Heaven on earth? almost...

Our last destination on this trip was Stellenbosch. There is a huge (the biggest I have ever seen) university. On the campus you find a shoppingmall including cinema, banks, hairdressers, travelagengy and a real estate agent. The students don't have to leave the campus to live... Crazy stuff. Yes we went to Stellenbosch because of this university. We met a very good friend of mine who waas in erasmus there. He showed us around the city. and suddenly we realised that there is more than this campus;-) 

Campus

Zevenwacht

Stellebnosch is a quit old city a 50 minutes drive from Capetown. There is a pretty old town, there are lots of studenthomes, shoppingcentres and the most important thing - the vineyards around the city. Remember we have been to South Africa in wintertime. So we had one rainy day but the other days the sun was shining and it was really hot. 

One day we went hiking again. This time on Stellenbosch Mountain. It was not very high but as we didn't find the right path we had to climb up. Not very good for me as I'm afraid of heights. But I did it! From the top we enjoyed the magnificent view over the valley of Stellenbosch. Be aware of snakes and other animals... For the way back home we took the official path. 

I you have time in Stellenbosch go to one of these nice vineyards. Don't go to these big vine estates next to the mainroad entering the city. Their wine is not good. Yes, there is bad southafrican vine! We found it sadly.

Go to one of the estates outside the town. I suggest Zevenwacht it's a very pretty one. http://zevenwacht.co.za/
Stellenbbosch has a lot of very delicious restaurants. They are not cheap but worth every single Rand. I want to mention one place for brakefast. Oude bakery is the name. Just try it out.

Is it safe?

South Africas roads are pretty good. All the mainroads are quite new and concret. Remeber driving on the left and the distances are different than in Europe. You can drive from Durban to Knysna in one day but it's a very very long drive. Even the roads are good the safety on the road is not the best. There are some dangerous drivers especially during night. Some cars are in a very bad condition. The lights are not working or the breaks.... Another huge problem are people walking along the road. Most of these people are black and wearing black clothes wich is so dam dangerous during the night. You can't see them!!! So please drive carefully. 

In Capetown they even have a bussystem and a little infrastucture for cycling. Capetown is a very western city. I sometimes had the feeling beeing in south europe (clima) and in England (architecture of some old buildings). In the city centre the majority of the people you see are white and there are lots of tourists everywhere. 

Security is an important question that comes up when I talk about this country. As far as I can tell it's very safe during the day. I never got in trouble during day and night. But I heard different stories. My advice is never walk alone during night and follow the mainroads. Please don't act like one of these stupid tourists leaving your belongings unattendent....

Devils Peak (Woodstock)

Table Mountain

Dear hiking fans did you know that Capetown even has his own hiling paradise? Firstly there is the Table Mountain Secondly there is the Cape were you can hike through the finbos and last but not least there is Stellenbosch with it's vineyards.

Table Mountain

Don't take the cableway to the top of Table Mountain. There are several hiking routes to the top. And I can tell you it's really worth to walk up there. The magnificent view on the Table Bay other hikers and the lush vegetation will help you to climb up this huge steps. Just drive up to the cableway station were the paths start. You will walk through a canyon before you arrive on the top. If you are still full of energy why don't you turn to your left. The Table Mountain to me is actually like to mountains. There is the smaller part on where the station and all the touristic things are and the bigger part with it's lovely paths. 

 We started early in the morning. It took us half a day to walk up, exploring the top and going back to the backpacker. For us it wasn't to strenous.

There are other routes that take much longer we were told.
The most beautiful route must take you from Table Mountain to the Cape Point. It takes you 5 days.

Need some relaxation after hiking? No worries. Just go to Kirstesnbosch. It's the botanical garden in Capetown. It lies on the foot of Table Mountain. The land was donated by Cecil Rhodes, the mining magnate and Prime Minister of the Cape, after his death in 1902 the State. Rhodes bought this area in 1895 to protect it from being settled. In summer there are free concerts of great national and international bands. You just pay the entrance to the gardens and have fun. Usually the concerts are sunday round noon. So don't forget to take some snacks and beverages with you.

First day in Capetown

Capetown is a very diverse city. There are so many things to see and do. You could stay there for weeks and you wouldn't see all of it. I want to give you some ideas to fill your days.

On your first day I recomend you to explore the city by foot. I always do that on the day I arrive in a new city. Or you take the Baz Bus day tour. There you get a lot of information about Capetown. 

On your second I suggest to visit robben island which is about half an hours boat drive on the coast of Capetown. You should book your trip in advance especially in high season. Take a tour on the prison island and talk to a former prisoner. 

After you got back to the old harbour you can visit the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&A Waterfront). It's very touristic but a must see in Capetown. There are some good restaurants and a shopping mall.
There are some nice markets in Capetown. Green Market is in the city centre close to Long Street, It's the place to buy local arts and crafts and anything else. There is another market in Woodstock. I'm sorry I forgot the adress. Just ask locals they will know. This market only takes place on Saturday as far as I know. It's a food market were you can buy mostly organic food. It's not too big but very crowded. Around this market there are some shops and galleries. If you walk along the mainroad heading the city centre you will see lots of galleries and craftsmen with it's shops. It's a trendy district with a lot of young entreprises.
 It's a cultural melting pot. I guess it's the birthplace of so many ideas and plans.

If there is still time I mean if the sun is still shining go to the next store and buy a bottle of South African Wine. Then drive up to signal hill. It's the most popular spot to watch the sunset. Beware of darkness. Don't stay up to long.

Capetown - The Mother City

I'm very bad. I know. I has been almost a year since my trip to South Africa. Luckily it was my third time travelling through this beautiful country so the journey is still in my mind. 

We headed to the capetonian region because we wanted to have enough time to see all of it. Which we really did. Baz Bus offers you some very nice day tours from  Capetown to the Cape Peninsula and back. Including bike ride, information about history, culture and living in this region, a walk to the penguins and of course a hike to the Cape. I really recomend this tour to you it's a reasonable price and the buses and the guides are just perfect.

We stayed in Capetown Backpacker which is very good located in the hearth of the city 500m from Long Street and all it's Bars and Clubs. The Backpacker is quite big and therefore it can be loud of all the parties... But it was amoung the cheepest places why we picked it.

Just around the corner (Kloof Street) there are some restaurants and bars. We ate at Arnolds, they serve delicious meet. http://www.arnolds.co.za/ On the same road there is this mozambician restaurant, which is really good and there is the Cafe Paraiso, where they have a belgian-french kitchen. If you are looking for a very unique restaurant in Capetown you should go to Panama Jack's. Freshly made fish and Lobster or what ever they caught this day is served in a fishing hut style building next to the docks. It's very hard to find and even not every taxi driver knows the place. So good luck!!!! I wouldn't drive there with my own care not knowing the way. panamajacks.net