Cape Town

Cape Town is widely considered one of the most breathtaking cities in the world. From the spectacular seaside setting at the southern tip of Africa with Table Mountain looming above, to the colorful neighborhood of Bo-Kaap and the tantalizing food and nightlife, Cape Town did not disappoint and was an amazing contrast to the fairly bleak business-savvy Johannesburg.

We spent 3 full days in Cape Town, and we could have easily spent another few days. We didn't have time to visit the wine country out near Stellenbosch and only barely explored the unique biodiversity associated with the Cape Floral Region, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to the incredible biodiversity in plant-life (home to over 9,000 species of which 69% are endemic).

Cape Town is home to a unique blend of people and cultures. It is the only major city in South Africa without a black majority. Instead, the city is very ethnically diverse with a population mix of English and Afrikaans-speaking white people, mixed race people, Cape Malay and black Africans. Our AirBnB for our stay was located in the beautiful Bo-Kaap neighborhood, which is considered the Cape Malay quarter.

Our AirBnB rooftop patio! Too bad it was only really sunny for a few hours each day.

On our first full day, we walked around downtown Cape Town. We visited the Company Gardens, established in 1650 by the Dutch East India Company. Many historic sites are scattered around the gardens, including the South African Parliament Building and St George's Cathedral, the church made famous as the seat of Archbishop Desmond Tutu during Apartheid.

Desmond Tutu's church in downtown.

South Africa's Parliament Building.

The Company Gardens in downtown.

Christina likes animals. Even fake ones.

There are several pedestrian streets in downtown with shops and restaurants.

After exploring downtown for a while, we took an Uber to the Old Biscuit Mill for lunch at one of the most popular restaurants in Cape Town, The Pot Luck Club. Like most of our trips to developing countries, we always try to go to a high end restaurant or two that we likely couldn't afford in the US. The Pot Luck Club was our treat for this trip. Although not as good as our experiences in Mexico City (Dulce Patria) and Lima (Central)...the Pot Luck Club had fantastic views of the city and Table Mountain and delicious tapas-style shareable food.

Fancy pork belly dish at The Pot Luck Club.

View from The Pot Luck Club.

The elevator opens right into the restaurant, with amazing views of the city.

We were advised by multiple friends to go up to the top of Table Mountain the moment the sun comes out, since the weather in Cape Town can be very fickle. So, right after lunch we went to the mountain to take the cable car up to the top. Table Mountain, which rises 3500' above Cape Town, offers panoramic views of the city center to the north and the Cape Peninsula to the south.

Living on the mountain is a small mammal called the dassie. Despite looking like a ground hog these things are actually related to elephants and manatees. David enjoyed referring to them as "elephant monsters" throughout the rest of the trip.

Downtown Cape Town.

The cable car is very steep and rotates as you climb so you can see in all directions.

Clouds crashing into Lion's Head and evaporating as the wind blows down the mountain.

Obligatory Table Mountain photo.

Our friends Kalyan and Alexander taking a break from searching for elephant monsters.

Christina's looking south from the mountain into the sea of clouds on the peninsula.

The flowing clouds were beautiful.

Cable car climbing up the mountain.

Lion's Head with a mane of clouds.

A short video we took of the cable car and flowing clouds.

After getting our fill of Table Mountain and with dusk approaching, we went back to our place in the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. This area, adjacent to downtown, is the center of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. The buildings are all brightly painted (which reminded us of San Juan, Puerto Rico) and there are a number of mosques. Hearing the call to prayer added to the atmosphere of the neighborhood.

Bo-Kaap is really colorful.

I like to call this the Greece Blue Building!

Clouds crashing over Table Mountain in the background.

Each separate residence is a different color. Wonder if they coordinate?

One of the neighborhood mosques. There were several.

Table Mountain behind Bo-Kaap.

Such a cute neighborhood!

Another mosque.

We also enjoyed some of the nightlife in Cape Town. At hipstery Mother's Ruin, a gin bar, artisan cocktails were only about $4. Can't beat that!

Fancy Pimm's Cup at Mother's Ruin. David got a cocktail with strawberries and black pepper.

