Following a recent visit to South Africa, Mark ended up in Cape Town after a week-long drive along the Garden Route:
“South Africa is such a diverse country that a drive through part of it turned out to be really rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable. I’d never done a driving holiday before, but I really liked the flexibility and independence, being able to go where we wanted, when we wanted. Picnics on the beach for breakfast (as dolphins swam past on one morning!), seafront cafes for a quick break, stops to take in the view over False Bay to the Cape of Good Hope or to see the penguins at Betty’s Bay, just because we wanted to!
We’d driven about 1500 km from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, via Knysna, Wilderness, Arniston and Hermanus, arriving in to Cape Town from the winelands at Stellenbosch and the Cape of Good Hope National Park. After the best part of a week on generally peaceful roads and in small towns, Cape Town was a bit of a culture shock! We drove in via the Lion’s Hill pass at Table Mountain, which gives you a spectacular view of the city (coming in on the main highway from the airport makes the city to feel quite industrial) but as it was Friday afternoon and rush hour was kicking in, it was best to get off the roads as quickly as possible. We were staying on St George’s Mall in the heart of the city centre, so we were able to explore most areas on foot.
Cape Town has many different facets, and a good way to take them all in is on the ubiquitous open top bus, which links the city centre with the Waterfront, Table Mountain and some of the outlying beaches – a perfect combination of highlights. First stop was Table Mountain, as the skies were clear and the top was visible – the weather can change very quickly and the cable car only runs when the clouds move away, so we were straight up. Despite my dislike of heights and a cable car that rises at an alarming rate while rotating (close your eyes if you’re anything like me!) we made it to the top for some simple stunning views back down to the city on one side and along the Cape Peninsular, where we’d been the previous day, to the other.
The bus took us on via the Kirstenbosch Gardens to the Atlantic Seaboard, where we stopped off for lunch at Camps Bay. A lovely stretch of sand is a local magnet for fashionable young things, so feeling well out of place we headed back in to the city. The city centre is fairly quiet at the weekend, so we headed to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a development of hotels, shops and restaurants that merge in with what is still a working harbour. After a spot of shopping for a few bottles of wine that we’d spent an afternoon in Stellenbosh conducting extensive research in to, we headed for the nearest bar to soak up the sunshine and the atmosphere in this most delightful, fascinating city.“
For holidays to Cape Town visit http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/far/destin/AFsosc.html
View our Cape Town photo gallery: http://www.farawayescapes.co.uk/gallery/Escape%20Worldwide%20Cape%20Town%20Photo%20Gallery/
For all of our holidays visit: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk
“South Africa is such a diverse country that a drive through part of it turned out to be really rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable. I’d never done a driving holiday before, but I really liked the flexibility and independence, being able to go where we wanted, when we wanted. Picnics on the beach for breakfast (as dolphins swam past on one morning!), seafront cafes for a quick break, stops to take in the view over False Bay to the Cape of Good Hope or to see the penguins at Betty’s Bay, just because we wanted to!
We’d driven about 1500 km from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, via Knysna, Wilderness, Arniston and Hermanus, arriving in to Cape Town from the winelands at Stellenbosch and the Cape of Good Hope National Park. After the best part of a week on generally peaceful roads and in small towns, Cape Town was a bit of a culture shock! We drove in via the Lion’s Hill pass at Table Mountain, which gives you a spectacular view of the city (coming in on the main highway from the airport makes the city to feel quite industrial) but as it was Friday afternoon and rush hour was kicking in, it was best to get off the roads as quickly as possible. We were staying on St George’s Mall in the heart of the city centre, so we were able to explore most areas on foot.
Cape Town has many different facets, and a good way to take them all in is on the ubiquitous open top bus, which links the city centre with the Waterfront, Table Mountain and some of the outlying beaches – a perfect combination of highlights. First stop was Table Mountain, as the skies were clear and the top was visible – the weather can change very quickly and the cable car only runs when the clouds move away, so we were straight up. Despite my dislike of heights and a cable car that rises at an alarming rate while rotating (close your eyes if you’re anything like me!) we made it to the top for some simple stunning views back down to the city on one side and along the Cape Peninsular, where we’d been the previous day, to the other.
The bus took us on via the Kirstenbosch Gardens to the Atlantic Seaboard, where we stopped off for lunch at Camps Bay. A lovely stretch of sand is a local magnet for fashionable young things, so feeling well out of place we headed back in to the city. The city centre is fairly quiet at the weekend, so we headed to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a development of hotels, shops and restaurants that merge in with what is still a working harbour. After a spot of shopping for a few bottles of wine that we’d spent an afternoon in Stellenbosh conducting extensive research in to, we headed for the nearest bar to soak up the sunshine and the atmosphere in this most delightful, fascinating city.“
For holidays to Cape Town visit http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/far/destin/AFsosc.html
View our Cape Town photo gallery: http://www.farawayescapes.co.uk/gallery/Escape%20Worldwide%20Cape%20Town%20Photo%20Gallery/
For all of our holidays visit: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk
Comments
Post a Comment