Activities

Keep it real

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A pink cocktail

I'm so glad I didn't accidentally order this pink cocktail; I'd hate for an accusatory big black man to have spontaneously appeared next to me, like in this popular TV ad.

Kerry-Anne and I decided to take advantage of Leaf Restaurant and Bar's half-price sushi and cocktail special. Unfortunately for us, we quickly realised how it is that they're able to offer this semi-permanent special. The cocktails were filled with more ice and less alcohol than we'd expected, and the pieces of sushi were smaller than what we're accustomed to, plus the rice fell apart far too easily.

It's possible that the restaurant was just having a bad day, but unfortunately for them we're spoiled for choice in Cape Town, so we probably won't end up there again.

Vaudeville and its performing delights

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Vaudeville Fez Club

Kerry-Anne's business does some work for Yola, a company that provides an infrastructure allowing you to easily build your own website. Because of this, we were invited along to the company's year-end function at the Vaudeville burlesque supper club.

An evening at Vaudeville involves about 300 people gathering for dinner around a stage in a long, dimly-lit room, while a variety of performers put on a show that some may describe as gaudy and risqué in style. The atmosphere reminded me of Moulin Rouge, the movie, and perhaps Chicago, the musical.

The evening was brilliant and definitely comes highly recommended. The only negative aspect for me was that the food, although perfectly acceptable, wasn't particularly "wow". However, after reading a blog post by Oscar, the chef, I realised that I'd completely missed the extraordinary feat that the kitchen had performed in delivering 300 meals that would satisfy most of the diverse palates in under 20 minutes.

So, if you'd like to enjoy an evening of slightly dark and moderately risqué entertainment, with a reasonable meal - grab a few friends and book a table at Vaudeville.

Cycling around Cape Town

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Bicycles
I've been thinking of getting back into cycling again - but after 12 years, I can only imagine the amount of pain that I'll endure while whipping this relaxed body of mind back into form.

We live about 25km outside of the city - and I've often though how awesome it must be to live in the city center, or anywhere around Table Mountain in fact. Compared to the mountain and ocean routes of the Cape Town area, our Northern suburbs residential roads are plain boring.

If you're visiting Cape Town, consider hiring a bike - you'll see far more than you would by car, and cover far more ground than you would do walking. You could also consider doing a cycling tour - it's probably safer and you may even make a few new friends.

Flowers follow the sun

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Flowers follow the sun

I've always found it really very difficult to take beautiful photos of flowers. For some reason, they never seem to look the same in a photo as what they do in real life.

While this isn't the best photo of a flower that you'll ever see, don't you just love how the light shines through the delicate petals and illuminates the flower's different shades and colours? Doesn't this perspective, close to the ground, with all the other flowers in the background give you a feeling of being close to nature?

As with my previous one, I took this photo in the well-looked-after Company Gardens in Cape Town (map). Next time that you have the opportunity, get together a small picnic lunch and sit on the green lawn or on the wooden benches, under the large shady trees. It's perfectly relaxing.

Cricket-season approaches

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Cricket-season approaches
The time for sitting on the grass in the warm sun while sipping on cold beer in large plastic cups and eating sauce-laden hotdogs is quickly approaching. Cricket-season in Cape Town is about to start!

Kick off the season by watching the Cape Cobras play the Titans at Sahara Park on 12 November. If you're planning on visiting Cape Town during our summer months - look out for matches being played at Sahara Park Newlands, and visit Ticketpros, a local site through which you can purchase tickets.

The photo was taken just behind a grass lawn called The Oaks at Sahara Park in Newlands during the last season.

Trees, shade and views – the (almost) perfect picnic spot

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A picnic spot with trees
I wrote a little about Picnic Hill (a name given to this place by myself) a few days ago, and then yesterday showed you a photo of a young couple enjoying each other's company while watching the view.

This photo presents the scene near the top of Tygerberg Hill. Isn't it simply beautiful? Can you imagine how peaceful it is up on this hill? The only thing lacking from this place (which would otherwise make it the perfect picnic spot) is a small stream of water gurgling in the background.

Picnic Hill

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Going to picnic
I faked a walk-by and then sneaked up behind these four waking up the Tygerberg Hill for a picnic under the pine trees. Warm and sunny day's like today are perfect for taking the short walk up the steep tared road to the top of the hill.

