Last May, on the occasion of a certain Italian’s birthday, we flew to the Mother City: Cape Town. I had longed to explore South Africa for as long as I can remember, and was elated when he chose this destination as the setting for his celebrations. Maybe I hinted a little… We arrived to Camps Bay unaware of what to expect, planning only to spend a few days at this beach haven before moving on to other adventures. Needless to say, we fell in love with Cape Town and eagerly returned post safari. The latter I will share in the next post. First, allow me to highlight all that we loved about Africa’s southernmost city, beginning with Camps Bay itself.
These white sandy and often stony beaches make for the perfect base from which to explore the city. Filled with tasty eateries, our favorite being Codfather (freshly caught seafood, fish, and sushi), it’s easy to spend a few days basking in the sun followed by a truly remarkable sunset. The rocky Clifton beach is just a stroll away.
The Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront is a scenic complex of over 450 retail shops and 60 restaurants including the V&A Food Market, boasting sweet and savory tastes from all over the country. Here too you can discover The Watershed, an industrial market featuring over 150 artisans creating artwork, clothing, accessories, etc. The perfect spot to pick up a souvenir. From here too, you can take a boat to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela served 18 of his 27 years imprisoned.
Our next stop was to Cape Town’s most prominent landmark, flat-topped Table Mountain. We took the cable car up, though it would not have been too difficult to walk. As could be imagined, the views were breathtaking! And simply walking along the mountain was an experience. We both could have happily stayed until sunset.
Just 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) south of the center of Cape Town (and easily reachable via Uber – the safest way to travel) sits the affluent suburb of Constantia. We were keen to try some of the local wines famous to the region and chose boutique wine farm Beau Constantia, both for the spectacular views, and the award-winning chef. Sampling the many shared plates of the tasting menu at Chef’s Warehouse Beau Constantia, we quickly understood why this was one of the best-rated restaurants in Cape Town. Not to mention the wines, which included a glass from neighboring Constantia Glen.
While we don’t usually take bus tours during our travels, we made an exception for the Cape Point and Penguin day tour. From Cape Point with it’s Old Lighthouse (238m above sea level), to walking the length of the rocky promontory to the Cape of Good Hope, it was a day charged with some of the most dramatic natural landscapes imaginable! Well worth the tour which ended with penguins.
Boulders Beach is in the Cape peninsula close to Simon’s Town. Here we met a protected colony of African penguins which settled on Boulders Beach in 1982. Incidentally, this is the only place in the world where you can get so close to penguins. These tuxedo clad creatures are beyond cute, and can put on quite a show with their squeeling, swimming and nesting. We were both smitten!
To visit the dynamic city of Cape Town, we hopped on another bus and enjoyed the sights, always back in time for sunset. In the midst of these adventures, we went on safari. Stay tuned for lions, leopards and rhinos…
