Holiday Goddess Editor Sue Ostler and partner visit Cape Town and fall in love with the city and the coast. Images Ed Lee.
From frolicking with perky penguins along the soft white sand of Boulders Penguin Colony, to hiking up and down the ubiquitous Table Mountain, Cape Town is a nature lover’s dream. It’s also for girls who like champagne and diamonds.
We perched high above the winding coastal road at Cape Town’s glittering 12 Apostles boutique hotel at the start of our trip, then we manoeuvred the dangerous curves and jaw dropping gorgeousness of the world famous scenic coastal road, Chapman’s Peak Drive along to the picturesque fishing village Hout Bay. Here the shiny happy seals vie for your attention as they flip onto their backs hoping you’ll join them in the shallow waters and rub their tummies like giant happy Buddhas.
Not all the wildlife is so sweet though, a visit to the Cape of Good Hope National Park resulted in the Baboon incident, just like something out of a B-Grade movie. There are signs all throughout Cape Town warning about the strength and cunning of these creatures who given half a chance, will outsmart you, and rip your throat out for good measure.
Enter a group of tourists who blithely got out of their Cab to photograph a troop of baboons on the opposite side of the road. Whilst they were looking one way, big Daddy Baboon sprung jauntily from the other direction, climbing nimbly into the back of the Cab where he wasted no time ripping into all the goodies. He was soon joined by his lady friend and her baby. They foraged long and hard and when they’d finished, not content with eating every last morsel of food, Daddy O grabbed his souvenir – the unlucky tourist’s bag – and galloped up a very steep hill. “Help me” the tourist cried. “It’s got my passport, wallet and iPhone!”
Along with the other spectators we sat frozen in our cars, cameras clicking….As the official Rangers appeared on the horizon and chased the baboon up the hill, he nonchalantly leapt higher and turning to face his spellbound audience, gave us a big grin and did one last Tarzan stance, holding the bag high above his head before he vanished over the hill, presumably to make the most of his new passport. In the event you plan to visit – you’ve been warned!
You can just as happily try celebrity-spotting at any of the glitzy waterfront bars along Camps Bay beach-front or for a different speed, linger over afternoon tea at the glamorous hotel the One and Only. If shopping’s your thang, you’ll find bargains galore from designer clobber to precious sparkly things in the endless air-conditioned malls and local street markets.
Cape Town was an intoxicating experience and it wasn’t just the trips to Constantia Valley (Cape Town’s local wine country) that did it. Excellent food, vibrant culture and delicious local wine mix with a dizzying array of landscapes that change before your eyes and host all kinds of mysterious species of wild life and marine life which make for endless nature thrills erupting everywhere you look. This dramatic romantic wonderland is like no other. Pretty much whatever rocks your world, you’d be hard pressed not to be captivated by Cape Town.
We rented a hire-car for $24 US dollars a day and split our time with one week on the coast and one week in the city.
Coastal accommodation: http://www.simonstownquaysidehotelcapetown.com/
CBD accommodation: http://www.rockwellhotel.co.za/
