Exploring South Africa Part 1

Cape Town

Cape Town is one of those places blessed with a unique landscape. They have the mountains, forests, vibrant city, and beach conjoined. This makes Cape Town a perfect spot for nature and outdoor lovers. This was a vacation paradise for me, having the option to choose between hiking, going to the beach, exploring the city, or going to the wine country side. I was surprised that Cape Town was not at the top of my travel list previously. There are endless activities to do in Cape Town, you can spend a month here and still not run out of activities to do, no seriously. Let’s dive into the activities I did while in Cape Town. But before that, I will touch a little bit about the weather. They say the weather in Cape Town can be very unpredictable and you can experience all four seasons in one day, and I can attest to that.

We visited Cape Town on the last week of April, which is the beginning of the fall season. Summer begins in December and ends in March, while winter begins in June and ends in September and the months in between are transitioning months. Most people will say the best time to visit Cape Town is during summer because you are assured of sunshine on most days. Some people prefer the transitioning months as the weather is a bit neutral and there are not so many tourists. The winters in Cape Town can be brutally cold with very strong winds. I remember religiously checking the weather forecast before our trip, praying for no rain while there and we indeed got lucky. We escaped the harsh April rains that were seen 4 days consecutively before we landed. For this reason, I would recommend Summer time or the latest be the first week of April. The weather forecast app was almost 100% accurate and this helped us plan our days. Before this, I could have sworn I thought weather forecast was a bunch of gibberish.

Now let’s jump into the activities to do in Cape Town.‍

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Going up Table Mountain 

‍‍You can choose to go up Table Mountain by hiking or using the cable car. They say that when the weather is perfect, drop everything and head over to Table Mountain to enjoy the spectacular views. This is exactly what we did, we had the perfect weather on the first day and went up Table Mountain in a cable car. The cable car has a rotating floor so you get to have a 360-degree view as you go to the top. The view at the top is indescribable. You get to see the entire Cape Town from all angles. The view of the Atlantic Ocean against the backdrop of mountains in the distance is painstakingly beautiful. The top of Table Mountain is flat, hence its name, so you can walk around the top without getting tired. Sometimes clouds cover the top of the mountain and they give this the name “Table cloth” get it? On such days you won’t be able to see anything from the top of Table Mountain, which is why it is recommended to go when the skies are clear. At the top, there are restaurants, a souvenir shop, washrooms, and a little bar. Everything to keep you comfortable while you are up there enjoying the views. I had the best Mexican pizza at their restaurant called 67.‍

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Hiking

‍‍Cape Town is known to have one of the most popular hiking trails in Africa. There are dozens of hiking trails here and the most popular ones are Lion’s Head and Table Mountain (a hiker could never get bored in this town). The first Mountain we hiked was Lion’s Head and it was so fun and easy, probably the easiest hike I have ever done – speaking for myself. We picked a cold morning, which was a good idea because hiking in the sun tires you out fast (hiking is known to be a good winter activity for this reason). It took us a total of 2 and a half hours to go up and down the mountain. There were kids on this trail, so this will tell you it is not a torturous hike. At some point, we had to use ladders, chains, and rails to go up. That was the only challenging part, otherwise, the rest was a walk in the park. The views at the top are worth every sweat, believe me!

We hiked Table Mountain as well. Now there are many routes you can use to hike Table Mountain. We chose the Platteklip Gorge route which takes the shortest time but is known to be the most gruesome. It is like walking a bunch of stairs up Table Mountain. It takes a total of 2 and a half hours to get up the Mountain via this route, while another route like India Venster will take you around 3-4 hours. If you are wondering whether it is safe to go hiking alone (considering the high rate of crime in South Africa) yes it is safe. One thing we kept on hearing from locals is that, as long we kept to places frequented by tourists we will be safe. You don’t want to venture somewhere you are alone and isolated. However, always have your guard up. When we went on the hike, there were so many people on the same hiking trail and the other hiking trails too, so we felt quite safe.

Back to the hiking. Hiking Table Mountain ended up being super easy for me because South Africa is at a low altitude. If you are wondering what this has got to with it, this is the theory behind it. I come from Nairobi, which is at an elevation of 5500 ft, compared to Cape Town which is only 45 ft above sea level (a difference of 5455!). At this point, my lungs are used to low oxygen levels, so it makes it easy for me to hike up an area with a lower elevation. This is also one of the reasons why Kenya produces the best long-distance runners in the world. 