Not as fancy as a Pimm's Cup, ginger beer is popular in South Africa. This was the best brand! No jiving!

On Saturday morning we decided to check out the Neighborgoods Market, located at the Old Biscuit Mill. This was a much larger scale than the Market on Main we visited in Johannesburg. There is also a Neighborgoods Market in Johannesburg, but it happens on Saturdays only, so we missed it. This place was packed with people, but there were vendors of everything from dim sum to desserts, greek food, soap and everything in-between. We'd highly recommend you visit if you're in Cape Town on a Saturday morning.

After the market, we visited the renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Despite being sunny on the downtown side of Table Mountain, the gardens were shrouded in fog and light rain. It gave the gardens an ethereal quality...but also was slightly annoying and didn't make for the best pictures. The location, at the foot of table mountain is very scenic and is another sight we'd highly recommend.

With 5 people and only 2 sets of keys... accidental lock-outs were bound to happen.

With this many people, you know it must be good!

Barista doing his thang!

Paella!

Lush verdant Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens.

The "Boomslang" canopy walk.

When lots of people walk on it, it shakes and slides like a tree snake!

Wet...but happy!

Even the rain can't stop that smile!

The colorful flowers with the ominous clouds was kind of neat.

A protea, a genus of flowering plants that are mostly endemic to the Cape Floral region. Pretty!

Flowers!

On the way back to Cape Town we decided to stop on Long Street to check out the restaurants, bars and shops. The whole street's architecture is somewhat similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans...it's also a very popular nightlife district. We also took a stroll along the Sea Point Promenade. This walkway along the Atlantic Ocean passes through some of the most affluent neighborhoods on the continent. The pathway was bustling with adults and children. There were playgrounds and public art sandwiched between the surf and Table Mountain.

That evening, we had dinner at a sushi/Asian restaurant named Beluga. They sat us down right in front of the biggest TV in the restaurant, because they assumed we'd want to watch the second South Africa Rugby World Cup match. As soon as they realized we were American they asked if we wanted to move. We didn't bother and the rest of the evening the entire wait/prep staff starred through us at the TV!

Typical Long Street architecture.

Sea Point Promenade.

People getting their exercise at the Sea Point Promenade.

Yum! More South African wine at Beluga!

Drinks after dinner at Beerhouse on Long Street.

Bourbon Long Street at night. Lively!

Early on Sunday morning all our friends except Alexander headed out after breakfast to the airport to return to Johannesburg. Alexander graciously offered to drive us down to the Cape of Good Hope. We'll handle that in a separate post. Cape Town is a lovely city, easily our favorite city of our Southern Africa trip. Make plans to visit!

Johannesburg - South Africa's Big City

Welcome to Africa! The thought of visiting the continent evokes stereotypical images of wildlife, beautiful scenery and warm people. South Africa also evokes thoughts of apartheid, corruption and crime. Part of the reason we wanted to do this trip was to start to understand the real story behind the world's 2nd largest continent through experiences in a handful of countries in Southern Africa.

For this two week trip first we are visiting Johannesburg, Kruger National Park and Cape Town in South Africa. Then we're flying up to Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe where we'll visit Chobe National Park in Botswana as well. Finally, we'll visit Zambia's capital Lusaka.

First stop, Johannesburg... the commercial capital of South Africa and the city responsible for approximately 10% of the total GDP of subsaharan Africa. While we're in Johannesburg, we're staying with our friend Kalyan who lives in the leafy northern suburb of Sandton. Sandton is to Johannesburg as Buckhead is to Atlanta. There's lots of big commercial skyscrapers and glitzy shopping along with high end apartments and housing. The area popped up as a key commercial area of Johannesburg after the end of apartheid, for similar reasons that Buckhead did in Atlanta after the end of segregation in America.

View from Kalyan's apartment in Sandton. Very nice!

First thing's first, we need some South African wine!

The infrastructure in Johannesburg is pretty great. Similar to the USA.

