I agonized about how I was going to write about Cape Town. I have far too much to say about what I’ve learned, and I’ll write about my experiences another time. But for now, just enjoy the charm of Africa’s southernmost city through my lens. Are there any photos you’d like to hear the story behind? Let me know in the comments.
The Beaches! I really can’t pick a favourite. I love Muizenberg and St. James for their rainbow changing huts and I love Clifton and Camps Bay for their soft crags and pristine waters. Boyes Drive offers a gorgeous view of the coastline and all of those colourful huts.
Ah Tokai Forest. My B&B offered an unspoiled view of the scrubby slopes of Table Mountain and neighbouring Lion’s Head. One only has to disregard the fact that the prison is in a residential area, and that’s alarmingly common.
Drive Ou Kaapse Weg—the road that goes high over the mountain to Noordhoek and Zilvermyn—because it’s a great place to see the fynbos and other natural flora of the Western Cape. Of course, if you’re interested in indigenous species, Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden is an ideal place to learn about them. When I was in Cape Town in 2018, it was a place I wanted to go to. In Thordis Elva’s and Tom Stranger’s book, South of Forgiveness, they shared a moment of reconciliation there. Tom took a pebble from his favourite beach in Australia to Iceland in 1996 and left it there with Thordis. She took it to South Africa and together they placed it in the hollow at the base of the baobab tree in the glass house.
I’m going to say this rather a lot, but you absolutely must make a day trip to the southern end of the peninsula and peruse the Kalk Bay markets, stroll up and down the fishing pier, and delight in the Boulders Beach penguin colony in Simon’s Town. Then carry on south down to Cape Point in Table Mountain National Park. First, climb to the lighthouse or descend the hundreds of steps down to Dias Beach, then reward yourself with a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth scone from the Scone Shack after climbing back up to the car park. Just watch out for the baboons! They will climb on the bonnet of your car and pull off your windscreen wipers and they will absolutely mug you of any food. You won’t be picnicking.
Speaking of picnicking, the oldest wine estate in the Western Cape—Groot Constantia—is an ideal spot for brekkie with a view of the vineyards. Just not on the lawn because again, baboons… I’ve had the best smashed avo and scrambled eggs at Jonkershuis and coffee and cake at Chardonnay Deli.
Now that you’ve made the decision to take the Ou Kaapse pass, you absolutely must stop at Noordhoek Farm Village. It’s utterly delightful. Craft markets in a Cape Dutch-style square, and an amazing brunch at the Foodbarn, headed by gastronomical wunderkin Franck Dangereux.
