The Outlander cast and crew have had a busy start to their South African stay. After the Scottish cold, wet and grey days, they’ve had to adjust to bright, sunny and very hot days. Gin and tonics have helped keep them cool, along with sunglasses and SPF factor 50 sunscreen protection.
So what exactly have they been doing? And where? Most of their time has obviously been spent at the studios preparing to start filming. Thanks to Matt B. Roberts and Maril Davis, we’ve been kept in the loop and have a few pics to give us a feel. In case you haven’t been able to keep up, here’s a quick round-up of what our favorite Outlanders have been up to when they’re not hard at work on season 3.
Cait arrived the day after Sam and Maril, slipping into the country incognito. Three days later, on Friday, they were hard at work preparing for the start of filming.
Prepping w/these lovely ladies Prod. Mtg today. Read thru 2morrow & we hit the ground running on Monday. #HelloCapeTown! @Outlander_STARZ pic.twitter.com/P3cwHG8JA5— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) March 9, 2017
And it was HOT! Matt posted a photograph of the set at dusk with the caption “Africa hot.”
Maril posted several tweets about the medicinal properties of G&Ts with frosted glasses full of ice. In the evenings, they could enjoy the cool breeze off the waterfront. Simon Hay, Director of Photography, posted pictures from his room showing the clustered moored yachts and boats in the yacht basin at Cape Town Harbour.
V&A waterfront hotel room view of the yacht basin. Note the Jack Black Craft beer! He also managed to fit in a solo parajump!
There are 35 high class hotels in the V&A Waterfront area that cater to elite tourists, including the Cape Grace and the One&Only. Every luxury is available, including spas, infinity pools and a dedicated whisky bar called the Bascule that stocks over 500 different kinds of whisky.
Over the weekend, they obviously managed to get out to one of the wine estates to enjoy some of the lovely white wines of the region. The grapevine-covered arbour kept it shady and cool and, with shorts and sunglasses on, they were basking in the heat. This was a brief respite before filming started on Monday. Maril again: “It’s like the first day of school. So many new names and faces. #FirstDayofShootingInCapeTown @Outlander_STARZ.” I’m pretty sure they started to get a workout climbing the masts and rigging, probably to escape the rats on the loose – “Here’s what you never want to hear on set….”Still missing a rat…”
Maril is obviously a fellow sufferer of seasickness along with Jamie Fraser – “Will someone please stop rocking the ship? I’d like to get off #gimbal @Outlander_STARZ .” Suggestions to end it included Dramamine and Mr Willoughby! I guess Gary Young must be on set as well, but whether he knows any acupuncture secrets is still in question.
But Sam needs to keep fit and his endorphins need a workout so he’s managed to find himself a gym and trainer for the months they are here. He’s training at Roark Gym, associated with Gym Jones, which is just up the road from District Six where some of the most notorious forced removals took place back in the 1960s. The gym describes itself as a functional training gym with fitness programs that include workouts using machines, high-intensity interval training, and functional movements. Internationally certified coaches offer personalized one-on-one training. Peter Olivier, the head coach in Cape Town, is lucky enough to be training Sam and can bench press 140kg and dead-lift 220 kg.
Cape Town is going through the most severe drought in 100 years and the dams are getting perilously low with only about five weeks of water left for the city. They should say thank you to Outlander for bringing some Scottish weather with them. Because, ten days after they arrived, there was finally some weather the Scottish crew recognised! The farmers are very grateful for those showers I can tell you.
Sam and Cait hit a local mall before going on to watch the #CTCarnival2017 and were kind enough to take a photo with a local fan before they went to enjoy the Carnival. Laura Bern tweeted: “Can’t believe we crossed paths with Caitriona Balfe.” Fransien Schoeman, who is also in the picture was struck by how willing they were to be approached and have a photo taken and tweeted: “Such a friendly response to a complete fan-girl freak out.”
To celebrate the rain and the seas that surround it, Cape Town had a Carnival on the weekend of the 21st March. The theme was AMAZA — Ocean Odyssey, which seems very appropriate for our Voyager Season 3 filming. The Carnival was Cape Town on steroids with floats, Queen of the Ocean, belly dancers and dancing jellyfish, sea anemones and Kaapse Klopse marching bands. DJ Fresh and Euphonix played at the after-party that went on into the early hours of the morning.
It was good to see the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) in the parade given all the sea scenes coming up in Voyager. If the cast does have to go on the ocean rather than shoot in the tank, it’s good to know these guys are on the job.
— CapeTown Partnership (@ctpartnership) March 18, 2017
The Cape Town Firefighters who had spent the previous weekend battling massive wildfires in some of the mountains near the city were also honoured. Think some of them could be Outlander extras, anyone?
???????????????????? Cape Town firefighters #CTCarnival2017 pic.twitter.com/JG1bj6IeP1— Sibongile Mafu (@sboshmafu) March 18, 2017
It hasn’t been all city action. Matt had a close encounter of the serpentine kind while out scouting for locations. A black Cape Cobra crossed their path and Matt took a photo. He’s a born cameraman — nothing stops him from getting the shot. I just hope they stood still! Snakes will get out of the way pretty quickly; they are not any more fond of people than we are of them.
While scouting today we ran (almost stepped on) across this Cape Cobra ???? @Outlander_STARZ #outlander #riskinglifeandlimb pic.twitter.com/vL3ivwJnDh— Matthew B. Roberts (@TheMattBRoberts) March 17, 2017
Sam, Cait, Cesar Domboy and Lauren Lyle took to the fynbos too on Sunday as they climbed Table Mountain and made it safely to the top. The route they took is called Platteklip (Flat Rock) Gorge and is the most commonly used trail up the mountain. Table Mountain National Park describes it as Up — relentlessly up! That’s the only way to describe the path in Platteklip Gorge. It’s the most direct route to the top of the mountain and the most popular. However, it is not a route to be trifled with; the going can be tough. As long as they took lots of water along on a hot day like today, they will have been fine.
Hiking day in SA???????? @SamHeughan @caitrionambalfe @CesarDomboy #laurellyle great share#outlander_forever on IG @Sheugs @GHJNancy pic.twitter.com/3eywWCYEGL— Diane Serralta (@ladybay8) March 19, 2017
Caitriona Balfe proves she’s no fitness slouch as she makes the top of Table Mountain.
Go Cait! ????????????
Via #LaurenLyle#CaitrionaBalfe #Outlanderhttps://t.co/WGSdS2wGCT pic.twitter.com/Mt0eeAvtN7— Italian Outlanders (@Outlander_World) March 19, 2017
But Sam has to prove he’s the fittest of all by planking on top of the mountain.
The first couple of weeks have been hectic ones for the Outlanders in South Africa and we look forward to hearing about more of their adventures in the next months. We’ll keep fishing for news… like this little Malachite Kingfisher that Matt captured at the studio. And like the Kingfisher, sometimes it takes a while to wait.
The cast and crew are making the most of their time in South Africa!
What adventures do you think they’ll be up to next?
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