South Africa is a magnificent country with a blend of different cultures, ethnicity and fascinating history.  One of the top attractions of South Africa is the city of Cape Town. Cape town is breath-taking and has spectacular view . Every place in cape town is like a painting. Let’s take a look at the best places in cape town. We went to cape town a few years back and ever since we want to go back there again as we have not spent enough time in cape town. Locals who live in cape town say that sometimes you can see all the seasons in a single day in cape town. We didn’t know if we will have a similar experience, however we want to go back to experience some extraordinary beauty, the place provides.

 

When we landed in cape town it was in the month of June and we experienced some heavy rainfall. A typical rainy day in cape town. we headed straight to Long street for some lovely breakfast. visited this place called long street café. It is a nice café/pub and with great choices of burgers and sandwiches . But the best thing about this café is the location.

Long street – Long street exhibits diversified culture and attracts travellers from all across the globe. The street is filled with bookstores and excellent eateries. It has several Victorian building with wrought iron balconies. This stretch definitely has the best bars/clubs and is supposed to have the hottest nightlife in cape town. Plenty of great restaurants and hang out places that one can choose from. ‘The Waiting room’ and ‘Fiction’ are few recommended ones.

Popular Place Beer House to Taste different Kinds if Beer

Long Street also has a lane which has colourful houses, area now known as Bo-Kaap .Earlier this place was called the Malay Quarter . Slaves were imported from Malaysia ,Indonesia here and that’s where the name ‘Malay’ came from. Historic place and a great spot for good pictures.

 

Next we headed to the iconic Table Mountain in The city. You could get the spectacular view of Table Mountain from anywhere in Cape town so we headed straight to get the aerial views from the top of table mountain . It is flanked by Devil’s peak to the east and Lions head to the west. The cable car that takes you right at the top of the Table mountain is a must do attraction when in Cape town so we certainly did this as it was suggested by many friends. The experience was lovely. You can reach the top in under 5 mins from the place the cars begin. To the point from where the cable car takes you is also quite a drive with fantastic viewpoints. When we actually reached the top of the range we were mesmerised with the beauty of cape town and views we got to see. Mother city is indeed very beautiful and on a clear day views are spectacular from the top. Sun shines high on the peak and the clouds move giving way to a stunning view, but on a rainy cloudy day not the best views are seen from the top. So one has to choose a good weather in order to experience the beauty and view from above. The weather of Cape town is very unpredictable,  Sometimes in a single day you get to see all the seasons in this city. We were lucky and one of the days during our stay we experienced the same. It was raining heavily because of which the ferry to go to Robbin island got cancelled but as the day progressed the weather was sunny and bright and we could do all the other things planned on our itinerary.

Views from Top of Table Mountain

Next day we did the Cape Point tour which had several famous and beautiful places .We drove along the Atlantic Ocean and crossed Sea point, Clifton and other places. Sights of beautiful rainbows on the horizon are very popular, sometimes if you are lucky you can sight two rainbows at a time too!

 

Somewhere Over the Rainbow!!!

 

Sea point – Sea point has a famous promenade which is popular among the locals to walk and jog around the area. Also the luxurious beachfront is a nice place to enjoy the hustle bustle of the city. Lots of self-catering apartments are also there.

 

Camps bay and Clifton – Clifton is an affluent neighbourhood in The mother city . It has a few beaches separated by big granite boulders. Camps bay is known for the white sand ,natural rocks and beautiful views of Twelve Apostles mountains. Camps bay is a premiere tourist destination with many boutique stores and promenade mall .There are many cafes, restaurants ,cocktail bars overlooking the beautiful promenade. We were driving around these places stopping at various view points for pictures, videos .The place certainly has a very cool vibe to it. We actually spotted a very unique place in camps bay with one tree which was swaying and actually bending due to huge winds since it was windy day. This was perfect to click portraits like pictures.

 

Camps Bay

 

Next stop was Hout bay – It is situated in the valley in the Atlantic seaboard. While driving around the beautiful Chapmans peak .Chapmans Peak is the mountain range located on the western side of Cape Peninsula between Hout bay and Noordheok. Chapmans Peak drive is one the most beautiful drives in the world along the coastline. You can bike and hike here as well. We just enjoyed driving around and we saw some huge tidal waves. This place is very famous for surfing and surfing competitions. We came to know that few years back the wave here was the biggest wave ever for surfing through our guide. Our guide was a local in cape town and had a lot of knowledge about the town and around. Also during the migration of whales while driving in this area you can spot whales ,unfortunately it was not that time of the year for us though we eagerly looked around to spot one, but no luck!

