Recently a friend told me she couldn’t think of any outings to do in Cape Town for free and that got me thinking… Turns out there are heaps of free outings and we have been gathering up a few of them. There are obvious places to go and explore, there are less obvious places, in fact the opportunities are endless…
- Constantia Green Belt: If you are driving through the suburb of Constantia you can not help but notice large wooden sign boards up alongside the road. These are the beginning and the end of local walking trails. they are free, they are easy and there is plenty of open space and fresh air. There are online maps of the walks and information online but we just park and walk, there is always plenty of parking and my kids are always ready to walk, run, dash, skip. jump. The walks are really easy and there are heaps of wonderful things to look at: flowers and tadpoles, rivers and streams, bridges and bark.
- The Noon Day Gun: Every day in Cape Town the Noon Day Gun is fired and it is indeed the standard by which you can set your watch. So don’t be late because you will miss it!!! It is not at the top of Signal Hill as you may have imagined… Drive through the pretty streets of the Bo-Kaap and follow the signs to Military Road. A few minutes before the guns going off is a short talk on the history of this tradition and these history of these particular guns. Initially the gun was set off every day so that trade ships in False Bay could set their timepieces. This is one of Cape Towns oldest traditions and these guns have been firing daily for the last two hundred years. The actual event is short, loud and impressive. And the birds eye view of Cape Town is spectacular.
- Bakoven: Cape Town is surrounded by heaps of the beaches. I thought I would show you our favorite beaches on each side of the Peninsula. Bakoven is on the Atlantic side of the Peninsula and is situated near to Camps Bay, which is always packed. This is Camps Bay:
Bakoven is peaceful and quiet and generally quit unpopulated. There are a couple of stairs down to the beach, nothing like the stairs at Clifton, really just a short easy walk. This is Bakoven:
- Fisherman’s Beach: Since we are doing beaches then lets look at the False Bay side of the Peninsula, which is littered with great beaches!!! There is Fish Hoek, right where we live and a little further south is Boulders Beach. Both of these beaches are madly popular but if you head a little further south you will discover Fisherman’s Beach. It is a delightful beach that has a patch of sand for sand-larks and great mostly manageable surf for boogie boarding…
- The Shark Center: Adjascent to the Shark Center in Kalk Bay is Dale Brook beach and it is simply the best spot in the world for rock pooling… Whenever we go there, and pick low tide, we get lost for hours as we look at all the wonders to be found in the rock pools here!!!
- Just Below Kirstenbosch: Below Kirstenbosch there are a couple of stone cottages, where they have a monthly craft market. Below the stone cottages are fields and fields of shady trees and lots of things to see and do.
- Noordhoek Common:This is such a great place to run and play, and it is very near to a great coffee spot if you get desperate!!! But this is a free outing, and there is plenty of place here to play and picnic… not to mention lots of things to look at!!!
And finally the Se7en + 1th spot:
- Rhodes Memorial: This memorial, to Cecil John Rhodes, is on the slopes of Devils Peak. There is a restaurant there for cakes and coffees but there are plenty of spots of green and lovely shady trees scattered around for a for a picnic and a play. There are forty-nine huge steps down the front of the monument. These steps are great for burning energy!!! From the monument you have clear views across the Cape Flats… you can see from False Bay all the way to Table Bay.
There you are Se7en Free Outings in Cape Town. You are welcome to add to the list in the comments. I am going to follow this up with Se7en Budget Outings in Cape Town… Have a fun week!!!
Thanks for these, I will be trying some of them in the holidays, Fishermans Beach looks great, it’s amazing how you can live in CT for 35 years and never have been to these places (or even heard of them!) A couple of others are: a stroll through the vineyards at Groot Constantia, Die Oog in Bergvliet and a gem that we recently discovered – Claremont Park.
I think I might do a series (my first!!) on some wheelchair friendly outings as we have a dad who uses a wheelchair. We always complain about places that aren’t but maybe the pro-active thing to do is to find the ones that are. Look forward to the budget outings!
Hi Debbie… Just back from our week off-line!!! I used to walk home through Claremont Park from school when I was a kid… I had a loong boring walk and a meander through the park was always a help!!! I think a series on Wheelchair friendly outings is a brilliant idea – totally brilliant!!! Wish I had thought of it, on the other hand I figure Cape Town isn’t that wheel chair friendly at all. I had a friend at varsity who was wheel chair bound and he always said to guys that parked in the wheelchair bays after hours: “Yeah, I can walk after hours!!!” We battled to find places to go together where he didn’t have to rely on help with stairs and narrow entry ways… let me know when you blog it and I will be looking out for spots in our travels.
Just what I was looking for. Thank you. We will be travelling from Malaysia this July to the cape and your suggestions have really helped me plan our trip better. Yes, we prefer the untouristed places and would like to go where the locals frequent. Anymore help will be really good. Thanks
Hi Liani, so excited to hear that you will be visiting Cape Town… It is a really great spot. This link has a list of all our outings, in and around Cape Town. Hope you have a wonderful trip – let us know how it goes!!! Happy Planning…