|
Table Mountain
Cape
Towns defining landmark is also one of the citys
greatest tourist attractions. A cable car trip
to the 1086m (3563ft) summit of Table Mountain
takes just six minutes and the gondolas rotate
through 360 degrees on the way up (booking is
advisable during summer). Once there, more than
two kilometres (1.2 miles) of pathways lead
walkers over the massif, with breathtaking views
of the city and ocean below. A bistro on the
summit is by far the most incredible sundowner
spot in Africa.
A popular option is for
daytrippers to take a oneway ticket and then
climb down Platteklip Gorge. Visitors should,
however, take care.
V&A Waterfront
The creation of the V&A Waterfront
was possibly Cape Towns best commercial idea,
transforming this harbour area into a booming
centre of tourism, culture, leisure and
business. Renovated Victorian warehouses,
offices and buildings created in the Victorian
vernacular style, and many dozens of cafs and
restaurants complete this waterside area. A host
of boat and yacht charter operations tout for
business and it is worth taking one of the many
cruises around the docks.
The Waterfront
is also home to the worldclass Two Oceans
Aquarium. Feeding in the huge predator tanks
takes place on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday at 1530 and should not be missed.
Aquarium dives can also be arranged. Then, with
over 250 retail outlets, the Victoria Wharf
Shopping Centre is another premier attraction.
The Waterfront Trading Company and The Red Shed
Craft Workshop supply local arts and crafts,
while, in summer, various music acts perform on
the bandstand.
The newest addition to
the V&A Waterfront is the Clock Tower
Centre, the departure point for Robben Island
cruises. During the initial construction of the
Clock Tower Centre, the ruins of the Dutch East
India Military installation, dating back to
between 1715 and 1726, were discovered and are
now on show to the public. Plans for further
expansion of the waterfront are currently
underway. These will include a canal, the
creation of a new marina and linking the harbour
to a new convention centre.
Company
Gardens
Jan van
Riebeek the first commander of the Dutch colony
at the Cape ordered the planting of Company
Gardens in 1652, to serve as a fruit and
vegetable supply for the visiting ships, to
protect the sailors against scurvy. Nowadays,
the gardens are a green lung for the city
centre. The park is not just a botanical delight
but is also home to St Georges Cathedral, the
Houses of Parliament, the South African National
Art Gallery, the South African Museum and the
Planetarium.
The Anglican St Georges
Cathedral has been in existence for over 100
years but is also a potent symbol of
antiapartheid resistance. It has been the site
of many a political rally in the past and, until
1996, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu was
archbishop here.
The Houses of
Parliament, which flank the eastern edge of the
gardens, are a blend of Georgian and Victorian
styles of architecture. Designed by the British
architect Harry Greaves, they were completed in
1885, when the parliament became the seat of
British expansion into Africa. The building is
also an important stop on the political tourists
itinerary. This is where the architect of
apartheid, prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd, was
assassinated in 1966. It is also where Nelson
Mandela gave his inaugural speech as president
of the new South Africa in 1994.
The SA
National Art Gallery contains one of the finest
collections of South African and international
art in the country and has regular exhibitions
of work from around the world. The SA Museum is
an excellent place for visitors to spend a
couple of hours learning about the natural and
political history of South Africa. It also
boasts a superb whale exhibit and a shop,
located on Orange Street. In the Planetarium,
the realtime night sky displays are an
entrancing introduction to the stellar delights
of Southern Africa. There is also a delightful
restaurant, The Gardens Restaurant & Pub, 88
Queen Victoria Street (tel: (021) 423 1260),
where weary walkers can rest their feet and
recharge their sightseeing batteries.
Robben Island
Museums
Visiting
Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is
one of the most profoundly moving experiences to
be had in South Africa. The infamous menonly
prison and former leper colony was home to a
generation of the senior statesmen of Africa,
incarcerated because of their political beliefs.
The most famous inmate was, of course, Nelson
Mandela, who spent 18 years of his 27year
sentence here; but the guided tours are all
given by former political prisoners here. The
firstclass museums, situated both on Robben
Island itself and at the new Clock Tower Centre
on the V&A Waterfront, offer a wealth of
information on this period of South Africas
history. Robben Island is not all politics and
history, however. There is the physical beauty
of the island itself, with penguin and seal
colonies, as well as the fantastic view of Cape
Town.
