Tag Archives: v&a waterfront

Helicopter combat adventure

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An abandonded heliport

Mandy discovered this block of concrete demarcating the location of an old heliport close to the breakwater, just behind the V&A Waterfront parking area. The photo reminded me of an adventure helicopter trip offered by the Huey Club in one of their famous Huey HU-1 military choppers - which we often first hear (they have a distinctive sound), and then see flying over the city. You may remember these helicopters from movies like Full Metal Jacket or serials like M.A.S.H.

Quite some time ago a friend told me of an adventure helicopter trip, called the "Combat Mission", that he went on in one of these choppers. What they do is take passengers on a trip that involves low-flying over the city, Waterfront and up the West Coast. Pilots put the choppers into steep climbs and hard banks... WITH THE DOORS OPEN, to simulate a real combat situation. Thankfully there's nobody shooting rockets or machine-guns at this joyride!

The Huey Club lists the cost of the trip as R1500... but I haven't been able to find out how long the flight-time is. At that price, I can't believe that it's more than about 30 minutes, though.

I need to do this! :D

Football World Cup logistics, organisation, and the vuvuzela

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Greenpoint football stadium

The Green Point soccer stadium, seen here from the Cape Town Waterfront area, looks to be fast approaching completion. There are still tall cranes looming over the empty stadium, but far fewer than you may recall in photos that I posted in 2007 and 2008. Just take a look at the progress made since June 2007!

If you've been following our recent posts you'll know that we're away from Cape Town on holiday for two weeks, and that Mandy J Watson has been kind enough to help out with a couple of photos, including this one.

This evening Kerry-Anne and I were privileged to watch South Africa and Spain battle it out in a Confederations Cup match in Bloemfontein; since this tournament is a trial run for next year's World Cup, and in light of this photo, I thought I'd give you a reportback on my experience from a logistics and organisation perspective.

First, I guess I should state that I'm not a sports fan, so I think I'm able to view the situation objectively without the excitement that allows fans to overlook the negative aspects of the experience.

So, objectively:

  • It was easy to find parking and it took a matter of 5 minutes to get into the stadium, and head up the stairs to our seats.
  • Finding our seats was fairly easy... we just looked at our ticket, consulted the boards, entered through the correct gate, read the signs, and we were good to go.
  • Apart from the signs giving directions, it seemed that at almost every turn there was a friendly official ready to point us in the right direction.
  • The venue wasn't too crowded, and the seating wasn't cramped.
  • The queues at the ladies' toilets were VERY long at half time. This is normal, of course, but that doesn't mean it's okay.
  • I've never been a fan of the vuvuzela (that long plastic trumpet that South African supporters blow at soccer matches), but to be honest, it really wasn't so bad. They weren't too loud and I have to say that they did add to the atmosphere significantly. They are an integral part of South African soccer culture and it just wouldn't be the same without them.
  • The only time that the trumpets did become annoying was after the match while we were walking through the Loch Logan shopping mall next to the stadium. Googols of fans blowing trumpets in a confined space made of reflective tiles and glass isn't good for one's ears!

My only suggestions are:

  • Think about where you will park your car before the time and how congested the area will be after the match.
  • Buy ear plugs from a music store - you'll still be able to enjoy the atmosphere, even if you find a vuvuzela positioned right next to your ear. :)

Tigresse, Africa’s largest catamaran

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Tigresse, Africa's largest catamaran

Tigresse, which can carry 60 passengers, is, according to its owner, the largest sailing catamaran in African waters, rivalled only by the Fujicat, a sister catamaran.

At R110 for a one-and-a-half-hour cruise, it's not at all expensive (in my opinion). If I were you however, I'd consider doing the sunset cruise with champagne for R180. Their website notes that they offer a champagne cruise, and even though I know they really mean sparkling wine, please insist on REAL champagne from Champagne... just to make the point! ;)

We're currently on vacation so credit for today's photo of Tigresse goes to Mandy from brainwavez.org.

Garcia D’Avila, a Brazilian warship

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The Warship, Garcia D'Avila
If you read yesterday's post you'll have gathered that Kerry-Anne and I are away in Bloemfontein (for the Confederations Cup). We decided that it wouldn't be fair to stockpile photos before we left and subject our readers to them over the time, so I've enlisted the help of a couple of friends to supply us with photos.

