I’m eating at the Showroom, Cape Town’s hottest restaurant, gazing through a
glass wall at a row of floodlit Porsches and Lamborghinis. And I’m
dithering. I can’t decide between the springbok shank with cream morogo and
the lamb shoulder with sweetbread salami.
At least money is not an issue. Normally at this kind of place, with glamorous
couples perched on see-through Philippe Starck chairs and a celebrity chef
barking orders from an open kitchen — I would be scanning the menu prices.
Is £15 too much for sea bass? Should I stick to fish cakes?
But this is South Africa in October 2006, and the rand has just taken an
almighty kicking on the international currency markets. At the beginning of
the year, British visitors were getting about 10 rand to the pound. Now
they’re getting 14.
Which means that none of the main courses at Bruce Robertson’s restaurant
costs more than £7. My starter of abalone bolognese with vanilla linguine,
butter scallops and forest oysters was a steal at £5. Even with three
courses, half a bottle of sauvignon blanc and a tip, I managed to spend only
£21.
But Cape Town is not just another cheap winter-sun destination — it’s a city
that fizzes with exuberance and verve. Like a cross between Rio de Janeiro
and San Francisco, it melds cosmopolitan chic with widescreen natural beauty
— soaring mountains, spotless beaches and crashing surf.
Now is the time to go — summer in the Cape runs until the end of March — and
this is the ideal holiday to self-package. Many tour operators printed their
brochures when the rand was riding high, pushing their prices artificially
high. So ditch the brochures and do it yourself. Here’s how to enjoy a
bargain winter break.
WHERE TO STAY
If you want to be beside the seaside, you can’t beat the white sands and buzzy
beach bars of Camps Bay. Stay at Camps Bay Retreat (00 27-21 438 3972,
www.campsbayretreat.com) a1920s stately home with wood-panelled walls and
chandeliers, set in a private nature reserve near the strip. Double rooms
start at £121 (unless stated, all rates are for doubles, B&B, in
high season).Some of the best bargains are to be found in Gardens, a leafy
suburb wedged between the city centre and Table Mountain. Cape Cadogan (21
480 8080, www.capecadogan.com), on Upper Union Street, is a relaxed, stylish
hotel with 12 rooms, a sunny terrace and a small plunge pool, within easy
walking distance of 30 or so restaurants on Kloof Street; from £110, no
under-8s. If you can, get room 8.
Around the corner on Stephen Street, the Welgelegen Guest House (21 426
2373,www.welgelegen.co.za) is a beautiful conversion of two Victorian
houses, with wrought-iron balconies, pressed steel ceilings and cosy
bedrooms; from £103 or £61 for a very small double, under-6s free. A great
cheapie in this area is Dunkley House (21 462 7650, www.dunkleyhouse.com),
which has contemporary interiors, friendly staff and a small, black-tiled
pool; from £54.
The city centre — for many years a no-go zone after dark — is undergoing a
revival. The main artery, Long Street, is home to a string of funky coffee
bars, arty shops and two hip hotels. The best is the Metropole (21 424 7247,
www.metropolehotel.co.za; from £92), which has 26 stylish rooms, a
cherry-red cocktail bar with DJs at the weekend and a ground-floor cafe that
does a mean hake and chips (£3.20).
A few doors up, Daddy Long Legs (21 422 3074, www.daddylonglegs.co.za) is a
quirky little hotel with 13 (rather small) rooms, all individually designed
by local artists. One is lined with black-and-white passport photos, another
has a fake grass floor and karaoke machine. It’s great fun, and a bargain at
£39. Breakfast is not included — go to Lola’s Cafe, at number 228. If you’re
on a tight budget, book a £14 double at Inn Long Street (21 424 1660), which
wins rave reviews from backpackers.
If you’re staying for a few days, many homes around the Victoria &
Alfred Waterfront are available for rent. Atlantic Marina (21 422 4638,
www.atlanticmarina.com) has spectacular one-bedroom apartments with modern
kitchens and large balconies for £128 per night in high season,
self-catering. Low-season prices are negotiable, and can be bartered down to
as little as £50. If you feel more comfortable using a UK-bonded rental
agency, try Fleewinter (020 7112 0019, www.fleewinter.co.uk).
WHERE TO EAT
Sooner or later in Cape Town, you’re going to be struck down by a case of city
envy. It can happen any time — as you drive over Kloof Nek and catch your
first glimpse of Camps Bay, as you gaze down from the top of Table Mountain
or as you sit at a seafront bar watching the sunset. Mostly, it happens at
mealtimes.
With the deep waters of the Atlantic to the west and the warm Indian Ocean not
far away to the east, restaurateurs here have access to some of the world’s
best seafood — prawns, crayfish, lobsters, oysters — and an incredible
variety of fresh fish, including kingklip, snoek, red roman and white
stubnose. The meat is also amazing: succulent beef, lamb and wild game.
At the V&A Waterfront, the stylish Belthazar (00 27-21 421 3753,
www.belthazar.co.za) has bagged several awards for its steaks — all from
grain-fed beef — and claims to be the world’s biggest wine-by-the-glass bar
(you can choose from 198). A juicy rump steak costs £6.50.
Rooms at the five-star Cape Grace hotel start at £315, but its superb fusion
restaurant, One Waterfront (21 418 0520, www.onewaterfront.co.za), is
excellent value. Starters such as seafood and chorizo salad, or plum tomato
tart, cost £3-£6, and my main course of breyani and saffron seafood risotto
with tempura prawn salad was a bargain £6.50. The Showroom (21 421 4682,
www.theshowroomrestaurant.co.za) is at nearby Green Point.
