Like the rest of the world, our 2021 plans were scuppered by Covid, and Boris Johnson. We had booked to travel to South Africa and explore the Garden Route. Travel was banned, and we suffered the tortuous process of trying to get a refund from British Airways. 3 years later, we flipped Covid the bird and this morning, we landed in Cape Town.
An overnight flight, we landed at around 8am, having managed a few restless hours of sleep. Aside from a long passport queue, Cape Town airport was a very simple affair and we were met by our friendly transfer chap without fuss.
We’re staying next to the Waterfront district, a newly redeveloped enclave of tourist-pleasing restaurants, shops and bars wrapped around an old port. It’s a blend of working-port and sanitised comforts. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we had a wee explore around the waterfront before hopping on a hop-on-hop-off tour bus (too many hops).
The weather was a bit overcast, and the mountainous backdrop of Cape Town was shrouded in cloud; cliffs vanishing into mist, belying a hint of the famous plateau beyond. We drove through the city before stopping at the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, and beyond to the coast. We passed the Imizamo Yethu settlement – a packed township in the Hout Bay area – our first sobering glimpse of the wealth divide that’s still so prevalent here.
Continuing on past Llandudno (looking anything but Welsh) we headed along the Atlantic coast, repleat with sea mist, stunning rocky escarpments and crashing waves.
We ended the tour and wandered along the dock-side, exploring the more industrial area of the Waterfront. Starting out in toasty hot sunshine and ending up shivering in drizzle. Cape Town is a fickle weathery beast. After a shower and change in our lovely hotel room at the Dock House Hotel, we dined down at the docks, enjoying a traditional South African kebab with Zebra, Ostrich, Warthog, and Crocodile. Go big or go home.
Travels with Sklaroffs 