After putting off the jump for several years she eventually decided to give it a go and had LessFuss (who are awesome) book the jump with Downhill Adventures.
The guy walking up behind Kerry-Anne was the German who she had attached to her back for the tandem jump. For reference, jumpers are attached to each other with four clasps that (luckily) make it fairly impossible for them to get separated.
Besides for the lovely beaches and trendy restaurants you may be surprised to know that Camps Bay hosts one of the nicest theatres in the Cape Town area, Theatre on the Bay. The venue is fairly small, but the limited seating means that no matter where you sit you're close enough to see the actor's expressions and to, in some way, feel part of the production.
Theatre on the Bay is a great little venue and a must-visit if you're keen on live performances.
Us humans are so enchanted by fire - have you ever stood at a fire and just stared into the flames? That, and wonder, were more or less the feelings that I had while watching the burning ropes flash across the stage.
If you ever have the opportunity to see Jon-Peer's fire act - you shouldn't pass it up. :)
Edit: In case you're wondering, after publishing this post I realised that I had mistaken Jon-Peer for Devin The Juggler. Consequently I've edited this post to correct the information. I've seen Devin's crystal ball act at a corporate function a few months back and it was freegin' phenomenal - visit Devin's website for information and bookings.
The Fez is renowned for its performers - so over the next day or two I'll bring you more photos to give you a taste of what happened at the party. For now, check out the couple of photos below!
The camping site that we called home for 2 or 3 weeks each year was built just outside of the town, along the Breede River – and the particular spot that I use to fish from looked almost exactly like the spot in this photo.
Browse the Breede Adventures photo stream on Flickr. It looks to me as though some of the photos could have been taken at the Silver Strand park (map).
Just to ensure no confusion, I took this photo at the Majik Forest in the Durbanville area - quite far from Robertson. :)
The trail through the forest is a narrow one that most often doesn't allow for two people to walk side-by-side, and often results in runners or hikers quickly scrambling to the side of the track as high-speed bikers weave their way along the designated MTB trail. :)
Read a little more about the Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club and the history of the forest on their website.
When you're old some day you'll be glad that you kept yourself active.
However, don't walk alone - for many reasons it's just not safe. The first is in the event that you injure yourself (which likely if you suffer from dyspraxia :P ) you'll have a buddy to help you, and the second reason is that (although the chance is remote) you may come across someone with ill intent.
Don't go overboard now, I walk the trails without ever worrying about this problem, but Cape Town is a city with it's bad elements - so best be safe and not ruin your vacation.
I took this photo on the slopes of Lion's Head, just above the Round House restaurant that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Camps Bay. If you drive there, you'll find a few places to stop and park your car so that you can take a short walk amidst the smell of fresh pines.
Several months ago we had waffles at a restaurant called Blonde, just behind the Company Gardens in Cape Town. The waffles that we had that night were undeniably the best that I'd ever (ever) tasted. I tried typing a sentence to describe how awesome they were, but I just can't seem to come up with something to adequately convey how great they really were.
Subsequent to our visit to Blonde, we were told that Den Anker sells great waffles - so, we naturally headed over there to give theirs a whirl. Unfortunately, even though they were pretty good (and a definite second-place contender) the waffles that we had at Blonde significantly outclassed any waffle we've ever had - including those at Den Anker.
Do you know who sells "the best" waffles? If so, and as long as you don't say Milky Lane, please do leave a comment on this post.
Blonde closed down for a little while - but I believe that they'll be opening again... in which case, you know where to find me. ;)
We called 13 (or more) telephone numbers from Cape Nature to the Koggelbaai Nature Rerserve and everyone gave us a different story. After driving out to more or less where we imagined the hike would start, we eventually we located the unmanned entrance to the hiking trail and found a visitors book that contained a page that had been stamped with an official-looking stamp. This (the last number at the dead-end of telephone numbers) proved to be the right one! The ranger on the other end of the line used his 2-way radio to contact the ranger on who should have been manning the entrance to the hike station... and we were told that it was okay for us to go in without purchasing the R15/p permit. What an anti-climax it was after 2 hours of phoning around!
So, to save you the trouble, see the Google Earth image below (and this map) that shows the location of the gate (where, according to some, you can purchase the permit) as well as the location of the three pools - about 1.7km up the Steenbras river. Today's main photo is of the bridge that crosses over the river, and you can see that bridge to the bottom left of the Google Earth photo below.
