Cape Town, the Mother City

No matter how many friends, both South African and non-South African, had praised Cape Town for its setting, climate, harbor, beaches, friendliness, and sheer beauty, neither my wife nor I was prepared for what we found. This is a staggeringly impressive city, both from afar and up close. Draping itself down the slopes of its trademark, Table Mountain, she beckons to all.

Thanks to a South African who kindly picked us up at the airport, ours was quite an introduction. Within an hour of arrival, the friend had taken us to the top of Signal Hill, an extension of the Table Mountain massif, from which we could orient ourselves: the harbor and Table Bay to the south, the business area to the southwest, and Somerset West to the east. The waters of the Indian Ocean (or was it the Atlantic?) were blindingly blue, more like the Caribbean or the Red Sea than the Atlantic or Pacific as I know them, in North America. We sensed that this would likely become one of our favorite places.

We spent our first full day at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a vast section of Cape Town Harbour that has been restored and renovated in a manner similar to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco or Pier 17 in New York. With its shops, restaurants, and buskers (street entertainers) -- who, by the way, are auditioned before being allowed to perform in public -- this is the place to see and be seen.

We spent our second day driving with the aforementioned friend(s) down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Although not quite the southernmost point in Africa – Cape Argulhas, some distance to the east, has that honor – it is where the waters of the two great oceans meet. In the parking lot, we saw baboons doing buffoonish things and admired the odd, succulent leaves of various species of fynbos, the indigenous flora of the region, that grew on the hillsides. And then, of course, there were the wild ostriches and the odd antelope we saw along the way, as well.

Other days, we wandered around the company gardens downtown, strolled through the neighborhood near our B&B, or just chilled. Unhappily, weather prevented our getting to the top of Table Mountain -- our one chief regret. The revolving cable car is supposed to be magnificent…

Quick Tips:

Cape Town's tourist offices are pretty well stocked; pick up the usual brochures on arrival at the airport.

Telephones: If you have a GSM-compatible cell phone, do bring it along. SIMM cards are nearly free; we paid 25 rand, which is not even 5 dollars, for one. They're available everywhere, absolutely hassle-free. Then just buy phone cards to replenish your account as you go along. If you're coming from Europe, the Middle East, or elsewhere where GSM is the cell phone standard, then you will most likely be able to roam, though that should be done judiciously due to the cost involved.

Best Way To Get Around:

Locals warn everyone to stay away from public transport because of the possibilities of pickpockets, etc. Whether it's really that dangerous, I'm not sure, because we never used buses or local trains. Instead, we used taxis, which cost around 120 rand for a half-hour ride. It's best to stay in town to cut down on cab fares. On the other hand, if you don't mind driving in strange cities, rent a car. Rates are reasonable and would easily pay for themselves if you're going to be there for several days.

Call it chance, serendipity, or just plain dumb luck, but my wife and I stumbled onto the Ballyna House at the end of a long day's drive as we hurried back to Cape Town to catch a flight. For some reason we had neglected to reserve a room in another B&B where we had stayed earlier and were turned away when we finally got around to calling. What to do? Checking a South African tourist accommodation guide, we spent a good hour and a half at a motorway rest stop attempting to find something--anything--that either a) wasn't a huge distance from the airport or b) didn't cost an arm and a leg. We were just about to give up hope when we found the phone number of the Ballyna. What luck! They had had a cancellation and we could have the room! The next problem, of course, was to find the place, which can be a bit problematic near dusk in a strange town. Fortunately, the directions we had gotten from the host were pretty clear, so we made it with only one false turn.

What we found when we got there made the search well worth it. First, there was plenty of parking inside the walls surrounding the building. We had long since learned that parking on the street at night was just borrowing trouble. The next question was the room. It was a very pleasant twin with TV, ceiling fan, and direct access out onto the terrace behind the house. The views towards the bay and the mountain were splendid, though they would have been better had we been on the upper level. Even so, after unpacking a bit, we went outside, sat at a wrought iron table, and were soon invited to have a chilled glass of lovely fruity South African white wine. Last but not least, the owners, a young South African and his German-born wife, turned out to be charming and endearing hosts, whom we are exceedingly happy to have met.

The following morning breakfast proved to be a real feast: fruit, yoghurt, several kinds of pastries, croissants, bacon (back, not streaky), eggs (including omelettes)... just about anything, really. After tanking up, we left for the day and didn't have to eat again until dinner time.

As for the basics about the place, they have nine rooms, three standard doubles/twins, three deluxe doubles/singles, one executive room (plusher), one kitchenette (self-catering unit), and an executive suite. These range from 250 to 400 rands per person per night, according to their latest rates. They also mention on their website that they will take other offers, too, depending on the numbers of people and the season involved.

Bottom Line: Great value for the money.

Commonly known simply as "The Spur," this South African chain of steakhouse restaurants is definitely to be recommended. The food, which concentrates on American and Tex-Mex-style steaks and burgers, is well prepared, well presented, and amazingly well priced: per head, you'll pay around $5 to $6. And you won't go away hungry!