On Sunday, Kalyan took us downtown for Market on Main, which is basically a Sunday food and crafts market. Afterward, he had to catch a flight, so we were on our own for the next few days until we meet back up in Cape Town. From Market on Main, Christina and David visited the Apartheid Museum while Paul quickly popped into Gold Reef City to ride Johannesburg's coasters.

Outside Market on Main.

Hipster coffee shop.

Market on Main, a Sunday market in downtown

View from the upper floor of the market.

Some people were truly frightened on the roller coasters at Gold Reef City. Check out those faces!

Anaconda was a great ride.

The Apartheid Museum is a must visit!

The museum included information on how the races were sorted and separated to keep power in white hands.

View from the apartheid museum: Johannesburg's CBD behind Gold Reef City coasters.

Walking around Johannesburg can be a challenge. Incomplete sidewalks and barbed wire fences are everywhere.

Tried a local beer! It was OK.

Sunday dinner at Craft in Parkhurst. David had ostrich!

Food in Johannesburg has been wonderful and cheap in American dollar terms!

On Monday we went to the city center to see the Origins Museum and Constitution Hill (the site of an Apartheid era prison). Afterwards we had lunch in Melville before heading downtown again to the Carlton Center, which is the tallest building in Africa. Finally we took a stroll around downtown Johannesburg, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of this bustling district.

On Wits University Campus. Is this really a sign-worthy issue? 

The Origins Museum had lots of exhibits on the San people of South Africa.

A gallery in the Origins Museum.

Witwatersrand University in Braamfontein neighborhood of Johannesburg.

An interesting sculpture in downtown.

Constitution Hill prison. Gandhi and Mandela were both held here. Conditions were awful.

Looking towards the CBD from Constitution Hill.

Constitution Hill.

Paul's Homemade Ice Cream in Melville! It was closed unfortunately.

Meat pie for lunch in Melville.

Johannesburg from above at the Top of Africa in the Carlton Center.

Neat zebra art in downtown.

After our walk around the CBD we took the Gautrain back to Sandton.

At Sandton City Center Paul got pumped up for the Rugby World Cup!

Johannesburg makes a big first impression, both positive and negative. While the roadway infrastructure is really excellent, walking can be challenging with sidewalks sometimes just disappearing. Safe transit isn't very prevalent in the city - there is the Gautrain, which is state of the art and relatively cheap, but mostly only connects the northern suburbs to downtown and nearby Pretoria. Our predominate mode of travel has been uber, believe it or not. Trips across town have all been only $5-$10.

The city is dotted with large glamorous shopping malls. These contrast sharply with other neighborhoods that are rundown, dirty and dangerous. The contrast between rich and poor is stark and largely follows racial lines, 20 years after the end of Apartheid.There is definitely a sense of worry over crime in this city. Countless websites and travel guides, as well as friends who have lived in Johannesburg have bombarded us with warnings about everything and everywhere. We were more anxious traveling around Joburg than any other place we've visited (Mexico City for example). Driving through the northern suburbs, where most of the wealthy people live, reveals street after street of walled compounds with electric fences and razor wire. Wealthy South Africans are terrified of the poor, and it shows, as we didn't see a single normal house facing the street in the entire city. The worry may not be unwarranted, as the crime rate is huge. Our friends have known several people who have been mugged or had their car windows smashed while they were stopped at a red light. The homicide rate is over 6 times higher than the US.

With the current record exchange rate, Johannesburg restaurants are very cheap when converted to American dollars...our excellent Sunday dinner in a trendy restaurant was R580 (or about $40) for three people, including alcohol, tax, and tip. The same meal in the States would have easily topped $100. The median income in Gauteng Province is around $3,000 per year...meaning our "cheap" dinner out represented the average household's weekly wage. In a country that is 80% black, it was amazing to us how often we found ourselves in places with only white people. Tourist sites, museums and well-reviewed restaurants were almost totally patronized by white people (some of which were tourists like us), while the staff was usually black. Segregation is still a fact in South Africa.

Some interesting graffiti in downtown.

Lots of South African pride around the city.

Johannesburg was an interesting introduction to South Africa. We enjoyed our experience, and learned a lot about the long history and culture of this part of the world. Next stop, Kruger National Park for some wildlife viewing.