Posted on 01/26/2006 1:24:22 PM PST by ferri
An elderly woman has been killed in South Africa in a bush fire raging out of control on Cape Town's landmark Table Mountain. The flames are being fanned by strong winds. Thick smoke has engulfed the centre of the city as the fire spreads rapidly across the lower slopes.
Firefighters are struggling to contain the blaze and a number of hikers are trapped on nearby Signal Hill.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
A shame. Table Mountain is one of the world's great sights, and Cape Town is a beautifully situated city. BTW, your profile page is a riot.
pretty sad too that this really isn't hitting the news. i only found two other articles but they were from news sites that we aren't allowed to post from...which i understand, they are almost worse than al jazeera. lol
lol my profile, you would not believe the things i have heard while here. most don't know i am American so i let them hang themselves, THEN tell them. the reaction is usually, 'but you don't act like an American!' see, i don't look like a movie star. *sniff*
Funny. Maybe things will improve with Harper in there. It must be difficult listening to the anti-Americanism. Just one more form of bigotry, I think. BTW, I was on Table Mountain a few years ago and they had a bungee jump from there called "Dope On A Rope." There was no shortage of people trying it, of course. The area around there is very beautiful.
ohhhhh i don't know if the attitude will change here in BC. we will see. my hubby and his family like me so the rest of them can just go...watch michael moore movies over and over and over...lol
i wanted to go to SA for a long time, but now not sure i would feel safe. i have a lot of internet friends there and the stories they tell scare me to death! i guess if you stayed out of the cities it would be safer, lions are easier to get along with it seems. lol
SO, did you bungee jump???
I'm certainly stupid enough, but the timing wasn't right (my wife was there.) As far as SA, I don't know, the scare stories are always there. There are parts of Jo'berg I wouldn't especially want to visit, but most of Cape Town is fine. I had a friend who just got back two weeks ago, he had no problems. Your dollar (even your Canadian dollar) goes a long way there. Wonderful wine country all around, and the drive down the peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope from the city is beautiful. And that doesn't even get to the best part, the game preserves. Truly one of life's great experiences.
Of course, I'm a guy who is going to vacation in Israel in six days, so maybe I'm not the best one to ask!! Honestly, in a lifetime of international travel, a lot of it in the Third World, I have found scare talk to be highly over-rated. The bad is almost always exaggerated, unless you visit an out and out war zone.
Believe me, I can't wait, rf. Incredible how much there is in such a small area. I'll issue a full FReeport when I get back!
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