Capetown/S.A Trip advice

I was in Cape Town in March this year for the Argus. Had an amazing time. One thing to remember is the water is icy cold in Cape Town as the next stop is the Antartic! A couple of recommendations in no particular order:

The Old Biscuit Mill is a cool place to go on a Saturday morning - its got a nice little food market and some quirky shops.

I'd recommend going to the Mzoli's Meat restaurant in the Gugulethu township, which has a kinda notting hill carnival vibe (but friendlier). Really fun and very nice dirt cheap food. http://www.jamieoliver.com/core/images/magazine/mzolis.pdf

You should also try Beluga restaurant which does good sushi and one day a week it is really cheap with half price cocktails, so well worth a look.

If you dont mind a drive and want to go more upmarket, here is an incredible restaurant overlooking a vineyard with great food http://www.lapetiteferme.co.za/

some good recommendations here now. cant swim in the ocean though? :(

You can, on a really hot day. I surfed Muizenberg on a blazing day in boardies and a neoprene vest and it was cold but not ridiculous. Went back on an overcast day, and I needed the full suit.

Dont forget the sharks...

Maybe I overstated that. The sea on the Atlantic side is very cold, but the Indian Ocean side is very nice and warm - i.e. beaches like Fish Hoek and Long Beach.....but they are a 20 minute drive from the centre of Cape Town.

cape town is serviced by two oceanic currents - the cold Benguela that comes up from the South Pole is colder than a ducks arse in winter - this can be found on most of the touristy beaches in and around camps bay - clifton - llandadnao (about as far from wales as you can get) these places are ostensibly at the arse end of the atlantic ocean so yeah, they're gonna be pretty much brass monkeys all the way. The other is the warmer Aghulas current that comes down from the equator on the Indian Ocean (eastern) side of the country. Beaches here are a lot less touristy and make for awesome surfing/swimming/fannying about in the waves and squealing like a girl action. Check out Muizenberg, Hout Bay, Kalk Bay and Long Beach.

look out for sharks. tho shark nets - all be they cruel - keep most of the nasty ones out.

Sharks, pah. I cut my ankle on the rocks at J Bay and still paddled out. Saying that, had I seen a fin I would have done an impression of Ian Thorpe on amphetamines.

They're all in the Seychelles anyway.

true. but it would appear they have a taste for pasty englishmen. probably cos they all look like struggling seals from the murky depths.

I'm very surprised I've survived this long as you seem to have perfectly described both my appearance and my surfing skills.

*searches interweb for anti-shark devices

Sharks, pah. I cut my ankle on the rocks at J Bay and still paddled out. Saying that, had I seen a fin I would have done an impression of Ian Thorpe on amphetamines.

They're all in the Seychelles anyway.
Tik tik, cheap and effective!! And plentiful in the cape flats. Another great tourist spot (not)

Hmm, nothin' to add here, the REAL experts have said it all: good work- cat food, your cheque from the tourist board is in the mail.......

I would try to hire a mtb and ride on the mountain as well, one of my buddies has the contour path as part of his regular commute.

m.f.

i have to say that in 1995 when wendy and I visit RSA for 3 weeks (honeymoon and apparently the rugby world cup).. we drove from durban via colesberg / the karoo to spend six magical days in Sea Point, Cape Town.. our base for a mini tour was possibly the highlight of the trip

defo take the bike and do cape peninsula route..
also you should visit:-
table mountain (obviously)
robben island (cos i want a souvenir)
victoria and alfred waterfront (retail therapy)
camps bay / clifton beach (beats malibu hands down)
Stellenbosch (afrikaan/cape dutch architecture)
Franschoek Western Cape (wine estates)
Oudtshoorn (cheetah santuary / conservation programme)

if you make it across the Transkei river.. more stuff.
we headed back to durban via the garden route to places
like Jefferies Bay nr PE (best surf beach in Africa) supertubes wave about a mile long.. township tour (clemont), game park hluhluwe-umfolozi, plus a score of other sites in kwazulu natal..

I am in Knysna 25 Dec to 12 Jan, if you fancy popping up and doing some mtb'ing in the forests.

Head over to kalks bay, best damn fish and chips.

Kalky's! I think. Huge fish and chips. I took the train there with friends once, the railway runs parallel to the sea and has great views, and is normally completely empty...take the train.

There is a place called olympia cafe, also in Kalk bay, which does good breakfast, but is probably a bit shit later in the day for lunch and dinner as it gets busy, I think.

Cape point is worth it imho. Despite being a well trodden tourist route, exploring the national park is awesome, I remember when I left in December I had this beach all to myself.

Observatory would make for a good night out, and although a little student infested, there are always plenty of music gigs in intimate venues, with a reasonably diverse crowd. Baxter Theatre might also be worth checking out - some of their stuff makes it to London where you will then pay 10 times as much to see it. Then find some students to walk up Devil's Peak with you...

I was just a poor student in Cape Town, so I guess my perspective on things was a little limited.

hee broo

thats ozzie for Howzit???!

gonna be pretty much brass monkeys all the way

i remember walking into the sea at clifton beach...
water temp 8 deg C..
air temp 38 deg C..
penguins everywhere

durban beach
water temp 29 deg C..
air temp 42 deg C..
surfers everywhere

Wijnland Car Museum, the best thing about Cape Town:

http://www.capetowndailyphoto.com/blog/2009/09/an-old-old-car-at-wijnland-auto-museum/

Howzit???!

This particular Saffa-ism makes me want to kill people.

to be fair - it's more 'Haaahzurt'

oh and the word 'Saffa' can fuck off too.

Kak duidelik, it's mainly forruns that refer to us as "Saffas"

it's mainly forruns that refer to us as "Saffas"

Apologies

bladdy soutpiele.

I'm in Stellenbosch untill end of december, if you would like to ride