Mandy, blogger, writer, gadget-freak, and owner of brainwavez.org kicked off today with this shot of the Garcia D'Avila moored at the Cape Town Waterfront. This warship found its way to Cape Town in support of the Sea Power for Africa Symposium held at the CTICC (but I think they're actually in SA to support Brazil in the Confederations Cup!). Mandy mentioned that the public were actually being allowed to board the vessel for a short tour. We're not sure if they're still giving tours, but if you're in the Waterfront, stop by and try your luck. ;)

If you have a moment, visit brainwavez.org. The homepage lists article summaries, which link through to the main articles. Unsurprisingly, the first article I read was a review of a silly, yet fun game, Death Dice. (I'm on level 7 at the moment ;) ).

Nobu at the One & Only Hotel Cape Town

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NOBU at The One and Only

Tonight we were treated to dinner at NOBU, the upmarket Japanese restaurant at Sol Kerzner's 3-week-old One&Only Hotel. It was an evening filled with exquisite food, top-class service and really great company, in an elegant yet strangely unpretentious atmosphere.

We all opted for the 7-course omakase meal (if you're not familiar with Japanese dining, eating omakase basically means that you leave the choice of dishes up to the chef), which turned out to be a really good idea - we lost count of the number of dishes the waiters brought out to us, and we sent every single plate back scraped clean. The food was fantastic, and included things like prawn tempura with dipping sauces, black cod, edamame, a selection of sushi, tuna sashimi salad, whitefish sashimi, beef kushiyaki and grilled Cape salmon. Dessert was included too, and featured a lot of yummy oozy chocolate, whisky-flavoured cream, and ice cream (as you can probably tell, I can't remember the actual names of any of the desserts... but they were gooooood).

One member of our party had previously been to the London NOBU, and she said without hesitation that the Cape Town version was better.

Read more about the One&Only Hotel Cape Town, and if you think you might like to come and stay for a few nights, check out the room rates so that you can start budgeting.

I can certainly recommend Nobu if you're in the mood for a special night out. Just be sure to dress up nice and pretty and leave your penny-pinching side at home. ;-)

Have a look at the rest of our photos of the hotel and restaurant.

Sol Kerzner’s newest hotel: One&Only Cape Town

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Sol Kerzner's One and Only Hotel

For a while now everyone's been talking about the opening of Sol Kerzner's new hotel, the One&Only Cape Town. I'd seen a couple of artist's impressions of the interior (top secret sources!), and had heard how difficult it was to get to see the actual interior (bloggers don't seem to be too high up on Sol's list of VIPs :-) ). I'd also heard rumours of how much the penthouse was sold for (an astonishingly obscene amount of money).

And then, quite unexpectedly, I found myself right over the road from the hotel late on the afternoon of the launch party. I'm rather sorry I didn't have a better camera with me, because it turns out there were some pretty distinguished guests at this party - Nelson Mandela, Sharon Stone, Clint Eastwood and Robert de Niro, amongst others. As a matter of fact, I spotted a paparazzo half hiding behind a tree just a few metres from me - he had a very decent-looking camera with an enormously enormous lens, and looked decidedly furtive. My first brush with the paparazzi! Such a disappointment then that his camera wasn't aimed at me. :P

The best place to be in a heatwave…

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Escalators

... is in an air-conditioned shopping mall, of course. The temperature here has been hovering around 38 degrees Celsius for the last two days (for our overseas readers, that's equivalent to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit). In a word: HOT. This kind of heat is stifling and extremely draining, and there's really very little one can do to keep cool. Escape is the best option. :)

Onward and upward

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Spiral staircase

Believe it or not, Cape Town Daily Photo turned two yesterday, and we almost forgot all about it! It was only when we heard that it was South African social media site Zoopy.com's second birthday today that we remembered that it was ours too. Since we really love and admire the team over at Zoopy, I stopped by their offices to drop off some age-appropriate birthday goodies this afternoon. They in turn gave me as much cake as I could eat... and then some more to take home. :) (Here's a photo to prove it.)