The entrance fee to the reserve is R10 per person (and I think R5 per child). The top of the hill is wonderfully cool on hot summer days and the reserve provides sturdy tables and benches for you to sit at while enjoying your picnic - free from ants and other insects who may otherwise conspire to rob you of you rations. :)

If you're unsure of how to find the reserve's parking area - in this post I've added a link to a Google map that illustrates the path to the top of the hill.

Mariage Frères – Paris in Cape Town

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Victorian Bathrooms

After being chastised by the owner of Voila (a restaurant at The Cape Quarter) for taking photos of his cake display we moved on and discovered the most delightful bathroom shop in The Cape Quarter that eroded my annoyance at first sight.

While modern bathrooms are nice, the Victorian bathroom accessories sold by Victorian Bathrooms are just so much more. Kerry-Anne and I fell in love with far too many items in this beautiful shop. The only problem is the price tag that comes with such timeless quality! However, if you're able to afford it you have to visit! (Even if you simply want to enjoy looking - the shop assistants are fantastically friendly, so pop in to take a look.)

Something that we were delighted to discover is that Victorian Bathrooms sell a special (and hard-to-find) brand of tea that Kerry-Anne fell in love with in Paris - Mariage Frères. I'm guessing that the rationale for selling this tea is that it draws discerning clients to the shop - and this quality French tea is a perfect fit for the bathroom accessories found at Victorian Bathrooms.

Taken from the Mariage Frères website:

Mariage Frères has turned to an almost
forbidden fruit, candied chestnuts,
to compose its 'Red Autumn' tea.

Notes of noble chestnuts candied with sugar and Bourbon vanilla are sustained
by a mild, grassy green tea, creating
a new chapter in the history of taste.

Too good to be true - but true!

Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Miss K in Greenpoint

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Miss K in Greenpoint
Again, thanks to a special deal that Kerry-Anne bought through Twangoo, we found ourselves exploring a restaurant that we hadn't previously visited - Miss K in Greenpoint (map).

The bright-white decor gives Miss K has a fantastic light and open feeling that's perfectly suited to day-time visits. We visited for their buffet lunch which consisted of various salads and the most fantastic rare beef. The buffet never had a huge selection of dishes, so I took a little of everything - and I have to say that the combination of flavours was awesome!

What sealed the lunch as perfect was at tall, dark, Lindt chocolate milkshake at the end! :) Miss K; certainly worth a visit!

Flowers on a hill

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Flowers on the hill
In my previous post I mentioned that I'd taken a walk to the top of Tygerberg Hill. The hill forms part of the Tygerberg Nature Reserve - but as not to repeat myself, you can read more about it in my post about the reserve.

The actual reason for my ascent was to see the multitude of flowers that have sprung up all over the hill. I took the walk just after lunch time, and while (as you may know) the light isn't great for photos around that time of day, it's great for viewing the flowers!

Cables and towers of Tygerberg Hill

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Cables and towers
Observing this tower from an ordinary perspective doesn't normally hold much interest for the casual passerby. It's only when looking closer from a different angle that the normally-unappealing view transforms into something a little more interesting.

I spent a little while observing the tower before taking this shot. Don't you think it offers a little more interest than this, more traditional photo? :)

This tower is one of the radio and microwave towers on top of Tygerberg Hill. To be honest though, that's only my assumption. I'm not clued up enough to know for sure what the receivers and/or transmitters on this tower are used for. Do you know? Please leave a comment to let us know.

Over the next two or three days I'll share with you the reason for my ascent to the top of Tygerberg Hill. :)

Where in the world were we?

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Emergency Exit
I have to say that although it was well-meaning having the words "emergency" and "notfall" in such close proximity, it was concerning - given where we were at the time. I realise that "notfall" means must mean "emergency" in another language and I spent some time with Google Translate trying to work it out, but as yet haven't identified the language. Do you know what language this would be?

If you've been to London or Paris, or if you've been here you may recognise the sign. Where was this photo taken?

Pirate-ship attacks in Table Bay!

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Pirate-ship attacks
I'm not sure what the name of the unfortunate vessel on the right is, but approaching her on the left is the fiercest pirate ship that sails the waters of the Cape of Good Hope - the Jolly Roger!