To find the entrance to the hike, drive about 6km outside of Gordon's Bay, towards Rooi Els. You'll find parking about 100m after the Steenbras river bridge. Leave your car there, cross the road, and walk back in the direction of the river. You'll see the little wooden cabin where you can theoretically purchase a permit.
Before planning your day, be sure to call 021 856 4975 and confirm that the gate will be open and that you are able to purchase a ticket there. Also, just because we had such a run-around, be sure to get the name of the person that you speak to at that telephone number. :)
EDIT: See Githa's comment below for more information about booking.
If you'd like a preview of what you'll see on the hike, take a look at Coda's photostream on Flickr - he has a few great photos of the hike and the pools at the end.
Since this was our 13th wedding anniversary (we married young, by the way ;)), we decided to go to the classy Brio for fine dining, live jazz and a bit of style.
All in all, the evening at Brio was pretty darn good. The small jazz band was awesome and the warm and cosy atmosphere was perfect. I'd recommend a visit, but be aware that it is fine-dining, so don't expect to pay Spur or Ocean Basket prices!
This photo of the cable car reminds me of a couple of years ago when the cable way offered adrenaline junkies the opportunity to bunjee jump from the car. Can you imagine being suspended half way between the upper and lower cable stations, stepping up to the open door, and diving out head first? What a rush hey!?
Table Mountain is competing to be included as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. If you think she's worthy of being included in the seven then please visit votefortablemountain.com and cast your vote! Thanks. :)
When viewing Table Mountain from it's post-card perspective, Devil's Peak (the subject of today's photo) is the tall pointy mountain located on the left side of Table Mountain. Based on this photo, you may be surprised to find out that even though it doesn't look that way, at 1000m above sea level, Devil's Peak is a mere 87 meters shorter than Table Mountain!
Just like Table Mountain, one is able to hike to the top of Devil's Peak. However, apparently it's only really safe to hike up the peak from it's western front - from the saddle between it and Table Mountain... and then only by experienced hikers, not casual walkers. :)
How many cities in the world are so perfectly located? Cape Town finds herself on the edge of the large bay known as Table Bay, and she's cradled by Signal Hill, Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak.
Take a moment to click on the photo to see a large version. Where in the world have you seen a city that has a tall flat-top mountain that's so easily accessable to everyone visiting her? It's not often that cities have such a prominent structure that rises 1km into the sky and gives visitors a 360° aerial perspective of the city. We're truely priveledged to live in a city built on the slopes of Table Mountain.
I know that I may sound awfully dramatic (and perhaps a little over-exited), but no matter how many times I'm go up there, I never get tired or blasé about the view from the top. It's truly and amazing perspective on the city.
Kerry-Anne and I once spent a chilly new year's eve on top of Table Mountain - it really does get pretty cold up there at night. If you ever have the opportunity to go up the mountain at night, I'd highly recommend it. Only, try to get up before the sun sets and bargain on spending about two or three hours up top... with a warm jacket!
The city lights look absolutely beautiful from the top of the mountain at night. Take a look at this 360° photo taken by Lee Casalena from the top of Lion's Head (which you can see in this photo). Isn't it awesome? Imagine seeing this in real life!
If you've ever wondered; besides for the small section occupied by the cable station, restaurant and curio shop, this photo more or less represents what the entire top of Table Mountain looks like - well, the flat part at least.
It's not quite that clear in this photo, but the mountain (especially within the first 100m of the cable station) has many specially layed-out paths made from flat pieces of rock. Can you see them in the middle of this photo?
Slightly to the right of the view shown in my previous post is this perspective of the up-market suburb of Camps Bay. The houses (and especially the beach-front ones) are worth several million Rands.
After looking more closely at this photo I discovered a couple of interesting things that I'd like to draw your attention to:
This is the view that meets you as you leave Table Mountain's the upper cable station - the Atlantic ocean with the Twelve Apostles mountain range stretching into the distance. Isn't it a beautiful view?
I took a similar photo as the sun was setting about two years ago, and based on that experience I'd definitely recommend an early evening trip up the mountain (especially if it's a warm and windless evening), it's one of the most beautiful views of the sun setting over the ocean. A word of caution though - always take a warm top or jacket along no matter how warm it seems at the lower cable station - it get's kinda cool 1KM up in the sky. :)
The view from the cable car is quite unlike any other. The feeling of quickly rising up from the lower cable station to this majestic view is incredible.