At weekends, locals queue for tables at the Sandbar (21 438 8336,
www.sandbar.co.za), on Camps Bay — try the mussels in red wine and garlic
(£2.20), followed by seared tuna with chips (£5.20). Another popular weekend
getaway is the small seaside town of Kalk Bay, on the Cape Peninsula, where
you can potter around the shops, buy fresh fish on the harbour and have
brunch at the Olympia Cafe and Deli (21 788 6396).
Further down the peninsula, the Black Marlin (21 439 9652,
www.blackmarlin.co.za), at Miller’s Point, has tables overlooking False Bay.
During the season, you can watch whales as you enjoy the catch of the day
with lemon caper butter sauce (£5).
WHAT TO DO
Beneath Cape Town’s glossy veneer beats an African heart. The most obvious
place to find it is in a black township.
Join a £20 half-day tour, run by a respected operator such as Cape Capers (21
448 3117, www.tourcapers.co.za), and a local guide will take you into homes,
shops and, perhaps, a shebeen, where you can drink umqombothi beer
from a communal bucket.
Better still, join a jazz safari run by Andulela Experience (21 790 2592,
www.andulela.com). This four-hour adventure begins at a downtown cafe, with
an informal chat on the history of jazz in Cape Town, then moves on to the
home of a prominent local musician. Our small group squeezed into the front
room of the trilby-hatted guitarist Mac McKenzie, who rattled through a few
standards, cracked jokes, handed out beers, then joined us for a fish supper
cooked by his brother Robert. The evening ended with a jam session at a
music club in Lansdowne, a working-class suburb where few tourists venture.
The all-in price is £32.
Of the more conventional sights, Table Mountain is a must. Most people make
for the cable car (£8.60 return), but you should climb it. The quickest
route is the two-hour hike up Platteklip Gorge. It’s steep, but well marked
(follow signs from the Lower Cable Station), and the views are sensational.
Take a picnic to eat on top, then ride the cable car down.
Hire a car and you can motor down the Cape Peninsula along the shores of False
Bay, where, between June and November, southern right whales cavort yards
from the shore. Stop to coo at the colony of 6,000 African penguins on the
beach at Boulders (entry £1.80), then head down to Cape Point, where you can
escape the hordes of tourists by hiking a trail to the Cape of Good Hope.
Starting to the west of the visitor centre, it’s a spectacular 90-minute
round trip along clifftop paths, with views of pristine beaches, crashing
surf, cormorants and redwinged swallows.
An hour’s drive from Cape Town, across rolling countryside, gets you to
Stellenbosch, in the heart of the winelands. One of the more interesting
places for a tasting is Waterford (21 880 0496, www.waterfordestate.co.za),
a small winery that marries three of its finest wines with different
flavours of chocolate. The cabernet sauvignon (to accompany rock-salt dark
chocolate) is outstanding.
If you want to stock up your hotel minibar, visit the Mountain Breeze farm
stall (21 880 1700), on the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West. It
offloads a huge selection of bin ends at silly prices — I saw Stormhoek
sauvignon blanc down from £5.50 to 85p.
Finally, don’t even think about leaving before you’ve visited Robben Island
(21 409 5100, www.robben-island.org.za), where Nelson Mandela was
incarcerated for 27 years. It’s a powerful reminder of the horrors of
apartheid, with tours conducted by former detainees.
WHAT TO BUY
With the favourable exchange rate, it’s worth taking a serious look at the
shops. The best deals include shoes, clothes and outdoor equipment. Cape
Union Mart (www.capeunionmart.co.za) has branches across the city, including
one at the V&A Waterfront. It has men’s Hi-Tec Multiterra hiking boots
for £36 (£50 in the UK) and women’s New Balance 9070 running shoes for £43
(£63).
You’ll find better deals, however, if you follow locals on the 10-minute drive
to Canal Walk (www.canalwalk.co.za), a vast mall with 400 shops. There,
Musica has CDs of local music for £2.35, Due South has Salomon trail-running
shoes for £44 (£85 in the UK), City Cycles has cycling shorts for £15 (£30)
and Truworths has O’Neill T-shirts for £8.50 (£18). Greenmarket Square, in
the city, offers an entirely different shopping experience: stalls laden
with every conceivable African souvenir.
Some of the quality is indifferent, but dig around and you can find beautiful
jewellery crafted from seashells and miniature wire sculptures made in local
townships. Keep your receipts — on all purchases of £18 or more, you can
claim back 14% Vat. Present the goods and receipts at the customs desk
beside check-in at the airport.
GETTING THERE
Nonstop services from Heathrow to Cape Town and Johannesburg are operated by
British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), South African Airways (0870 747
1111, www.flysaa.com), and Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007,
www.virgin-atlantic.com). Nationwide Airlines (0870 300 0767,
www.flynationwide.co.za) now flies nonstop from Gatwick to Jo’burg, and
Flyglobespan (0870 556 1522, www.flyglobespan.com) flies from Manchester to
Cape Town. Expect fares to start at about £400, rising to £600 at peak
times.
GETTING AROUND
Alamo (0870 400 4562, www.alamo.co.uk) has a week’s inclusive car hire from
£111. Or try Hertz (0870 844 8844, www.hertz.co.uk) or Holiday Autos (0870
400 4461, www.holidayautos.co.uk).
Mark Hodson was a guest of South Africa Tourism (0870 155 0044, www.southafrica.net).
All prices have been converted at 14 rand to the pound. At the time of going
to press, the rate had slipped a little to 13.16
