I spent a day touring the Surprising Cape Town

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A guy’s gotta eat

New day in Cape Town! I had already done what I came for after 12,557 km, Table Mountain. Now, I was free to explore the city and the entire Cape Peninsula. Fortunately, the weather seemed ok, and the rain that was predicted was not going to happen.

I started this tour by walking from the hotel to the V&A Waterfront to get breakfast. The walk was very calm, the neighborhood felt very safe, and a lot of people on this area were just ready to go to work or school.

The mall seemed very cute being located right in the bay. It was empty tho, since it had just opened its doors this morning.

I walked the entire mall looking for what to eat and checking Google Maps to see pictures and reviews. One particular restaurant caught my attention: Mugg & Bean. I did not know I was going to go there again the next day, because it was going to be so good. When I got a table, I started with my favorite for a chilli morning, a latte mocha with almond milk.

To eat I got the Omelette Rancheros, which was very yummy but a bit spicy for the morning. It was also very filling.

I spent a total of around 11 USD in this breakfast, which I would never be able to do back in NYC at that price. The service was perfect, and after I finished, I walked around a bit more, got another coffee, this time a cold brew with almond milk, and called an Uber for my next location.

It’s penguin time!

When I travel and explore a city for the first time, or even in following visits, I always start by going to the furthest place from the hotel. In this case, the furthest destination I wanted to see was Boulders Beach, so there I was going.

The driver dropped me off the closest he could to the northern entrance of the beach, and from there I just walked. The view of the bay was beautiful, but more beautiful were the pinguins on the rocks.

It seems like the colony of penguins attracted a lot of visitors, but also there were watersports available to do.

The beach was paradise like, but I was looking for more penguins, were they in the hiding or was I in the wrong spot? I continued walking south to figure this out.

I finally found why I could not see most of the penguins colony. They were inside of the Boulders – Table Mountain National Park. The entrance fee for foreigners like me was around 10 USD. Although it does not seem too much, visitors could still appreciate the penguins from outside of this area. I had seen penguins also in the Ballestas National Park in Peru, South America.

Is it crazy if I say I felt like I was walking around Bondi Beach in Australia. I mean the weather and the views, and being down under, seemed very similar.

It seems like the ticket mostly gave you access to the lower beach, and there were areas where people could even swim.

After just a few minutes I was already on the other side of this path. There was also an entrance from the south, and a parking lot, in case you arrive by car. I explored the little store of Boulders Beach Hotel, Cafe and Curio Shop to get some souvenirs for my family. I got a couple of toy penguins and magnets.

Gotta go to the surfer’s beach

Finally, got on an Uber and went to the Muizenberg beach.

There were a lot of surfers that day, but the beach itself looked a bit empty, maybe because of the weather? The view of the Cape Peninsula mountains was captivating though.

And finally, the famous colorful change rooms were in front of me. It is… something. I guess with almost nobody on the beach, they kind of look useless. But maybe it’s just because I came here in the wrong season, not like in the summer.

The view of them mixed with the mountains in the background is mesmerizing.

I kept walking south and saw an “abandoned” water park. And a mini golf park, which seemed very fun.

Fish and Chips at Mariner’s Wharf Harbour

While I was looking for an Uber to go to my next destination I got cat called out by a group of ladies lol. They asked me where I was from and what I was doing. I left them alone and got on my Uber.

I was feeling hungry, and fortunately for me, the next destination was a staple in Cape Town, and I was happy I was finally here: Mariner’s Wharf Harbour Front Emporium.

Before I got the food, I looked at the “table cloth” on top of the Table Mountain. Thankfully I had been there yesterday, and did not have to deal with a lack of visibility of today. My host at the hotel was a genius recommending me to go as soon as I could since the weather the day before was so perfect.

I got the fish and chips, and a local beer. It seems like alcohol was a good pair for all the foods here in South Africa, and I was just starting to realize that.

I felt like I was in paradise (again), and was really loving this place, like for real I could live here lol. The views, the food, the people. Everything seemed so lively and beautiful, and welcoming. Fish and chips had been one of my favorite dishes in general, ever since I tried it for the first time in London, then in Epcot, multiple times in Universal Orlando, at the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and even during this same Round The World Trip in Universal Japan (we’ll get to that story).

There was live music in this place and the food was so good. But I had to continue with my day.

Next stop: Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

My last stop of the day was the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. I am not the biggest fan of botanical gardens, even though I have been to many probably in every continent. But I saw the pictures of this one and I knew I had to go.

If Boulders Beach was giving Bondi Beach, then the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden was giving Hawaii, especifically Kualoa Ranch. The mountains going up in such an angle and the vegetation, gave this place a very tropical environment.

Cape spurfowls were roaming around all over the place. The entrance to the Botanical garden was around 12 USD, a good price for a place where you could spend just an hour or the entire day.

Why do I have to see New York everywhere? LOL

I got a map at the entrance and started looking at it thinking what I would do in this park. There were many hike paths, but the main Botanical Garden was just below all these mountains. In Hawaii I hiked and went all the way up those hills, but here I had no time and/or energy for all that. The sun was going to do down anytime soon if I decided to go for a long hike. So I sticked to the bottom of the park, and went instead to do a stroll all around. A very cool thing was the Boomslang Canopy Trail (Kirstenbosch Tree Canopy Walkway).

The canopy offered a bird’s eye view of the park, and a spectacular view of the mountains. And since I was looking at the trees from the top, we could see the birds and insects living in them. It was majestic. The only similar thing I have seen it’s the one in Singapore.

Birds, and a big spider showed up during my walk, there were other people around, and a restaurant with fancy waiters in this botanical garden.

The end of a perfect day…

But the sun was going to go down soon, and I was still relatively far from my hotel. I took an Uber on the opposite gate to where I was and went to the Cape Town City Center. I wanted to see the famous Greenmarket Square. I walked around it and saw some souvenirs, not before I bought a final coffee for the day. From the coffee place I got an Uber that took me to the hotel. I relaxed in there, still enjoying the free bottle of wine that the hotel gave me at check in.

After a few hours I went out for something to eat and got a milkshake. It seems that Cape Town is obsessed not only with wine and alcohol, but with milkshakes, and that really amazed me, coming from the US, where it was originated lol.

That Oreo Milkshake was really good, and it was the perfect ending to a day full of penguins, beach, fish and chips, beautiful views of the mountains, flora, fauna and a bit of the city.

Do not hesitate to leave a comment or a question below.