Today we took the hop on/hop off city tour bus. It’s a double decker red bus that has narration in 6 different languages (everyone is given a set of ear phones.) We did this on our own so that we could keep the pace we chose. Since we only had one day, we took the red city tour with 17 possible stops.
We began at the V&A Waterfront (where the ship’s shuttle drops you off) and drove into the downtown area. We didn’t get off at the Convention Center, but learned that until 1947, this area was under water. It is a nice, clean downtown area with “robots” (their w
This is a view from our bus window of a downtown street
We passed the statue of Diaz who was the first to go around the Cape of Good Hope, but never made it to what is now Cape Town. We also drove up one of the main streets called the Strand which is a shopping/hotel area now. It was beachfront property until relatively recently as well.
We got off at St. George’s Cathedral to see the beautiful stained glass windows inside. We then browsed through the little market stands at Greenmarket Square which was mostly pedestrian with little shops and cafes. Very pretty for being in the middle of the city center.
We bought a small Zulu mask at this stall. It was the kind this tribe used like we use as a passport.
We made our way to Long Street which is a big shopping area during the day – at night we were warned not to go there. We found a Pan-African market (building that was 3 levels of individual shops selling little artifacts) and had fun browsing. We also went through a very first class store with unique African furniture and accessories.
By this time we were getting hungry and so headed over to St. George’s pedestrian mall where we had lunch at a little outdoor cafe called Winesense where we had a delicious lunch. It was a great place to relax with a glass of wine and people watch. On our way to the next stop to catch the bus, we went through the Mandela Rhodes Place and took a picture of Doug with a statue of Mandela.
From there we rode on the bus for a few stops without getting off – just seeing the sights from the top of the bus. The Sa Museum (planetarium) would be a fun place for kids, and the old Mount Nelson Hotel would make a great place for afternoon tea. Since I didn’t make it to Robbens Island, I had hoped to at least visit the District Six Museum, but we arrived at 3 and it closed at 2. So, instead we got off at the Castle of Good Hope which was a fort, but is now a museum. It even has a moat.
Today the “tablecloth” lifted off of Table Mountain, but no one was allowed to ride the cable cars up to the top because of the high winds. But the base was one of the stops on this tour, so we drove up along a windy road and passed Lion’s Peak where people like to climb to the top and picnic while they watch the sunset. Bit of a climb!! From the base of Table Mountain, we had a fantastic view of Cape Town below us surrounded by the ocean.
Through the zoom lens of my camera
Table Mountain with only a little of the “tablecloth” on top
Back on the bus, we went back down and around the back of Table Mountain to the beach side. The view from the back is totally different. We stopped at Camps Bay – one of the better beaches and resort areas on this side. It is at the bottom of this mountain and has a beautiful bay and white sand. Lots of restaurants,shops, and condos line the beach street. While it looks pretty, it was very windy while we were there, so not that many people were on the beach. I wanted to put my toes in the water and found it very cold. Also there were big waves!
After this, we stayed on the bus until we came back to our starting point. We passed other beach areas, but many were full of kelp and so you couldn’t swim. But they were pretty to look at.
Back on the ship, we had a quick dinner in the Lido since we missed our dinner time. Then we went to see the ship’s entertainment - Cape Town Folklore Show presented by young singers and dancers from Cape Town. They told a story through song and dance (in their native language.) They were dressed in modern day clothes instead of costumes. It was OK and interesting, but we didn’t quite follow their “story.”
Our conclusion to Cape Town – there is still a lot we want to see and do, so we hope someday to return. We really liked it a lot!
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