Cape Town archive tour (May 2022 / August 2022)

GSSA members planned to visit the Cape in August 2020… and then Corona happened.  When we say ‘planned’ it means that the accommodation and places of interest were all booked and participants already received lots of information.  We had to postpone, first to May 2021 (the second wave over Christmas gave us a scare), then August 2021 (the new winter lock down made us to rather not go) and now to May 2022.
But South Africans are very accommodating and all our bookings could just be rolled forward.  (However, three eGGSA participants from other countries pulled out completely, afraid of Covid-19 tests, long flights, quarantines or isolations.  But their deposits are paid and they want to join the next Cape trip as soon as the pandemic has calmed down.)
After flying on Sunday from OR Tambo (Johannesburg) we break the ice at supper and meet the local tour members.  On Monday morning after an early breakfast and a sturdy walk to the Cape Archive in Roeland Street Cape Town the two day research marathon starts.  Only short intervals for a quick coffee down the street can intercept the enthusiasm of researchers, novices or advanced!  On Tuesday the same programme is followed. After some rest in the afternoon debriefing and shop talk takes place at the daily dinners.
On Wednesday a bus takes us to Wellington where the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) now houses in its library the genealogical collection inherited from GISA (Genealogical Institute of South Africa and which had to close its doors).  Here we can work in books, registers, films of church records, photographs and much more.
Then on Thursday in the National Archive in Cape Town we have another chance to continue our work from Monday and Tuesday.  If time allows it, some could visit friends or join a tour to the National Library.
On Friday the bus takes us to Franschhoek where we make an appointment with the Huguenot Society which keeps many family registers of French ancestors who arrived in South Africa in 1688. When participants work on their pedigree sheets they usually find that many of their ancestors belonged to this group: examples are Marais, Roux, Pienaar, Fourie, Bruwer, and many, many more.
After a special good-bye-lunch the bus takes us via a scenic route to the Cape Town Air Port making us arriving on OR Tambo at about 21:00.