Planning Trip to cape Town
 

Hello all,

I have the change to return to Cape town in December. Being lazy I thought that I would seek assistance from you on what to do this time. Last time we traveled along the coast (east) as far as Port Elizabeth. Dont mind doing that again or should we travel (west) up to the Eastern cape? . What are your most enjoyable places / things to see / eat, about the Western / Eastern Cape? We are open to all suggestions. A vague request i know, but have to start putting a list together.
Thanks!

Langebaan lagoon
Paternoster village
Cedarberg

Your post doesn't give indication of what you like to do, what your budget is, and how much time you have. Have you been on safari?

I'm a little confused, you mention wanting to travel 'west' to the Eastern Cape. Does that mean you still want to end up in the Eastern Cape, but via a different route? Are you flying out of P.E.?

Did you travel along Route 62 at all on your last trip? It's one of my favourite parts of the Cape, with Little Karoo scenery and hospitality, very different from the coast.

From Oudtshoorn you can take the backroads all the way to Addo, BEHIND the coastal mountains, and it is awesome. It'll be totally different from waht you did before.

And maybe fit in a visit to the Mountain Zebra National Park at the end.

Thanks everyone.
I know it’s a little vague. What do we like? I don’t know, I travel to experience different things not just to do the things I like in London (admittedly I am pretty dull but open minded). Budget, moderate, we like to stay in B&Bs, but if it’s very special then can afford quite a lot. You know, stuff you did that you wanted to tell others about. Leave the joining of the dots to me
Last time we spent £600 on accommodation, so looking for the same.
What I am after is a brain dumb of things you liked, interesting, relaxing, fattening, and breathtaking; we can then check them out. So far we are going to a music concert at Kirstenbosch and that’s it so a lot to fill in.
We did do Route 62 on the way back to Cape Town and the Little Kahoo is excellent. We don’t want to go on Safari this trip
We have 10 days, the first two in Cape Town, then we are a blank.
Sorry to arrange my trip though you, but I really do have a very poor imagination I am also rather lazy.
Again thanks

Hi jim,

when I'm daydreaming about another trip to SA, I think about going north of capetown, into namaquarland. the flowers may not be so spectacular in December, but the area looks fascinating.

also i like the look of the swartland wine route at [[email protected]]

and constantia, and the coastlines of the cape, and....

if you can find it, there's a very good book "7 days in capetown" [i found it on amazon.] there was enough to do in more like 14 days.

have a great trip,

regards, ann

Thanks Ann,

We were also thinking of heading north to some of the nature reserves. However, as you mention I think we might have missed the best of the flowers.
I have two days in Cape Town on my own and was thinking of exploring Table Mountain on foot and checking out some of the coastal suburbs north of Camps Bay, where I am staying. We now have a better idea of what we want to do, basically have some chilling out in the wine lands and some walking, possibly around Montague (sp) or the Groenfontien valley. The only definite we have so far is we will be exploring the De Hoop nature reserve. The last time we were there is was raining and blowing a gale.

Is that £600 per person or total, and how many nights was it split across? In other words, what's your ROUGH budget per person per night?

We enjoyed a day driving down the East side of the Cape Pensinsula and back up the West Side with stops at Boulders Beach and Cape Point, amongst others. The drive along Chapman's Peak was particularly beautiful.

We also had an excellent day touring Cape Town and the Winelands with Selwyn Davidowitz. It was nice to get one local's perspective on the history, present and future of South Africa and he took us to some sights we may not otherwise have seen. That included a very special visit to a township in which he's heavily involved in community projects and where he is welcomed as a friend. Far better than a "tour", this allows visitors to meet people in a different way.

Franschhoek is great for foodies, some fabulous restaurants to try. We were very happy indeed with our accommodtion in Plumwood Inn, both in terms of room and warm, friendly hosts.

Some spectacular drives along the garden route, as you know. Those mountain passes are really something.

We weren't hugely enamoured with Knysna, which seems to have become backpackers central in the centre of town surrounded by sedate posh residential suburbs around it. One night is enough or just pass through, spend a few hours, do a cruise in the bay, and head on.

Similarly, Plett Bay, whilst very pretty and desperately popular, is just another high-end beach resort to us; not our thing at all, though many adore it.

We wish we'd booked to stay in the rest camp chalets at Tsitsikamma, what a wonderful sea view. Instead we overnighted in Storms River Village so we could do the treetop canopy tour, which was excellent. There are other activities on offer for the fit and sporty!

And of course, there's Addo!

It's a bit tame compared to other national parks, especially as the section open to self-drive visitors is pretty small, which means driving around some tiny looped routes with lots of other visitors. But it still allows for some good wildlife viewing and the self-catering accommodation is very reasonable indeed. Alternatively, there are some very elegant (and appropriately priced) private safari camps in other parts of the park, which might give for a more special experience.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. £600 total for 8 nights. Looking at costs today as opposed to 2 years ago prices seem to be 25% lower e.g. what we were paying £100 for now costs £75!
We now have a plan forming and i might post it here for comments later in the week.

Cheers

J

Things that I like to do, that most people miss:

Walking with the baboons in Kommetjie (Baboon Matters) and learn about these interesting animals

Visit the quaint town of Darling and do wine tasting or catch the show at Evita se Peron with Pieter Dirk Uis

Paternoster is a favourite. Ah! Guest House is lovely and eating fresh seafood is superb

Stay cheaply along the way and splash out for a couple of nights at Bushmanskloof - relax and enjoy the bushman paintings and plains game as well as superb food.

Another gem is Bartholomeus Klip in the outskirts of the winelands. Great food, lovely surroundings - definitely worth a 3 or more nights stay.

We <i>really</i> enjoyed visiting the west coast - Paternoster, St. Helena Bay, Darling, West Coast National Park - when we visited last year. We were there at the end of August, just at the beginning of the wildflower season. We plan to return next year for a longer stay.

There are a few pics of the area about 1/3 down the page here - http://gardyloo.us/rtw07a.htm

If you are still thinking of exploring Table Mountain on foot, consider doing the Orangekloof guided trail.

I did it last year and it was fantastic, I recommend it to everyone who is energetic enough to do more than the cable car.

You can find my 'hike review' here:
http://www.cape-town-family-holiday-...ain-hikes.html

You need to be reasonably fit.

About Namaqualand, yes you will have missed the flowers.

If you are interested in bird life at all, Rocher Pan up the West Coast is a must.