A few menu items:
Salad Bar
Steaks 6-18ozs. (150-500g)
Spare Ribs
Tex Mex: fajitas, enchiladas and quesadillas
Kiddies Menu

The branch at the V&A is especially nice because you have the option of eating outside on a wide balcony with stunning views across the harbor to Table Mountain. At night this is a stunning experience.

The Two Oceans Aquarium displays spectacular examples of the many-splendored marine life found off South Africa's long coastline. Some 3,000 different fish, shellfish, mammals, reptiles, birds, and plants can be seen in this underwater natural park. The Aquarium will also arrange dives with sharks, diving tours of kelp forests, and even copper-helmet diving, which is probably unique anywhere in the world.

 

I’ve always liked large aquariums, and Cape Town’s is one of the best ones you’ll ever see. I think its exhibit of African and rockhopper penguins is probably unique, and it’s at its best when feeding time comes around. Two or three young aquarium employees appear with buckets full of mackerel, and the fun begins. Penguins are inherently funny creatures, and to see them vying for the fish being offered them is a real hoot. The kids love it, of course, and so do the adults. Don’t miss it.

 

Another superb exhibit is the enormous tank with a half-tunnel viewing platform surrounding it where a couple species of sharks are kept, including the formidable looking "ragged-toothed" variety. Then there are the rays, yellowtails, huge loggerhead sea turtles, etc. Two or three days a week they have general feedings of all the fish by divers. A real feeding frenzy breaks out with fish zooming around the tank at incredible speeds to snare as much food as they can. Most impressive, of course, is the mesmerizing weekly hand feeding of the ragged-toothed sharks on Sundays at 15:30.

 

Then there’s the other enormous tank that contains a kelp forest. It must be at least 30 feet deep and the kelp grows from the bottom all the way up to the top with all sorts of fish that live within among this underwater jungle. Quite extraordinary.

 

Admission prices from 1 September 2005 - 31 August 2006
Adults R65.00
Children ( 4 - 17 years ) R30.00
Under 4 years Free

St. George's Anglican Cathedral, the home church of Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is located on Wale Street in the center of Cape Town. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, a well-known early 20th-century architect, its foundation stone was laid by the future George V. Built of local stone, it features some first-rate stained glass windows depicting the lives of several prophets, martyrs, and saints. The rose window alone is worth the trip to see the edifice.

We were there just after Christmas, so some of the decorations were still up, including a quite delightful creche. There's also a plaque commemorating a 1995 visit of Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of South Africa's first Human Rights Day.

My wife and I have traveled widely, and we've met wonderful people wherever we've been; however, nowhere else have we ever been met with such openness and generosity. At the risk of sounding maudlin, I'll try to explain myself.

During the planning stages of the trip, we were in contact with a South African, a native Capetonian, whose brain we shamelessly picked. Enough messages had flitted back and forth between Muscat and Cape Town that I was almost beginning to feel a trifle embarrassed. Questions just seem to beget other questions, if you know what I mean. That said, we had seemed to hit it off, and it was clear that he wanted to meet us at some point during our stay. Fine. Fair enough. I figured that would be as far as it would go.
Well, about two days before our intended departure, the friend emailed once again, and without my ever having dropped any sort of hint, said he'd be happy to pick us up at Cape Town Airport. Wow! Fine, of course! Who could refuse that kind of offer? After a long, overnight flight, especially one that involved two plane changes, the last thing I like doing is dealing with buses or taxis or the inevitable touts. We accepted the offer immediately.

When we got to Cape Town, sure enough, he was there, right outside customs, and within minutes, we were in his 4x4 heading into town. Rather than take us directly to our hotel, which he said he wanted to do, we soon found ourselves up on Signal Hill, one of the smaller peaks adjacent to Table Mountain which has a breathtaking view over Cape Town, the sea, Robben Island, and the beaches to the south. He told us it was the best place to get ourselves oriented in the area. He certainly wasn't wrong. After an hour or so, he took us on to our hotel, which was on the far side of town, and during the drive invited us to a braai, a South African-style barbeque, at his home in the southern suburbs. After we were in our room, we both asked ourselves if this was all for real because neither of us had ever experienced such a thing before.

It most definitely was for real. The next evening, he picked us up, and we drove out to the house after a stop at Bloubergstrand, from which one gets the classic view of Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain and the sea in the foreground. This fortuitous view is thanks to a hook-like peninsula which drops down to the south from the main land mass. Anyway, we got to the house about 6:30pm and didn't leave until after midnight.
Over dinner, which consisted of charcoal-broiled fish--a local variety whose name I forget right now--and boerworst, or Boer's sausage, and all the trimmings, washed down by a superbly crisp, chilled South African white. Over dinner, conversation centered mostly on South Africa and the changes that had taken place since the end of apartheid. But we also found ourselves invited to go with them the following day on a drive down to the Cape of Good Hope...

We really thought that must have been a one-off encounter. What we discovered was that everyone we met, especially those who ran the B&Bs where we later stayed, would bend over backwards to help, offer advice, or just share a joke. People talk to strangers in South Africa. Sadly, that's a much-neglected, indeed nearly forgotten art in almost all the rest of the world.