This is going to sound a little strange. It is now nearly 25 years since I was a student in Cape Town. I have been back fairly often - firstly on honeymoon, then latterly to visit my parents who had moved down to the area. I am going back in the near future.

The problem is, that I "know" bits of Cape Town, and tend to stick to them. I sometimes if I am missing the blatently obvious things that "everybody" does that I have overlooked.

If any Slow travellers have any comments on what surprised/delighted them, I would welcome them.

Thanks

TimW

Tim, have you read this trip report from member Pat Matthews? There may be some helpful ideas there.

Also, our moderator, Marta, has been to Capetown, I believe, and will probably be able to add to the conversation. She may not respond immediately, as she is away this weekend. She also writes about her Africa trip on her blog Postcards from the Trail.

I'm probably not the typical traveler. We are nature lovers and spent a lot of time doing day trips out of Cape Town. We ended up not seeing as much of Cape Town itself.

Here's what comes to mind for me:

- Take the double-decker bus tour to get a good idea of the major sites.
- Victoria and Albert Waterfront. We loved the view of Table Mountain. We also ate at two restaurants in the center.
- Table Mountain Cable Car
- Two Oceans Aquarium

On our list that we did not get to:

- Robben Island
- Gold Museum
- Bo-Kaap neighborhood

Outside Capetown, we went to:

- Wine tasting in Stellenbosch region
- Chapman's Peak drive
- Lighthouse at Cape of Good Hope
- Penguins at Boulder Bay
- Muizenberg
- Karoo Garden in Worschester
- Kirstenbosch
- Hermanus (whale watching if in season)
- Darling and areas north for flowers in season

We did not get to:

- Hout Bay
- Hiking on Table Mountain or other nature reserves near by
- Constantia

Today's NY Times has an interesting article about visiting Cape Town, that may be of interest to you.

Tim, we didn't do everything in CT, but all that we did do, we enjoyed. Have you been to the District Six museum? You can go on your own, or you can get a mini-bus tour at the V&A Waterfront. The tour also includes a visit to Khayalitsha and maybe one other township in CT. There you can meet many of the people who live there-- we also went to a shabeen and had some homemade beer (an acquired taste, and visited a local healer. You shouldn't go to the townships alone-- not because of danger, but because they are so vast that you'd never find what you were looking for.

There are also night tours to the townships, where you get to hear music.

Since 2 million people live in the townships, "knowing" Cape Town has to include a visit.