ON MY LAST VISIT to Cape Town a decade ago I remember asking directions to the Company Gardens, from a homeless guy.
Standing on a street corner smack bang downtown, he was furled up in a nest of matted blankets. As he realized I was speaking to him, he did a double-take. Then his eyes slowly widened.
‘They’ll take ya shirt and ya shoes,’ he said dreamily, looking me up and down.
‘Who will?’
‘The Banana-men will,’ he said.
Unsure quite what he meant, I made a hurried escape, back to the plush Waterfront District from where I had come. In the years that passed, I’ve often found myself wondering about the dreaded Banana-men, and have come to conclude they were a fantasy conjured by a troubled mind.
Far less fantastic though was the very real danger lurking in Cape Town’s historic heart. In the old days, it was a no-go-zone, where muggers preyed on the unsuspecting, and where you were likely to be relieved of far more than just your shirt and shoes.
But with time – and a massive injection of cold hard cash from both private and public funds – the city’s magnificent colonial quarter has now been completely revamped.
And what a jewel it is.
Stretching out a few blocks in each direction, it comprises an assortment of old world architecture, most of it restored to perfection, and all of it spotlessly clean. Part of a colonial legacy, the buildings hark back to when the Cape Colony stood as a byword for bullion and diamonds, and for wealth on an unknown scale.
After decades of despair, it seems as though the good times are here again. And, in these glory days of Cape Town’s Renaissance, there’s nowhere in the city quite so alluring to roam as the old downtown.
A good place to set off is from the corner of Wale Street and the pedestrianized St. George’s Mall. On that intersection stands the old Reserve Bank of South Africa, a granite fortress and an erstwhile beacon of power. It’s recently been given a painstaking renovation, and is now home to the Cape Town Taj Hotel.
Beyond it, on St. George’s Mall, are a throng of bistros, bars, and cafés serving gourmet fare and fine wines from the Cape. There’s an old-fashioned sense, a primness that makes you feel warm inside and genuinely fortunate at being anywhere near there at all.
A stone’s throw away, on Long Street, I found an abundance of second hand bookshops and antique emporia packed with 1930s junk. It’s a real treasure trove of a place. And, in a wildly vibrant backdrop of cultural colour, you can find every imaginable cuisine too – from sushi to Ethiopian ngira, and from Indian thalis to Brazilian barbecue.
Pace slowly down Long Street and you can’t help but glimpse Cape Town’s past. What affects me most is the utterly genteel quality of it all. There’s a sense that this is where the seed of Cape Town fell long ago. Squint a little and, in the canary yellow light of afternoon, you savour the village feel beneath the bustle of city life.
A twist and a turn and you reach Adderley Street, where the shops are a little larger, but where the atmosphere is straight out of the ’fifties. Woolworths stands in pride of place – not a haven for the downtrodden, but a shelter of subtle sophistication. There’s a wonderful flower market, too, on the east side of the street, the stalls ablaze with tropical blooms.
It might not look like it, but this main thoroughfare dates back centuries, to the time of the first Dutch settlers – who arrived more than three hundred and fifty years ago. A sanctuary of safety from the dangers of the unknown lurking inland, Adderley Street quickly became the commercial hub for the Dutch East India Company, what eventually became the thriving Cape Colony.
The most heartrending reminder of this time – one forged on servitude – can be found at the Slave Lodge, now housing a museum of culture. Over the years, many thousands of slaves were imprisoned there, a great number succumbing to the terrible conditions, malnutrition and disease.
In line with Adderley Street, are the celebrated Company Gardens, which I failed to ever find on my last visit. It’s there that the East India Company’s master gardener, Hendrik Bloom, laid out the first garden in 1652. At first it was vegetables and fruit that were grown, to sustain the droves of immigrants who had begun to arrive. As time passed, the gardens were turned over to medicinal and botanical species, and gradually became the idyll they are today.
For me, the most touching place of all in old Cape Town is St. George’s Cathedral, on the north-east edge of the Company Gardens. It was from there that Archbishop Desmond Tutu led his peaceful protest against Apartheid, a demonstration of dignity.
Visit Cape Town and history is never far from your grasp. It lingers in the air, a scent on the breeze, an explanation of circumstance that shaped the Rainbow People. Stroll around the old downtown and it’s impossible not to be affected by the trials and tribulations of the struggle. But, in many ways, it is the sense of triumph in the face of such adversity that makes the experience all the more poignant.