It's hot, it's sunny, we are having a great time, we are in Cape Town!

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We are in Cape Town in South Africa! It is hot and sunny here and the cold and wet weather of the UK is but a distant memory!

We arrived yesterday morning at about 9am. We are staying at a really nice hotel called Rose on Rouge in the Bo-Kaap region of the city. Thankfully they let us check in early so we were able to have a much needed shower and in Tim's case a power nap. However many night flights we take we still have not mastered the technique of sleeping on the plane yet.

Bo-Kaap is one of the oldest residential areas of the city and is characterised by really brightly painted Cape Dutch and Georgian architecture. The buildings look really cool and make for a great photo.

We spent most of our first day wondering around. Cape Town seems a really laid back city and there are loads of nice looking cafés, bars and restaurants everywhere. We visited the Pan Africa market which was in a big building filled with lots of interconnecting rooms all filled to the rafters with African artefacts. We resisted the temptation to buy anything just yet.

After that we headed to the V&A waterfront which is a lovely area with lots of restaurants and shops set around the harbour. It is very picturesque as it has Table Mountain in the background. We could not see the top as it was covered in cloud, which I think by all accounts is pretty common. We had lunch here overlooking the harbour - Tim had his first Castle beer of the trip (not his last, even of the day). A beer cost less than £1 in a posh cafe!

The Green Point Stadium, which is where some of the World Cup will be played, was just round the corner so we walked there to take a look. Obviously we could not go in but we did get to walk around the outside and get the obligatory photos. Tim probably wishes he was here when the football was on but you can't have everything! The hotel has 7 channels of football, what more does he want!

We went to a Tapas bar in the evening, food was great, best was the Ostrich Carpaccio - tasted a lot like smoked salmon!

Today we decided to head up Table Mountain as it was a clear day without a cloud in the sky. It was hot though and we could feel ourselves frying despite the factor 30 sunscreen. When we got to the cablecar there was a massive queue. We later discovered it was because it has been shut for an hour or two due to the high winds. They seem to be pretty common. The wind and the cloud makes getting up table mountain when you can see something no easy task. Tip for all of you who plan to visit: Buy your tickets online. The queue was for the tickets not for the cablecar. That can take an impressive 65 people at a time.

Anyway, we got the tickets and got on the cablecar and got to top. You will be pleased to know that it was worth is. The views are amazing. I took way too many photos! We did not see loads of wildlife but we saw a dassie (rock hyrax), lots of lizards and my first good bird spot - an orange breasted sunbird

Once we had finished there we went to Nandos for lunch - the sauces are much hotter here- (it is allowed, it is South African) and then on to the District Six museum. District Six is a region of Cape Town that got declared a white group area in the 1960's and all the “coloured” residents were removed and the area was flattened.

After a siesta and then another drink in a nice looking bar we explored a bit more of Bo-Kaap. Cape Town is suprisingly clean and pretty, yes there are groups of people on every street corner but they don't pay you any attention on the way past and aren't threatening.

In the evening we we went to a very touristy, but fun, restaurant called Africa Cafe - the rooftop dining area has a great view of table mountain and is decorated in a very funky modern African style. They make you wash your hands in a bowl they bring to your table then bring 16 (yes 1 - 6!) different dishes of food from around Africa to your table, Senegal does the best rice, Congo the best spinach and if you are looking for stuffed bean pasties then Zambia is where to head. Oh and real Piri Peri (or Peri Peri, they say both) was even hotter than the stuff that had destroyed our tastebuds in Nandos at lunchtime!

Top marks for Cape Town.

Newsflash: TomTom is working!!! After at least 30 mins of saying trying to find satellite and us thinking that we had wasted our money downloading the map it has suddenly started working, This is good news as we get the hire car tomorrow and drive to Montagu.

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Photos

Table Mountain from Bo Kaap
You can see Table Mountain from most places in the city

Comments

[Ruth]

Ostrich Carpaccio
I like Ostrich burgers and sushi, so it sounds lovely! I didn't know you had ANOTHER holiday planned when we spoke the other day. Have fun! xx