Cosmopolitan Cape Town

Cosmopolitan Cape Town

We are finally here in Capetown. It has taken us six weeks to get from Johannesburg to Capetown. It can be driven in less than 2 days if you take the direct route between the two. We did a lot of detours along the way.

Just when you think you have seen the most spectacular views and scenery possible, this country pulls out another punch! We have only listed one thing so far on our trip as a must do in your lifetime, the Serengeti. Capetown and the surrounding area will be the second one. This place is amazing, we really can’t get over it. There is so much to do and see here. We would love to come back again.

You have two oceans, the Atlantic on one side and the Indian ocean on the other. A beautiful mountain smack in your face and the city going all around it. Some parts of the city reminded us of San Francisco. It has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere. Some people are calling it Africa’s New York.

Long Street And Kloof Street

Long Street stretches for over twenty blocks through the Cape Town center. The street is lined with numerous remarkable Victorian buildings with iron cast balcony railings. The buildings have been well restored over the years and many have been converted into backpackers. There is a clash of cultures where the Victorian buildings sit alongside Muslim Mosques.

This is the street where you come to wander and soak up the atmosphere. There are many trendy restaurants as well as traditional African shops, music stores and jazz clubs.

The side streets are also very interesting. We went to Long Market street where the Green Market square hosts stalls of goods each day. It offers African curious, paintings and clothing.

Long street turns into Kloof street which is lined with antique shops, street wear boutiques, restaurants, bars and night clubs.

Canal Walk Mall

We drove a way out of the downtown area to go to a shopping center called Canal Walk Mall. We wanted to buy a few items and see what a mall in this area would be like. It was a quite a nice setting for a mall. The mall sits along side a canal along with number of multi-story residences. The mall was just like you would expect to see in any other large city.  Up until this point I think it had the largest food court we have ever seen in a shopping center.

Bo-Kaap District

We went to a multi cultural area of Cape Town called the Bo-Kaap district.  Many of the  residents are descendants of slaves who were imported to the Cape area in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. A lot of the houses are painted in very bright colours. There is a small Bo-Kaap museum that tells about the life of the people and their history in Cape Town.

District Six Museum

We went a place called  the District 6 Musuem. It shows the history of the District 6 area of Cape Town and the events that took place. This was one of the many areas during the apartheid that was designated as a white only area.

Thousands of non whites, some of whose families had lived in the area for over 100 years or longer were forced out of their homes and off their land. They were moved out to designated areas where they were left with next to nothing. No running water or electricity. They used to be able to walk to work in the city center within 15 minutes, now they would have to catch trains to get into work.

One of the areas that people were forced out to is a shantytown area in what is called the Cape Town Flats.You’ll see this area when driving from Cape Town airport in towards Table Mountain.  It is a windswept, barren area that is covered in dilapidated tin shacks that go for as far as the eye can see. Over one million people are living in this area. This area stands in stark contrast the nearby wealthy suburbs of Cape Town.

Many elderly people died of the shock and did not even make the move. The areas were leveled and demolished where their houses stood. This was all going on while others were still making their plans to leave or awaiting forced eviction. Many people died because buildings fell down around them. It turned into an area of complete demise.

It was really hard for us to imagine all of this taking place as we read and looked at pictures in the museum. How could people be treated like this? On the floor of the museum is a huge map of the District 6 area. Former residents of the area have come to write comments on it next to where they lived on the streets. They have written about memories of where they used to play as children or where their house was. Today some of the former residents of the area have been able to make claims to the land they once owned. It is only after coming to South Africa that we are beginning to understand everything that went on during the apartheid.

The Weg Taxi

There is a taxi service called Rikki’s. They apparently got their start as cheap service for backpackers, but have since upgraded to some higher class services as well. There was a funny vehicle that kept showing up at the hostels to pick up backpackers. It was a micro size minivan. You literally wedge yourself into the back of it. We have seen several people shoved in like a bunch of sardines. We nearly peed our pants laughing when we witnessed  a driver go around to the back to help someone out. It was more like pull them out of the sardine pack.  As funny as this sounds, it’s not the strangest part of the story. The driver was a male, but had on a pair of shorts and a string bikini top!

Green Point Stadium Market

On Sundays you can go to the  Green Point Stadium Market.  The stalls of stuff for sale go as far as your eye can see. You can spend many hours if not all day looking through stuff. Anything is available from beaded necklaces, wooden masks, stone carvings, drums and clothing. We have become quite used to bartering for the price we want to pay for something now. General rule of thumb offer half of what they say and go up from there.

Umoja Musical

We went to a musical called Umoja at a place called the Artscape Opera Playhouse. It is a production that has traveled the world. It tells a story about the history of African music, from the start with drums, to during the apartheid up until present day. It was really well done, and full of high energy with lots of singing and dancing.

Kirstenbosch Gardens

We went to an event at the Kirstenbosch Gardens. They have what they call the summer concert series every Sunday. It makes a nice outing for everyone to come to the park and enjoy an early evening concert. You pick your spot in the grass in front of the stage, plunk yourself down on a blanket and bring your picnic basket to have your dinner. The group we saw is a local South African band called Bed on Bricks. They have a great funky sound. We also took in a bit of time to stroll around the gardens. They are very large and we only saw a small part of them. They remind us of Beacon Hill Park back at home in Victoria, only on a much bigger scale.

This is where we got our first encounter with fire ants!!! They crawled onto my legs and then started to attack. It was so painful, I jumped up suddenly in panic. Jack didn’t know what to heck was going on. Why do all the bugs come after me?

A Romantic Evening Having Dinner At A Prison?

We were told of a prison in this area where you can book to go have dinner. You are served by the inmates, some of them even murders. You have to sign a waiver before you go saying you understand you enter at your own risk and the prison takes no responsibility if something happens to you. Doesn’t this sound like a romantic evening out. Maybe we should book it for Valentine’s Day!

Shipping All Of Our Souvenirs Home

Having a car to drive around South Africa for two months was great. The downside was we got a bit carried away with our shopping. It didn’t seem like a big deal to purchase items and throw them into the trunk of the car. We fell in love with two large wooden masks, but now came the time to figure out how to get all this stuff home.

We spent and entire day arranging the shipment and packaging all the items. We found an international shipping company to get them home for us. They came to the backpackers and picked the stuff up. It was hard to say goodbye to it. There is always that thought in the back of your mind wondering if you will ever see it again. We will keep you posted and let you know if it arrives safely, if at all!

…….Update, all of our stuff arrived safely home.  It took quite a bit longer than the shipping company said it would, but at least it arrived!

Enjoy Our Other Cape Town Area Posts:

• The Magnificent Mountain With The Table Top
• Cape Town Accommodation
• Chapman’s Peak Drive And Camp’s Bay And Long Beach
• Victoria And Alfred Waterfront
• Robben Island