Cape Town was a real change from the places we'd been in South Africa. It was full of life and is the major centre for tourism and felt quite European in those parts. We stayed in the Central Business District on Long Street, a street notorious for drinking and partying and whilst notorious, the area was safe enough in the day. Our home was Long Street Backpackers, a party hostel that never sleeps, particularly at the weekends where Beer Pong parties in the bar and live music events brought people in from other hostels in
the area and the party continued until maybe 5am. It was a fun, noisy, crazy week staying there. We spent several evenings propping up the bar chatting with the bar staff and generally being the old ones in the corner, or maybe that's just how we felt. If you've ever stayed in a hostel you'll know how rustic the facilities can be, and how thin the walls can be; we may have gone to bed before all the drunken revellers, but we were still basically in the party until the final person found their way out of the door, or fell into their bed as the sun was rising. That might sound like hell to you, but Gaz and I are fairly laid back and both of us can sleep anywhere if tired enough. Don't get me wrong, the quiet of our next place was very much welcomed, but being around so much noise, excitement and unpredictability does you good from time to time.
Long Street Backpackers is a great hostel - not only does it make staying in the centre really affordable, but it's one of those hostels where everyone is friendly and random conversations strike up between people in the kitchen or chilling in the courtyard. We met people from all over the world, shared a conversation and our experiences with each other and will never see them again probably, but that's what so great about staying in places like that. You also pick up valuable local knowledge from people - for example, we were having a coffee on the bar balcony overlooking the street chatting to one of the volunteers, when an American guy wandered over and joined us fresh from a mugging on Signal Hill (famous walking area that abutts the city) where he and his friend had their phones taken by 3 teenagers with knives! Ok, so we won't go for a walk on Signal Hill! Daytime muggings are common when hiking apparently so the advice is to walk in groups of 3 or 4 as a minimum and only take what you absolutely need with you. Staying in the touristy areas is safe though, so don't let that put you off coming to this city; it's pretty great, you just have to be a bit sensible.
People flock to Long Street and on to Kloof Street for the nightlife, but there is also some lovely instances of colonial architecture still present which is worth seeing, and it's a stones throw from the colourful neighbourhood of Bo Kaap which is a Cape Malay cultural hub and a photographers dream nestled in the city centre under Signal Hill. Cape Malay is a term used to describe descendents of the original muslim settlers in the Cape from across Asia. Bo Kaap was orignally formed under Apartheid segregation where Malay was defined as a grouping, and people were forcably removed from their homes and moved into defined areas. The colourful streets are still home to these people, who are amazingly tolerant of tourists wandering around and photographing their front doors. It must get pretty annoying. It's recommended that if you're in the area, to get breakfast or lunch in one of the cafes or restaurants in Bo Kaap, and to shop in the local convenience stores as a way of contributing to the area. We did this and had some really lovely food at Bo Kaap Deli - highly recommended!
We moved on from the city to the quiet neighbourhood of Woodbridge Island in Milnerton, a few kms north of the city centre. In fairness Woodbridge Island is an affluent area protected with 24/7 security on a sand spit, so it's right on a lovely sandy beach. We always make our money stretch as far as it can when it comes to accommodation, so we were in a tiny 3m x 3m 1 room beach hut, with en-suite (no door). It was nicely furnished, but we were definitely in the cheap seats! We stayed in this 1 room accommodation for longer than was probably healthy to do so - 3 weeks, but it allowed us to stay in Cape Town on an affordable basis. We had a handful of restaurants just round the corner, a supermarket within walking distance, a local bus stop and taxis are so cheap in South Africa then getting in and out of the city and around the peninsula was no issue at all.
Laundry was a bit of a challenge - our first attempt at handwashing a few things in the beach hut was a disaster - the sink basin itself slipped through the counter top while full of water and soapy clothes!!! We had to clear up so much water with bath towels and finish
the laundry in the shower. And even then there was nowhere to dry anything so Gaz managed to fashion a washing line from the gutter to the barbeque stand (weighed down with a large potted plant). It worked. Just about.
Cape Town is an amazing city, full of things to see and do and not all of them are expensive and some of them are free! We did so much in our time here, too much to write down here, but our highlights were ... (see pics further down)
The Cape Peninsula - beautiful scenic drive, Cape of Good Hope (most south westerly point of Africa), Cape Point with a climb to the Lighthouse.
The penguins at Foxy Bay, and Seaforth Bay - a chance to see the little South African penguins on the beach.
Table Mountain Cable Car - not cheap cheap, but worth the ride - the floor of the cable car rotates as it ascends the mountain. Lots to see and explore on the top.
Exploring Bo Kaap - beautiful colourful district of Cape Town, a cultural Malay hub.
Sunset Cruise around the bay - seeing the city from the water, watching the sun go down with a prosecco in hand. Lovely.
Shooting hand guns at Taurus Shooting Range - a thrill to try shooting a handgun. We just turned up and asked to have a go. We got quite competitive :-)
Sea Point Swimming Pavilion - a cheap afternoon of chilling in the sun, diving and swimming.
V & A Waterfront - the city harbour area, lined with shops, places of interest, restaurants, entertainment and boat trips.
City sightseeing red bus tour - yes touristy, but a great introduction to the city, full of information, and it's a really cost effective way to visit the city centre and further afield.
Sunbathing on the beach at Woodbridge Island, with a view of Table Mountain.
Ate amazing seafood by the ocean - Gaz probably ate more calamari than anyone in the history of ever!
Gaz actually walked up Table Mountain towards the end of our stay in the city. If I was a little fitter I would have given it a go as well, but in the end he went alone. There are many routes, but he started up the Indian Venster route and via Platteklip Gorge to reach the top in under 3 hours. When he finally walked in the door at the end of his expedition, he said it had been harder that he expected but very doable. There is a section where you walk up hundreds of rocky steps and that is very tiring, but definitely harder to go down than go up. When he explained it all, I realised I had made the right choice in not going, but I was really pleased he'd done it.
My mum had wanted me to pick up some traditional African printed fabric while I was in Africa, but I hadn't been able to find any in the other countries we'd visited, but Cape Town has everything, and I found a clothing and fabric store that was like an aladdins cave. I hunted through the fabric piles until I found a cloth that my mum might like and bought 6 mtrs. There was a little negotiation on price, but in the end I walked away with the fabric and rather than carry it with me, I posted it home.
We stayed in the area for 4 weeks primarily so that I could get some dental treatment. Before leaving the UK I had the start of a root canal on a tooth, and this needed completing. So after finding a dentist I felt comfortable with, I had the root canal done properly under intravenous sedation. It was fairly traumatic for me because I have terrible anxiety around dentists, but it went well, the sedation was amazing and it was half the price of the same procedure in the UK. I was on antibiotics for what felt like weeks, and a lot of painkillers in the week following the procedure but it was a relief to get the treatment done.
Because of the antibiotics, we didn't end up doing the one thing I had been looking forward to doing while in Cape Town - the Franschoek Wine Tram. This tram takes you from vineyard to vineyard for wine tastings for a whole day. A very civilised way to get rather tipsy and sample some of the region's best wines. But, when I was prescribed yet more antibiotics, I had to cancel the trip. Despite this, when we flew to Zimbabwe at the end of October, I had peace of mind that my tooth issues had been sorted.
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