Kirstenbosch Botanical
Gardens
Sprawling
over a magnificent 528 hectares (1325 acres) and
home to 4500 indigenous plant species,
Kirstenbosch is one of the top seven botanical
gardens in the world, habitually winning gold
awards at the Chelsea Flower Show, most recently
for the stunning rainbow creation in 2002. With
stunningly beautiful formal gardens dotted with
Zimbabwean stone sculptures, it is a delightful
place for a picnic, a stroll or even an
energetic hike through the wild gardens on the
lower slopes of Table Mountain. Attractions
include trails for the blind and the disabled,
bird watching, a greenhouse complete with Boabab
tree, a gift shop, bookshop, restaurants and
caf. Over the summer months (December to March),
immensely popular Sunset Concerts are held on
Sunday afternoons at 1730, with music that
ranges from classical to jazz, African
traditional and folk.
Koopmans De Wet
House
Built in 1701,
Koopmans De Wet House reflects patrician life at
the Cape in the 18th century. Designed in the
distinctive Cape Dutch architectural style a
style repeated in many of the grand manor houses
on rural estates and recognisable by curly
gables the house is also furnished with fine
examples of Cape craftsmanship. Many of these
handcarved items of furniture were designed by
slave fundis or experts from the East, as was
the unique decorative plasterwork on the
exterior of this and other buildings. The quiet,
cool and darkened interior is also a tranquil
retreat from the bustle and heat of the city
centre.
Beaches
Cape Town boasts some of the most
spectacular beaches in the world. With a long
summer and balmy winter days in between the
rain, these are an irresistible attraction all
year round. There is a beach to suit just about
every taste from the trendy spots, where tanned
bikini bodies are the order of the day, via the
more family orientated, easyswim sites, to wild
and rugged sundowner spots. All beaches are
overseen by the Cape Peninsula National Park.
Set along the stunning panorama of the
Twelve Apostles mountain range, beaches on the
Atlantic seaboard are several degrees colder
than those on the False Bay side, which are
warmed by the LAgulhas current that diffuses
into the eastern end of Cape Point. However,
there are still hugely popular beaches on the
Atlantic seaboard. One place, Clifton, has four
beaches, one of which, Fourth Beach, is Cape
Towns premier beach spot and the best place to
pose. All four beaches, however, are often
overcrowded in the peak summer months and
parking on Victoria Drive above the beach is
virtually impossible. An alternative, with a
California feel and restaurants and bars close
at hand, is the nearby Camps Bay. Further out is
the favourite sundowner spot, Llandudno, and the
homely Hout Bay. The nearby Mariners Wharf
fishing harbour (tel: (021) 790 1100; email:
mariners@capecoast.co.za; website: www.marinerswharf.com) offers great seafood restaurants,
markets, gift shops, boat trips and a fish
market selling live lobsters by the kilo, as
well as the Cape Town speciality smoked snoek.
Noordhoek and Kommetjie, both part of Long
Beach, are no longer accessible by road from
Hout Bay, as Chapmans Peak Drive collapsed into
the sea in 2000. Plans to rebuild are apparently
underway. These far flung beaches are still
quite deserted and Noordhoek can be dangerous
for lone walkers, particularly after dark.
False Bay offers its own set of coastal
delights, quite different from the chilly
counterparts on the Atlantic side. With warmer
waters, the stretch of Muizenberg beach and
little coves and inlets of Kalk Bay, St James
and Fish Hoek offers delightful swimming, with
smaller waves and a family feel. Formerly a
whaling station and a prisoner of war camp,
Boulders Beach has a string of delightful coves
that are always sheltered from the frequent and
blustering southeaster wind. However, visitors
to Boulders will have to share their beach with
quite a crowd of African Penguins. The colony of
penguins is protected and although these patient
birds are happy to pose for photographs, there
is a hefty fine for wilfully disturbing them.
They also bite so birdwatchers are therefore
encouraged to admire them from a respectful
distance. Boulders is just as popular with
humans as it is with penguins, so visitors
should be sure to arrive early in order to stake
their claim to a piece of beach or a boulder.
When not taking on the might of Cape
Points wind ravaged coastline or enjoying the
consistently good waves of Long Beach, surfers
mainly head for Table Bay to Blouberg Strand and
Milnerton, where the incessant wind promises big
waves and the location offers incredible views
of Table Mountain.
information | legal | links
|
