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| The V&A Waterfront and Table Mountain |
I’ll never forget seeing the legendary Table Mountain for
the first time. Flanked by Devil's Peak to its left and Lion’s Head and Signal
Hill to its right, it looms over the beautiful, green city of Cape Town.
For spectacular views of the Mother City as it is also
know, I took a cable car to the top of the mountain. The table cloth, as the
locals call the white cloud that frequently covers Table Mountain, makes visits
weather dependent.
Take a stroll around the city. The Company Gardens and
the Greenmarket Square are well worth seeing. For quirky boutiques, cool bars
and restaurants head to Long Street.
There are also plenty of museums. A must is a visit to
the Gold of Africa Museum, not only to see the collections which include objects
from the ancient gold civilisations of Southern Africa, but to try out the Gold
Restaurant where you can take part in an interactive Djembe drumming session.
Then listen to African singers as you enjoy your meal.
My favourite place is The V&A Waterfront – watch out
for seals playing in the water – home to the city’s smartest shops and
countless eateries and Cape Grace, one of Cape Town’s chicest hotels. It’s old
South Africa meets new. I couldn’t find one fault with this hotel. The service
is out of this world and its setting spectacular.
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| The colony of African penguins, Simon's Town |
Looking down at the craggy cliffs and the ocean from the
renowned Cape of Good Hope (also within the same section of Table Mountain
National Park), I imagined what the Portuguese navigator, Bartolomeu Dias
experienced when he discovered it in 1488.
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| Cape of Good Hope |
I came back via the Chapman's Peak Drive, a 9km road
blasted into the mountain rock, which runs along the coastline between
Noordhoek and Hout Bay. I reached Camps Bay, a trendy suburban beach area of
Cape Town, at the foot of the Twelve Apostles mountain range, in time for a
sundowner.
The next day took me to Constantia Valley, peppered with
forests and vineyards. Approximately 20 minutes from Cape Town, this is the country’s oldest
wine-growing region. One of the best vineyards is Klein Constantia Estate,
which started producing wine in 1689. If you can’t get there, you can buy in
the UK its Klein Constantia Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (£11.99, www.majestic.co.uk), a
refreshing, fruity wine.
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| Robben Island |
South Africa has its challenges as does every country.
You will see townships – a visit is a humbling experience – and there is
poverty. But, standing on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent many years as a prisoner, listening to
a former inmate’s account of life there, I realised how far this country has
come.
By Daralyn Danns
Getting
there
South African Airways (www.flysaa.com)
Cape Grace (www.capegrace.com)
South African Tourism (www.southafrica.net)
