Where you HAVE to go!

Hello everyone... I'm back again with another "list"! At this time, I'm telling you what are the "unmissible" places you must to go for a visit once in Cape Town. Some of it are not in town, but all of them has their own relevance as an important history to tell us! Whitout it, it's impossible to say you had a real "Capetonian Experience".

Let's go...

My european friends and me!!

Bo-Kaap: once in Mother City, you must visit this place to feel a bit of the city’s history. Leaving Sea Point, by mini-bus, you just need to drop in Long Street, then keep walking up to Bo-Kaap (don't worry, because it's easy). Take your time walking through its colorful streets, at this beautiful muslin neighborhood. Try to feel the place and go for visit Bo-Kaap Museum. The place is quite traditional for host muslin people for hundreds of years in a row; which had a very important function during the Apartheid period.

Company's Garden... by me!

Company’s Garden: that's a fantastic garden among the city. Over there, you can enjoy the beautiful flora and the huge sorts of animals which can be found there. Beyond it, you can also find the famous South Africa Museum, the Modern Art Gallery and the South-Africa Parliament which worths a visit, surely. You'd better go in a sunny spring afternoon with your friends, and enjoy a time over there. What's best... it's a public place, safe and free of entrance (only the garden).

Signal Hill: it's a very nice and easy-access place...the best way (not the easier) to go there is walking from Sea Point (about 1 hour climbing up the hill); during the hiking, you can enjoy the ocean-view and the nature contact. Whether you don’t have time enough or disposition to do it, you may go there also by taxi which costs about R90 (one way). My tip is to visit a small mosque which takes place on the top of Signal Hill… it's one of the eldest mosques in town.

Lion’s Head Mountain: that's my “favorite-place-3”… take one afternoon (after class, of course), gather your friends, take a taxi and go there. The hiking takes about 1 hour, through the top, and it's quite easy until the half-way… from there you have to decide either take the "long and easy way" or the "short and adventurous one" (my type). Anyway… you won't, regret once on the top! Looking down, the view from there is simply stunning! My tip is: carry a wine bottle with you, and enjoy the sunset from the top, with your friends… it's just unbelievable.

On the top!!!

Table Mountain: the national proud, Table Mountain is magical and owns the most special atmosphere you may ever feel in South Africa. You can spend an entire day over there, if you want to. My glue is to wait for a sunny or not-too-cloudy day, because the mountain is huge (over 1.000m tall) and use to be cold up there. From Sea Point, a taxi normally costs about R130 and there are lots of different ways to climb the mountain. For those who are more brave and adventurous, there are some tracks which goes through the top (all of them takes about 1 hour hiking). Although, if you just want to make things easier, you can take the Cable Car… don’t worry because the system is very safe and enjoyable. By Cable Car, the way up takes about 3 minutes and the ticket to go and to return costs R130 (student price, so don’t forget your LAL’s student card). Once up there, just take your time and have some fun… but don’t forget to take loads of photos, as much as you can. You CAN'T leave Cape Town whitout visit Table Mountain... so whether you have any these options, LAL can arrange you a way to go there!

by me!

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden: take an entire morning or afternoon for enjoying this place because it's gorgeous. Unfortunately there are few ways to go there, because it's a bit away from Sea Point. By taxi, you are spending about R150 or you can also go there by "Sightseeing Bus", which you can take at Waterfront paying R130. LAL also offers weekly tours to Botanical Garden, if you prefer to take it. My tip is: treat yourself in a  nice coffee or lunch at Moyo Kirstenbosch, a very charmous restaurant. Enjoy the opportunity and walk as much as you can... with luck you may find a spring river with a cristal-clear, sweet and hot water.

Groot Constantia: that's one of the most famous wine farms around Cape Town. Beyond beautiful landscapes, you may enjoy your time there doing a marvelous wine tasting (R40). They have a diversified wine letter and you can have a taste in most of them. However,  as Kirstenbosch, there are few ways to go there: by taxi, Sightseeing Bus or LAL’s tour.

Chapman’s Peak Drive: it's an amazing tour. You'll have an opportunity to driving up through a mountain. The view from there is breathtaking. The glue is to go by mountain-bike, if you can! Otherwise you can go by car, as well… just leave the windows open. Don't you forget to over stop at the main point-view, where you can have a privileged view to Hout Bay.

Hout Bay: it’s a beautiful place, but a bit boring. From there, you can take a boat and sailing through the Seal’s Island. The really good tip is to enjoy a Fish & Cheps at Fish & Cheps on The Rocks Restaurant, the most traditional restaurant, specialist in preparing that unique meal.

Muizenberg: personally, I’ve spent so much time there, so I can speak a lot about that. The place is very calm and beautiful… but you will find lots of surfers, from everywhere in this planet. That’s because Muizenberg is quite famous as an international surf destination. If you are interested in surfing that is the place to be… over there you can find plenty of surf schools which charges about R800 for 7 surf classes in a row. Whether you don’t have time for doing a surf school, you can pay about R120 and have a single surf class which takes about 1 hour (including clothe, border and basics instructions). My tip is: if you go there by car, you must to drive through Boyes Drive Road and have a marvelous view to Muizenberg and Fish Hoek from up-above. Furthermore you can go there also by train which takes about 50 minutes and costs R11 (first class).

Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope: if you are in Cape Town and don’t go in those two places, your experience wouldn’t be succeeded. Both are part of Table Mountain National Park (one of the most famous national parks in South Africa) and for this reason there is an entrance fee of R85. First of all, you have to go through direct to Cape of Good Hope and get the famous shoot over there. After it, go quickly to Cape Point and take your time over there, enjoying the view, the ocean and landscapes. Unfortunately the only way to go there is by car, so you can gather your friends and rent a car for a weekend or you can either join the LAL’s tour.

Sunset at Gans Bay!

Gans Bay: don’t allow yourself to miss this amazing place, where you can admire a breathtaking ocean view. From there, you might have a perfect whale watching, as well... just by the rocks. At Gansbaai (Afrikaans) you also have a possibility of doing shark cage diving and have a look at the wild white sharks… you just have to spend a small fortune of R800 to go there and put your skin in a risk. Whether you want to oversleep at Gans Bay it is very easy to find a backpacker or a B&B over there.

As I wrote too much already, I'm staying here for a while. Hope you guys are enjoying all of these information. 

Laters... take care!!