Blogs from Constantia, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa

Our plan for today was to head for the Hop On Hop Off bus (red route) which goes to Table Mountain, and go to the top of the mountain in the gondola - however, there were even more clouds covering it than yesterday! Change of plans - swap the red route for the blue route (and the purple route). So after a lovely breakfast at the hotel, walked back to the Hop On Hop Off bus office (that we had found yesterday) and set off on the blue route. This goes through the centre of Cape Town, including Long St (the main street?) and then heads around behind Table Mountain. We got off at the Kirstenbosch gardens, a botanical garden on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Wandered around through various parts of the garden (it's ... read more

Early on Saturday morning, I packed up my car, topped up the tank and hit the road. My destination: the Cederberg. I’d heard wonderful things about the fantastic landscape, the interesting plant life and the starry night skies - and as a keen amateur photographer, I’m always excited to visit new places and document my experiences. I’ve been doing a lot of research recently on great travel photography and was very keen to put some of these ideas into practice. My first stop was 160km north of Cape Town in Citrusdal, a quaint town in the Olifants River Valley. Although the town itself is small, the surrounding area is absolutely stunning – especially at this time of year, as August-September is wildflower season and the colours are spectacular. I stopped for a few hours at The ... read more

Episode 7 : CapeTown and Homeward Bound. (4.10.11) by Craig Howzit? We are currently in the beautiful city of Cape Town, or the "Mother City" as it is known here. The city sits on the water, with the awesome Table Mountain as its backdrop. Despite the dreary weather forecast, the days proved sunny and blue, so we spent the time doing touristy things. Yesterday, we caught the rotating cablecar up to the top of Table Mountain (along with a zillion others). It was well worth the wait. The 360 degree views of the city, mountain spine and along the coastline were phenomenal (probably the best mountain top/ building top vista I have ever seen). Back in town, we went to the Pan African Market, a small hole in the wall that led into passageways and rooms ... read more

Today we have been mountaineering; this morning we took the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain. From there we walked across to Maclear’s Beacon: this is the highest point at 1088 metres. The views from the top are amazing: you can see the Atlantic on one side and the Indian ocean on the other and all the way down to Cape Point. Then came the walk down along a footpath called Smuts Track. At first it didn’t seem too bad. We had a guide leaflet that informed us that it was steep, from 1088 metres above sea level to 100 in 4km but we were not prepared for negotiating our way through a waterfall and climbing down ladders down a part that is called Skeleton Gorge! Suddenly the sign at the top which ... read more

So here we are after travelling overnight. The flight was delayed by a half hour because of a fire in the place that makes the meals. The hotel is fantastic. We are sitting outside with a glass of wine waiting for some sandwiches to be brought down for lunch. Although its midwinter here and all the locals are wearing coats we are in our short sleeves basking in the sun, taking in the spectacular vista of Table Mountain. We are planning to go into Cape Town tomorrow and spend the day there. We have attached a few pictures of the views from our room.... read more