Muizenberg

Apr 4 2014

Hiking trip in Table Mountain National Park

Hiking is a really popular activity for both kids and volunteers. The kids like it because the trips usually go to a place where you can swim. The volunteers like it because then they have time to talk to the kids and get to know them better.

So last Friday Ant, Zeus, Saskia, Will and me fetched the kids in the MBC bus and went to an area in the mountains close to Muizenberg. A waterfall with natural swimming pools in one hour walking distance was the destination of the trip.

IMG_5301Ant and the MBC kids discovering the way to the waterfall

The path leading there alternated with adventurous footpaths, stony stairs and wooden bridges. Along the way the kids played football or climbed on high rocks with Ant.

IMG_5309Summiteers Ant, Kiyaam, Themba and Siya

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After a half hour walk we arrived at the “waterfall” which unfortunately was no waterfall at all. Due to the last weeks of too little rain it was only a runlet and the swimming pools were just 10 inches deep. But still there was enough water to slake the thirst. The kids as well as the volunteers enjoyed cooling their hot faces under the waterfall.

Hiking-1Themba, Kiyaam and Siminkiwe

Saskia, Will and me decided to follow a couple of kids (Kiyaam, Cameron and Siya) who had left the rest of the group to explore the closer area. After some time, that felt like five minutes, the three Europeans were totally lost in the South African jungle. We followed a small stream until the thicket became impassible. Right before turning around we heard Kiyaam, Cameron and Siya. They were somewhere up a hill and shouting our names. They even shaked some smaller trees to guide us the way towards them. We tried to find a way to them but they were unsure of their whereabouts as well so it was hopeless.

 

Hiking-3Into the wild…

We decided to wander back to the waterfall where the rest of the group was waiting and splashing in the water.

DCIM100GOPROLost boys Kiyaam, Cameron and Siya

Hiking-4Climbing up the waterfall

I had some chocolate cookies that I gave to the kids – they finished the sweets within seconds. When it was time to leave we packed our stuff and the kids were still motivated and carried Saskia’s and my backpack. Maybe they just wanted to get some extra stars for the MBC star chart but for us the way back passed off easily. We returned back to the bus in the warm afternoon sun all tired and hot but feeling a sense of achievement to have hiked far!

Anna, MBC volunteer from Germany and Will, MBC volunteer from England

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Mar 31 2014

Markets in and around Muizenberg

There are lots of different places in Muizenberg and the closer surroundings where you can go to shop or just to enjoy all kinds of food. Every Sunday there is the Muizenberg flea market where you can buy cheap dresses, backpacks or handmade leather bags. But there are also strange things to find, for example used bathroom fittings or toilet seats. The handmade leather bracelets are cheap and look really nice.

OldBiscuitMill-1Old Biscuit Mill Market in Woodstock

Last Saturday Saskia, Sara, Freddie and me went to the Old Biscuit Mill Market in Woodstock, close to Cape Town. It consists of a big flea market with high quality and therefore really expensive clothes, bags, furniture and other odds and ends. We just saunted and marveled at the beautiful necklaces that were way too expensive to buy. The other part of Old Biscuit Mill Market is a really nice food market, where you can find everything that the heart could wish for. I had a really good traditional “Flammkuchen” that reminded me of good old Germany while the girls had Pizza. It was so much fun sitting there in the sun with good food, chatting and enjoying the good atmosphere of the Old Biscuit Mill Market.

OldBiscuiMill-2All kinds of food at the lovely market…

DCIM100GOPROPizza and sun at Old Biscuit Mill Market

One of the most impressive and beautiful markets is the weekly outdoor food market at Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek. It is every Thursday and is from 4.30pm to 8.30pm. We went there in Ants old opened jeep to watch sunset in the amazing view of cape point vineyards and the ocean. The drive there was windy but the view of the setting sun compensated everything.

CapePointMarket-1Ride in Ant´s car

The food at Cape Point Market is delicious and spectrum ranges from fudge and banana crêpe to fancy cakes and from paella to oysters. You can sit on a large lawn in front of the modern natural stone house and drink wine, count stars in the incredibly clear sky and try to see the star signs.

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CapePointMarket3Sunset at Cape Point Market

Every Friday there is the Blue Bird Garage Food & Goods Market in Muizenberg. It is an indoor market, consisting of a foodmarket and a fleemarket. Compared to the Cape Point Vineyard Market it is not as fancy but therefore a lot more chilled and cosy. I went there with Saskia and after eating a really good Burger while sitting on a cosy ale-bench, we went to shop at the fleamarket. Here you can get everything from old books, home made jewelry to clothes. It was funny watching Zeus, acting like a guest of honor, straying around, getting stroked and trying to get as much leftover food as possible.

