I headed to South Africa to attend some work conferences in Johannesburg.  But I decided, being my first time in South Africa, that I just had to see Cape Town and the surroundings, including the Cape of Good Hope and Stellenbosch.  A college roommate was also going to be there for business so we decided to meet up and see the Cape region together.

Our Accommodations

We stayed at a nice hotel, The Courtyard, near the Liesbeck River and the Observatory.  It had an awesome setting, kind of looking to the back of Table Mountain.  The hotel had the nicest happy hour I have seen in any hotel – local beers and wines and a good amount of appetizers.  In the morning you had a nice buffet breakfast and you could take it outside looking at the grounds and the mountain.

Enjoying breakfast outdoors at The Courtyard

In the City

We visited the V&A Waterfront which was nice but we could have been in any major city by the water.  The seafood we had was very fresh.  But other than that, not sure I would be making this a priority stop in any future trip there…

V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain on the background

Slightly Out of the City

Robben Island was closed when I was in CT for some animal control project that was to last 2 weeks.  I imagine it is an interesting place but I can’t comment.  The beach towns south of the city center were teeming with life and seemed a nice play to stay an hang out for meals, etc.  We mainly drove past them as we only had 2 days to cover a lot of places we wanted to see.  But, in a future visit, I can see myself relaxing in these towns…

Driving through the beach towns south of Cape Town

The Masterpiece of Cape Town – A Natural Wonder!

The traveler freezing at the top of Table Mountain

Rio de Janeiro has the Pao de Azucar.  Cape Town has Table Mountain.  Table Mountain, at first thought, seemed maybe too touristy to visit but it was well worth the time and ride up.  The views up there were simply fantastic.  You could see the city, the port, Robben Island, the beach towns, etc.  But the height from which you see them really blows you away.  The clouds would come in and out of the mountaintop adding to an already-amazing setting.

View towards the beach towns from Table Mountain

View towards the city in the foreground and Robben Island in the background

While Cape Town as a city was not something spectacular (I’m comparing it to the likes of Paris, Istanbul, Rome), the setting of the city most definitely is quite spectacular and the neighboring areas (more on those later) are as well.