Although I may have exaggerated a little calling it "fierce", I'm not pulling your leg - Jolly Roger is a pirate boat with a pirate crew and is generally seen sailing young land lubbers out into Table Bay for adventurous birthday parties or similarly celebratory occasions. The little trip costs anywhere between R50 and R200 per person, depending on the time of day, the package that you purchase, and the size of your shoe. (Hint: People wearing kids shoes pay a whole lot less than those wearing adult-size shoes.)

Between the plundering of defenseless ships in Table Bay you'll find the murderously cruel crew with the moored Jolly Roger at the V&A Waterfront's quay 5 - close to Sevruga and just outside of the V&A Shopping mall. Visit this pirate map to find the gap where the Jolly Roger should be moored. (I guess it was out plundering when the satellite made it's turn over the Waterfront!)

Surfing wipeout at Mouille Point

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Mouille Point surfer wipeout
Isn't that just a beautiful wipeout? I guess it's times like these that surfers are glad that they're not sand-boarders!

I think this guy was fine - but it's not always the case. Although one falls into water, the amount of danger you're in when coming off your board depends on the depth of water the possibility of collision with immovable or hard objects - like the seabed, rocks, a surfboard, large marine life, and other surfers. If you're starting off with surfing, I suggest you read this commonsense guide to surviving a wipeout.

Perhaps on the lighter side - I found a post in the Surfing Waves forum suggests the following to be the greatest losses surfers experience:

You spend all your money.
You lose your job because your looking at charts all day.
You lose all your friends 'cos you'll never commit to doing anything at the weekend.
You lose your girl/boy friend cos you smell all the time.
You become obsessed and irrational.
You turn into a miserable git when you dont get your swell fix.

This is perhaps an exaggeration, but surfers, how accurate would you say the quote is?

Take a look here at a few more surfing photos taken on this outing to Mouille Point (map).

Trepidatious boogie-boarder

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Trepidatious boogie boarder

Our boogie-boarder friend stood observing the water for a while before venturing in. It's good to have a healthy dose of respect for the ocean - it's able to turn nasty fast!

This particular part of Mouille Point is right next to large concrete breakwater walls against which the ocean waves relentlessly thud, sending sprays of water and foam flying into the air. The boogie-boarder carefully watched the way the ocean was moving to find the most efficient route by which he could reach his surfer-friends who were about 100m away at the time (map).

Wild flowers in the Cape sun

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Orange wild flowers
Abundant numbers of wild flowers have for several weeks been showing their brightly coloured faces all over the Western Cape. Our West Coast is an array of petals and each weekend sees hundreds of locals and visitors make their way around the West Coast to relax in the sun and take in the flower's beauty.

If you're keen on attending flower shows, consider taking a day trip to Tulbagh (map) to see the Tulbagh Horse and Wildflower Show from 22 to 25 September. The show comprises the National Horse Championships along with the natural wildflower exhibition and will more than certainly have food stalls, a beer garden and plenty of arts and crafts stalls.

Email Elsa Rix or call her on 023 230 0189 for further details. Visit Tulbagh Toursim's website for more information about this old town of the Cape.

Unconventional sushi chefs

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Unconventional sushi chefs

Kerry-Anne recently bought a two-for-the-price-of-one Wakame sushi voucher from Twangoo, and graciously invited me to tag along to enjoy a sushi platter. Wakame's one of our favoured restaurants in Cape Town (Mouille Point, to be exact) so we were bound to enjoy the delectable treats prepared by what, we assumed, must be the best Japanese chefs in the country.

However, what I discovered was that the sushi chefs weren't Japanese at all. Even though the sushi was cut to precision, kept its form impeccably (even after being manhandled by my chopsticks), and tasted exquisite - it turns out that they were crafted by the very-black-and-decidely-not-Japanese gentlemen on the right of this photo!

Congrats to Marius for, in my last post, guessing correctly that the lights were from Wakame. :)

Cape Town Central Library

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Cape Town Central Library
A little while ago I posted a photo of the Cape Town City Hall - the previous location of the Central Library - and said that I'm sure Kerry-Anne would want to visit.

Well, we've visited and were it not that we were there too late in the day to open a membership, Kerry-Anne would have walked away with armfuls of books! We're use to our smaller suburban libraries - so the visit to this multi-level, multi-room library was quite something. So, if you're a book-lover person - check out this map and be sure to visit!

