"My Home town - Additions under construction" Top 5 Page for this destination Cape Town by jo104

Cape Town Travel Guide: 2,634 reviews and 6,071 photos

Life - Cape Town
Life

It’s a bit hard to build a page of travels on Cape Town as this is where I grew up & spent a great deal of my life. Now that I live in London I go back home to visit my family and friends regularly. I have a real passion for Cape Town & this city has come on in leaps & bounds a huge tourist attraction. Many people in Cape Town are positively united to make Cape Town even better.

I went to high school in the suburb of Newlands which is very notorious for rain and the backdrop of the mountains. Newlands has a lovely forest which is great for escaping the heat & excercising dogs, although nowdays its better to walk in groups.

I worked in Cape Town central called the CBD which is small & compact so one could walk it in a day. Lunchtimes I enjoyed walks around Green market square or through the squirrel filled gardens by the museum just of the main Adderly street. Cape Town holds the parliament although the capital of South Africa is Pretoria. The parade in the shadows of City Hall doubles as a stage for political rallies as well as a market selling anything from fabrics to clothes. The castle overlooks the parade and it is more like a 5 pointed fortress although we still call it the castle.

Lifestyle and activities
Lifestyle and activities - Cape Town

Whilst in Cape Town I was involved on the committee for the Barleycorn music club and arranged shows which I compared. This is a non-profit organisation which provides a platform for musicians. There is lots of varieties of music to be found in cape town with Observatory being a particular favourite of mine (just a touch arty).

My other passions are shooting pool with mates and drinking ice cool Savanna, a refreshing cider served with a lemon twist (althought I find it a bit acidic for the vast quantaties I used to drink). Talking of alcohol no trip is complete without a visit to the winelands for a tasting session. I prefer Paarl & Robertson wine routes to that of the more familiar Stellenbosch. There is nothing better then a glass of South African white, red or rose.

My latest visits - December 05 & 06
Kirstenbosch botanical gardens - Cape Town

Kirstenbosch botanical gardens

I flew out from London Gatwick on Air Namibia, getting off the plane in Windhoek I was greeted with a wall of heat - yes home was only a few hours away I could feel it in my bones.

When we got back on the plane for our Cape Town leg of the journey our captain advised us that there was no fuel in Cape Town so a few people will not receive their baggage so they could take on extra fuel. Needless to say I was one of those many & waited for 2.5 days for my bag to arrive although my suitcase full of presents was not taken off the plane. I was comforted by my sister's comments that I could always borrow her maternity clothes!! - this did not go down well as we are only one clothes size difference!!!

During my stay I managed to spend a few days away in our Knysna which is about a 5 hour drive. I am updating my Knysna pages so please have a look. Knysna. I did a day outing to a few wine farms, visited the Penguin beach Bolders & our botanical gardens Kirstenbosch. I mainly spent my holiday at home with my parents & enjoying the company of my niece who turned 4 years. The thing with going home for a holiday is that you don't seem to find time to do everything you want to do as everybody wants a piece of you.

But it is good to kick off the shoes, feel the warm African sun on my face & the love of family & friends.

Another opportunity to spend Christmas with my family was very much a relaxing holiday. I was invited to braai's (bbq) at friends houses and spent time in close proximatey to the beaches whilst only actually going to sunbathe on a beach once during my holiday. Our botanical gardens, Kirstenbosch, and the ample wine routes are still as fantastic as ever.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:sun, friendly people, multi-cultural
  • Cons:wind, sunstroke
  • In a nutshell:Kick off your shoes & let the Africa bask your face in sunshine
  • Last visit to Cape Town: Dec 2006
  • Intro Updated Jan 12, 2007
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Reviews (64)

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This restaurant has been running for 10 years & it certainly is a haven of activity. Based in the wealthy suburb of... more travel advice

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The Shopping MAll at the V&A waterfront combines the opportunity to clothes shop at designer and SA based stores. Also... more travel advice

Comments (40)

  • Reply
    kenHuocj's Profile Photo
    Jun 27, 2012 at 12:23 PM

    still one of my favourite City, many a visit and time spent over the years there - the wines and seafoods' memories linger on ;-)))

  • Reply
    Blombossie's Profile Photo
    Nov 25, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    Newcomer to VT, so busy reading what others are writing , your tips are fantastic.

  • Reply
    magor65's Profile Photo
    Mar 26, 2010 at 12:30 PM

    I'll visit Cape Town in June so I found your tips very useful and informative. Thanks for sharing.

  • Reply
    Aug 18, 2009 at 5:03 AM

    Its my favorite city in Africa

  • Reply
    zumodemango's Profile Photo
    May 18, 2009 at 2:00 AM

    very nice page! a beautiful view of Cape Town!

  • Reply
    Feb 26, 2009 at 4:20 PM

    i liked what you said and it will encourage others to not stick arms an other body part out the window cause they could lose an arm. If you have any other good tips e-mail me at minnierose22@yahoo.com.

  • Reply
    junecorlett's Profile Photo
    Feb 4, 2009 at 7:29 AM

    Lovely informative tips

  • Reply
    TheTravelSlut's Profile Photo
    Nov 16, 2008 at 6:48 AM

    Thanks for the great tips..I can't wait to get there next spring! Cheers, :-) Ann, TS

  • Reply
    nora_south_africa's Profile Photo
    Dec 2, 2007 at 2:35 PM

    thanx for great pages

  • Reply
    Nov 17, 2007 at 3:43 AM

    There is a pricing error for the main dishes as you have reisgestererd them in British Pounds instead of South African rands. The prices in Pounds are way off. IT would never cost that much. Jill

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