 

Chapman’s Peak Drive

 

Next we went on to explore the Cape of Good Hope. So we entered Cape of good hope natural reserve which is home to over 250 species of birds, duck, baboon ,cape mountain zebra. Also there are lots of spots to hike or for mountain bike and plenty of isolated picnic spots and beaches. Interestingly Cape of good hope is not the southernmost tip of the African continent as tour operators claims to be. Cape Agulhas that is 150 kms away from this place is the actual southernmost tip of the African continent and also a place where the two Oceans meet, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Just before we reached the cape of good hope point to click pictures we came across The Two Oceans restaurant where we stopped to grab a quick bite. The seafood of this place is fantastic and overlooks the false bay.

 

Cape of Good Hope

Ostrich Farm

We then visited An Ostrich farm called Cape point Ostrich farm which is very close to the Cape of good hope natural reserve . The drive was very beautiful via Simons town and this farm is in the most beautiful part of Cape Peninsula. We fed stones to some Ostriches, that’s what they eat! It was fascinating to see how they eat stones and the guide told us that they don’t have a count of how many eggs they lay every time , and they done realize when it has been taken away and they keep laying more eggs. So the people who took care of the farm collected the eggs and sold it to tourists with great African art on the eggs. We bought 1 egg. There are many good leather bags for sale too ,very good quality and expensive but looked like worth the money. The farms were very beautifully maintained.

 

Ostrich Farm

Next we visited the famous Simons town ,a lovely suburb of Cape town and just a few kilometres away is the enchanting boulders beach also known as home to the famous African penguins. Hundreds of penguins have made this isolated little patch penguin colony. it was a beautiful sight . The penguins that live here are not the ones who live in the cold Southern Hemisphere, but African penguins . We saw some lovely small baby penguins who couldn’t even walk and mothers were around them all the time ,also their colour was different, brown in colour . Story goes back to many years ago when a girl who used to stay around the place noticed a hurt penguin, somehow washed ashore. She took care of one, and the penguin went back to get all her family and settled down in this island.

Penguin Island ,Simons Town

Simon’s Town Boulder’s Beach

On our day 2 we decided to first visit the botanical gardens and spend some good quality time there. Kirstenbosch national botanical garden is a wonderful place to spend at least 4 to 5 hours. It has over 7000 species of plants and we spent quality time here looking at the flora and fauna and the brilliant colour exhibits of nature. There is a nice eatery inside but we tried the Kirstenbosch tea room which has good sandwiches and scones to offer.

Botanical Garden

Our next stop for the day Groot Constantia a winery that has been there since 1685, which makes it the oldest wine producing estate in south Africa . We spent sometime in the vineyards and then went straight for wine tasting with cheese, crackers and chocolates. Personally the red wines are far better than the white wines there. We got a comprehensive tour of the winery and the process of fermentation and cellar tours. This place is a must visit.

Groot Constantia

We ended the exciting day at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront –

This is the very heart of Cape town and has many boutique stores, restaurants and a clock tower that was built in 1882 and boasts the British architecture. This is also a harbour for ships to get fresh fish to the city, also one of the oldest harbours in the country. This place is ideal for shopping and has exciting options and good malls.

V&A Waterfront 

We visited the Two Oceans aquarium here a great attraction for kids. We also took the giant wheel ride at V&A Waterfront that has some great Ariel views of the harbour from the top .We had an exciting dinner at City Grill Steakhouse at V&A waterfront ,grill mix of crocodile,  warthog, kudu, ostrich meat. You must have a strong stomach to relish this kind of dinner but we love experimenting with food .A fantastic end to a relaxed day.

 

 

V & A Waterfront ,  Giant Wheel

Next day we began with Seal Island adventure – 

This is also a must -do attraction in cape town. We took a small and bumpy boat ride 6 kms from false bay to reach the seal island. The name False Bay was given by sailors many hundred years ago who confused the bay with Table Bay. On the boat we got  brief information about seals favourite food and how they are the favourite food for sharks . As we reached the island we saw hundreds of seals resting and swimming all around the island. The boat doesn’t stop more than a few minutes there so you have to click pictures really fast. Short but a memorable experience. The water is also full of great white sharks that gets attracted because of the seals.

Seal Island False Bay

Then we headed to take the ferry to go to Robbin island .You have to go to V&A waterfront to get to Robbin island . The Nelson Mandela getaway to Robbin island is the point from where you can buy tickets and also the ferry. Robbin Island is place which was home to president of south Africa Nelson Mandela who was in  prison on Robbin island for 18 years of the 27 years of his punishment before the fall of apartheid. Two other inmates on that island also later went on to become the president of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma .You get a guided tour on the island from a prison inmate. The sea can get really rough sometimes for the ferry ride and even a slight change in the weather results in cancelling the ferry to the island.

We would recommend 4 to 5 days in this enchanting city of Cape Town. Hope this write up helps you to plan an exciting trip to the beautiful country.

 Here is a special curation of South Africa itinerary along with hotel & food place recommendations ( in your budgets )