Around Cape Town

Holidays in Cape Town:

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There are many wonderful accommodation options in Cape Town. While many people still opt for the five star Hotels and Guest Houses offered around the city, other people, especially the locals, are looking for other options when it comes to weekend holidays.

The “downturn” in our local economy has given rise to some out-the-box holiday ideas. While looking for a weekend break that would fit our pocket, we stumbled across Chapman’s Peak Campsite in Noordhoek.

Chapman’s Peak Campsite, Noordhoek

Chapman’s Peak Campsite, nestled among the oak trees off Chapman’s Peak drive, is a peaceful, serene, farm-style smallholding, perfectly suited to a weekend getaway, 30 min from Cape Town city centre. Bring your tent or caravan and relax on the lush green grass with mountain views that make you feel you’re far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Awake to the sounds of the resident peacocks, some hadieda’s and a flock of geese on patrol. Some cows keep the grass trimmed in the kiddies play park while pigs do what they do best in the pen below. A family of horses wander around in the field amongst the tortoises, and a collection of birds make for an interesting welcome on a meandering path up to the campsite office.

Along with well kept ablutions, the campsite offers a communal scullery, laundry and swimming pool and an electrical point per site.

Things to do in Noordhoek, Cape Town

Within walking distance is the quaint Noordhoek farm village with some interesting restaurants, coffee shops, gift and craft shops, and a playground for the kids. 5 minutes drive takes you to Long beach with its teal-blue sea and white-hot sand. After some sun and surf, pop in at the Cocobean for a light lunch, the Chocolate Moose for some confectionary or the Trading Post for some interesting gift ideas.

Long Beach Mall offers some easy take out meals as well as some fantastic service at the Ocean Basket restaurant.

The obvious choice for a Sunday drive would be the famous Chapmans’ Peak Drive, to take you around the scenic route to Hout Bay for lunch at the Chapman’s Peak Hotel.

For a fantastic sunset, drive past Kommetjie and up the pass above the Lighthouse. Don’t forget to take along a warm jacket! On your way way home, warm up with a drink at the British Bulldog in Kommetjie. Or, make a day of it and visit the game reserve for a game drive.

20 minutes in the other direction takes you through Fish Hoek to Kalk Bay. Main rd affords you a couple of hours exercise, with art shops, coffee shops and the Harbour to visit. Make sure you’re there early enough to get some fresh fish from the locals or in time for lunch on the rocks at Kalky’s.

There are many ways to spend your holiday in Cape Town, so if you choose hotel accommodation, B&Bs or the outdoor experience of camping, we are sure you will have a relaxing, rejuvenating experience during your Cape Town tour.

Things to do in Cape Town

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There are endless things to do in Cape Town, but top among them in the coming months are the Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts, the Whisky Festival and the Durbanville Summer Festival.

Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts

The stunning Kirstenbosch Gardens site provides the setting with Table Mountain as the backdrop. Get ready for some excellent musical events. Scheduled for Sunday evenings, Kirstenbosch contributes to the relaxed vibe that Cape Town is renowned for. Take along a picnic basket, some wine and the family.

The Whisky Festival

The Whisky Festival in Cape Town will run from the 4^th of November to the 6^th of November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). It will allow visitors to sample exotic international whiskies – whiskies not easily found here in South Africa. International brands will send their master blenders and distillers enabling them to meet them and learn from them in the many tasting workshops and lectures that will take place. Boasting over 150 top brands from around the world the festival will provide something new for everyone. Countries that will be present include Scotland, Japan, Wales, Ireland and of course South Africa.

Durbanville Summer Festival

Starting on Friday the 6^th of November and running to Sunday the 8^th of November the Durbanville Summer Festival in Cape Town will celebrate all that is Summer. Held at the Durbanville Racecourse, the Summer Festival promises summer fun for everyone. Featuring water slides, live music, fantastic food and a variety of other stalls

Cape Town Beaches

Hit the beach with the family. No less than seven of Cape Town’s beaches have been awarded Blue Flag status. Blue Flag Status is given to beaches that meet certain stringent guidelines. Checks on these beaches are done to ensure that the water is of the highest quality, quality facilities are offered and that no sewerage or other discharges mar the beach. Other things looked for, are the fact that lifeguards are on duty and that clean drinking water is available.

The beaches awarded this accolade are: Camps Bay, Clifton Fourth, Muizenberg, Strandfontein, Mnandi, Big Bay and Bikini Beach in Gordon’s Bay.

These are just some of the many things to do in Cape Town as we gear up for summer.

Tourism in Cape Town, South Africa

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Cape Town at the very southern tip of South Africa appeals to tourists as it has a rich cultural heritage, being the oldest city in South Africa. Top of the natural attractions that Cape Town holds out to visitors, tourists and travellers are as follows:

Cape Town’s Waterfront:

The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&A), is a solid favourite with tourists. Providing foreign tourists with high class, quality shops and boutiques, it also caters for the locals with movies, plenty of restaurants (from high level to take-away) and an open air amphitheatre for exciting shows and music events. Not to be forgotten is the fact that The V&A Waterfront is a working harbour and there are all sorts of boat trips that can be chartered, from harbour tours to sunset and dinner cruises.

Table Mountain:

Cape Town’s Table Mountain is a national park right in the middle of the bustling city centre. It offers many beautiful hikes and includes the Table Mountain Cable Car – a cableway that takes visitors from the bottom to the top of the mountain in a stomach whooping scenic ride.

Robben Island:

A must visit on any tour to Cape Town is the trip out to Robben Island. Robben Island is a World Heritage site, being the prison in which Nelson Mandela was incarcerated during the apartheid years.

Cape Town Wine Route:

If world class wine is what you are looking for, then Cape Town’s wine routes are the place to visit. Situated about half an hour from Cape Town CBD is the beautiful and historic wine farms of Groot and Klein Constantia.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens:

Kirstenbosch Gardens is part of the Cape Floral World Heritage Site (Table Mountain is also part of this) and is well worth a visit. It is one of the best botanical gardens in the world – great for the kids to romp around.

Clifton and Camps Bay Beaches:

Cape Town has some of the most scenic beaches in the world. Nestled below the mountain and screened from the summer southeasters, the ever popular Clifton 4^th beach is where the “hip” crowd likes to see and be seen. It is however the most crowded in season and therefore the other Clifton beaches and Camps Bay are worth exploring if you want to get away from the crowds.

Overall Cape Town is a tourist’s delight. There are many places to find accommodation here as well as some top hotels so book in and stay to enable you to explore at leisure. Tourists will not be disappointed.

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