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In wonderful Cape Town, reporter Richard Price searched out whales and tasted delicious wines whilst looking out at exquisite views at this top-value long-haul destination
Every year, southern right whales make the trip from Antarctica to the coast of South Africa to mate and calve. Seeing them up close is an astonishing sight, a real tonic for the mind and spirit.
And to allow us to see them, there is a new seasonal visitor to the Cape, Norse Atlantic Airways, which has begun flying three times a week during the northern hemisphere winter. For extra comfort, if you can stretch to premium economy, you can certainly stretch out. My outbound flight was an overnighter and I arrived fresh and ready to get exploring straight away.
A return ticket costs from £499, which is certainly tempting for a destination 6,000 miles away. Cape Town is a beautiful city, wrapped around the imposing bulk of Table Mountain.
First stop for most visitors will be the cable car to the top and, if the cloud cap that often sits on it – the Tablecloth – is absent, the reward is spectacular views over the city and Atlantic. On my group’s visit, the cable car was out of action. We went instead to the rather lower Signal Hill, where the view is still impressive, before taking a tour of Bo-Kaap, a picturesque historic district of brightly coloured houses, mosques and quirky shops.
A once-segregated area for “Cape Malays” – workers brought in by the Dutch settlers – it is still a predominantly Muslim district. Like the nearby District Six – where thousands of citizens were expelled for a whites-only development that never happened – it offers insight into the history of South Africa in the apartheid era and since.
Soon it’s time to head to the V&A Waterfront, a large and growing area of the former Cape Town docks now given over to restaurants, bars, shops and leisure activities, where tourists and Capetonians alike go to relax. We tried Time Out Market – a world cuisine food court where you are bound to find something you like, for about £12 for a main and drink.
Our base was the excellent President Hotel, just off the seafront and with a view of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for many years. From there, my group took a sidecar adventure excursion to the Cape of Good Hope. Good fun and packed with interest was the verdict.
I tried the more sedate hop on, hop off tourist bus to see the sights. Two main routes cover most of the attractions, including the downtown historic core, Table Mountain cable car and V&A Waterfront, where you can get the boat to Robben Island. I took the northern loop to Kirstenbosch, on the slopes of Table Mountain. One of the world’s great botanic gardens, it is a beautiful spot to wander and also an excellent place to learn more about the Cape’s unique flora. Next on my group’s itinerary was to get out into that countryside and head for Hermanus, 75 miles to the east, with a stop for some quad biking – always fun – with SA Forest Adventures.
The same company offers a range of exciting activities, including the K3 Caledon Zipline, the world’s longest, it is claimed, at almost two miles. Take the hour-long tractor ride to the summit and you come down again in a couple of minutes, potentially reaching speeds of more than 80mph.
Some of my party took up the challenge and declared it the nearest you are ever likely to come to flying. On to Hermanus, which brands itself as the capital of whale watching. It is here most visitors come for the boat trips during the season – typically July to November.
It was to be our setting-off point, but unfortunately strong winds and a choppy sea forced the cancellation of the boats. However it is sometimes possible to see the whales from shore as well. We tried, but failed to spot any. But Hermanus and its rocky coastline is an attractive place to wander and browse the shops.
Then it’s time to eat.
Among its restaurants, Spyced matches quality food and wine while Perlemoen – in a great location in the old harbour – made the most of interesting local delicacies such as abalone and springbok. The final destination on our trip was Stellenbosch, north of Cape Town. It is a lively place with a core of attractive colonial era buildings, many converted into bars and restaurants.
Around it are some of the wine estates for which the region is famous. Many are open to the public and offer tours, food and tastings as well as the chance to buy a few bottles for the suitcase home, if luggage limits permit. We tried two on the trip – Wildekrans, nearer Hermanus, and Jordan, just outside Stellenbosch.
The food was good at both, exceptional at Jordan’s, and whatever your prior knowledge about wine, you will leave the tastings like a lifelong connoisseur – and in need of a driver. Take the tasting tour at Jordan’s and you get excellent views back to Table Mountain and Cape Town, where we were heading for our flight home. But not before another attempt to see the whales.
This time we went to Gansbaai, a little further round the bay from Hermanus and set sail with Marine Dynamics.
The company offers what it calls the marine big five experience: whales, common seals, African penguins, bronze whaler sharks and dolphins, which proved to be a bonus. We were lucky enough to have a pod swim right up to the boat, which would have been spectacular enough without the right whale mothers and calves that allowed us to get within a few tens of yards. See the penguins soon, though. The species has been designated critically endangered.
The birds, like much of the Cape’s wildlife, are under threat from climate change and human action. It’s no surprise South Africa has been named best-value long-haul destination by Post Office TravelMoney. You’ll find that accommodation, meals and drinks are all very reasonably priced. A beer is a couple of pounds, £1 for a gin. Wine, wonderful landscapes, sea life and vibrant Cape Town – it all makes for a great holiday.
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