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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.
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