Cape Town day One
5th April 2014 Back in the Atlantic and arrived in Cape Town today bright and early on a very hot day with not a cloud in the sky. Also, no table cloth on Table Mountain. Obviously,it had been taken away for cleaning as we never saw it in our stay here.
The best way to arrive in Cape Town is definitely by boat as the sail into the harbour past Robben Island is glorious as the town nestles at the base of the mountain all safe and secure.
The thing about Cape Town is that it is so small and compact, only 4 million people, Wherever you go you are rewarded by stunning views of not only the Table Mountain, but also Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, Devil’s Head and the Bay itself. The biggest drawback is that because of the cold water of the sea, strong winds are a norm and can affect the value of your house dramatically if you are not sheltered from them so house prices depend on location, location, location!
Since we were last here some nine years ago, the V&A (Victoria and ALFRED, her second son who laid the foundation stone of the docks in 1860) has grown by leaps and bounds with plenty of new shops for all tastes.
After lunch at a fish restaurant overlooking the harbour, we decided to take a taxi up to the Cableway for Table Mountain. Obviously a couple of other people had decided on this as well as the queues were ginormous.
The two cable cars carry 65 people each up to the top of the 1000m Mountain and during the trip the inside spins around 360 degrees thus giving everyone a fair view.
Unfortunately though, only 800 people per hour can travel up the mountain so this leads to the long queues. However, the pilgrimage to the top is one of the things you have to do if at all possible as a tourist in Cape Town.
The view from the top is spectacular with all of the bay stretched out before you and after turning around you can see out to Cape Point.
You are also welcomed by the locals named Dassies (Dutch for Badger) which are like large gerbils but the size of small cat and have collapsible rib cages so they can squeeze into small crevices between rocks.
They are also said to be the elephants nearest living relatives, but they don’t say on which side of the family, and I find hard to believe.
The view above is of Lion’s Head (left), Signal Hill (right) and Sea Point beyond with Robben Island in the bay.