MuizenbergMarket1We enjoyed the sunset bevor we went to Muizenberg Market

MuizenbergMarket2Cosy atmosphere at Blue Bird Garage Food & Goods Market

Anna, MBC volunteer from Germany

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Mar 24 2014

First impressions of Muizenberg

At my first week in Muizenberg I already experienced a lot! I arrived here on Monday and started with the project on Tuesday. My new roomies showed me the area and the Muizenberg “hotspots”. After my first surf lesson and an introduction to the project I finally met the kids and could watch them surf with Luca. It was really nice, seeing them having fun while surfing.

IMG_5211                               Luca surfing with the kids

IMG_5219                              Siminkewe and Themba

IMG_5220                              Kiyaam catching a wave

On Thursday we played soccer and it was Phila’s 18th birthday. Freddie and Saskia brought a chocolate cake which the kids ate in a blink. There were many stars for the MBC reward chart given to the winning team that actually won twice: Kiyaam, Mike, Godfrey, Siminkiwe, Asi and Themba.

IMG_5238                              Birthday boy Phila with Saskia and Freddie

IMG_5233                              Winning team

Friday was a national holiday, so there was no hiking on that day. Therefore Saskia, Freddie, Sara and me went to the We Are One Colour Festival in Cape Town. All of us got 5 powder bags in different colours – yellow, orange, pink, green and blue. Every hour there was a countdown from 10 to 0 and then everyone threw up the coloured powder in the air. It was amazing, seeing the colours spread out in the air, while seeing the view of Table Mountain in the background.

969303_10203483336510956_192804115_n                              Throwing up coloured pouder

1926869_10203483335790938_315240777_n                              Colour Festival in Cape Town

10215_10203483488914766_1755827541_n                              Me, Freddie, Sarah and Saskia at We are One Festival

By (Anna) Schmitt, MBC volunteer from Germany

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Feb 17 2014

My Last Day!

I can’t believe that this is my last day here in Muizenberg working for MBC! Time has gone by so fast . . . !! Even though the waves weren’t that good today, I felt that I had to give it a try . . . My last surf before I head back to Sweden!!

It’s amazing how much has happened since I arrived here four weeks ago. Today I managed to stand up a few times even though the waves were bad! The first day I didn’t stand up at all . . . ! :D

Apart from surfing I’ve done so much here in South Africa which I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t work for MBC; I’ve been shark diving, road tripping, have met a great bunch of kids from disadvantaged areas here in SA, I’ve been meeting new friends from Australia, England, France and US, been bungee-jumping and I’ve visited Cape Town and Table Mountain!

So much has inspired me and I’ve seen so many new things, I’m sure that there is a new and improved Matilda that’s going on the plane on Monday! Now I’m looking forward to all the adventures that I have in front of me . . .

My Last Surf

My Last Surf

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Feb 11 2014

A walk on the beach

Instead of doing our usual Friday hike, we took the kids and drove along the Baden Powell Drive. We stopped at a spot next to the beach and started walking our way back to Muizenberg. The kids complained a bit at first, they really didn’t want to walk the whole way back, but after a short while they forgot about the walk and started to play on the beach, collecting seashells and kicking the football around.

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Themba

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Kiyaam and Themba

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DSCN0621 - Kopia

Frankie

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DSCN0599 - Kopia

It was a beautiful walk, white sand stretching in front of us as far as the eye could reach. To hike and do things like this is definitely what I love the most about working at this project, getting a chance to really talk with the kids about nothing and everything and being able to do it surrounded by beautiful nature.

/ Freddie, volunteer from Sweden

Pictures by: Matilda and Freddie

 

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Jan 30 2014

Discovering Muizenberg

One of the most exciting things we’ve done on our free time so far was last Friday when me, Matilda, Anton and his girlfriend Fanny went to the Blue Bird Garage Market in Muizenberg.  We got directions from Maddy who works for MBC, but still got lost about two times before we managed to find it. It’s a big indoor market where they sell food, drinks, second hand clothes and handmade jewelry. It’s open every Friday between 4-10 pm. When we got inside we were all amazed by the colorful and bohemian setting. Surfboards were hanging from the ceiling accompanied by small flags in different bright colors. We went to check out the clothes and since I buy a lot of second hand and vintage clothes back home, I got even more excited about this special spot. We sat down and had a bite to eat, talked about our week and watched all the different people who were at the market. We stayed until late and promised each other to be back next Friday. Such a perfect evening!

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Fanny, Anton and Matilda at the Blue Bird Garage Market

/ Freddie, volunteer from Sweden

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Jan 27 2014

Our first week!

The first thing that we noticed when we arrived in Cape Town was the beautiful weather, next what a beautiful place it is. After getting to the volunteer house, settling in, meeting the other volunteers and having a traditional South African meal of bobotie, we all crashed out to sleep off the flight and be ready for our projects in the morning.

The next morning we got up bright and early to have our first experience of South African public transport. We got on a crowded minibus-taxi to the train station and then took the train to Muizenberg. The train ride was amazing with a stunning view of the sea and beaches all the way from Fish Hoek to Muizenberg.Once we arrived at our project and met Ant and Maddy we were ready for our first surf! Luca gave us our first surfing lesson and we all managed to stand up before the session was over (a few seconds counts!).