You will find hiking trails all over Cape Town and if given a chance, I would love to hike Chapman’s Peak during sunset. It has incredible views and it is a fairly easy hike too.  Signal Hill is also a popular hike during sunset.‍

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Go to the Beach

‍Cape Town is next to the Atlantic Ocean so there are so many beach options. I found the beaches here to be very different from the ones on the East African coast. The sand was not the same and there was little to no seaweed. The Atlantic Ocean is also way colder than the Indian Ocean. If it is not summer, it is almost impossible to swim in it. The waves also seem to be bigger and more aggressive, maybe it is because winter was approaching. The first beach I went to was Camps Bay Beach which was about a 15-minute walk from our accommodation. Speaking of Camps Bay, this was such a lovely accommodation spot, we could see the ocean from our front balcony and Table Mountain at the back. I can’t recommend this place enough. We also felt safe walking around the neighborhood during the day.

Camps bay beach tends to be a bit crowded because it is the most popular beach here. It is popular because there are restaurants right opposite the beach and you have options to rent out beach chairs and umbrellas. Note that drinks are not permitted on the beach, this will earn you a fine or have it confiscated by a police officer- a good strategy to ensure the beach is kept clean. The other beach I went to was Clifton. Clifton has 4 beaches, the 2nd beach was my favorite one. It is way less crowded than camps bay because there are no restaurants around neither are there beach chair rental services. It is isolated and surrounded by private residential houses. When we went there, there were barely any people around. There is an infinite number of beach options in Cape Town. Talk of Sea Point promenade, an area near V&A waterfront, Houghton, Muizenberg, Llandudno, etc. If given another chance, I would love to explore the other beaches because we only went to Camps Bay, Clifton, Muizenberg, and Boulders. I’m specifically eyeing Noordhoek Beach. ‍

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Take a road trip to Cape of Good Hope

‍Cape of Good Hope is in the southern part of South Africa. Taking a road trip down south from Camps Bay was perfect because it allowed us to visit other towns as well. The first stop we made was at Muizenberg, popularly known to be a surfer’s town. This would be my first time coming across this many surfers, the town center was swarming with surfers either going to the ocean or coming back, including little kids!  There were surf shops at every corner of this town and cute cafes with surfing themes, I loved it!  This is also where you will find those famous colorful houses on the beach.

The second stop was at Kalk Bay where we saw a bunch of seals relaxing and soaking up some sun right next to the harbor. I have never seen seals before so this was quite fascinating to see how they behave. They probably come to the harbor to escape sharks and to look for fish to eat.

The next town after Kalk Bay is Simon’s town where you will find the famous African Penguins. Penguins and Africa in the same sentence almost sounds weird to me. I never knew they existed on this continent until I came to Cape Town! They are situated at a place called Boulders Beach. The beach is separated into two, where there is a section that is free to the public and another that is secluded and you need to pay an entrance fee to see the penguins. Both sections had penguins, and while we initially had plans of going to the paid section, we found the beach accessible to the public alright. We found a bunch of penguins relaxing on a rock and then three penguins decided to escape from the group and come to the beach shore ( this reminded me so much about a show called The Penguins of Madagascar). We got there just in time to witness this and hang out with the penguins for a while.

The last stop is at the Cape of Good Hope. They say that this is the most Southwestern tip of the African continent, however, there are allegations refuting this statement. I will leave that to the geographers. Cape of Good is a large reserve that has bare land stretching over miles. The landscape here is very beautiful and you can see Mountains in the distance bordering the ocean. Wild animals like baboons can be found here, and it is known to be a famous hiking place as well. I read on a brochure that there is a hiking path here that takes people 2 days to complete! You can find accommodation here if you plan on going for that hike. At the edge of the reserve is the ocean. There is a little hill that requires a little hike for incredible views. This place was just stunning. You can also head over to an area that has restaurants and gift shops within the reserve. Note that there is an entrance fee to this reserve and your nationality determines how much you will pay.

I will also mention that we hired an Uber driver to take us on this trip. He acted as our driver and tour guide. He was an Uber driver we had used before, then he suggested we take that trip and we loved it!‍

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Go on a wine Tasting tour

‍It would be a crime to come to South Africa and miss out on a wine-tasting tour (unless you don’t drink). South Africa is known to be the biggest wine producer in Africa and most of the wines I have drunk in Kenya come from here. We took a tram wine-tasting tour in Franschhoek (meaning the French corner) and it was incredible. First of all, I love how the tram system works. You have this timetable that can take you to 10 wine estates. The best way is to visit 4 estates so that you get ample time at each estate. If you want to go to more estates you need to start early in the day. The tram passes by each wine estate every 30min, so you can hop on and hop off anywhere. At some point, the tram changes to a bus according to your timetable. I enjoyed this experience, aside from the wine tastings itself.

