A Year Teaching in Kenya: Cape Town

So many people raved about Cape Town to us, that when the opportunity arose for an extended holiday, we chose to check it out.

Cape Town is in the South-West corner of South Africa. The city is a 90 minute drive from the Cape of Good Hope and a three hour drive from the Southern-most tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas.

The latitude is about the same as Sydney, which surprised me. The Spring weather seemed much the same too, although I think the Southerlies are much colder in Cape Town. The ocean temperature is certainly cooler, not rising above 16 degrees even in Summer.

Coming straight from Kenya we were amazed at the cleanliness of the city, the number of late model European cars, the great roads, the range of shops and services available, and the cheap prices. Meat is about one third of the price paid in Australia, dining out is about half price, and transport and accommodation is also much cheaper.

The city and surrounds has a wealth of tourist activities (most of which we visited), including;

- - A cable car to the top of Table Mountain (looming right behind the CBD).

- - A renovated waterfront area with tourist shops, cafes, food markets, buskers and shopping malls.

- - A 17^th Century fort built by the Dutch.

- - Street markets selling the traditional African curios.

- - A day trip to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope (Two Oceans Restaurant is fantastic for lunch; great view of False Bay, but quite pricey by S.A. standards).

- - An excellent botanical gardens - Kirstenbosch.

- - Extensive wine-growing regions nearby, including Stellenbosch.

- - Many quaint country towns – Franszhoek (sp.?), Paarl and Stellenbosch are the pick.

- - Lovely beach-side suburbs with great cafes (Camps Bay is the pick here).

- - Shark-cage diving (we did not do this one).

- - You can even visit the operating theatre where Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant it has been turned into a museum.

- - An amazing cliff-side drive which links the beach suburbs to the South.

- Robbin Island tour - where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

Cape Town, I’m sure, is not typical of other cities within the country. It is very modern, safe and prosperous. Poorer townships are evident on the city outskirts, but overall there seems to be a relaxed, harmonious feel throughout the whole region. It gets a high recommendation from us as well.