Cape Town
Written: Mar 26 '09 (Updated May 18 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A beautiful city to spend a few days or more
Cons: Not enough time and tiredness from jetlag
The Bottom Line: Absolutely recommend a visit to Cape Town
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| hollynz's Full Review: Cape Town |
Cape Town is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world and with the stunning backdrop of Table Mountain and the dramatic peak of Lion’s Head it most certainly is a sight to behold. Flying into Cape Town afforded views of magnificent jagged rocky mountainous peaks and I was regretting giving up my window seat to hubby. As soon as we disembarked the plane directly onto the runway I was struck by the heat and slight humidity. It must have been well into the 30’s (Celsius) and was slightly uncomfortable as I had dressed to the cooler weather of Johannesburg.
We wandered down to the Rental Car area and picked up our incredibly tiny Hyundai Atos ..... gosh I didn’t realise they made cars that small !!! We managed to squeeze our luggage into the tiny boot and overcame the clashing of elbows every time hubby changed gear. Mind you, we came to appreciate our teeny tiny car when we came to our accommodation as the parking space was very difficult to manoeuvre in and out of.
Driving into Cape Town was very straight forward, we drove past the townships and marvelled at the conditions a huge part of the population lives in. The little homes seemed to be built with anything the owners could find, odd bits of corrugated iron, tarpaulins and all sorts of unidentifiable materials. There was electricity running to the townships as they all had overhead wiring everywhere. The roadsides are full of pedestrians and hitchhikers but we were on full tourist red alert and kept our doors and windows firmly locked and we weren’t even considering picking up hitchhikers.
Talking about driving, the drivers in South Africa are very, very fast and furious. In fact hubby was loving it but I was a bit jet lagged, over tired and nerves were a bit jaded. As we were roaring along at 120 kph a car came roaring up behind us, slipped to the left of us, pulled over right in front of us to pass a truck on our left and then unbelievably, cut straight across the path of the truck to the exit lane only just making the lane itself, in fact they raised dust as they ran over the grassed area at the edge of the exit lane ...... oh my, I then began to understand just why South Africa has so many road deaths.
Obviously we survived the drive and after a few wrong turns and figuring out the route to take on our basic tourist map we picked up at the airport, we arrived at our self catering apartment in Bantry Bay that I had found on the Internet. (www.capestay.co.za/zeanor)
This turned out to be an excellent find and was much nicer than staying at a hotel, the owner was a pleasure to deal with and the apartment was a real home from home.
Still exhausted and travel weary, we walked down to a nearby supermarket and bought a few supplies then drove to a nearby beach for a refreshing walk along the beach. Took a bit of getting used to the ways of life, pulled into a car park and a guy appeared saying he would look after our car for a donation, I had read about this so forewarned is forearmed. Everywhere we went, regardless of where we parked be it an empty street or a tourist spot car park, there were parking guys that would studiously guide you in and out of the parking space and keep an eye on your car. We were never sure how much to pay them and it pretty much depended on what loose change we had. Price ranged from 5 rand to 1 rand , one guy at Table Mountain asked for 20 rand, which we gave him .... noticed him giving his mate a look of pure delight so i'm sure we were duped but 20 rand is not a lot of money , about NZ $4.50.
This review is at risk of becoming very long winded so I will just try to cover some of the touristy things we did.
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TABLE MOUNTAIN CABLE WAY
You can't come to Cape Town and NOT go to the top of Table Mountain. We were very lucky to have gorgeous weather and the cable car was open everyday. In adverse weather they do close the cable car so it is worth stopping everything if the weather is good and getting yourself up there post haste.
The drive to the mountain itself was spectacular, we wound our way along some lovely seaside suburban streets with houses clinging to the rocky hillside, the narrow winding roads reminded me a bit of Wellington. The route is well sign posted for self driving but there were loads of cabs going backwards and forwards and the Cape Town Sightseeing Tour Bus goes right to the cable way as well.
It cost us 145 rand per person for the return trip ( about NZ $25 / USD $15 ), childrens fare is 76 rand so it is very reasonably priced and so worth it. It is possible to hike up and down but no, that is not for me I'm afraid.
The Cable Way was officially opened in 1929 and was upgraded in 1997 so has been in operation for 80 years. It can fit about 65 people and the cable car itself does not rotate but the floor rotates giving everyone the opportunity of full 360 views on the 5-10 minute journey. Two cablecars run up and down constantly so there was no really long waiting time, we just had to wait for the car coming down to unload passengers and then we were off.
Getting to the top will take your breath away, at the height of 1085m the views are truly awesome, you can see for miles and miles and the day we went visibility was fantastic and we could see along the northern coast for ever. There are walking trails all over the top, its very rocky and hot but worth taking a walk to take in the different views of the city and surrounding area. Hubby had been toying with the idea of doing the abseiling option but once he saw how high up it was, he decided to give it a miss.
After a good half hour or so wandering around we headed to the cafe for a cool drink and bite to eat. The restaurant /cafe and shop was a nice place to take five and just absorb the views and environment for while.
