Monday, 23 August, 1999 saw 21 volleyball players and their two coaches impatiently waiting at Rand Park High School for the arrival of the bus which had the purpose of transporting us to and around Cape Town. An excited chatter rose among the players. When the bus arrived, luggage was loaded; bags stored under seats; seats occupied and good byes to loved ones said. The bus and occupants departed at approximately 5:15 pm to the sounds of cheerful, anticipating laughter and jamming music!
The drive down to Cape Town can be described as long - 18 hours; tiring - approximately two to four hours sleep excluding Tarryn and Cherilyn; fun - talking, joke telling, laughing; loud - music constantly played; cold - around 2`C at times. Despite these factors, the trip was a dynamic team building exercise.
We arrived in Cape Town near 12:00 pm on Tuesday and checked into our hotel, The Diplomat. Once assigned our rooms, most showered and unpacked. Our weekly grocery shopping was then done at the V & A Waterfront before we headed off to Belville to play our first match against Serepta. Despite the lack of rest and relaxation, both teams performed exceptionally well with the girls winning 3 - 2 and the boys narrowly loosing 3 -1. We then headed back to The Diplomat and arrived around 9:00 pm to prepare supper. After eating the teams split up for team meetings. All were in bed and asleep before 12:00 pm.
The wake up call was sent out at 6:30 am on Wednesday and after a quick breakfast we boarded our now homely bus and headed for Lion’s Head which we were to climb. Our hour stroll around Lion’s Head was rather relaxed. An hour or two was then spent sun tanning and swimming on Clifton Beach before our tour of the Aquarium which proved to be interesting and educational. The games that afternoon were played against Rhodes High where both teams were successful in winning 2 - 0. The evening was spent enjoying a cup of coffee at the Waterfront.
Thursday dawned with clear blue skies and a soft breeze and we decided that that would be our day to climb Table Mountain. We began our trek strolling through Kirstenbosch Gardens before our supposedly two hour hike up Skeleton Gorge to reach the summit of the mountain. The name of the trail we took should have being a warning to us because four hours later we were still walking. We continued to remind ourselves that "it’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves", but after a while we began to wonder if this mountain had conquered us. Upon reaching the top and observing the view, we wisely took the cable car back to lower ground. Our little hike proved to be an unbelievable team builder. We then drove to Gordon High where we played our afternoon matches. The girls won 2 - 1 and the boys won 2 - 0. We enjoyed dinner that night at Scrooges Diner in celebration of Gordon’s 18th birthday. Yves decided to conquer yet another mountain, this time, a mountain of food, when he ordered the 2,1 kg steak and chips which he then proceeded to consume in under 40 minutes. He was rewarded with a T-shirt, free meal and a queasy stomach for the evening.
Friday was a little less strenuous as we ambled through the Hout Bay World of Birds. It was one of the less exciting activities where the only bit of fun arose when chased by an agitated swan. We then learnt about the art of wine making at the Groot Constantia winery. A lunch of fish and chips was enjoyed on Hout Bay beach where the sea gulls consumed more chips than we did. That afternoon we were to play our toughest matches of the tour against Western Province. The guys played first and after a long, trying game, lost 2 - 0. The girls then played and were victorious in winning 2 - 1. That evening we celebrated a successful tour at the Waterfront and Planet Hollywood.
Saturday was a cold and windy day which actually aided us in having a whale of a time on the boat ride to Robben Island where some preferred to spend the trip in the toilet for obvious reasons. Robben Island was fascinating. Our tour guides were both ex-inmates of the prison which really helped bring the history alive. The trip was undoubtedly one of the high lights of the tour. We then spent the afternoon shopping, kite flying on Camps Bay and trying our best not to get blown off of Chapman’s Peak. That evening we had our final team meetings, tour songs and dances and a chocolate mousse fight with Miss Le Gassick and the Matric girls.
We left The Diplomat promptly at 3:00 am on Sunday morning, two hours shy of the tornado which we would not have minded being stuck in so as to keep us in Cape Town. We arrived back in the stress filled Johannesburg just after 7:00 pm.
The tour was an enormous success in every sense of the word. The players would like to thank Miss Le Gassick and Mr Northmore for the hours they spent organising the tour, coaching the respective teams and for accompanying us to Cape Town. It was a tour filled with countless memories!
Team and Tour Pictures Coming Soon!
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