To the left in the photo is Lion's Head, with Signal Hill stretching off to the right (just behind the stadium built for the 2010 football world cup) and way way in the distance, right in the middle, you can see the spot in the ocean known as Robben Island.
Have you ever hiked up Table Mountain? Did you know that hikers can get a one-way ticket costing only R45 from the top to the bottom before 09h30? If you've ever hiked up and down the mountain then you'll know that up takes longer, but down is a far less pleasant hike - so I'd say R45 is a real bargain.
While standing in the long queue to the cable car one's tempted to worry about the length of the queue and how long you may have to wait. Don't worry though, cable cars depart every 10 to 15 minutes and transport 65 people at a time... so the wait isn't as long as you may think (although, as stated previously, buy your tickets online to save a little cash and skip the first queue).
The trip to the top of the mountain takes between 4 and 5 minutes - and as long as you secure a standing spot next to a window, don't worry about exactly where to stand - the cable car's floor rotates slowly so that everyone get's a 360° view on the way up.
It's been very difficult to cull photos from the long list that I wanted to share with you, but I've managed to shorten the list down to 10. Over this and the next 9 posts I'll show you snippets from our trip that may entice you into visiting Cape Town and taking a trip to our table top.
In this post I'll share a tip with you that will probably save you plenty of time: Don't wait until you get to the cable station to purchase your ticket! Rather, visit the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway's website and purchase a ticket online. It's no more expensive and you're able to print your barcoded ticket immediately. When you arrive at the lower cable station, skip the long queue of people standing to buy tickets, and head on to one of the officials. Present your ticket, and join the queue that leads to the cable cars. You'll save heaps of time! :)
Our group of horses ended up walking through the waves, among swimmers, all the while with me helplessly waving people out of the way mouthing something like "Out the way, I have no idea how to steer this thing!".
The guy in the photo is one of two who offer horse rides at Big Bay's Eden on the Bay (primarily) for kids. It seemed pretty safe, and I think it'll be plenty of fun for kids.
Each year we hear of people getting lost on the mountain, having narrow escapes from tragedy, and some times regrettably not escaping unscathed.
If you're new to Cape Town, consider joining an experienced group when venturing out onto the mountain, and take care to follow these safety guidelines. And, just to be safe, keep the emergency telephone number handy on your cell phone: 086 110 6417.
Cape Town seems to have a thing for cocktails. When we're not being rushed by crazy deadlines, we love leaving work early to find a place with a great sea view to enjoy cocktails - which more often than not ends up being cocktails for the ladies and beer for the guys. Unfortunately, our weather is starting to turn, and the evenings are starting to cool. Sadly, the summer days of cocktails at sunset are strictly numbered and will soon be replaced by coffee indoors near a warm wood fire. :(
Tequila Town serves a pretty large variety of tequila that should keep tequila connoisseurs busy tasting for quite some time. There's plenty of parking right over the road, and there's always one or two parking attendants keeping an eye over your vehicle.
Visit Tequila town in a group of four or more - it's bound to be fun!
Dunes is a great place to visit - it has plenty of interesting decor, they show the sport on big-screen televisions, and the service was pretty good. The olive starter that we had was however not that awesome (I'm told that some of the olives tasted pretty bad) and the portion of Calamari was tasty, but pretty meager for the price - we felt.
This said I'd still recommend a visit. Dunes is a nice place to visit, it's located just over the road from the beach and I've had their Fish & Chips before - which, from what I can remember, was pretty good.
Only two things put a slight damper on the Landudno experience, (1) the very limited availability of parking, and (2) the numbingly-cold Atlantic ocean's water.
Fortunately, even though the plantation is a commercial site, it's open to the general public - offering the opportunity to leave the city and suburbs for a short walk on the slopes of the Table Mountain mountain range. The forest has a picnic area (a little before the entrance to the plantation), but IMO it's far nicer to enjoy a snack at the plantation's tea room and then take a short walk into the woods.
For details about the MTB trail, visit mtbroutes.co.za - they have all the info you'll need to plan a fun MTB ride.
I've never had the pleasure of swimming at Muizenberg, but it's said to be one of the top beaches to visit. Do you normally swim at Muizenberg? How do you feel that it compares to Camps Bay, Clifton, and Big Bay?