Credit: Patrick Narcisse
Of all the cities I’ve visited I can honestly say that Cape Town is among the most beautiful. From the ever lively long street to the towering table mountain, to the bluer than blue waters, Cape Town engulfs you in a dream you’ll never desire to awaken from. Listing everything worth while would be impossible but here’s a few of the gems I discovered along my way.
Lion’s Head
Hiking Lion’s Head is the perfect way to enjoy Cape Town while also maintaining some semblance of a healthy lifestyle. A reasonable 3 hour* hike at a moderate pace Lions head is an ideal Morning or evening activity. Although sunset on lions head was touted as the perfect scene I elected to hike in the morning as I was not keen on hiking sunset hours alone. The hike starts off pretty slow with a gentle slope, some stairs and a latter here and there. Words for the wise pack sunglasses, WATER, sunscreen, and a pair of shoes with good traction. Towards the top it can get pretty steep but still manageable for even those who are minimally fit. At the top you will enjoy a stunning view over looking Cape Town, it is well worth the struggle; nothing beats the sense of accomplishment you will feel at the top.
As an aside for the braver of you, I would highly recommend Wally’s Cave. It offers a beautiful view and some shade on the very hot days (directions on how to find it can be easily Googled).
Boulder’s Beach/Cape Point
This is what I live for. The views that can be seen at Cape Point cannot be beat. I traveled to South Africa alone and therefore thought it best to book a tour for the activities that required travel out of Cape Town proper. The tours first stop was at the penguin colony at boulders beach. So here’s the trick with this if you take a tour (at least if it’s the one I took) they will direct to buy tickets to stand on the boardwalk to look at penguins from there, don’t do that. Opt out of that and walk down to the open beach and just hang out with the couple of penguins there or even better return on your own time and pay instead to go onto the beach where the penguin colony exists. This will not disappoint! you will spend as much time as you’d like sharing a beach with hundreds of penguins that are not concerned with your presence at all.
The tour then ended off at Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope. Taking the funicular up to the top is worth it to avoid hiking up to the light house. Views are beautiful but the magic is on the trail. If you take a (good) tour the guide will offer to take you on the trail for the final part of your experience. Say yes. This tour follows a path high above the shoreline with views I can compare to nothing I’ve seen before.
Along the way you will pass a long set of stairs that lead down to a beautiful mostly empty beach, kudos to those of you that return without a tour to visit this beach.
The path ends off where you will reunite with your tour bus and have the opportunity to take photos of/with the famous “Cape of Good Hope” sign.
All in all, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Cape Town, but if you manage to fit Lion’s Head, Boulders Beach and Cape Point into your itinerary I promise you will not be disappointed.
Follow Patrick @my_traveling_beard
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