I almost can't believe that we've been running this blog for two years already. It really does seem like just a few months ago that we were so warmly welcomed into the City Daily Photo community, following our first post. And just so you know, we have no intention of stopping any time soon - certainly not while there is still so much of this beautiful city left to explore.

(By the way, in case you're puzzling over what to give us as a birthday gift, nominations have opened for the 2009 South African Blog Awards. I'm just saying. ;-) )

Boat trips from the V&A Waterfront

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Spirit of Victoria

The 58-foot yacht Spirit of Victoria carries passengers on trips around Table Bay, taking them a little way along the Atlantic Seaboard, in fact. At night she lies quietly moored at the north pier of the V&A Waterfront, bobbing about, content after a day of hard work. If you've spent much time looking out into Table Bay you will almost certainly have noticed the schooner's distinctive brown sails blowing in the wind; see another photo here.

Time permitting, Kerry-Anne and I will try taking a trip on the Spirit of Victoria before summer is over, and then report back on the experience.

We’re loving summer

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The Waterfront at night
Today was exceptionally hot; even now as the clock is about to tick over into a new day I'm absolutely baking here in my office.

Hot, quiet and windless evenings like this make Capetonians head for the outdoors. While we were at the Waterfront watching the sun slowly fade into an array of pastel colours, hundreds of people would have been meeting up with friends on various beaches around the peninsula, many would have been walking up Signal Hill, and yet others would have been catching a ride to the top of Table Mountain.

Another perfect summer's eve in Cape Town...

Break glass, press here

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Fire alarm

Shopping malls and many other large buildings have fire alarms similar to this one. Don't you find that you just want to press on the glass? Every time I see one of these I have to hold myself back and stop myself from pressing that button. In fact, it took much restraint on my part not to press this one while trying to take the photo. I guess it's much like a dieting woman holding a slab of Lindt chocolate... irresistible. Well, almost irresistible.

The fire alarm in my office building is cleverly covered by a plastic flap that one would have to lift to expose the glass "button". It's a good thing too - I walk past this alarm 10 or 15 times each day.

Fishing boats of the V&A Waterfront

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Fishing boats at night
Fish Quay, seen above, is in the V&A Basin of the Waterfront, very close to the Clock Tower mentioned in this post a few days ago. Although I've never seen fish being offloaded, presumably because we normally visit the Waterfront over weekends or in the evening, I believe that visitors to the Waterfront can stand and watch as these deep-sea fishing boats dock and offload their super-fresh fish.

Unfortunately, I doubt that one can purchase fish directly from the boat captains here. If you're keen on this, then Kalk Bay harbour is the place to be, as recently caught fish can be bought directly from fishermen on the pier.

New Year’s Eve at the V&A Waterfront

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Crowds at the V&A Waterfront

As I said in yesterday's post, it really was busy at the V&A Waterfront last night. If you're familiar with the Waterfront then you'll likely remember the narrow swinging bridge at the Clock Tower. This crowd on the Clock Tower side was trying to change places with a similarly large crowd on the other side.

Speaking of the Clock Tower: in case you don't know what it is, the Clock Tower was the old port master's watchtower, built in the late 1800s when the harbour was still full of old-style sailing ships.

The tower houses a huge clock (hence the name "Clock Tower"), which was about 5 minutes slow on New Year's Eve. The crowd on our side of the harbour must have been watching the tower because only when a roar of cheering was heard from the other side of the harbour did our side erupt with the realisation that 2009 had arrived at last.

Another revolution

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Ferris wheel at the Cape Town Waterfront

With no particular plans for seeing the new year in, Kerry-Anne and I went through to the Cape Town Waterfront to join the thronging crowds watching the annual fireworks display. We bought tickets for a ride on this ferris wheel just before midnight and watched the new year approach from several metres above the ground.

You may notice that only the "W" in "Ferris Wheel" was lit. As we boarded the giant wheel I wondered whether or not I should be concerned that the ride operators were not even able to keep all the lights in working order... :)

In closing, thanks for spending the last year with us; we've certainly enjoyed ourselves and hope that you've enjoyed sharing in Cape Town each day. We wish you an exciting and fun-filled 2009 with much love, joy and peace!

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