Another Museum Night at the V&A Waterfront…

Cape Town and particularly the V&A Waterfront is full of good surprises and one of them is museum night. We went to the first one, and it was fantastic, even in cold wintry weather citizens of Cape Town poured out into the Waterfront to visit their museums for free and a lot of Cape Town’s most pricey landmarks for half price. We were absolutely hooked on the idea of Museum Night right from the start… On the night the Waterfront, has a fabulous vibe, it is full of interested and curious locals that wouldn’t typically visit. Free museums is an excellent draw card, making features of Cape Town available to locals that are normally priced for tourists only is a fantastic initiative. When we discovered that there was another Museum night looming it went straight onto the calendar, this post is full of our highlights…

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Museums Open For Events and Performances

  1. Cape Medical Museum
  2. Two Oceans Aquarium 1/2 Price
  3. Watershed
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  5. Nobel Square
  6. Alfred Mall
  7. Iziko Maritime Centre
  8. Springbok Experience Rugby Museum
  9. CIRCA Gallery
  10. Amphithetre
  11. Robben Island Jetty 1
  12. Nelson Mandela Gateway
  13. Art@Clocktower
  14. Arup Open Office
  15. Zeitz MOCAA

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The Cape Medical Museum


Is situated slightly outside of the main Waterfront area, but we took a wander out to see it, it is one of the Iziko Museums that we have been meaning to visit and just never seem to get to.
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This is a museum full of historical curiosities… there is a doctor’s room to look at, as well as a dentist room, an operating theatre and a hospital ward. There is a room packed with all sorts of information on diseases that have plagued the Cape.
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This feels very much like an olden time museum, filled with artefacts from medical procedures that have thank goodness been somewhat modernised.
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If you have a family member intrigued by history and medicine then this is the one stop place to visit for them.
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We have a few squeamish members on our team… some folk loved it and some were kind of glad for the gasp of fresh air as we stepped outside.
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To be fair, we could have spent a lot longer there than we did, possibly because there is a lot to look at, but not a lot to touch…
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There was however a very friendly storyteller on the upper level, who provided anecdotes and could speak about literally everything on display and kept everyone fairly intrigued!!!

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The Springbok Experience Rugby Museum


Can I just say, and I somewhat hang my head in shame, but my kids know very little about rugby… we aren’t a rugby family… but We are definilty a Rugby Museum family. My kids absolutely loved it, there is tons to do, and see, and interact with.

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While my kids don’t know the rules and have never actually been to a match… they quickly got the hang of it and loved all the fitness tests on the ground floor, where they have a collection of virtual games… kicking, passing, fitness and their favourite: reaction times.
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Up stairs there is a timeline of rugby history… from the earliest days to the present time.

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Not all of us are quite ready to fill the hands of a Springbok Rugby Captain.

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The displays are fully interactive… lots to touch and explore. And quiz questions and puzzles to figure things out along the way.

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We spent a lot of time exploring here and it was quite a relief to sit down and watch a quick movie at the end of it all… that covered everything from development rugby to Springbok rugby… Not to mention, in case you haven’t heard this before. For sports mad South Africans this is a must visit museum, and for visitors who want to gain some insight into South African Culture… then this museum would be an excellent place to visit.

Otherwise… Budget Friendly Tip…


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Here’s my tip for budget travellers, when you visit an area of any city, especially an area that is very obviously geared towards tourists, have a look around for where the folk that work in that neighbourhood get their lunch before you spend money on an expensive restaurant or take-outs. There is nothing wrong with that, if you are planning to eat out, but we always look for the local supermarket and buy a picnic there. There are plenty of tables outside for folk to settle down and enjoy their supper.
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A visit to the sweetie store turns an exciting evening into an exciting event for our kids… well worth it!!!
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The Clipper Race

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We are huge fans of the Clipper Race and we stopped by to check them out before it got too dark. Of course that wasn’t nearly enough time well spent so we had to go back for that again… and that’s a whole ‘nother post.

Meanwhile…

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There are few things more exciting than wandering about at night, while it is as busy as mid-day. There is lots to look at and tons to see.

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Zeitz MOCAA

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We did hope to see the Museum of Contemporary African Art, we are all dying to visit there… but when we saw that the queue was ninety minutes long and it was already fairly late in the evening… we headed for our favourite place…

The Two Oceans Aquarium

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To wander around and enjoy all the sea life…

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Because everyone needs some underwater neon…
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Look out for the next museum night… they are great fun and a fantastic way for families to have a mid week adventure…

Museum Night at the Waterfront

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