We researched quite carefully the "safe" areas in Cape Town and found ourselves a nice 1 bedroomed apartment which boasted a view of Table Mountain - probably have to crane our necks a bit. We booked the apartment through Booking.com and were delighted to see they were also offering a free one way airport transfer which would suit us perfectly as we weren't going to pick up our hire car until Day 3.
Thanks to Nils advice to leg it as fast as we could to immigration we were through with no waiting and the luggage arrived promptly too. I'd upgraded my iphone recently so that we could use e-sim and have Satnav and as soon as I connected I got a message from our taxi man asking where we were. He was astonished to hear we'd already come out and gave us instructions where to meet him. He was a really nice guy and told us lots about driving on SA roads (traffic lights are called robots, at a roundabout you give way to the car that arrived first and all sorts of stuff.
He knew exactly where our apartment building 411 Docklands was and got us there in just under 30 mins. We'd booked it from the previous day so that we could have access as soon as we arrived and the security personnel on the desk duly rang for someone to come and show us the apartment. It's absolutely fine for a few days, rather compact but it does have a narrow balcony and this view - WOW!
Ian hadn't managed much sleep on the plane and so decided on a lie down for a few hours. When we awoke we then headed out to try and find a nearby grocery store that Nils had recommended but the food (and the prices) weren't quite what we wanted so we decided to venture further afield and try to find the Woolworth food store which was on the way to the V&A Waterfront area. A church we passed en route.
We found Woolworths with ease and there was plenty we wanted to buy, but decided to walk on to the harbour area for a quick look around and then pick up the groceries on the way back.
I was a little nervous of using my camera but the area we were walking in was supposedly patrolled by security guards so I took a chance.
When we finally got to the waterfront area, the vibe was amazing; absolutely buzzing with people of all shapes, sizes, ages and colours enjoying the glorious early summer afternoon either eating, drinking, shopping or just hanging out.
Table Mountain makes a great backdrop.
There were quite a few street artists busking.
It seems we are often arriving in places either just before or just after a member of the Royal Family or politician and Cape Town was no exception - Prince William was here only a couple of weeks ago to announce the 2024 Earthshot Prize winner.
These amazing metal sculptures were for sale but I didn't ask the prices just in case I got tempted.
This is a swing bridge, which opens and shuts frequently to let larger vessels through.
Across the swing bridge is the Clock Tower which was built in 1882 as the original Port Captain's Office and the pointed Gothic windows were imported from Edinburgh.
The red walls are the same colour as they were originally having been carefully matched to scrapings of the original paint.
Next to the ferry terminal across the swing bridge and next to the Clock Tower is the ferry to Robben Island so we dropped in and made some enquiries for our trip on Monday.
Everywhere is a long way from here.
This building now houses the amazing metal animal sculptures shop but was once the "Old" (not the "Original") Port Captain's Office.
There are lots of quirky pieces of artwork all around - I think this is an example of Shona stonework.
I have no idea what was in this guy's pot but he looked very pleased with himself.
The bottle strapped to its back represents how man has left the burden of pollution on the backs of nature.
Time now for a sit down and a bite to eat. We'd walked passed a Paul Restaurant earlier and having enjoyed their food in Johannesburg 2022 we decided to eat there. I like the way the menu is designed as a newspaper pull out.
