Tag Archives: v&a waterfront
Mermaid of the Victoria Warf
Peninsula trip stop 3: The V&A Waterfront
Our party spent about an hour visiting the Blue Shed craft market - where they bought a few African treats. I thought about swinging past one of the roadside informal markets to get a better deal, but time wasn't on our side, so we paid the premium Waterfront prices (which weren't actually so expensive, anyway).
Once done buying souvenirs, we headed over to Quay 4 for a quick bite to eat before boarding our shuttle to the next destination...
Waterfront people
Directions
The Wheel
The British Navy in Table Bay harbour
For some reason ships have such beautiful lines in photos - which I'd argue is why in English we refer to them in the feminine. ;)
Tugboat tyres
The Wheel of Excellence
I guess the fact that it's stayed means that the V&A Waterfront, and the wheel's owners are making a packet of money from the attraction.
A silent carousel at the V&A Waterfront
While the carousel looks awesome, we were very disappointed that it lacked that typical carousel music - well, it lacked music completely! Who would operate a carousel without music?!
So, even though it only costs R10 per person the absence of that enchanting music disappointed us so much that we decided to skip the ride. :(
The largest sailing catamaran in Africa?
If you're not sure what a catamaran is - well, it's quite simple. A catamaran is a boat with more than one hull (generally two hulls). What makes this kind of boat perfect as ferries, or sunset cruises, is that the double-hull design makes this class of boat faster and far more stable than its single-hull sister.
Ocean cables and cable ships
You may find it interesting to read a little more about the history of cables ships and the laying of the first transatlantic cable here.
Atlantic Adventure’s high speed ride
I considered the trip (instead of the deathly-slow Steamboat Vicky trip) but we wanted to take our two nieces out on a ride and this one (while cheaper and longer than the Australian Thunder Jet) was more than we could spend on the trip.
Take a close look at the back of the boat - see the guy with his arms raised? Looks super-happy hey? :D
It’s a new year!
The World – the largest privately-owned yacht
Assuming that you have the cash, and the time to spend doing pretty much nothing at all, wouldn't it be awesome to own a cabin aboard this beauty?
A trip on the Waterfront’s Steamboat Vicky
Steamboat Vicky eventually returned to the jetty empty. It appeared as though she's dropped her passengers off elsewhere to lighten her load for the return trip to her home jetty. According to the skipper they were having trouble with the 100-year-plus steam engine's water pump... and I guess you can imagine that a steamboat without a water pump is more of a boat, less of a steamboat. :)
We started the extremely slow trip around the harbour (according to the skipper the boat has two speeds, slow and stop). The trip lasted about half an hour - and in the next few posts I'll share a few photos that I took of other boats in the Victoria and Alfred basins.
If you decide to take a trip on Steamboat Vicky, I'd advise against sitting in front. During the trip I nervously kept an eye on the uncomfortably-hot flames that were leaping out from under the boiler only 50cm away from my ankle. Also, don't take a trip on a very windy day - the skipper had plenty of engine trouble trying to get old Vicky back to her jetty, and eventually dropped us off at a spot close to the Clock Tower.
Waterfront kerbstones
The V&A Waterfront’s Robinson drydock
Dockyard cranes
The blue building to the right of the photo is the well-known Blue Shed craft market at the V&A Waterfront, and the brown structure that you're able to see to the left of the photo is the Two Oceans Aquarium - which certainly should be included on any visitor's V&A Waterfront excursion.
Coca-Cola’s red-crate robot
I think the robot is pretty awesome, but can you imagine how much the company must be paying the V&A Waterfront to advertise their brand with such a huge 3D billboard?
Did you know that the Coca-Cola company is 125 years old and that soft-drink was originally sold as a medicine?! Isn't that just crazy?!
Green ‘n gold Clock Tower of the Rugby World Cup
A fresh coat of paint for a rugby tournament? In case you were wondering, yes, we are a rugby-crazy nation.
I far prefer the red version of the clock tower, but one can't deny that to paint the building in our national sporting colours is a great symbol of support for the national team. That said, I do hope that the tower returns to its traditional red colour after we win the World Cup, again. ;)
A shiny metal elephant
You'll find this and many other artworks outside the African Trading Post at the V&A Waterfront.
No, I never actually knew that elephants were part of the Proboscidea family. ;)
Marine Protected Areas
South Africa has a fairly long coastline of 2798km, so isn't it astounding that about 20% of our coastal areas have been declared MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) - stretches of cost where commercial fishing has been banned?
One day, but not right now, I'll go to the effort of tracing all the areas on a proper map, but for now, here's a link to a page on our government's Marine and Coastal Management website - it contains a terribly-formatted list of all areas marked as MPAs. Sorry. :)
Emily’s at the Waterfront
Even though the restaurant was empty (on a Friday night) the service wasn't very good. While expensive, the food was ok - but not particularly memorable. Also, it appeared as though the main meals were fairly different in size - leaving some of us still hungry after the meal.
