Cape Town

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Kalk Bay Harbour

Compared to big city harbours the fishing harbour at Kalk Bay really has something special to it and when visiting you won't get stopped by security at the gate, except if the parking lot is full.  Kalk Bay Harbour is primarily a fishing harbour so that is what you will see.  Fishing boats leaving pre-dawn and returning in the afternoons with their catch, fishing boats off loading and fishing boats moored at quayside.  The majority of the boats in the harbour are painted…

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08/05/2012
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South African Navy Museum

Taking a walk around Simon's Town after our train ride from Kalk Bay during our summer holiday in December we "stumbled" upon the South African Navy Museum .  The museum is housed in and around the original Dockyard Magazine / Storehouse which dates back to 1743.  After 1810 when the Royal Navy moved its headquarters from Cape Town to Simon’s Town the building was extended to become the three-storey building it is today.  Just after coming through the entrance there is a number…

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30/04/2012
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Just Nuisance

Just Nuisance, along with Jock of the Bushveld, are probably the two most famous dogs in South Africa.  Nuisance, a Great Dane, was born in 1937 and as his owner worked at the naval base he started hanging out with the sailors.  Nuisance roamed around freely and began to take day trips by train with the sailors, going as far afield as Cape Town.  Although the seamen tried hiding him the conductors would find him and put him off the trains.  The railway company eventually warned that Nuisance would…

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27/04/2012
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Kalk Bay to Simon’s Town train ride

My Kidz have never been on a train in their lives and the ideal opportunity for that first train ride presented itself while on holiday in Cape Town.  Cape Town has a very good rail commuter service and we decided to catch the train (along with quite a few other tourists) from Kalk Bay to Simon's Town.  The tickets cost next to nothing, probably less than the petrol if we had taken the car.  Waiting for the train at Kalk Bay…

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26/04/2012
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Chapmans Peak Caravan Farm

We really enjoy camping and usually try to camp at two different places for our summer camping holiday.  Last year (2011) we planned to start out in Montagu and then head down to Cape Town for the second part.  It was a bit of a struggle to find a family friendly, sheltered and nicely situated caravan park, but finally decided on Chapmans Peak Caravan Farm in Noordhoek and we weren't disappointed.  Not just was it a fantastic caravan park but also very…

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23/04/2012
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Chapman’s Peak Drive

Chapman's Peak Drive as seen from Noordhoek Beach.Spending 9 days in the Cape during the Summer holidays I had the  opportunity to drive along Champan's Peak Drive on two occasions and just realised again why it is seen as one of the most scenic coastal drives in the world.  Chapman's Peak Drive winds its was along the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula between Noordhoek (where we stayed) and Hout Bay.  The drive is 9km long with 114 curves and…

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17/04/2012
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Cape Point Vineyards

Visitors to the Cape would normally associate wine with the Stellenbosch and Franchhoek areas, so big was my surprise to discover the Cape Point Vineyard on the Cape Peninsula just outside Noordhoek.  Although some reports show that vines were planted in the Noordhoek area as early as 1752, the Cape Point Vineyard's first vines were only planted in 1998.  The vineyard is situated on a narrow strip of land between the cold Atlantic and the mountain with the warm summers and cool…

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12/04/2012