Gap Year Experiences

Pepper's Final Week in Cape Town

Wednesday 8 April 2009

I am writing to you from Pepper’s Cape Town office a little over 36 hours since we bid our farewells to the group at the airport. Jules is still out here in SA, reclining with family friends before flying to Thailand for 3 more months’ adventure in South East Asia and we wish her safe onward travels. Ricky is also still in SA, embarking on his RYA Dayskippers and Competent Crew courses before finding a job on a super yacht in Greece. It honestly feels very strange not spending every day together and I can’t believe you guys are back in spring-time south-east England. It was an emotional last week and we managed to pack in crazy amounts of adventure, both during the days and at night.

Our last night was a relatively relaxed affair which took place at the Banana Jam Cafe, a Carribean-styled restaurant which we had almost to ourselves but that fitted the mood perfectly. Despite our excesses the night before at Vince's sister Pippa's welcome home house party, we still managed a last few daiquiri's and two rounds of shots as prizes for best efforts and most amusing moments from the course of the trip. Reminiscing as we did, it's quite unbelievable to think just how much we've crammed into the last 90 days and a little slideshow of some of the best photos of the trip prompted some good memories and funny stories.

The last week started with a day of indulgence. We headed to Canal Walk, Century City, for some big spending in the shops and then to the luxurious 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa. Nestled into the mountain side with great views out over the ocean, the girls all treated themselves to a deep tissue head, neck and shoulder massage to relieve all that built up stress and tension from their 3 months on the road! Crazy good value for money and dips in the jacuzzi and plunge pool only just scored more highly than the sight of Johnny prancing around in a pristine white robe and slippers sipping on a strawberry juice.

Tuesday and Wednesday saw us pick up the pace once more with outings to a nearby lake for some extreme wake-boarding and a 2nd sky dive for adrenaline junkies Carrie, Lucy and the first for JB. If we hadn't had to contend with fierce winds and resulting choppy water I'm sure we would have seen some “rad” tricks on the board from El and Carrie but as it was the way they took to it like naturals I'm sure it won't be their last time on a wakeboard. We also had time to watch how it’s really done with our pro wakeboarder, Andrew Bourne, pulling off some ridiculous stunts including back flips and landing facing backwards with the rope between his legs. All this despite holding back before he takes part in the South African Championships this weekend. As for the skydivers, the fact that Lucy and Carrie were talking about starting up their own jump school in Clapham for some urban skydiving I think says it all about just how much they love hurtling through the air at 120mph and yes, we could again hear Carrie's screams from 2 miles below on the ground!

After a final tan top up day on the picture perfect Llandudno beach we headed out for our fourth and final Tiger Tiger night out and despite the longest queue ever to get in, we kept our spirits up and lasted until the place shut and we reluctantly made our ways home. This place has inked itself into my memory for nights out with this party mad group of adventure travellers and I know I speak for both myself and Johnny when I say that we have been carried along on the never-ending wave of energy and determination of these guys to party as hard as this town allows, and it allows a lot. There will definitely be an extended recovery session for the trip leaders starting right about now.

In keeping with the drinking theme, we filled Saturday with a day tour of the stunning wine lands region. As one of the best known wine growing regions in the world, this place has literally hundreds of individual wine farms. We managed to fit in some tasting at four different spots, all with spectacular views of the vineyards and surrounding mountains. From Cabernet Sauvignons to Viognier, we tried the lot. We listened intently to the enthusiastic explanations of the hostesses and tried to keep our concentration as the afternoon went on but we definitely all learned something and I for one can't wait to go back.

Reflecting on the trip as a whole and as clichéd as it might sound, I can't believe it's over, it has been an unforgettable 3 months and that is all down to these Pepper travellers having been so much fun, a pleasure to share the amazing places we've seen and awesome times we've had together. It only remains for me to thank all involved in making this trip what it was. I wish everyone all the best for more travelling, uni, jobs and more. As Carrie said, bring on the reunion!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos to come.

Byeeee, Doug