After exploring Muizenberg and a bit of lunch it was time to meet the kids for the first time. The kids were great at surfing – defo better then us and we were all really impressed!

 

Time to hit the waves!

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Getting ready to surf

The next few days we worked on our surfing, played soccer and went hiking with the Muizenberg Beach Club kids. The hiking was great as we got to see a bit of the surrounding area we probably wouldn’t have otherwise – Kleinplaas Dam was beautiful and also gave us a chance to chat to the kids a bit more and get to know them better.

 

Anton hiking!

Frankie, Anton and Godfrey

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Asi, Mike, Yanga and Freddie hiking!

 

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The guys!

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Phantom and the guys playing soccer

We had a great weekend relaxing and soaking up the sun. We celebrated Australia Day and had a party at the volunteer house with burgers, games and a waterslide! We are all very excited to be in South Africa and are looking forward to the next few weeks working with Muizenberg Beach Club!

/ Katie and Matt (volunteers from Britain) and Freddie, Matilda and Anton (volunteers from Sweden)

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Nov 25 2013

Training Junkie

I just have to tell everyone what a good place Muizenberg is for an active, adventurous and outdoor lifestyle. At home in Sweden I used to get tired after work and after pushing myself at the gym. With my lifestyle here I automatically get my daily training with the project and I love it! We surf every day, sometimes playing soccer or going for a hiking tour too. And it’s so easy to go for a spontaneous run on the beach before surfing. I’m trying to get into a routine and do a workout three times week, never more than every second day so I get time for recovery. I’ve always been aware of health and how it’s all connected to training, food, sleep, stress and social life. This place is doing great for me without me feeling I have to force myself to be proactive with those aspects. There are just so many things I want to achieve in life and my goal is to stay strong and confident. When my volunteering at MBC is finished I will go to a ski resort in Sweden and work a winter season. One of my biggest loves in life is snowboarding and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to learn how to surf. Honestly I think the way I’ve so far learnt to surf will help me to improve my snowboarding. Both sports are about board control, balance and focus. I’m so excited to see how it all turns out. I’ll push myself to see how good I can become. Ever since I was about eight and started snowboarding I’ve always longed for the winter to arrive. It’s so clear I needed a counterpart for the summer and now I’ve found surfing I’m totally home! Now I need to find an ideal way to combine snowboarding in my winters and surfing in my summers and see how that works out. I’m seriously so glad I found the MBC project because it’s the perfect way to learn what surfing is about. I have one week out of eight left here and I’m stoked to load up for winter and continue my life in Muizenberg. Keep fit!

Charlotte, Swedish volunteer

Sit-up on the beach.

Sit-up on the beach.

 

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Nov 21 2013

Surfing on the Wild West Coast of South Africa

Last weekend a group of MBC volunteers, one of the Learn 2 Surf instructors plus some of the Muizenberg crew headed on a road trip along the west coast of South Africa! The wave forecast looked promising along this stretch of the Western Cape and we certainly weren’t disappointed! We camped pretty much on the beach for three nights and surfed at Elands Bay (Elandsbaai) and Lambert’s Bay (Lambertsbaai). The waves were more challenging than at Muizenberg and considerably larger, which was good experience! It was quite awesome to watch the more advanced surfers do their tricks out at the point at Elands.

Surfing the point at Elands

During our trip we had braais (South African BBQs) overlooking the beach and an incredible all-you-can-eat seafood dinner at Muisbosskerm, the famous open-air restaurant right on the shore that was featured in the cult surf film ‘The Endless Summer II’ – a perfect place to watch the sun go down and refuel for surfing the next day.

Road tripping!

Road tripping!

We had some impromptu yoga sessions at sunset and dusk – it was pretty special looking up at the darkening sky and watching the full moon and the stars come out one by one over the sea, especially as there’s so little light pollution there.

Surfer at Elands

This particular section of coastline has a rather wild, untamed beauty which is quite stunning. Ancient rock paintings, dating back to the San Bushmen, are located in a nearby cave up in a cliff face and we did a mini hike up to the cave to see them. The rock art includes paintings of elands and hundreds of red handprints thought to be connected to ancient rites of passage. We also saw some cool wildlife during our trip – seals, dassies, flamingos, ostriches, baboons, lizards . . .

Ancient rock art at Elands Bay

Ancient rock art at Elands Bay

Muizenberg is a perfect and safe beach for learning to surf and for practising your skills while you’re working on the MBC project but there are so many good surf spots here in South Africa and Elands Bay makes an amazing surf trip from the Cape Town area for MBC volunteers.

Spot the birdie at Elands

 

Maddy, volunteer from England

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Oct 22 2013

Happy volunteers

Hi we are so happy today because we bought our first own surfboards yesterday! And we tried them this morning here in Muizenberg. It was fun and different. Thank you Muizenberg for the good waves!

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Ellen and Erica, Sweden

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