CAPE TOWN, is South Africa’s Los Angeles to Johannesburg’s New York — the glitzy, gorgeous, self-obsessed foil to its grittier, more serious and more powerful big sister. Which is not to say that it lacks a serious side. Cape Town holds its own with Johannesburg as a locus of South Africa’s liberation struggle, and no other African city combines heart-stopping beauty and historical gravitas so effortlessly.
In Cape Town everything plays second fiddle to Table Mountain, the city’s 3,051-foot icon. So join the hordes of videocam-toting tourists who take the rotating cable car to the top. The views of the city, Table Bay and the spectacular landscape beyond the mountain’s south flank are both awe-inspiring and a grand orientation for the first-time visitor. Spend an hour hiking; snap the rock rabbits, or “dassies,” that abound on the cliffs; and check out the giant compass rose in the mountain’s center. Return footsore, but inspired.
Now, time for some fun. Across the cape peninsula and through a string of picturesque towns lies Boulders Coastal Park , the locale of scores of gigantic cantaloupe-round boulders and, more important, hundreds of African penguins. Two feet tall, brimming with head-cocking curiosity and hair-trigger irritability, the penguins are among the most endearing sights on the cape, and being thoroughly socialized, they grudgingly tolerate human presence, though not touch. Boulders Beach has one of only two land-based African penguin colonies; the rest are on islands. Even hardened adults will be completely charmed. Get a late lunch at the Penguin Point Cafe , an indoor-outdoor restaurant where much of the fare — like the tiger prawns with udon noodles in butter sauce or ostrich fillet with Thai coconut curry sauce and spiced tomato jam — reflects an Asian influence. Lunch for two, with appetizer, dessert and a glass of wine, can run 350 rand, but burgers and other less expensive fare are also offered. Then take your camera and a swimsuit to the beach and splash with the birds.
In Cape Town everything plays second fiddle to Table Mountain, the city’s 3,051-foot icon. So join the hordes of videocam-toting tourists who take the rotating cable car to the top. The views of the city, Table Bay and the spectacular landscape beyond the mountain’s south flank are both awe-inspiring and a grand orientation for the first-time visitor. Spend an hour hiking; snap the rock rabbits, or “dassies,” that abound on the cliffs; and check out the giant compass rose in the mountain’s center. Return footsore, but inspired.
Now, time for some fun. Across the cape peninsula and through a string of picturesque towns lies Boulders Coastal Park , the locale of scores of gigantic cantaloupe-round boulders and, more important, hundreds of African penguins. Two feet tall, brimming with head-cocking curiosity and hair-trigger irritability, the penguins are among the most endearing sights on the cape, and being thoroughly socialized, they grudgingly tolerate human presence, though not touch. Boulders Beach has one of only two land-based African penguin colonies; the rest are on islands. Even hardened adults will be completely charmed. Get a late lunch at the Penguin Point Cafe , an indoor-outdoor restaurant where much of the fare — like the tiger prawns with udon noodles in butter sauce or ostrich fillet with Thai coconut curry sauce and spiced tomato jam — reflects an Asian influence. Lunch for two, with appetizer, dessert and a glass of wine, can run 350 rand, but burgers and other less expensive fare are also offered. Then take your camera and a swimsuit to the beach and splash with the birds.
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