I even found a section that contained comic books - like Superman and Batman - right next to the Photography section! How perfect! :D

An old-old till

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An old till
In my previous post I asked if you had any idea where I'd gone to buy lunch. You may have been tempted to think that I was referring to the Woolworths restaurant on the corner of Corporation and Longmarket Street (map).

The clue however was in the phrase "refreshingly different take-away lunch" - a category which I'm afraid I wouldn't place the Woolworths restaurant into. In this photo is another clue to where I bought lunch. Besides for this till, take note of the left top corner of the photo.

You'll find this place very close to the Woolworths restaurant.

Pakalolo in Hout Bay

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Pakalolo in Hout Bay
After enjoying an awesome dinner with friends at the you-have-to-book-far-in-advance Kitima restaurant in Hout Bay we headed down to Pakalolo (a local bar) to meet up with friends.

The bar (seen through the arch) has a beach/Mexican décor and atmosphere and often hosts live music and comedy shows. Pakalolo serves a variety of food, but appear to specialise in Mexican cuisine. I can't say that the evening entertainment grabbed my attention, or that the bar and atmosphere was my scene - but I can imagine that it's an awesome place to sit back, relax and enjoy snacks and a couple of drinks after spending time on Hout Bay Beach.

I'd pay it another visit during the day - for sure. :)

Winter on the beach

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Camps Bay Beach
It was a beautiful day, but I assume that from the look of the beach you'd guess that it's still winter in Cape Town. Although we have the occasional warm day, the air is generally still pretty cool and you certainly won't find beaches packed with people.

I can't say that the lack of winter rain hasn't started to concern us because either we're going to have torrential downpours (and possibly even some flooding) in the next couple of months or we're going to have an exceptionally dry summer... neither of which is a particularly great prospect to look forward to!

Lion’s Head

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Lion's Head
I know that it doesn't look much like a lion's head from this angle, but trust me, from a particular angle, a little further away - this hill looks just like a lion's head.

One of the coolest experiences in Cape Town is to hike up Lion's Head during a full moon. It's not too dangerous as there's a pathway that leads in a spiral all the way around the hill, right the way to the top. Once up there the city lights, the boats in the harbour and in the bay, and the stars of the sky look simply awesome.

If you're concerned about your safety - don't be. On warm summer evenings there are dozens of people making there way up to the top, so you don't have to be worried about being stuck alone on the top of a lonely hill. :)

Shout against crime

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Fan photo
This picture reminds me of the SHOUT SA campaign launched earlier this year. If you're not in the country then you may have missed what it's about, so allow me quickly to explain:

Two notable South African musicians established a trust fund, called SHOUT, with the idea that monies collected by the fund would be donated to anti-crime organisations, like Crime Line and Business Against Crime. They then got together with a few more notable musicians to record a modern version of the Tears for Fears track called Shout. The track is currently for sale at several prices from R20 to R1000 - the amount that you pay is at your discretion. Visit the SHOUT SA website to hear the track and for more information on how to donate.

Inside the Crowbar

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Inside the Crowbar
As the title suggests, I took this photo inside the Crowbar on Waterkant Street. This particular section is the smoking section, evident by the windows and glass door that (more or less) seals it from the the rest of the establishment.

What's not so nice about this arrangement is that the smoking section has this awesome long bar counter to sit at whereas the non-smoking section has the 2 meter long space that you see in the top right half of the photo. This time around, or smoking buddies got the better end of the deal. ;)

Crowbar

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Crowbar
While studying and in my early years of working in Cape Town I had a few friends who I often heard talking of their nights out in Cape Town's clubs and bars. It's sounded like huge amounts of fun, but for whatever reason I rarely (which means perhaps once) joined them. In retrospect I regret this.

While walking down the World Cup Fan Walk in Cape Town recently I came across one of their old haunts in Waterkant Street - Crowbar. For some reason I'd always had a picture of an actual crowbar in my mind when listening to the stories of the previous nights fun.

I found it strange that the bar was open late on a Sunday morning, and I guess wasn't surprised when I stepped inside to find that I was their only patron. In case you're curious about how it looks inside, the barman was kind enough to allow me to snap a few photos - one of which I'll share with you in my next post.

