – the hills were long but fairly gentle. Perhaps having lived on a rather long and steep hill in Harrow for so many years has warped my expectations in this regard. On this particular morning however, with rain forecast, about 9km into the race the heavens opened. It was not drizzle, nor even hard rain, those sorts of rain were how it began, but by the 11km mark the rain felt like a monsoon. I suppose the positive aspect of this was that there weren’t too many people suffering heat exhaustion, nor would dehydration have been as much of an issue. But it did make your waterlogged shoes and socks feel several kilograms heavier. 21km was a nice distance: it challenged without proving insurmountable, and I found myself getting stronger as the race carried on and many others seemed a little dispirited by the continuing torrential rain. Despite a slow start, I managed to finish the race strongly, overtaking a lot of people in the last 5 kilometers. I did note a sign where I had 4km left to run, which showed that those running the Ultra would have covered 52km to that point. I am deeply grateful not to have subjected my body to that stress, given that my knees started to stiffen up almost immediately after I crossed the finish line and began to stretch. Helen finished not long after me and by this time, with both of us thoroughly wet and rather cold, we shiveringly walked back to our car 2km away rather than join the huge queues for the shuttle buses back to the parking.

I think we were both hugely relieved to enjoy hot showers and warm clothes as well as a nice soft sofa. Helen had a well-deserved nap and I pottered about and did some reading. Later in the day we made our way to a steakhouse and watched another movie – this time we saw an excellent locally produced movie called Material, which was set in Johannesburg’s Muslim Indian community and has sparked my interest in further exploration of pockets of Johannesburg where I have not yet been (there don’t seem to be any rugby fields there, hence my ignorance!) That night we ate at a homely little Italian restaurant down the road from the flat and finally spoiled ourselves with some well-deserved wine after the long run.

On Sunday we began our lengthy journey home, but not before we had a quick swim in the apartment block swimming pool, having found we were both very stiff and felt a bit geriatric trying to get out of bed in the morning. We drove most of the day, thankfully soon leaving behind rather grim Cape Town weather and emerging into karoo dessert sunshine, stopping only briefly for small snacks and fuel along the way. We spent Sunday night at a delightful farmhouse called New Holme Guest Farm, between Hanover and Colesberg. Not only were the host family very friendly and welcoming (including the kittens playing in the gardens) but the food they served was simply fabulous traditional local fare. Springbok joints as well as karoo lamb pie, with pumpkin fritters, fresh traditional farmhouse bread, and malva pudding and cheesecake as highlights of the puddings. The next morning, Easter Monday, we had a nice short walk around the farm to ease our legs and then hopped in the car and made our way back to Joburg, enjoying some good laughs and great chat along the way.

It has been a jolt back to reality going back to work and not being free to do as I please, nor to see as much of Helen as I had become used to, as she sinks her teeth into the uphill climb that is her job at the moment. The team of two others she is supposed to be managing, and probably needs to expand to three staff, is currently zero, as one is on maternity leave and the other is no longer working for the company - so Helen is doing the work of three people and not surprisingly finding she barely has time to keep her head above water. I at least have the luxury of working from home at times like this week when my boss is away at a conference in London and the office still feels rather empty with others away on leave. But this has been a short working week, with the weekend coming up already. Soon reality must bite, and I must start to make more strategic decisions about what to devote my energies to in the next while. But for now it’s nice to have refreshed the soul and created some wonderful holiday memories.

If you are keen to see pictures from the holiday these can be found here:

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