Cape Town

Mum and I parted at Dubai Airport. She flew back to Melbourne and I back to London. It was an overnight flight and I landed at Heathrow at 7:00am. I got through customs at about 7:30 and the race to get to the office for my 9am sales meeting began. I made it to my meeting only about 5 min late and managed to keep it together that day at work despite having just arrived from another continent.

But business called, and I needed to fly out to South Africa the very next day!  And as luck would have it, that Monday night, my only night back in England before heading to the Southern Hemisphere, happened to have a rare work Monday night drinks. I can't say no to drinks, so I went along and had a couple of red-bull-and-vodkas. Just as I was starting to feel the groove, I thought I better head home, unpack from Dubai and pack for Cape Town.

The next day I was in the air all day, and arrived in Sunny Cape Town on Wednesday night.  I had a chance to look around before going to some business meetings over the next two days.  Most of my sightseeing was spent around the harbour area, enjoying the colonial maratime scenery.  Cape Town is really a beatiful city. Central Cape Town is currounded by mountainous cliffs on one side and the sea on the other.  But when you get out past the mountains and into the suburbs it is a different story. There are vast areas covered by little shacks that look like they are going to fall apart. These crowded "townships" show the massive difference between the rich and the poor.

Even in the rich areas of the city, such as beautiful Camps Bay, things are cheap. I would pay about GB £1.50 for a beer in a bar or £3 for cocktails.

Overall Cape Town reminded me of Australia. Compared to Europe it had that relaxed, beachside, sunny feel. It was the middle of winter but the weather was still sunny and mild. To some extent, cape town had the cafe culture of Melbourne, with lots of trendy places to have a coffee or something stronger.

The highlight of any Cape Town visit would have to be Table Mountain. This plateau is visible from many parts of the city and provides some stunning vistas.  I made it up to the bottom of the cable car station but unfortunately it was too windy and cloudy for the cable car to run that day so I didn't make it to the peak.

I would definitely recommend South Africa as a cheap and interesting holiday. It is far away, so had I not needed to go for work, I wouldn't have gone so far just for a few days. But it would be a great trip combined perhaps with some of the surrounding countries in Southern Africa. One day, I hope to return.