Se7en Places to Visit in Cape Town This Summer…

The father person has had some time off work and we happen to live in Cape Town, one of those parts of the world that folk from all over like to visit at this time of year. Not just because it is summertime here, and that it is holiday season… but did I mention a very vibey place filled with lots to do and see. And then of course we live in a beach town… and that just adds to the tourist chaos!!! We love the busy-ness of the season, but we do try and find outings that are a mix of “off the beaten track” and “right in the hype.”

#1. The Beach

The three weeks over each side of Christmas and New Year can be fairly jam packed and actually the best place to be is anywhere else rather than the beach. So while it is beach season for all the folks that aren’t lucky enough to be locals… The beach is packed with folks playing the best beach games ever and making the best beach creations ever… but for locals the best time to go down to the beach is either very early in the morning (not us) or after supper… I have no idea what time the ice-cream shop closes, but long after bedtime it is still open and one of our summer highlights is to go down to the beach in the dark for ice-cream and to watch some beach cricket and go for an amble.

#2. The Kitchen

Otherwise, the Kitchen, I have been dying to go their forever… this place is busy and happening all the time and in fact they close over the holiday break, but we were lucky and just made on their last day of work for the year. It was absolutely everything I expected, after reading and rereading the book… but even more flavourful. The food was incredible… this spot is definitely on my list of Cape Town’s top spots. The food is fab, friendly and fast…

Salads and sandwiches to die for…

Just one bit of advice – take a friend or five, then you can order multiple plates and swap tastes… trust me everything is really fabulous.

For all the business, there is a very chilled and relaxed vibe… You have to love the shelves of cookbooks…

There’s a book in there that I am just dying to read!!!

Take a peak at the menu and…

Add The Kitchen to your list of eateries that you just have to visit!!!

#3. The Wetlands

It is our tradition to go for an amble on New Year’s Eve every year, but because it is a crazy beach time of year, we usually look somewhere a little quieter. When most folk are dashing for the beach we head over the road into the quieter wetlands at the Clovelly end of our beach. It is a great little wander through the last stages of the Silvermine River before it heads out into the sea. There are lots of interesting things to look at as you wander along the walkways…

There are lots of places to run…

And explore…

And watch out for birds…

It’s not all river…

There’s a whole variety of things to see…

And it is just a good place for a wander…

I try and take a family photograph… try being the operative word!!!

#4. The Creamery:

I have blogged about the best ice-cream in town before… more than once!!! I can’t help myself… and last year they opened their first cafe in town. I have been dying to go their ever since. The ice-cream is fresh, tasty and made from locally grown ingredients… this ice-cream is really really fine!!!

The hardest part about visiting the cafe, is the decisions you will have to make.

But you can always order a fine coffee while you are trying to decide!!!

#5. Noordhoek Food Barn Deli:

Sometimes you need to visit familiar grounds and this is one of ours. It is my favourite place to go for breakfast, to take the kids for a treat and I actually sneak off their on my own from time to time… they know me, they know my order (!) and their service always comes with a huge smile – even when a family of ten arrive mid-Saturday morning for breakfast. I don’t know how but they always manage to squeeze us in!!!

I love browsing around the store…

And the surrounding stores…

The food is fabulous…

And last week when we realised that some of our kids had never had a milkshake before (yes these important milestones like milkshakes and movies, can be completely overlooked when you are from a slightly larger than normal family)… we knew the time had come…

#6. Noordhoek Common

And over the way from the Foodbarn is the Noordhoek Common, which is another favourite spot to hang out with friends and eat watermelon… not to mention a great place to go for a wander…

And, it’s always good for a swing…

And some horse watching…

And tree climbing…

#7. The Two Oceans Aquarium

We have blogged about The Two Oceans Aquarium so often, it is one of our favourite outings on earth… but until recently not all of our kids had actually been there. It is a fairly pricy outing, so you do need to plot and plan your outing carefully and make full use of the venue… there is so much to see and do there that you can literally spend hours there and never get tired of it!!!

Turns out immediate family of volunteers get entry into the aquarium… and we do kind of know the young fellow behind the microscope…

Have you ever seen baleen under a microscope?

And showing folk the baby sharks and rays in the “don’t touch” touch pool…

Honestly there is so much to look at,

we looked and looked and looked…

We stopped for ages at the touch pool… everything to love…

After looking carefully into tanks… we needed a break and we went for a play and some craftiness and a puppet show in the kids section… my younger kids absolutely loved that…

They were revived and ready to carry on with the tour…

The aquarium is definitely one of those places where children are expected to have fun and lots of it!!!

And for our penguin lover…

We stopped to look and learn…

And then we needed a break…

So we stopped to draw the kelp tank…

Here is a our top tip: Never go to the aquarium without a pile of sketchbooks…

The number of folks that asked us where they could get paper to draw on…

Just slowly filling up our nature notebooks…

And on the move again…

We were busy exploring and looking around when feeding time was announced…

Only then did we realise just how busy the aquarium was… on a public holiday days before Christmas…

It was busy but only when everyone came together did we realise how busy. Honestly we had the best time, an easy outing that we literally spent hours on… making sure we left no stone unturned or rather no tank unpeered into!!! It was a very relaxed atmosphere, with friendly staff when you needed them, but mostly we were left to our own devices to wander around and explore… and just to be totally amazed at all the wonderful creatures that you find under the sea.

So that would be our summer of family friendly outings in Cape Town… very soon the holiday season will be over and everything will return to “quiet seaside town” again!!!