Calling all travellers: Cape Town!

[Gemma12]

Hello all!

I hope this is the right section to post this in....

DH and I are heading to Cape Town (part work, part play

) for a week in a couple of months and I was wanting to reap the benefit of any advice here on the boards!

What are the ''do not miss'' things to do?
Any great restaurants?
Any safety tips? (Beyond the ''don''t walk down dark alley'' variety)

Wine buffs speak up too as one day will be a winery visit.

Thanks in advance!

Gemma

 

[surfgirl]

I used to live in Botswana and while I never got to the Cape, I have friends who have a retirement home there and love it and I''ve never heard anything bad about it.

For wine, really you have to decide what sort of wine you love and go from there. No sense in going to a winery that has red when you dont drink red, right? The Stellenbosch is the area that has amazing vineyards and scenery. There''s a wonderful little old train that you can take..I''m not sure if it runs all the way from Joberg to the Cape but if it does and you have the time, I hear it''s well worth it.

For restaurants, I''d get a guide book and look online for rec''s. And for safety, I''d go a bit further than just not walking down dark alleyways. I''ve worked quite a bit in South Africa and it can be a very rough place. I would not wear any bling, just maybe a plain wband but I''d never wear anything else there. And I wouldn''t wander around at night off the main streets and even then, pay attention to where the locals are and ask your hotel concierge what areas are safe to wander and what aren''t and you should be okay. Have fun!

Oh, of course you have to see Table Mtn...

 

[Independent Gal]

oops! Was about to threadjack, but will start my own... sorry.

 

[bem3231]

Head to Stellenbosch for wine tours! I lived there for a year - it''s amazing... Cape Town is an amazing place, too.

 

[Gemma12]

Thanks for the replies!

I am really looking forward to the trip.

Surfgirl, thanks for the bling reminder-I sometimes forget and then feel really self conscious and uncomfortable. The place we''re staying has a safe but I''m thinking of erring on the side of not taking anything. Table Mountain is on the list and I''ll look into the train. I''ve heard that V&A after dark is okay but not the city centre, and that some cab companies are bad too so I''ll need to do a bit more research.

Stellenbosch is def on the list. I like milder reds with the occasional durif/shirazy kicker but maybe not in 80 degree heat!

Bem thanks for the recommendation! Lucky you living in such a beautiful place!

Thanks again and anyone else please feel free to chime in!

ETA: IG, I think you should get the rolling ring too! YUM....

 

[surfgirl]

Gemma, please, leave your ering at home. It''s not worth getting hurt over, is it?

 

[Dutchgirlll]

Cape Town is great! Of course you can''t skip taking the nerve recking cable cart to Table mountain but for the more brave hearted, you can also climb down.. haha
Really everything is great up, there, but try to at least take the Town ship tour and go to the district 6 museum/tour. So much happened up here and I can''t think that you would visit SA without seeing some of the horror that took place here, not such a long time ago, and is still taking place on some level. If you''re into it: read a long walk to freedom from Mandela (or the abridged version).

I love our trip to Simons town as well, this is with the big boulders and lovely beach and .... the penguins!! Really strange site!

Stellenbosch is really great too, if you love wine tasting you''re at the right spot!

About the safety, we drove around SA ourselves, didn''t get into any trouble thankfully. Town ships are not a place where you can accidentally wound up, but especially after dark, you should stay away from some areas. We stayed around the marina a lot at night cause of the nice restaurants etc. This area is totally okay to walk around and stuff.

Well I will try to post some pics.

 

[Dutchgirlll]

First one might be a little terrifying to start with, but okay here it goes!!

Townships leading towards CT

 

[Dutchgirlll]

Adorable kids near school in the Town ships

 

[Dutchgirlll]

Penguins just 3 feet away!

 

[Dutchgirlll]

Lovely beach of Simon''s Town, with a penguin walking on the beach

 

[Dutchgirlll]

Just wanted to take her home

if you want to see some more: my website

(although in Dutch, you can still see the pics by clicking on 'fotoalbum' and than on 'zuidafrika & swaziland')

 

[Gemma12]

Date: 1/19/2008 2:00:26 PM
Author: surfgirl
Gemma, please, leave your ering at home. It''s not worth getting hurt over, is it?

No, NO, absolutely! It''s just that I''m so used to wearing certain jewelry that I will have to remind myself to take it off before I go.

Thanks again for the reminder!

 

[Gemma12]

Thanks Dutchgirrl! Great photos and I might get the book to read on the way over.

Love the penguins-we visited Phillip Island (south of Melbourne, Australia) earlier this year and fell in love with the fairy penguins there. Can''t get quite so close to them tho! How far is Simons town from CT?

We haven''t actually looked into cars as I''ve heard taxis are safe (if you chose a reputable comp) and relatively inexpensive.

Thanks again!