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ROBBEN ISLAND TOUR
This tour was possibly the highlight of our Cape Town trip, you absolutely positively have to do this tour. We decided to take the morning tour which left from the Robben Island Museum at the V & A Waterfront at 9am. Tours leave at 9am, 11, 1pm and 3pm everyday but is dependant on the weather.
Price was 180 rand adult, 90 rand child and the trip takes about 31/2 hours, this includes the ferry trip too. The views of Cape Town from the ferry were just spectacular of course so it made the ferry trip more interesting.
We arrived at the island and were directed onto 2 buses and one mini bus, we arrived at the prison and remained in our groups where we were joined by our guide, an ex-political prisoner who gave us an incredible insight into the day to day life of the prisoners. We were taken trough the prison and shown the incredibly tiny cell in solitary confinement which was occupied by Nelson Mandela.
After the prison tour it was back onto the buses for a round the island tour, this was another very informative tour and well worth taking. The guide was extremely informative and I learnt a lot on that trip. a very, very poignant moment is when we went to the quarry where the prisoners worked the limestone in the hot, hot sun. This was perhaps the most important of all the sites on the island as it was here, in a little cave that the prisoners used for shade, that the very constitution of the modern South Africa was discussed and debated. The guards refused to enter the cave as along with being the only place the prisoners could shelter from the brutal sun, it was also the only place the prisoners could relieve themselves, hence the guards refusing to go near the cave due to the stench.This worked in the prisoners favour though and was an extremely important site in the history of South Africa.
By the time we got back to the wharf we only had time to board the ferry so we missed out on checking out the curio shop on the island, it would have been nice to have picked up a memento of our visit but cest la vie.
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V & A WATERFRONT
Talk about a great asset for Cape Town. It seems you could spend days here and still not see everything. V & A stands for Queen Victoria and her son Alfred. In 1860 Prince Alfred tipped the first load of stones into the sea in the construction of the harbour and over time as shipping volumes picked up, a second harbour was developed and named Victoria Harbour. In 1988 the waterfront was developed with a focus on trade and tourism and now we have this fabulous complex available to play and shop and explore. Tourists flock here and while we were there a massive cruise ship came in and moored, unloading hundreds of passengers so it really is a one stop tourist shop.
There are at least three shopping malls, each seemed to cater to different budgets from designer labels, gold and diamonds to the more budget conscious and of course market type stalls and some fantastic tourist shops. My one regret was not buying some of the fabulous wooden ware on offer not only here but at roadside stalls, I thought I would wait till we were at Kruger Park and buy up on the way home but that was my downfall, there were no markets anywhere on our journey and the only roadside markets we saw sold only fruit.
Along with the shopping there was a huge array of boat trips and harbour cruises from the jet boat experience to leisurley sunset dinner cruises. Eleven cinema theatres , Robben Island Museum,the Maritime Museum and the Two Oceans Aquarium.
We only skimmed the surface here and I wish we could have explored more but time was against us and we were still struggling with tiredness in our short visit to Cape Town.
Restaurants, food courts , take aways and a large supermarket were all available here as well and of course the entertainers were first class. We could have stayed here for weeks!
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CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
Of course we had to devote a day to a trip to Cape Point National Park which is 65km south west of Cape Town. The drive along the coast is quite spectaular and you pass through many little seaside towns. Sadly the famous Chapmans Peak scenic drive section of the coastal road was closed due to slipping so we had to detour inland and cross to the other coast.
We stopped at the Jackass Penguin Coloney at Boulders Beach, stretched our legs and wandered down to the walkway which overlooks the beach, ther were loads of penguins, some with huge fluffy young and quite a few sitting on eggs. I think this colony has been very successful in breeding rates since the area has been run by the Naional Parks Board,they took over due to tourists destroying a lot of the habitat and nesting sites by walking over the dunes. Now there is a wooden walkway which lets the penguins have the whole beach environment to themselves.
The roads are well maintained and the drive is very easy and we eventually arrived at Cape Point and paid the 60 rand per person entry fee. Another half hour drive or so and we arrived at the Cape Point Lighthouse. As my foot had been very sore and I couldn't walk comfortably, we decided to ride the The Flying Dutchman funicular to the top of the hill rather than walk the trail. It cost 30 rand per person one way or 40 rand return. We only did the one way trip and walked back down to the bottom, at least I managed some exercise!
Once at the top the views are widespead back along the coast, there is another walk up to the top where the lighthouse is, hubby headed up there so I got to see the photos but I stayed behind and wandered around taking in all the different viewing sites. The jagged cliffs drop down dramatically to the ocean to where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.
We had lunch at the restaurant ( Two Oceans) before heading back down the road to Cape of Good Hope spotting some antelopes and ostriches grazing in the distance. We had to have the obligatory photos taken at the Cape of Good Hope sign. We chilled out by the sea for a while and then headed back for a leisuerly drive back to Cape Town. We never did see the infamous baboons which, I think was a good thing. Didn't really fancy having to deal with those guys.
If you are into hiking, you can take a 6 day hike from here to Table Mountain as Cape Point is the end of the Table Mountain chain.
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All in all we had a fabulous time in Cape Town and really could have spent a week instead of just a few days.There was so much more to explore but time and jetlag was working against us.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
hollynz
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Member: Christine
Location: New Zealand
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~ In memory of Barbara ~
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