Travel Diary

Cape Town from above the clouds

Tuesday 25 May 2010

We had an incredibly toasty weekend in Cape Town this weekend with temperatures of 28 degrees teasing us. I went out to The Old Biscuit Mill for breakfast on Saturday Morning and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Amongst the stalls of organic seared tuna, free range sirloin burgers and buckets of hummus were boardshorts, summer dresses, sunglasses, mid-morning cocktails...was like the middle of February down in Cape Town. In winter though as amazing as these days are they can be pretty short lived. A trip up Lion’s Head from yesterday shows the cold front slowly embracing the city and mountains like Cape Town is being wrapped in a down duvet on a wintery night.

-Pip

Photo by Jedd Luke McNeilage

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A few Peppers on the move

Tuesday 18 May 2010

A quick catch up on what a few of our January 2010 Gap Year group has been up to since leaving the wonderful world of South Africa:

Abigail Salsbury:

So I’m back to normality and the UK way of things, back at my old job to earn more pennies. Getting very jealous of the increasing world cup fever and images of SA on the TV, wish I was still there, missing it a LOT!! Once you've been there I guess it never leaves you! Also super jealous of the exciting trips around the globe the rest of the Pepper crew are having and hope they are all having a wicked time, can't wait for the reunion. However, I can't complain too much, with my supremo sailing skills gained in Cape Town I’ve now been lucky enough to get sailing properly in the UK, and am looking forward to racing to Holland this weekend...I’m hoping not to fall off the boat as only Bridget Jones could do...so for now, this has been a Bridget Jones Report, Back to the Studio....xx

Joshua Rosenstein:

After being told I’m relatively useless in the Western world i have decided to return to the dark continent where I will spread love and laughs with infinite ability. Some just don’t appreciate my utility... 
The plan: Visit hippie farms and be jovial. see the world descend on cape town and pretend I’m not with them. Annoy Pip with endless lists and lists of questions. Climb table mountain, and speed down table mountain on a bike. Do Knoxvilles over and over again like Empire State play on Five Radio replay. Eat meat (examples: boerie roll, biltong (of all sorts of furry creatures), karoo lamb, steaks big and small). Try sail whenever I can. Stop and move, Cape Town over for now. Get in a 4x4 vehicle and go north until I get to the biggest hill in Africa. Climb it if can afford. Then find more hills. Climb them. Observe and take in as much as i can. then turn around. Summer over. 
Next move: unknown, but will be spreading love and laughs.
Yo to all. Those on the road, enjoy and get in trouble (moderate). Those not out and about, dont stay still too long. 
Jungle love,
Josh

Jake Leyland:

Am currently in the northern jungles of Laos. It seems absurd to be able to keep in touch with people all over the planet when there are jungle kids dressed in rags swimming for fish and hence survival in a river not 100 metres from my current cyber hub.
Anyway, having an absolute blast. Having lost a tooth in the alcohol haven that is Vang Vieng thanks to a 10 metre high trapeze and an over zealous attitude to my own acrobatic ability, I am really soaking up the culture in the north, with the intention of moving swiftly on to Vietnam where I will find a cheap motorbike and cruise down the coast. 
Still cannot stop thinking about SA, and sometimes I feel gutted that I didn't stay for the whole trip but I had a sweet time and am looking forward to getting back to Cape Town ASAP.
Much love x

Freddie and Georgie are also currently gallivanting around the jungles and beaches of the East, I hear there is a possibility of a mini Pepper reunion with old Jacob. Good luck team, hope it’s an amazing time.

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Thank you!!!

Tuesday 11 May 2010

As I'm sure many of you would have noticed, we have been entered into the Barcalys One Small Step competition. This is a competition for UK businesses where you can win £50k for your business. An amount that would go a long way in allowing us to move Pepper forward. if you haven't checked out our entry yet, please have a look, and back our idea! But punting our entry isn't what this blog is about today. It is about some of the comments that we have been getting by all of you out there! Reading some of this stuff is really inspiring and makes us really stoked to be doign what we are doing. Thank you to everyone!! A few of them are below for your reading pleasure:

Amazing vibes coming from the unbelievably inspiring website!

Pepper is making the African travel experience easier than ever before!Local knowledge is unbounded so you get to see parts of the country no 'run of the mill' travel company or traveller see.

hardworking,dedicated and friendly folk Pepper is a serious force in the market place offering a niche experience

Pepper Experience is a unique take on the current, staid travel undustry. Congratulations on a wonderful idea and business model!!!

What more could you want? Pepper is perfection!!

You guys were the latest force for change in my life. Rock on.

Exceptional service, exceptional management, exceptional experience! Wishing you guys the very best of luck

The best company ever!!!

Pepper truly shows off South Africa's talent and beauty. If only everyday was a holiday to travel with them!

Unbelievable tour company,run by truely unbelievable fun loving people!!!!

go pepppperrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! this is sooooo exiten!!!!!!!u better win!!!!!!! xxxx

Pepper is the best travel company I have ever come accross, their attitude towards south africa and life in general is inspiring!

AMAZING!

Pepper is just the best - my favourite travel company. Kind regards, Spuds

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Winter is coming to Cape Town

Tuesday 4 May 2010

So it’s that time of the year again in Cape Town when some of us are actually sneakily looking forward to the coming winter. I know it sounds like sacrilege in a city in which the mountain and sea and outdoor living is a religion, but there is a lot about winter that you just have to love.

I love fireplaces as that constantly smell of burnt wood and the fact that you can drink about 10 cups of tea a day and no one thinks you are strange. I love taking a walk in Newlands forest with a vague risk that it might start pouring with rain. I love going to Rafiki’s and watching the Super 14 rugby with hundreds of others who found a good enough reason to venture out in the cold. I love drinking red wine around a dinner table with friends listening to the rain outside. I love soup. I love driving through the huge piles of brown leaves. I love thick coats, scarves and a pair of cosy Ugg boots. I love  the way that sometimes Table Mountain just disappears for days on end and then all of a sudden you wake up and the sun is out and the mountain is there, and just for that one day the whole of Cape Town pretends it’s summer again. We are out and about. Climbing the mountain, cruising through markets, shops and street side cafe’s, we even go to the beach and watch the sunset. We have braai’s while the rugby is on and walk around in flip flops, shorts and t-shirts. Sometimes we sit around the pool and even just watch the mountain and the sun. On days like this its about the white wine and sunglasses.

This I have to say is favourite part of winter in Cape Town, the days when we are reminded for a brief moment of just how good the summer is going to be. This excites us.  Without winter summer would almost just become boring and that essential winter season is coming.