During summer months the roads in this area get choked with traffic and available parking spots become about as scarce as hen's teeth. I've often considered how awesome it would be to live here, but then when I get stuck in single-lane stop-start traffic on sweltering hot days - I'm not too sad that I live where the roads are wide and congestion is at a minimum.
Click here to participate in my quick poll.
Chris and I agreed, in the comments of a previous post, that Cape Town is fantastic at this time of the year. I *hate* leaving for work in the dark and leaving the office at dusk in the winter months. These days I wake up to a brightly-lit room - and and atmosphere that shouts "get up, get out!". Cape Town's winters can be pretty - but OMW there's no beating summer!
I've never seen a whale in off Camps Bay beach before - not that they don't enter the larger Table Bay area - but they're just more prolific on the False Bay side of the peninsula where the water's just that little bit warmer. I spent a long time watching this one roll about in the water until I finally got bored waiting for the perfect breach, or tail fin.
Sorry about that. :)
Fortunately, we struck it lucky this weekend with both Saturday and Sunday holding the most beautiful weather suitable for relaxing at the beach and sipping on sundowners, or spending the day at the swimming pool and braaing in the sun.
This is Cape Town folks. :)
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!)
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).
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).
Besides for experiencing the weather yourself, you know it's a great day in Cape Town when you hear the buzz of microlights in the air. The winds in Cape Town get so strong, gusty and difficult to predict that I've never seen a microlight or hang-glider out except on beautiful, clear and mostly-windless days.
If you'd like to take a microlight flip in Cape Town take a look at Aquila Microlight Safaris - from their site it looks like it'll cost you between R500 and R1000. I've never taken a trip with them, so I can't vouch for the experience, but I can only imagine that you'd get some great photos from the open-air cockpit of a microlight!
I did some hunting around and I can't seem to find anywhere that one's able to hire a microlight in Cape Town, so for the moment taking a flip as a passenger may be your only option. If you do know of a place, please be so kind as to leave a comment on this post.
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!
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?
I've drawn the route for you over here on a Google Map.
Oh, and just for interest sake, the young lady walking in on the left is Kerry-Anne. :)
Alas, it's not so, I don't know of a single takeaway coffee shop in the area! Do you?
Perhaps being almost surrounded by wide open ocean is what makes Cape Town so attractive to her residents - and to visitors I guess. Were it not for the (often frustrating) wind, our city could be one of the most perfect places on earth. Although, I guess were it not for the wind perhaps we'd be one of the most smoggy and dirty places on earth... :-/
I spent the day at a conference and slept over at the Lagoon Beach Hotel (to the left in this photo). While the room was perfectly good, in fact - pretty nice, I have to advise that if you ever find yourself staying over, make sure that you're as far away from the entrance to the underground parking as is possible. :)
Being surrounded by all this beauty ALL THE TIME is such a burden. I do hope you feel sorry for us.
In my previous post I spoke about the transformation that Café Caprice (map) undergoes as night time approaches. While it's one of the very popular beach cafés and night-time socialising spots, it's also well known for its breakfast vibe and menu.
We've only visited Caprice for breakfast twice, but on both occasions it was relaxed, not too busy, and the food was just great. My first breakfast at Caprice was the Madame Caprice, which is made up of two slices of French toast, buttered with mustard, filled with bacon and cheese, and topped with a fried egg. This time I decided to have the vanilla- and cinnamon-flavoured French toast, accompanied by strawberries, bacon, and a dash of syrup on the side. Awesome stuff I tell you!
If you're going to visit Caprice for breakfast then be sure to get there early (like as in 8am) as the relaxed atmosphere shouldn't be missed, and I think that it gets a fair bit busier later in the morning. :)
Even though I didn't have a tripod handy, the final colours of the setting sun were too beautiful a photo opportunity to pass up. In the distance a handful of people still walked along the water's edge, soaking up nature's tranquillity, while behind me the bars and restaurants teemed with the beautiful people of Cape Town.
You only have a few weeks left before the cold weather sets in, so if you haven't been out to Camps Bay for dinner and drinks yet, I strongly suggest that you do so soon. :)
The ship pictured here is the Silver Wind, the second-oldest of the fleet belonging to Silversea Cruises. If you feel like escaping reality for a few minutes, you can create your own virtual voyage aboard the Silver Wind.
You can follow the activities of the students on board the Argo, by reading their regular blog posts and listening to their audio updates here.
Today's photo was taken just a little way from the photo in this post; in the distance, over the ocean, you can see Hout Bay.
The route from Kommetjie to Hout Bay has one of the prettiest views in the country - it's the famous Chapman's Peak Drive (M6), which you can see on this map. Check out the Chapman's Peak Drive website for information on whether or not the road is open (it sometimes closes in the event of rockfalls), the toll cost for using the road, and beautiful photos taken from the many viewing spots along the way.
