Food, wine, history, culture and shopping the ultimate Cape Town Holiday Guide.

This is our version of a Cape Town Holiday Guide… are you ready?

So this gorgeous South African city is heralded as the cosmopolitan capital of fashion, food, arts and nightlife.

Set amongst the majestic backdrop of the iconic Table Mountain and caressed on either side by white sandy beaches, lush fynbos vegetation and quaint little satellite towns the welcoming locals all sharing the common bond of enjoying the good life. Cape Town is a city where you will often hear the word “lekker” which means delicious in Afrikaans and is a way of life down here.

Nelson Mandela’s story is rich with elements of human drama: pain and heartache, bravery and courage, secrecy and intrigue. Amongst the players is a president, a chief of prison, a spy and a prisoner. The setting is Cape Town. When most people think about Mandela and Cape Town they don’t see beyond Robben Island, but Cape Town has a captivating Mandela story to tell as it provided the setting for the unfolding of a series of significant and secretive meetings that led to the surprise release of Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990.

Head to the Waterfront and board a ferry to Robben Island. Here you are joined by a local guide, someone who spent time on the island during the Apartheid years, thus able to give a personal and often moving account of the experience. You will also learn more about the island’s most famous prisoner – Nelson Mandela – and see his cell where he spent nearly 27 years of his life. After a most interesting day, the ferry takes you back to the Waterfront and you are returned to your accommodation.

Beneath the surface of the vibrant Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, you can find stories of bravery, slavery, tragedy and triumph. These stories have meant different things to different people; from the indigenous Khoi, Dutch settlers, British colonists, the enslaved and imprisoned, to free South Africans. Delves deep into South Africa’s political past and opens up doors to communities not always encountered in the city itself.

Explore colourful Bo- Kaap, home to the Malay community and one of the oldest residential areas in the city, before crossing over to District Six, once a vibrant coloured neighbourhood, before forced removals under the Group Areas Act of Apartheid turned it into a desolate wasteland.

Visit one of the townships, created specifically for black residents under Apartheid and join local community workers on a walk about through the township, meeting many friendly faces en route and also seeing the changes being brought about here with the advent of the New South Africa.