Cape Town, the Mother City on the Cape of Good Hope and the southern gateway to South Africa, is a unique and fascinating city. The city is located in the Western Cape province and is hugged by the iconic Table Mountain and its surrounding craggy peaks, all the while overlooking the expanse of Table Bay.
The city of Cape Town came to the attention of the world when it hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup and is also more infamously known as the location where the late former South African president Nelson Mandela spent his years of incarceration.
As reported by the South African Tourism Board, the view of Table Mountain from the sea is always an amazing sight, and the area now occupied by the city has a varied history. It was first mentioned by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias back in 1486. Another Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama, also recorded a sighting of what is known as the Cape of Good Hope in 1497.
Today, Cape Town is a modern and cosmopolitan city with plenty to offer the tourist. Obvious sites to visit are the infamous Robben Island, prison home to Nelson Mandela from 1964 to 1982.
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (or V&A Waterfront as it is popularly known) is a fairly recent addition to the existing shipping and fishing harbor of Cape Town. World-class shopping is available along with many restaurants offering all types of cuisine, along with sailing, fishing, and other boat trips out into Table Bay.
It is, however, best to avoid a trip up the mountain when the famous “table cloth” of cloud shrouds the summit, as you won’t get to enjoy the view from the top.
The residential area dates back to the time when slaves were brought in from Maritime Southeast Asia.
And then there are the endless beaches, with the coastline on both sides of Table Mountain offering endless sandy vistas, rock pools to explore, and great sunsets over the Atlantic Sea.
Heading one way along the West Coast, a visitor can experience Bloubergstrand and Milnerton, both offering the popular postcard view of Table Mountain and the best in surfing conditions.
False Bay offers a long sandy beach running from Gordon’s Bay through to Muizenberg, with its quaint and colorful beach huts lining the beach.
Further afield, there is always the adventure of shark cage diving with the great white sharks in Gansbaai, or a tamer and enjoyable visit can be made to the penguins at Boulder’s Beach in historic Simon’s Town.
To experience the beauty of Cape Town and its surroundings, enjoy a time-lapse view of Cape Town, put together by photographer Brendon Wainwright below, along with a brief video tour of the top 10 things to do in Cape Town where the Vaga Brothers can be heard to use various South Africanisms, like “It’s lekker, my China.”
[Image cropped and resized via Flickr by mattharvey1 / CC BY-ND 2.0]