Cape Town
From Imakoopedia
Cape Town is one of the largest cities in South Africa. It is located in the south-west corner of the country near the Cape of Good Hope. It is a stone's throw from South Africa's world-famous Winelands at Stellenbosch.
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Understand
Cape Town was founded as a trading post by the VOC (Dutch East Indies Company) just over 300 years ago. It is the legislative centre of South Africa. Cape Town is a world-class cosmopolitan city with numerous sites of historical significance, and a lively nightlife.
Get in
By plane
Cape Town's airport is one of the two largest in South Africa (the other being Johannesburg). There are several flights daily from Johannesburg, as well as flights from other cities in South Africa. For more information on connections within sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, see the South Africa page.
By train
There is train service throughout South Africa. Trains are a great way to get between Cape Town and neighboring towns such as Stellenbosch and Simonstown. Be careful when travelling by train at night, and always ride first class.
By car
There are several major motorways entering Cape Town from the north, east and north-east. This connects cape town easily with other destinations including Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban and the Garden Route.
By bus
There is bus service to all major destinations within South Africa (and from neighboring countries) as well as points in between.
Get around
If you are staying downtown or close to it, then you can walk to most of the major sites. There are taxis, and combies are safe too (as long as you know where it goes, so you don't accidentally wind up in a dangerous area). Recently crossing guards have been stationed at road junctions, not to aid traffic flow, but safety of pedestrians and drivers from criminals, a very positive step which makes getting around that much safer.
See
- Robben Island, located just off the coast from Cape Town, this was the location used during the apartheid days to hold political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela and the late Walter Sisulu. Some of the tour guides were themselves political prisoners so they have plenty of insight about what went on there. Tours run several times per days, seven days a week from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront. Tours cost R150 for adults and R75 for children. Phone: (0)21 413 4200 http://www.robben-island.org.za/
- South African National Gallery, located in the Gardens area of Cape Town off Government Ave (about a 20 minute walk from downtown). Phone: (0)21 4674660. Contains extensive displays of South African art, as well as information on the history of censorship of art during apartheid. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-17:00. Entry is R5 and free for students and children. http://www.museums.org.za/sang/
- Township Tour The townships are the places where people were forced to live (based on race) under the apartheid regime. To some extent townships continue to retain their apartheid-era racial makeup, for a variety of reasons. Touring the township may seem strange, even inappropriate, but it is a good way to learn about South Africa's history, and the poverty that many people continue to live in. People in the townships are friendly and the children love visitors. Some townships can be extremely dangerous (see the warning on the South Africa page) so don't go alone unless you know what you're doing. The townships that tours take people to are safe. If you want to bring sweets or anything to the children, it is best not to give it directly to them, but to give it to the tour guide who will distribute it later. There are several tour companies which offer tours, one of which is Sam's Cultural Tours (phone: (0)21 695 0768, cell: 082 970 0564). Tours can be booked directly or through one of Cape Town's many booking agencies. Tours run once or twice per day.
- District Six Museum 25A Buitenkant St. phone: (0)21 461 8745, email: info@districtsix.co.za. Open Monday-Saturday 09:00-16:00. Admission is free. District Six is an area near downtown Cape Town which remained multiracial well into the 1960s against all attempts by the government to declare it a "white only" area. Eventually the residents were all evicted and the buildings were bulldozed. The area remains uninhabited. The museum provides information about the area, the eviction, the Group Areas Act, and the people who used to live there. The director of the museum is a former resident. There is a small bookstore with an excellent selection of books on South Africa's history, District Six and apartheid. http://www.d6.co.za/
- Malay Quarter This neighborhood, located south-west of downtown is the area historically inhabited by immigrants from Malaysia as well as other Muslims. There are some very colorful buildings, quaint streets, a mosque and some great food sold on the side of the street. It's well worth wandering around for an hour or so.
- South African Parliament Cape Town is the legislative seat of South Africa (the Presidential seat is in Pretoria and the Supreme Court is at Bloemfontein). A tour of this compound will acquaint you with South Africa's recent history and its political system. The tour includes visits to the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and the old apartheid-era assembly which is now only used for caucus and committee meetings. Tours are free and offered a few times per day in various languages. http://www.parliament.gov.za/
Do
- Hike Table Mountain This is the mountain located south of Cape Town, and known for the "table cloth effect." That is, when the top of the mountain (which is relatively flat) is covered in clouds, the clouds drape down the side as a table cloth hangs over the edge of a table. There is also a cable car that goes up if you prefer not to hike. The website Nature South Africa (http://www.nature.co.za) provides free hiking guides and information.
- Kayaking in Green Bay or False Bay Trips in False Bay, which leave from Simonstown make stops at the penguin colony, where you can see the African Penguin (formerly called Jackass Penguin).
- Cape Peninsula tour This tour runs from Cape Town down to the Cape of Good Hope via Green Bay, the District Six Museum and the penguin colony in False Bay. It is an all-day tour with a stop for lunch where you have the option of biking across part of the peninsula. Several companies offer these tours which can be booked directly or through a booking agent.
- Winelands tour Tours of the winelands around Stellenbosch and Paarl run daily from Cape Town. The tour will take you to four or five vineyards where they will tell you a bit about the process of winemaking, and then let you sample some of their wines. This is an all-day tour, and well worth it. Several tour companies offer this tour.
Learn
The University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town are both located in Cape Town. Cape Town's medical research is world-renowned.
Buy
The V&A Waterfront is the prime tourist destination for souvenirs, though these tend to be typically touristy (i.e. expensive and not necessarily authentic). If you like South African wine, buy it here (or anywhere in South Africa) before you leave, because it is much cheaper and there is more availability than overseas.
Make sure you know what the price is before you order (especially in restaurants) as there have been a few high-profile cases of overcharging where the price is not on the menu.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Accommodation in Cape Town ranges from hostels (of which there are many) to luxury accommodation. Whatever you want, you can find without trouble.
Contact
Cape Town's area code is 21, prefixed with a '0' when calling from elsewhere within South Africa. There are plenty of Internet cafes and access rates are cheap.
Get out
- Boulders beach is famous for its penguin colony and you can watch penguins in their natural habitat. In September is breading season and you can see many penguins hatching out of their eggs. Boulders beach is located on the left side of the road from Cape Town all the way through Boulder. There is a small snug restaurant close from the entrance to the beach that has very nice food and on a lucky day you can watch whales from there.
- Stellenbosch, though you can also visit Stellenbosch on a few day trips from Cape Town.
- Garden Route on the south coast on the way to Port Elizabeth and Durban.
External links
- Cape Town Tourism (http://www.cape-town.org/)
- Nature South Africa (http://www.nature.co.za)
