South Africa
A spectacular new museum celebrating African art adds to Cape Town’s many attractions, not least the excellent food, climate and exchange rate, finds Wendy Gomersall
Whycapetownisthe perfect winter destination
Cape Town has always been a favourite winter sun destination for Brits. What’s not to like about guaranteed warm weather, a ‘friendly’ time zone just two hours ahead of the UK, and a massively favourable current exchange rate of more than 18 rand to the pound?
If you’re lucky enough to be spending Christmas in Cape Town, swapping snow for sunshine and sand, you won’t need any convincing, but if this destination is new to you, it’s worth hearing about the latest innovations in tourism.
The opening of a stunning new modern art museum in what were once grain silos is set to lure even more culture vultures to spend time here, whether it’s for a few days enroute to another African country or a whole holiday in the one city.
The new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) on the V&A Waterfront is the first major museum in Africa dedicated to contemporary art. Hailed as South Africa’s answer to the Tate Modern, it’s vast and hugely impressive, though, I’ll be honest, I found the exhibits a bit love them or hate them.
There’s a giant dragon worthy of Game of Thrones hovering over the atrium, cowhide mannequins, mystical mask photographs, and my personal favourite, a zebra painted amidst multi-coloured balloons. It’s all certainly thought-provoking.
Development of the museum, which covers nine of the 57m-high building’s 11 floors and encompasses 100 galleries, represents a colossal architectural and engineering project. This has been spearheaded by the V&A Waterfront, whose chief executive, David Green, hails from Edinburgh.
“We recognised the importance art plays in society and the need to showcase the talents of Africa in Africa,” he says. “It is for these reasons we are so proud to be able to unveil a home that will be not only a powerful platform for the artists but allow locals and international visitors access to great works of art, that will become the legacy of society as a whole.”
Entrance to the museum is a very reasonable 180 rand/approximately £10 per person (www.zeitzmocaa. museum).
Occupying the top two floors of the silo is the brand-new, achingly stylish Silo Hotel, set to join Cape Town’s line-up of iconic palaces to style. Rooms start at 12,000 rand/ approximately £665 for a double room – no, it isn’t cheap – but that does include breakfast and admission to the Zeitz MOCAA museum (www. theroyalportfolio.com).
Even if you don’t stay there, have dinner in the rooftop Granary café, which serves excellent food. The Sunday roast is already a firm
favourite among Capetonians, with a choice of roast pork, beef or chicken.
If you’re visiting for Christmas you’ll love the festive atmosphere of Adderley Street, Cape Town’s version of Edinburgh’s Princes Street which is illuminated by hundreds of festive lights depicting some of the city’s history as well as Christmas themes from the first weekend of December.
There are stalls lining the street selling everything from food to gifts so don’t be fooled by the warm temperatures, your Christmas will contain all the traditional elements of home.
You might even catch a choir at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. It’s a must see for any visitor, not least because it boasts more than 7,000 plant species, including many that are rare or threatened, but over the festive period families picnic while being serenaded by fabulous voices.
Where might you rest your head? If you’re celebrating a wedding or a big anniversary, splash out on an iconic luxury hotel. The elegant Cape Grace down on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront opposite the Silo, is gorgeous. Rooms rates from 7,945 rand/approximately £440 including breakfast (www.capegrace.com).
The hotel’s Signal Restaurant offers fantastic seafood specialties such as the curry risotto with spiced kingklip and grilled prawns, hearty options including succulent ostrich steak or confit of lamb shoulder, and vegetarian options such as creamy mushroom tortellini.
The magnificent Mount Nelson is nicknamed the Pink Palace after its colour and is simply gorgeous. Even if you don’t stay there, go for the fantastic Afternoon Tea, it’s fabulous – multiple tiers of sandwiches, savouries, cakes, scones and all the trimmings and a South African favourite, melt-inthe-mouth milk tart, or melktert. It’s incredible value for money at just 325 rand/approximately £18pp (www. mountnelson.com). Go when you are hungry is my advice, perhaps after negotiating those 100 art galleries.
You don’t have to splash out for five-star though, particularly if you are planning an extended winter stay. A cheaper option could be the delightful little Welgelegen Guest House in the residential Gardens area of Cape Town, a 30-minute drive from the airport and a couple of minutes’ walk from Kloof Street and its wide range of restaurants.
By the way, don’t miss dinner at Kloof Street House, a quirky restaurant in a magnificent Victorian house in gardens glowing with fairy lights. The bouillabaisse with line fish, salmon, prawns, calamari, mussels, clams, garlic toast and aioli and the salted caramel cheesecake with popcorn ice cream are out of this world. Use the opportunity to sample some of South Africa’s amazing wines, too.
What else should you do while in Cape Town? Most visitors take the tour of Robben Island where South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and former president Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held during the apartheid era. Assorted buildings chart the island’s 500-year history, then a former political prisoner lectures you about its days as a prison. The tours ends with a look at Mandela’s cell.
A trip up Table Mountain is obligatory, too, by five-minute ride on the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway. The views – weather permitting – are stunning. There are free guided walking tours and an audio tour, a shop of course and a restaurant if you need a snack and drink. There’s even wi-fi (www.tablemountain.net).
You have to go out whale watching from Gansbaai – book with Dyer Island Cruises, which claims to offer quite possibly the only place in the world where you can see a mighty whale and a great white shark on the same boat trip. We didn’t sadly, but we certainly did see whales – half a dozen or so – and Cape fur seals. Peak season is June to December (www. whalewatchsa.com).
Cape Town’s list of other mustdo experiences include a trip to the Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach, Simon’s Town – African penguins, adorable and very endangered, used to be known as jackass penguins because of the braying sounds they make. They’re a tad smelly, truth be told.
And you should head back to the shops on the V&A Waterfront to find some African art to take home – it may not be a zebra with balloons but I’m very fond of my lion’s head made from wire and thousands of beads.
Aardvark Safaris (01980 849160, www.aardvarksafaris.co.uk) tailor-makes holidays to South Africa; British Airways (0844 493 0767, ba.com) has return flights from Edinburgh to Cape Town via Heathrow from £1,007; from Glasgow from £945. For more on South Africa, visit www.southafrica.net