We arrived in Cape Town to fabulous sunshine. Our hotel, which is in the city centre, is ok. It’s a little like an old Trust House Forte (for those of you old enough to remember them!), but a little tired and shabby. However, it was right in the middle of town and within walking distance of everything you would want to see so served its purpose well.
THE place to stay is on the V & A Waterfront – a very ‘happening’ place. Here there are trendy shops, restaurants, African markets and expensive shopping malls. Plenty of live music to keep you entertained, from African bands to jazz bands, as you wander around. Luckily, the Waterfront is only about a ten minute walk from the centre, and from our hotel, so near enough for us to enjoy.
Cape Town became a refreshment station for ships travelling around the African coast and, in particular, the Cape of Good Hope in the mid-17th century. A whole support system, including a hospital for sick seamen, a church, public and private developments, a slave lodge and many more facilities, was established. As part of this infrastructure a garden was created, by the Dutch East India Company, to provide fresh produce for the sailors. This garden eventually expanded up the Table Valley. The garden was called Company’s Gardens. Today only a small section of this beautiful garden survives in the centre of the city, but is still home to 23 varieties of trees and 22 varieties of birds. Many of the museums (called Iziko’s – meaning the hearth where people go to talk and listen and to find out) are in Company’s Gardens so not only do you get to walk from one venue to another but you do so in a pleasant, tranquil setting. Here you will find; St George’s Cathedral; The Jewish Holocaust Museum; the South Africa Museum; Tuynhuys; Company’s Gardens information centre and many more.
Outside of Company’s Gardens there are many other places of interest such as the Castle of Good Hope; District 6 and District 6 Museum. All worth visiting, but be warned: check the timings they are open; most don’t open on Sundays; many not on Saturdays and some close early on various days of the week! There is a hop on-hop off bus that runs but everything is so close that unless you have a real aversion to walking or find walking difficult I would recommend taking time to plan your day and making your own way. Allow plenty of time for each as most of the museums warrants a couple of hours at least. We missed out on District 6 Museum as this was one that closed early on Mondays, the day we had planned to go, and we were leaving early on the Tuesday!
One place that isn’t at all well publicised/advertised, and thus we missed as we found out too late, is the Christian Barnard museum (www.heartofcapetown.co.za) (again, for those too young to remember; Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant). This isn’t only a tour around the hospital, but:
"recreates the tension of the night of December 2 1967 and into the early hours of December 3; places the first heart transplant within the context of decades of international research and, finally, explores the ethical and religious issues surrounding the definition of the moment of death."This might sound a little ‘heavy´ but is a visit that, had we been aware of in time, would definitely have taken. Tours are run with a minimum of six people, you can go around on your own but then you wouldn’t have the benefit of the exploration of the ethical issues, which I think would be an integral part of the visit.
One of the major trips I think is a must is a visit to Robben Island.
Originally a leper colony but more famously known as Nelson Mandela’s ‘home’. Our guides were former prisoners so really know what they are talking about. You get to go inside the prison; into one of the communal cells and can see Mandela’s own cell, where he was incarcerated for 27 years; you see the lime quarry where they were made to work and the cave where they were able to have clandestine meetings to discuss political matters and to educate younger prisoners.
Of course, Cape Town has Table Mountain as its truly stunning backdrop (www.tablemountain.net). On our first evening we watched a cloud tumble over the top of the mountain like a waterfall – no photograph or video could possibly capture the sheer beauty. We could only stand and look in awe at this spectacle. We had planned to walk to the top, but having seen how quickly the top of the mountain can become enveloped in cloud, and with clouds in the sky most days, we decided the cable car was probably the better and safer option. We may think of ourselves as intrepid adventurers but we still want to come out of this alive! The views from the top are definitely worth the journey. Table Mountain is not a pretty mountain – it is rugged and quite barren but has its own particular beauty. The views from the top are breath-taking. The 360° vista emphasises the contrast of the crashing of the ocean's waves; the mountains; Cape Town city and the flat of the land.
As in J'Burg, we had expected to feel threatened and that we wouldn’t be able to walk around the city freely but this wasn’t the case. We were careful and there were some places we wouldn’t want to have been once it started to get dark – no different than being in England really!
Tomorrow we set off on the next stage of this adventure. We pick up our car to drive around the Cape, to visit the wineries and make our way along the Garden Route.
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