WEDNESDAY WALK: Finding my Rain-stick in the Arty Suburb of Kalk Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

Hello everyone on HIVE!

On my last Wednesday Walk, I went to an art and craft complex called Montebello in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. You can see the photos here: @jasperdick/wednesday-walk-visiting-the-montebello. Although I had a wonderful stroll, my ultimate goal of visiting the area was a shop specialising in musical instruments, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for, namely a rain-stick!

I am a part time musician, who likes to write and perform songs. Lately I’ve been taking to the stage with my old school friend and fellow HIVER Hive account@clairemobey, as we back each other up on the songs we have written. I had this idea that a rain-stick would sound pretty cool backing up a guitar introduction to the song we planned on playing first at a gig that happened last night. Now, usually when I get an idea, I get fixated and follow through no matter what!

So, no rain-stick last Wednesday! So… Thursday! I drove my car even further to the “Deep South” of Cape Town to a suburb called Kalk Bay, where the entire Main Road feels like an arts and craft expo. When you drive this far South in Cape Town, we jokingly say we are crossing the “Lentil Curtain”. This is the land of the Vegetarian, woolly-hatted hippie people… the people who surf every day, and can live so far from the city centre in the North because they don’t work in offices, but rather in art galleries… or maybe working from home (perhaps they have been on HIVE long enough to be able to live off it… who knows?)

And the suburb of Kalk Bay is a perfect example of that…

This coastline has a series of coastal tidal pools that are wildly popular in summer! The water may look clear and inviting, but it is currently mid-winter in Cape Town! That doesn’t stop a few nutcases who seem to have made a ritual out of starting their day with a salty swim and fresh air, followed by a coffee or hot-chocolate across the road!

One shower is better than none for those poor salty nutcases! Even cold water is probably comfortingly warm after a winter swim – at least that’s how it feels after a surf!

One of the main parking places in Kalk Bay is right in front of a surfable reef… on this day it was knee-high and ankle-deep. Skip!

Alright, let’s cross the tracks and get back on the road – here’s the little theatre and a café…

Little magic places hidden all over the place…

Shops selling clothes for the free-spirited, colour-loving people of Cape Town

Aha! In amongst enough colour to hurt my eyeballs, I have found what I was looking for – rain-sticks! Can you see them?

Here’s the one I chose (to help you with that challenge)

So that was a wonderful walk, and I found what I was looking for. Last night we got to use it to create a bit of ambience at the beginning of the first song of our gig… I hope to share that on HIVE soon!

THE END