Cape Town! - Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Where I stayed
hilton doubletree
Having done over 3 months of hard work we felt it was time for part 3 of our travels (albeit on a much smaller scale than originally planned). Given that Ish is due to start his new job in December it was the last time (for Ish) to get away for a while, so we have 3 weeks in Southern Africa to look forward to.
We occupied ourselves with films and food from Manchester to Dubai. On the 2nd leg of the flight we had a good 8 hours sleep thanks to the sleeping pill we took whilst boarding. They work very well when taken before sleep… but not ideal to take before a 12 hour shift at work as Fatima recently discovered, taking one by mistake instead of an antihistamine!
After settling into our hotel we set out in the hot and sunny weather to the 'V&A Waterfront'. Here we enjoyed wandering the harbour, watching lazy seals sleep and listening to lively African bands. References to Nelson Mandela pop up everywhere you go and everyone wants their photo taken with his statues.
On our second day we got the cable car up Table Mountain and were lucky to have perfectly clear views over Cape Town and the beautiful coastline. We took a short hike along the ‘tabletop’ but with temperatures in the early 30’s we weren’t that energetic. After Ish had had his fill of photo taking we made our way down and jumped in a taxi with a couple of British business men who, on learning of our travels, leapt to the conclusion, like many others, that we are young backpackers travelling the world with rich daddies…. if only! They recommended a good restaurant where we sampled a selection of tasty meats… although Ish wasn’t so impressed to discover his halaal mixed grill included some pork ribs! Sometimes you do wonder if we are actually speaking the same language with the waiters. After a replacement platter and apologies from the manager we walked away with practically a free meal.
Our 3rd day was spent on a hop on- hop off open top bus tour which surprised us for being our favourite day. After touring the city we visited the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens set against the amazing backdrop of Table Mountain. We followed this with a visit to Groot Constantia Vineyard for some …. burger tasting! After a yummy lunch and brief wander around the pretty estate it was back on the bus for a scenic costal drive past some impressive millionaires homes, but not before passing some of Cape Towns many townships. Last stop was at Camps Bay, where the beautiful sandy beach backed by mountains reminded us of Copacabana in Brazil, minus the warm ocean…this was freezing… as the pictures shows, I got a shock when caught by a wave. After a busy day we had worked up an appetite and made a second visit to ‘Ocean Basket’ for some Cajun Spiced Kinglip…. amazing food with an amazing view.
On our last full day in cape town we caught the ferry to Robben Island to witness how Nelson Mandela and his fellow inmates spent their long prison sentences. Meeting some of the ex political prisoners and hearing their stories was very interesting. The fact that apartheid ended just over 20 years ago, within our life time, seems hard to believe. This trip was followed by a stroll into the town centre and then an ice-cream whilst soaking up the sun at the waterfront for the last time.