I look forward to holidays. They get me away from the rat race. |
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David Smart |
| Gender: | Male | | Age: | 53 | | Lives in: | Dundee United Kingdom | | Registered: | 29 June 2002 | | Last visit: | 04 July 2008 |
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| Cape Town Review: The Cape Experience | | Written by David Smart on 03 Oct 2005 about a trip in Nov 2004.
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ON TOP OF THE WORLD-Lions Head and Robben Island in the distance |
PENGUINS-Boulders Beach |
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Give yourself time to get into the Capetown way of life. It certainly is not European or American (Florida is the only place I've been). It took us about 4 days to get acclimatised. Sure there is poverty, amongst the wealth, however, we never encountered any hostility and were always treated with courtesy wherever we went. The services buses are cheap and reliable in and around the Capetown area. Taxi's are good value too. We always asked a price before we got in. Then there are the commer mini bus type taxis that peep as you walk along. We used them too as they were as cheap as the service bus, mind you the strong smell of diesel means that you don't want to go too far, but don't let that put you off. Give it a go. Most of our trips were from Sea Point to the V & A Waterfront and were under 3 Rand each.
Stayed in the Penisula hotel with my brother and his wife from the 26th Aug till 9 Sept 05. The weather at this time of year can best be described as changeable. It was never really warm and often there was drizzly rain, so you need to take warm clothing, especially at night as the chill factor increases when the sun goes down, around 6.30pm and quickly.
We arrived at Capetown airport about 7.30am. We went over to the ATS shuttle counter (it's the one nearest the exit doors of the airport) and were quoted 190 Rand for the four of us to get to Sea Point. Great value under 20 quid. We were going to hire a car, but just for a week, when we got our bearings. On the way to the hotel, the driver, Mrs Robinson, explained the sights and her friendly nature convinced us that we would use her for the visit to the wine region.
If you've any time time to kill at the airport the "send a postcard from Capetown" desk is worth it. The guy there is also mine of info about the area.
Do all the touristy things. Visit Robben Island. A moving experience. The boat trip is about half an hour and the view to Table Mountain from the sea are spectacular. Table Mountain is a must but make sure there is no cloud as the views are worth seeing. Me and my brother walked up, hard going in bits but we did it in an hour and a half. In the summer you would certainly need a bottle of water. The women got the cable car up and down 110 Rand each.
A number of people buy a ticket to go up then walk down. It's hard going on the knees though. A one way ticket is 57 Rand.
The Wine route day was great. Mrs Robinson picked us up at the hotel 9.00 and by 10 we were having our first tasting. 6 glasses of Fairview wine and some lovely goats cheese. Kannonkop was our next port of call, and it was here that we were shown how taste wine properly. It honestly does make a difference. We took in another couple of vineyards before headnig off to Stellenbosch.
Plenty of shops, and places to eat. An elegant town full of old colonial style Dutch buildings.
Last vineyard visit was to Spier. This place will go like a fair in their Summer with loads of picnic facilities and the cheetah park. Some nice shopping too.
Glad we didn't use the car to do the Wine route as there are so many vineyards to choose from and even though the tasting samples are small, you can still end up drinking a fair skelp. Our day ended at 6pm and cost us 900 Rand. I thought that was good value.
You are better using the car to get to Cape point as the excursions don't necessarily give all the time you want, and on a nice day there are plenty of walks to explore.
We took the car to Hermanus to see the whales (take binos as they can be far off at times). If you are looking for a bite to eat in Hermanus, The Cuckoo Tree is well worth visiting. You won't be disappointed with the food or the service.
Camps Bay is a great place to watch the sun go down whilst drinking beautifully prepared cocktails at Leonardos. Very sophisticated, at about 40 Rand a time, well worth the experience.
With UK pound being strong you'll find that eating out can be very cheap and we were able to eat at classy expensive (by their standards) establishments without bursting into tears over the bill.
If you like a pint, the two pubs together at the Waterfront are nice, Mitchells and the Ferryman. Pints are around £1.30 and Nips 90p. The beer is strong too. Raven is a stout and packs a walloping 6.8abv. Milk and Honey is another strong beer worth trying. The meals are also excellent.
Capetown is wonderful city with friendly smiling people. If Scotland can qualify for the 2010 World Cup, I would love to be there because I'm sure the South Africans can create a great party atmoshpere. |
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