Quay 4 at the Waterfront

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Quay Four
If you've been to the V&A Waterfront then you must at least have seen Quay Four, and I guess it's likely that you've enjoyed a drink and perhaps lunch on their outside deck while watching boats sail past the quays.

We've watched one or two football games at Quay Four over the past weeks, and of the places in the Waterfront to view the games, I'd have to rate it to be the place I've enjoyed the most. If you're around and if you want to catch some of the excitement, then this would be a great place to start. Only, allow me to suggest that you arrive a couple of hours before the match to ensure that you get a comfy seat with a good view of the television.

We must take a boat ride!

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Waterfront boats
It's a shame that us Capetonians leave the pleasures of boat rides into Table Bay to those visiting our city. We should really take time from our day-to-day lives to enjoy these pleasures that tourists more often get to enjoy.

I think we'll soon have to take a clear winter-morning trip out into the bay and then, perhaps in February next year, enjoy a warm sunset trip over to Clifton 4th beach. Take another look at the photo - doesn't that just sound perfect?

Too many things to do in Cape Town

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Things to do in Cape Town
I suffer from terrible indecision when looking at long food menus. I sometimes wish that restaurants would just cut down their long menus to the most popular dishes (although I guess that could become rather boring, no so?).

In the same way, there are so many fun things to do in Cape Town that in the midst of all the options it must be really difficult for visitors to our city to narrow down to the few that their time here allows. Naturally most visitors go up Table Mountain, visit the penguins at Boulders Beach, go to see Cape Point, take a ride out to Robben Island, and visit the Winelands of Stellenbosch - but I wonder how many people visiting for two weeks or less go completely off the beaten track. I wonder how many visit Jonkershoek nature reserve, pop in at Betty's Bay, or visit Tweede Tol on the Bains Kloof Pass.

Assuming that you don't live here, what would you do if you came to Cape Town?

Visiting Cape Point – more fun than I remember

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Cape Point
We hadn't been to Cape Point in years (can you believe!?) so we were really excited to have an excuse to visit. Even though the day was cold with rain, the breakfast in the warm Two Oceans Restaurant, this astonishingly beautiful view from the restaurant, and the breathtaking views from the top funicular station made it worth waking up early to drive the 100km from our northern suburbs home to Cape Point (map).

While ascending in the Flying Dutchman we had views of what must be one of the most beautiful beaches; Dias Beach. Apparently the hike (yes hike) down to the beach is long and steep, but oh wow - can you imaging spending a few hours down there!?

The visit to the point made me realise that I really need to spend more time taking short walks and hikes in the area. Perhaps a fun idea would be to hire a place in Scarborough, Simons Town, or one of the other places close by so that we can spend time exploring the area properly.

Entrance fees are currently R75 per adult, but if you have a South African ID book then I suggest that you rather purchase a Wild Card - it'll work out far cheaper and gives you access to more parks.

Cape Point and The Flying Dutchman

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Tracks of The Flying Dutchman funicular
We went on an expedition to find the elusive Flying Dutchman funicular at Cape Point and spent hour after hour painstakingly tracking it's spoor while trying to remember to apply what we'd learned in Kruger National Park about tracking beasts in the wild...

Silliness aside, Cape Town Partnership invited us to the relaunch of the funicular at Cape Point. The original funicular ran for year after year until eventually it was decided that money needed to be spent on ensuring a comfortable and safe ride for our visitors - I mean, we'd hate to send any of you shooting out over the edge of the cliff face like a clown would from a circus cannon! :D

Anyway, silliness aside again, The Flying Dutchman was the name of a Dutch sailing vessel that attempted to round Cape Point during a fierce storm in 1641. Several versions of the truth exist, but a popular one is that Captain Van Der Decken's crew begged him to wait until the storm had calmed but he swore that God would not even stop him and that he would round Cape Point even if it took him until Doomsday to do so. Apparently he defied an angel that appeared on board and with that his fate was sealed and he was sentenced by God to sail the waters of Cape Point until Doomsday - or so the story goes at least. :)

The funicular at Cape Point was named after Captain Van Der Decken's ship because since that day every once in a while on a stormy night someone reports seeing The Flying Dutchman and maddened Captain sailing the waters.