The little information that I had about Cape Town was from my recent trip last year and thousands of lust provoking photos that I had seen on magazines and Instagram feeds. I’m sure you know how those photos can inspire you to dream. My friend Susan can attest to this. We often send each other links of places that we would love to visit.
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The flight was very short. We met up with Tingo, our guide for the day. He was amazing and he gave us so much information about the places we passed on our drive. We passed the Langa Township and other great sites. Tingo is well versed with the history of South Africa although he is born and bred in Malawi. We checked in the Southern Sun Waterfront hotel and left our luggage. After freshening up, we were prepared to have the best time ever. We did not know what to expect.
We began by doing all the ‘touristy’ things. If you want to learn more about a destination, the idea is to look for a local or an expert and then do your own wandering. I loved that this trip was not planned to the letter. In fact Tingo asked us what we wanted to see or do and he facilitated that. I wanted to take a scenic drive and we all wanted to pop into the museums. Another place that I had always wanted to visit was the BO Kaap District.
The Castle of Good Hope
Although it was closed for renovations, trust us to convince the personnel at the door to let us in. This iconic building is one of the oldest in SA and it was a fort. Today, it holds profound history and is a tourist attraction site. This building elicits stories of struggle during the colonial era. There are canons all over that are reminiscent of this theme. This museum is located close to the city centre and you cannot miss it. It is open 7 days a week and the cost is about 30R.
With Tingo as he shares his wealth of information.
The Izoko Slave Lodge
This is another site in the city centre. The slave lodge showcases the long history of slavery in South Africa. It also gives one an insight on how dismal the living conditions were during that period. The museum contains remains of the ropes that were used to tie the slaves, shackles, cuffs and other commemorative objects. By sharing their story, this place gives tribute to all the slaves brought in from different parts of the world.
The City Square
I have a love affair with buildings and I love looking at them. I love old designs of buildings. In fact, I prefer them to the postmodern buildings. We walked to City Hall, parliament and other iconic buildings in the City Centre.
Visiting the Parks
There are many public parks in Cape Town where you will meet with people walking their dogs, running, taking walks or having picnics. There is a wide variety of flora and fauna and it is a great escape from the city. we met up with a lady who was sitting by some pigeons and she showed me how to feed them. She told me to place some bread on my hands and stay still. It was not long before the birds were feeding from my hands. It was so fun.
Scenic drive up the mountain.
On this day, we could not go up Table Mountain because it was covered by a cloud which they call a “tablecloth”. This could not stop us from sight seeing. There is a road that ascends and one can get a better view the higher you go. On our first stop, we could see the V&A waterfront, the sea and the city centre. We stopped to admire the view and met up with many people hiking and running. We drove higher to Signal hill which had a throng of tourists taking pictures and admiring the vista. At this point, one could get a breathtaking panoramic view. The pictures tell it all.
In Part 3. I tell you about 5 more exciting things we did in Capetown
Special Thanks to South African Tourism, Afrocentique Travel and Tours and my Photographer Sylar.
All photography by Sylar.
