We stay in a beautiful flat in the secure Marina Residential Estate, from where we can walk to the waterfront in less than five minutes. We also have access to the gym and the swimming pool, both with wonderful views of the marina.
For the first time, we recover a little from our road trip and plan a two-week trip to the south of Namibia to make the South Africa quarantine interesting.
Now to our best excursions in and around Cape Town:
2-day Hop-on Hop-off Tour
At the moment, tickets are available at a third of the normal price and include two different tours with the open double-decker bus, a sundowner tour on Signal Hill and a harbour or canal tour with the sightseeing boat. On Longstreet, in the City Centre, free city walking tours are also offered, with the guide's earnings consisting of a more or less generous tip.
The walking tour to Bo-Kaap takes us to the alcohol-free Malay quarter with its photogenic colourful houses.
The interesting historical walking tour in the "Old Town" with few photo subjects tells of the many cultures that settled in Cape Town long ago. The most diverse architectural styles and people from all corners of the world can be found in a very small area.
Perhaps we should have opted for the harbour tour rather than the 30-minute canal tour, but boat trips are always nice...
In the evening we enjoy the sundowner tour up Signal Hill. The narrow road is hopelessly congested on the way there and back... but the atmosphere and view of the city is absolutely worth it.
We visit the waterfront almost daily, whether it's for shopping, a small sushi lunch at Sevruga (just order sushi, they're awesome) or just for a walk. The quarrelling or lazing seals always provide entertainment.
What the painted cows were in Zurich in earlier years, the painted rhinos are here at the Waterfront.
The hike up Lions Head (670m) with 370m ascent and descent.
This is so far the most beautiful hike in South Africa. At first, you walk slightly uphill on a wide path around the mountain. This way you always enjoy new spectacular views. About halfway up, the path becomes steeper with stairs and then you climb up over the rocks, which are fortunately very grippy. There are also some ladders and safety handholds. At the top, the view of the city, Signal Hill and Table Mountain is simply breathtaking. Due to Corona, we were lucky and did not meet too many hikers. In normal times, however, there are supposed to be thousands who want to climb this mountain.
Chapman's Peak Drive and the 12 Apostles
It is worth doing this tour in the afternoon/evening so that the Apostles are perfectly illuminated. We drive along Chapman's Drive from Noordhoek towards Hout Bay and on past the Apostles to Camps Bay and Cape Town. In this direction there are always places to take photos or just enjoy the scenery.
Restaurant tip for Hout Bay: Cheyne's serves Asian/Japanese inspired dishes in tapas form to share. Simply delicious.
Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point National Park
This is a must-do tour. We start early and visit the penguin colony at Boulders Beach in the beautiful morning light.
We continue down to the cape where we first climb up to the lighthouse (the rack railway and the restaurants are closed because of too few tourists).
Afterwards we drive to the Cape of Good Hope (the most south-western point of Africa) and enjoy the view during a short hike.
We are rather a bit too early for the Cape excursion. The late afternoon sun would illuminate the steep face of Cape Point much better.
The West Coast National Park is a good hour north of Cape Town. It consists mainly of a large, warm Atlantic lagoon with lots of waterfowl, and on the west side, small sandy beaches for swimming. In August and September, another part is open where you can admire the beautiful spring flowers.
For lunch we visit the small fishing village of Paternoster with its many white houses and enjoy the view in a small beach restaurant and the purchase of the kitchen crew from the fisherman who has just landed.
We are drawn towards Stellenbosch again for a tasting at the Spier and Anura wine estates. The Spier winery is very large and impresses with its well-kept grounds with many works of art. There are fantastic wines at both suppliers and they would also be so reasonably priced...if only we had a little more time in South Africa.
Restaurant tip in Franschhoek: At the French Connection Bistro, the beef fillet steaks are particularly tender and mellow. The mussels are also supposed to be wonderful, but unfortunately they didn't have any in stock that day.
As mentioned at the beginning, we are now spending the South Africa quarantine on a 14-day trip to the south of Namibia. We are really looking forward to it.
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