You can't miss Table Mountain. Towering 3,500 feet over the city of Cape Town (that's the height of Snowdown in Wales if you're looking for a comparison) and boasting a two mile wide level plateau at its top, it forms a dramatic backdrop to both Cape Town and Table Bay.
You can get to the top of Table Mountain the hard way or the easy way. You can walk to the top or take the cable car.
An organised hike along the most popular route through Platteklip Gorge with a qualified guide will take around three hours and costs £30 (2009 price and can be booked online before travelling). The return trip to Cape Town is via the cable car which certainly saved your knees!
The Cableway takes you to the summit of Table Mountain in under ten minutes and the cable car's rotating floor ensure that all passengers get a 360 degree aerial view of the city. It departs every 10-15 minutes from 8am in the morning until various times between 6.30pm and 10pm depending on the season. It's worth pointing out that the Cableway will be closed from the 20th of July to the 16th of August 2009 for annual maintenance and will reopen for business on the 17th of August 2009 if weather permits.
For adrenaline junkies, Table Mountain’s Long Drop is the world’s highest commercial abseil and the 112m controlled descent is truly a once in a lifetime experience. No climbing experience is necessary, although you do have to be at least 12 years old.
The Discover Cape Town coach tour begins with the cable car journey to the top of Table Mountain (the cable car fare is not included), and then returns you to sea level so that you can enjoy a walk through Company Gardens and view the Houses of Parliament before continuing to Greenmarket Square flea market. You will also get time to explore the Cape Malay Quarter and the Castle of Good Hope before a brief stop at a diamond workshop to learn about one of South Africa’s most precious exports. The tour concludes at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and is a great way to get a feel for Cape Town before exploring the city and its surroundings further.
Talking of the Victoria And Albert Waterfront, this is where you catch the ferry to Robben Island, a one time prison and home to Nelson Mandela for 27 years. Conservation efforts and limited facilities mean that only 1,800 people can visit the island every day and you will almost certainly need to book ferry tickets in advance, especially during peak season.
To put the history of the island as a prison for political prisoners, consider doing the Walk To Freedom Tour that includes visits to Bo Kaap, the District Six Museum and the township of Langa in the Cape Flats as well as a visit to Robben Island.
If you'd rather be in the water rather than aboard a ferry on top of it are you game enough to go on a Great White Shark Cage Dive? The cage takes two to three people at a time and you will spend around 20 minutes in the water surrounded by the world's number one predator. You do not need any experience to enjoy a cage dive and all equipment is provided. You can even choose to watch from the boat if the nerves get to you at the last minute! Best of all you will be in the very safe hands of shark conservationists with 15 years' experience of eco-tourism around Dyer Island which is incidentally also home to a colony of 50,000 Cape Fur Seals.
Back on dry land, more animal magic is in store for visitors to the Aquila Private Game Reserve, home to lions, hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, springbok and more. A two to three hour game drive in a 4x4 vehicle with an experienced Ranger will provide many a photo opportunity.
And what better way to finish a busy day than with a glass of South African wine in hand? In fact what better way to spend a whole day than with a glass of South African wine in hand! Cape Town is surrounded by vineyards and the Cape Winelands Tour will give you plenty of opportunities to see how the wine is produced and to drink a glass or three. Afterall, it would be rude not to.
