Cape Town, South Africa

Ah, Cape Town. The Mother City. South Africa's second largest, and the legislative capital of the nation. Here you can experience history and rich culture, climb a mountain, and see the most southwestern point on the continent of Africa.

A bowl between mountains and sea

One of the things that makes Cape Town unique is its geography. Downtown, or the bowl, as it's often called, is nestled in between Lion's Head and Signal hill to the west, Table Mountain to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.

Just 65km south of Cape Town sits the most southwestern point of the African Continent: The Cape of Good Hope. Many tourists mistakenly confuse this point with the most southern point in Africa, but that honor belongs to Cape Agulhas, more than 150km to the east.

In 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias "discovered" the cape and named it the Cape of Storms, due to the intense weather and difficult navigation in the waters around it. In fact, there are over 1000 shipwrecks in the area, and divers from around the world come to explore these relics of the deep. The legend of the Flying Dutchman even originates from this place. John II of Portugal later rebranded, calling it the Cape of Good Hope, in an attempt to entice traders to navigate this new route to the east.

Today, the entire Cape Peninsula is a major tourist destination and part of the Cape Floral Region, one of only six Floral Kingdoms in the world and home to nearly 10,000 different species of plant life.

Cape of Storms?

Table Mountain

Perhaps the most iconic landmark in Cape Town, Table Mountain sits above the bowl to protect the Mother City. Hoerikwaggo, the original name given by the Khoisan indigenous people, means "Mountain in the Sea", and has been a major cultural landmark for tens of thousands of years.

Nowadays it is one of the most visited geological formations in Africa and part of the UNESCO Cape Floral Region.

Robben Island - A Reminder of South Africa's Recent Past

Most of us have heard of Nelson Mandela. The anti-apartheid hero and eventual first president of South Africa was imprisoned for 27 years, 18 of those at Robben Island, just off Cape Town's western shore. From 1964-1982, he was held at the maximum-security prison alongside many other Black men imprisoned for political reasons. While he was moved to another maximum-security site in 1982, the prison at Robben Island wasn't closed until 1996, after Mandela became president. At the time of the prison's closing, the island was named a National Monument of South Africa, and in 1999, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visitors must be part of a tour to see the Robben Island Museum. There are a variety of tour types, and all tours include ferry transportation from the mainland.

Eating up the culture...one Gatsby at a time.

The culinary delights of South Africa are highlighted in Cape Town. Some of my favorites are the fish and chips, which you can find at nearly every street vendor and certainly most of the restaurants in town. The fish of the day depends on what was caught, but can include snoek, kingklip, and blacktail.

If you've ever tried a chip butty and found yourself wanting a little...more...from the experience, try the Gatsby sandwich. Here, chefs take a hoagie roll, load the chips in, and then add a variety of other stuffing items like meat, sauces, and pickles. Talk about elevated!

Another delectable dish is the comfort food called bobotie, a casserole made with ground beef (or other mince meat) and a thin layer of egg to top it. This is one that I tried to make myself at home...although I think I'll just have to go back to have some.

Any mention of food would be remiss without bringing up the Stellenbosch wine region just east of Cape Town. This stunning hilly region about an hour outside of the city will have you wanting to stay another week. With dozens of wineries, you can pack 3 or more in a day tour, or stay in the area and take your sweet time. In the spring, the Jacaranda trees bloom, and their fragrance wafts through the air on the breeze. The Stellenbosch wine region is known for its pinot noir and chenin blanc as well as the unique varietal pinotage.