Cape Town Reviewed: My Scoring 8.5/10 and Two Thumbs up!

I have traveled to many places in the world and have never found a city I’ve liked as much as my hometown, Vancouver. Cape Town offers a great variety to food and wine lovers, nature lovers, adventure tourists and shoppers, culture and art enthusiasts and even history buffs. The scenery is breathtaking and the weather is sunny and warm. Almost every direction you look, you can see both the ocean and the mountains at all times.

The Food
Never a shortage of variety and always the freshest ingredients, Cape Town is a food lover’s dream. A decedent freshly caught seafood meal with wine and tip in an upscale area costs around $10 USD per person. Indian, Thai, Chinese, African and various other nationalities of food types can easily be found. Best of all, most meals are healthy, helping you maintain your current belt size.

The Wine
Driving through the wine lands of South Africa makes you feel more like you’re driving through Italy in the 1800’s. We had the great pleasure of visiting about six different well respected wineries including Groot Constantia, Klien Constantia, Spier, Stellenbosch, Altydgedacht, and Durbanville Hills.

Of these, the highlights for us included tasting the Wine of Kings at Klien Constantia (Napoleon Bonaparte and Henry VIII drank these) and seeing the cheetahs and eagles of Spier. Over the years, Spier changed from a simple winery to an exciting and luxurious family attraction. Its beautiful restaurants, bird rescue sanctuary, cheetah reserve and picturesque picnic areas make it a winery next to none.

The Beaches
There are several hundred kilometers of beach in every direction around Cape Town. We had the pleasure of visiting several of these, most of which are accessible by train. Boulders Beach is famous for its wild African penguins, Simon’s Town for its naval base, St. James for its family atmosphere and Muizenberg for its Surfer’s Corner. The beaches are rarely crowded and if you can handle the cold water, you’ll find a brisk dunk in the ocean extremely revitalizing.

The Transportation
There are only three ways to get around Cape Town and its surrounding areas: by train, by cab, or by car. There is no public transit system and you'll find yourself walking long distances to get to your desired location or spending a lot of money on cabs unless you have your own car to get around. Iain and I took the train many days to get downtown and to various beaches (a feat that most locals who’ve lived in Cape Town would never try) and were fortunate enough to have made two friends who showed us around regularly. We are grateful to those people who were our gracious hosts and allowed us to thoroughly enjoy Cape Town’s many offerings.

The Culture
I found the people to be very friendly and expressive for a large city. Most times, I find people in major cities to be impersonal and conservative. Yet in Cape Town I found people to express themselves through their colorful clothes, friendly words, body language, mannerisms and free spirits. There are 11 official languages in South Africa so taking the train is fun because of the many dialects you’ll hear.

Unfortunately, due to many years of racism, civil and tribal wars and apartheid, there is still a pretty obvious separation between different races and languages. Overall, the people are lovely and you can see their sense of the pride in the way they present themselves.

We did get to experience one great night of culture at the Kirstenbosch Music Festival where many local artists played their songs and all people, regardless of colour, mixed and enjoyed a night of self expression and great tunes. The vibe was comfortable and happy and we enjoyed every minute of being there.

The Attractions:

Cape Point – The most southern point of the cape area that you can get to by road, Cape Point is famous for its shipwrecks and storms. This is a beautifully scenic place of rocky cliffs, beaches, parks and ocean.

Table Mountain – one of the most famous attractions in all of South Africa, Table Mountain is five times older than the Himalayas. It is believed that Table Mountain used to be an island millions of years ago and has become one of the biggest producers of flora in the world. There are an estimated 50,000 different species of flowers and plants in this area. Plus being above cloud level makes the views stunning.

V&A Waterfront – This is a hip and lively area by the bay in Downtown Cape Town. Here you can shop, eat, drink, boat, go to the aquarium and even watch movies for about two dollars. Fun markets, crafts and music can be found all over this area. It’s not uncommon to see people eating an ice cream while people watching here.

The Aquarium – Found at the V&A Waterfront, the Aquarium is a charming display of the many creatures found around the Cape. Everything from starfish and sharks to penguins and giant sea turtles can be found within. Though this seems to be a major attraction for kids and families, the Cape Town Aquarium is such a pleasure it shouldn’t be missed by anyone.

Kirstenbosch – Kirstenbosch was one of my favorite spots in Cape Town. This is a beautiful garden with walking trails, picnic spots, outdoor concerts, restaurants and happy people relaxing or reading under the trees. It’s a spot to enjoy nature, listen to some music or just spend a day picnicking with your friends.

Outdoor Recreation – If you want to shark dive, this is the place to do it. A two hour drive from Cape Town will give you the largest breading ground of Great White Sharks in the world. There is also great biking, horse back riding, hiking, surfing, windsurfing, bungee jumping, cliff jumping and a whole lot more. If you like outdoor sports and recreation, this is the place to be. The weather is practically perfect eight months of the year so you have a good chance to get out and about.

Shopping – Malls seem to be a specialty in Cape Town. If you want the latest in style and fashion, you can find it here. Cape Town is also a Mecca for bargaining markets. Long Street has the coolest vibe and is great for the 18-35 year old crowd while theV&A Waterfront is the most well rounded for the shopper who wants a little bit of everything.

Rhodes Memorial –Rhodes University was named after S. Rhodes who was known for being one of the most wealthy and ruthless South Africans to ever rule. His memorial was build to remind the world of his strength and power. Sitting on top of a mountain overlooking Cape Town, this monument is even more impressive in person so well worth a visit.

Improvements Required
Everything about Cape Town was enjoyable minus two things that stood out. With no public transportation system it became difficult for tourists to get around. Unfortunately the government hasn’t offered any kind of bus system, mainly due to cost and safety.

Safety was the other area that could be improved. Most people don't go for walks at night and there are many cases of muggings, break ins, theft and high jacking. We met two people in the two weeks we were there who had been high jacked in their car at gunpoint, taken for a ride and then robbed of all their money, cell phones and cars.

However if you can avoid getting yourself into dangerous situations (such as walking at night alone), are able to rent a car or get a ride, and simply be street smart, I would highly recommend Cape Town as a destination to visit. We had a blast and it had everything an outdoor loving city girl could wish for.