Although the restaurant is beautiful inside, and has beautiful views, with the huge array of restaurants to choose from it's probably not a restaurant that we'd return to in a great hurry.
Collier Jetty, grain elevators, and fishing boats
The water that you see in the bottom half of this photo is that of the Victoria Basin - the basin that stretches out alongside the V&A Waterfront shopping mall. The Collier Jetty, on the far end of the basin, is (as you can see) currently used as a spot to moor colourful fishing boats.
According to an industrial heritage white paper that I found, Cape Town harbour's elevator complex (the metal structure extending the length of the jetty) had been used by the Farmer's Co-operative since 1987 to load grain for export. I'm not sure whether or not it's till in use by the FC since the article mentions that due to the increased length and draught of ships they were no longer able to use it (for exports).
Don't you just love how the fishing boats are painted in similar fashion to the colourful houses of Bo-Kaap?
Road cones and wheelchairs
In addition to a couple of stairs on the opposite side of the pillar (on the right-side of the photo), this little ramp connects the first floor of V&A Waterfront mall with restaurants that overlook the amphitheatre, and (currently) the Wheel of Excellence.
Unless you know someone who uses a wheelchair, I guess you're unlikely to realise how difficult the simplest of navigational tasks can be. I've never had to make use of one, but from what I can see, the V&A Waterfront is pretty wheelchair-friendly. Most folk use escalators to get to the upper level of the shopping centre, but there are also lifts that you could use if you're reliant on a wheelchair. The Waterfront area has two or three major levels outside and each is accessible by wheelchair; although I can imagine that one may need some assistance to use the ramps as I imagine it's pretty tiring to scoot yourself up the incline.
In case you're traveling without a wheelchair, or for some reason require one when visiting, call 021 408 7500 (preferably a day in advance) to book one. Hire is free of charge, but requires a R50 refundable deposit.
Visit Accessible Cape Town for stacks of information that would help people with impaired mobility, vision and hearing.
Not a white Christmas
Yes, of course Africa celebrates Christmas... but white Christmas trees? I have to say that the chance of having a White Christmas in Cape Town is pretty slim, especially with the incredibly hot days we've been having.
Every now and again I wish that we could send some of our warm weather over to Europe to alleviate some of pain that they're feeling from the extreme cold spell that they're (you're) experiencing, but I very quickly take back these wishes as I remember our cold winter when I was practically counting down the days to summer!
Some day Kerry-Anne and I will visit the UK, France, or some similarly cold area over Christmas - just to see what a White Christmas is all about.
Music at the Amphitheatre
Well, I guess "stumbled upon" isn't quite accurate - in fact, I heard them all the way from the far end of the shopping mall! They were awesome, but then Highlander pipe bands always are; are they not?
The whole V&A area seemed to be abuzz with activity. Besides for the crowd that the pipe band drew, there were people walking about snapping photos of the gorgeous views; some were selfishly licking away at their Hagen Daaz ice-cream; and others were just sitting in the sun, taking in the festive atmosphere.
The Waterfront is hosting a myriad of free musical concerts over the next few weeks. From choirs singing Christmas carols and cheerful Christmas bands, to fabulous 5pm concerts with the likes of Verity, Southpaw, Chasing Friday and the beautiful Louise Day.
Tip: Get to the V&A Waterfront at about 6am some time this month. There are very few people around at that time of the morning and the peaceful atmosphere with the cool morning air and bright rising sun makes the harbour area the perfect place to be.
Ice skating at the V&A Waterfront
Kerry-Anne and I popped into the Waterfront on a small coffee and photo outing. She had coffee, while I wandered around the the area taking photos in the beautifully soft evening light.
On arrival I spotted a large white tent positioned outside of the Mugg & Bean entrance to the shopping mall. On closer investigation I confirmed my suspicion that the tent is actually the mobile ice rink that's been set up for the holiday period. I took a look inside and although the ice surface isn't huge, it looks like plenty of fun.
Skating costs R30 per hour between 10am and 7pm if you have your own skates, or R50 if you'd like to hire the bright orange ones you see in the photo. Between 7pm and 10pm the rink hosts themed evenings aimed at teenagers (at a cost of R50 per hour if you have your own skates, or R70 per hour if you don't).
I don't think it's a coincidence that the three-hour themed evenings coincide so perfectly with the amount of time parents would need for dinner and a movie. :)
Bridge at the Clock Tower
So if you've crossed this bridge you'll also know that it's a swinging bridge - which means that it detaches from the one side and swings open every so often to open the channel, thereby letting boats pass in and out of the yacht basin.
Now you may recall that in my previous post I mentioned that I'd been late and was rushing to meet Kerry-Anne here, near the Clock Tower. As I arrived this bridge had just closed and started to swing open to allow boats to pass. This would have been fine normally, but as I stood there this day I was on the one side and Kerry-Anne was on the other. I'm sure you can imagine how long the five minutes that the bridge was unavailable for felt as her mildly irritated eyes glared from across the channel. :D