The wine estates we went to were Haute Cabriere, Leopard Leap, and Franschhoek Cellar. If you are wondering which line to take, the purple one is the most recommended. It was already sold out on the day we wanted to go so we chose the pink/grey line instead. You can book the tour online at their website. Note that the tram tour doesn’t pay for your wine tastings at the estates, you pay that separately. The scene of the vineyards against the background of the mountains was just breathtaking. Franschhoek in itself is one beautiful town. 

The wine tastings included pairing the wines with different items like cheese, chocolate, olives, smoked meat, pickles, etc., and learning what different ingredients went into different wines. I learned that my favorite wines are Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc (Blanc means white in French) so I am a white wine kind of girl. I also learned that I cannot stomach the taste of olives. Our favorite wine estates were Haute Cabrier and Leopard Leap. We wished we went to Chamonix Mix as well. We just got to have a short stop there and it seemed lovely.‍

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Take a helicopter ride or go Paragliding

‍This was my first time on a helicopter and it felt like being in a gigantic drone. We wanted to get an aerial view of Cape Town and the views were phenomenal.  We went on a bright and sunny morning which was perfect (make use of the weather forecast app).

Surprisingly I wasn’t scared to go on the ride considering my fear of heights and fear of flying. We booked our helicopter ride with Cape Town Helicopters and it cost us 2000 Rands per person. We also saw a lot of people paragliding. It seems like a popular sport here and I would like to try it the next time I am back in Cape Town.‍

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Restaurant/club hopping

‍Our accommodation was in Camps Bay and we were spoilt for choice when it came to restaurants. There was a street opposite the beach that was lined with restaurants from top to bottom (I wonder how they deal with the competition here). We had a great time sampling the restaurants there. Some were for breakfast only, some for lunch only, some for dinner, and others for only drinks. The food and service were great at each place so it was hard to pinpoint our favorite restaurant. The restaurants we visited were La Belle for breakfast, Zen Zero for dinner, Bo-vine Wine and Grill House for dinner, Cause, and Effect for drinks, Tigers Milk, Billboa, and Mantra café. I would also recommend this restaurant by the name Kloof Street House in Cape Town CBD. I would give it a 10/10 in terms of ambiance and food. They had this Victorian-style theme that I loved. The place is very popular so you might need to make a reservation. I also loved Harbor House restaurant at V&A waterfront, it was right next to the dock and had beautiful views.

For the night scene lovers, there is a street called Long Street where you can club hop. There are clubs along the entire street. We visited Ayepyep Lounge where we found a lot of local South Africans partying there. I believe each club has got its crowd and genre of music, so it is for you to do your due diligence in researching.‍

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Explore the town of Cape Town

‍I think the most popular part of the town is visiting the V&A Waterfront. This is an area next to a harbor that has nice restaurants and a shopping mall, there is also a beach club nearby. Most of the boat and helicopter tours can be booked in this area. You can also visit Bo-Kaap houses, famously known as the colorful houses that were built and leased to slaves by the Dutch colonialists in the 1760s. It has a rich history behind it. Visiting Art Galleries would also be a good idea. I saw quite several art galleries and they seemed to have really good art pieces. ‍

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Chapman’s Peak Sunset Drive

‍This has been listed as one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world! The road winds up Chapman’s Peak Mountain which is next to the ocean. You will however have to pay toll fees of about 47 Rands to use this road. There are 3 famous stops you can make to watch the sunset over the ocean. The second stop was our favorite, it had an incredible view and a place to sit and watch the sunset. The third stop was also beautiful. It was overlooking the beautiful town of Noordhoek with its vast breathtaking beach. You can hike Chapman’s Peak for sunset views, it is a fairly easy hike.

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Here is a budget breakdown of Cape Town

• Our accommodation was at Camps Bay and most of the Airbnbs there were going for an average of $150 per night. Camps Bay is one of the best accommodation spots as it is central to everything. You have Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill, and the town nearby. You get to have both the ocean and Mountain Views from your accommodation. The most important thing is that we felt safe walking from our Airbnb to the beach during the day. We could also take evening strolls but we didn’t risk walking around at night.
• Most of the nice restaurants were reasonably priced for both food and drinks. $20 pp would get you a decent meal and a drink
• Uber rides were also not so expensive. Most of our rides cost $10 or less.
• Activities like going up Table Mountain cost around 200 Rands pp. Hiking anywhere is free, and going to the beach is also free
• When you go shopping for clothes, personal items. Foodstuffs etc. the prices of goods are fair.

Click here for Part 2 of Exploring South Africa :)

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