In good weather, Chappies (our affectionate name for the road) is definitely worth the trip and the small toll charge. It may even be a cool idea to visit Cape Point in the early morning, take the coastal road past Scarborough through to Kommetjie and Noordhoek, and then head over Chappies and have lunch in Hout Bay. Keep in mind that there's lots to see along the way, so you may only end up in Hout Bay for a mid-afternoon lunch. If you're unfamiliar with the route, take a look at this route map that I drew using Google Maps.
It's been pretty warm in Cape Town, so Kerry-Anne and I decided to escape the heat of the northern suburbs by heading out to Kommetjie (close to Noordhoek) for some fresher, cooler, sea breezes. Although marginally cooler due to the nice sea breeze, it was still pretty warm out on that side of the peninsula.
I took the photo of this umbrella on a small beach in Kommetjie while the owners were sitting in the gentle waves a few metres to the right of us. I did find it a little strange that there weren't any more people swimming in the area. There were (further down the coast, to the right) a dozen or more surfers catching waves... but very few sunbathers.
Perhaps it was the cool breeze that discouraged people from visiting, or perhaps everyone had suddenly realised just how harsh the African sun is. ;-)
The predecessor to the Cape Town Stadium was known as Green Point Stadium. The old stadium was somewhat underwhelming when compared to the new one that you can see in this picture.
I remember a few years back going to watch bands like Metallica and singers like Robbie Williams performing at Green Point Stadium. I even remember having a school athletics competition there many years ago. The old Green Point Stadium holds many memories for many South Africans, but even so, I can't say that I'm sad to see it replaced with a sparkling-white shiny new stadium. :)
When I was younger I used to love doing jigsaw puzzles during the school holidays. The puzzle pictures that I liked most were the ones that evoked a sense of place. I liked pictures of city streets, or quaint alpine wooden houses with window boxes full of flowers, or horses grazing lazily in a field somewhere. I wasn't much into baskets of kittens, or underwater scenes featuring dolphins.
I think that what I enjoyed most about putting these puzzles together was the way that I got drawn into the scene; it was escapism, just like reading a really good book. There's something about this photo that makes me feel the same way - I could stare at it for hours. Now if only someone would make it into a jigsaw puzzle for me. ;)
Summer days are back. The sun is out, the wind is blowing (unfortunately), and people are heading for the beaches. The Explorer (the yacht in the photo) was anchored a little way off Sea Point, just bobbing in the waves. I thought that the vessel was a little too close to shore, but I assume that the skipper knew the waters and knew that he was safe.
One of the most awesome things to do in Cape Town is to take a trip out into the bay and view the city and mountains from a different perspective. Find a charter company and do it - you won't regret it. Unless of course you're (like me) susceptible to motion sickness, in which case it's probably best to first head to a pharmacy for a carton of little white tablets. :)
For the full story, and the reason why we're so proud of the National Sea Rescue Institute, read their report of what happened, on the NSRI website.
For more photos, take a look at the news report on News24's website.
What you're seeing in the photo are bajillions of crushed seashells on the seashore. I do hope that the ship doesn't start breaking up into a bajillion small pieces on Blouberg Beach!
With all the bad weather we've been having this week, a Turkish bulk carrier laden with oil and iron ran aground at Blouberg Beach in Table Bay on Monday night. I've been at work all day, but fortunately one of our readers, Pedro, from Belbon Hills wine farm managed to snap this photo for us en route to the farm.
The 25 crew members were air-lifted to safety, but concerns have now been raised about a small leak that could turn nasty. The South African Department of Environmental Affairs are looking into the matter, but I'm not sure how much can be done right now - except perhaps for pumping the oil from the vessel!
Click here to read the original Reuters report.
EDIT: Please see my comment below.
Here's another visual clue to the location of our friend's house, mentioned in our previous post. Isn't this view just divine? Even though it's quite a distance to travel from here through to the city centre for meetings or social events, I can just imagine that coming home to this heavenly picture makes all that driving seem somewhat insignificant.
And then, of course, there's always the possibility of spotting a whale frolicking in the surf...
This weekend we visited a friend of ours who lives on the other side of the planet. At least it seemed that way, given the distance we had to drive to reach her house.
I have to say, the trip was entirely worth it though, for this is the view that greeted us when we arrived. The small seaside village that our friend calls home has plenty of holiday houses, and isn't too far away from Cape Point.
You'll win a great deal of respect if you can guess the name of the village from just this description and the photo above. Have a try - where does she live?
Even though our gardens are still enjoying rainy days, the smell of summer is already in the air. Well, at least in my nostrils it is. Spring has already arrived - trees and shrubs are sprouting leaves, flowers are blossoming and the air is slightly warmer than it was a month ago.
Summer in Cape Town is fantastic, with the only really bad part being that locals find themselves busy at work, many of them indoors, hidden away from the beauty of summer. The things that make it bearable for them (us :) ) are holidays, and the fact that summer days last until after the working day, with the sun setting after 8pm. Even when it's dark the warmth of the day lasts late into the night.
You can tell I can't wait, can't you?