| Fifteen sturdy travellers embarked on this escapade, and within 24 hours we had sustained our first casualty. Giles Brooks, the tour organiser, broke his arm playing beach football in Cape Town. Not to be deterred, the rest of the party spent a couple of fantastic days in Cape Town, cramming in most of the recommended tourist activity (Table Mountain - awesome, The Alfred & Victoria Waterfront, beaches, casino, etc.). |
| It was then quickly on to Knysna, our stop-off on the way to Port Elizabeth. It was on this trip that the true size of the country started to dawn on us. It was a long journey, with some pretty impressive scenery. After a fantastic night in Knysna (we were quickly discovering that the South Africans party 'til dawn) we were on our way to Port Elizabeth, where the hockey was to take place. |
| Port Elizabeth certainly lived up to it's reputation as being the 'Friendly City'. The local people of Port Elizabeth were incredibly friendly, with the tournament hosts seemingly unable to do enough for us. It came as quite a shock to most of us just how kind and accomodating they were. Barbeques (braais), parties and drinking sessions were all laid on for us. At first we thought it was some sort of conspiracy to erode our ability to play decent hockey, but we learned quickly that they didn't need to do that at all! It later transpired that the South African selectors were present at the event. The hockey was fast and furious, played at real pace and with genuine skill. The evening entertainment was often no less testing, with drinking going on into the early hours of the morning on almost every day. |
| The tournament format was 2 groups of 5, with teams coming from Port Elizabeth, Durban, East London, Johannesburg, Kimberley and of course us representing Norwich and the UK. For most of our players this was the best hockey they'd ever played (by quite some way), but spurred on by our National League ringers the team turned out some great games. Eventually we played just four group games on the water based astro, drawing one and losing the rest by narrow margins finishing eigth out of ten. This was a total vindication of our efforts, and the way we were adapting to the local conditions encouraged the hosts to invite us back again next year, an invitation I think we'll be keen to accept. Our results were: 1-1 United (East London), 2-3 William Pescod (Kimberley), 1-2 Witsrand Tech (Johannesburg), 1-4 3D Gelvan (Port Elizabeth). |
| On the way back we stopped off at Mossel Bay (400km east of Cape Town), an area renowned for its whale watching and great white sharks! Finally we came back to Cape Town, and a couple of days to unwind before returning home. We managed to see the BT Global Challenge yachts (including the Norwich Union boat!) come in to harbour on one evening, and even gatecrashed their party - not that they seemed to mind. Every one of us has a personal favourite point from the tour (we visited game parks, vineyards and saw an awesome sunset into the Indian Ocean) but I think we would all agree: South Africa was a fantastic country with cheap food and drink, a great climate, awesome scenery, quality hockey and genuinely friendly natives. Highly recommended. |
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