As South Africa struggles to overcome its troubled past, cosmopolitan Cape Town offers a positive example of ethic integration. Kenny Coyle takes a tour of the ocean city and its wine-growing hinterland.
Few places bring geography and history together the way Cape Town does. The Cape is the meeting place of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and its position has more or less ordained a convergence of cultures and traditions. Founded as the first European settlement in South Africa back in the 1600s, Cape Town has been through wars aplenty, survived civil conflicts and borne witness to the uneven and bumpy road from apartheid to democracy.
Yet, despite it all, Cape Town simply shines with beauty. Lying in the shadow of Table Mountain, the city is rightly regarded as one of the most enchanting spots in the world.Table Mountain is one of the world’s most instantly recognisable landmarks and one of the most accessible.
While it is possible to walk up the mountain, a cable-car ride to the top is an experience in itself, especially if you cut up through the occasionally dense cloud cover. My fellow cable-car passengers whooped with delight as the sun broke through several hundred metres above the city. The trip takes only a few minutes to reach the observation points on the top, but the views of the city, Table Bay and the Twelve Apostles mountains below are simply stunning.
Weather can be a problem and it is worth checking on the likely visibility conditions to choose the best time to go, as the mountain can be completely covered for hours on end.The rugged Cape scenery, a product of the battering of wind and sea down the ages, is breathtaking – the Cape of Good Hope was originally called the Cape of Storms.
A drive along the Atlantic Ocean coast will take you past the scenic inlets of Clifton Bay and Camps Bay toward the awesome Hout Bay, which offers one of the most stunning views on the continent. While Capetonians are often blasé about the Cape of Good Hope itself, few visitors will want to miss the trip through the nature reserve to have their picture taken at the point where, as generations of schoolchildren have been taught, the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean at the most southerly tip of Africa.
Except, unfortunately, that the Cape of Good Hope is actually the most south-westerly point of the continent. Cape Agulhas, a much longer drive along the coast, is the southernmost point in Africa. But why quibble?
The lure of big game brought many a traveller to Africa and, while thankfully for most the telephoto-lens has replaced the telescopic rifle, the thrill of finding animals in their natural habitat is still hard to beat.
About an hour and a half outside the city is Aquila, a four-star safari lodge and private game reserve. As I sat, still and quiet, in the back of the converted lorry mentally ticking off the must-sees – hippos, wildebeest, springbok and lions – our guides provided us with their own insights into the animals and personalities.
An outdoor dinner, heavy on the meat, in front of a blazing campfire rounded off a dusty but hugely enjoyable day. Walking back to the luxury bungalows, our guides helpfully warned us to watch out for the buffalo who roam between the cottages at night. I quickened my pace.
The next morning, after an open-roofed shower beneath the African skies and breakfast, my guides introduced me to a pair of young cheetahs, so tame that, when petted, they purr like a cat that’s swallowed a power generator.
Then back to the city itself. A trip through any of the black and coloured townships – such as Crossroads, Khayelitsha, Langa or Guguletu – on the Cape Flats on the outskirts of town illustrates that, while the political structure of apartheid may have gone, its economic legacy in institutionalising poverty and inequality among the overwhelming majority of South Africans will take quite some time to overcome.
Any number of agencies will arrange township tours, where you can be driven around to see areas which have the shanty towns of the blacks on one side of the road and opposite on the other side the small, cramped but more tolerable homes of the coloured people, reflecting the racial hierarchy of the apartheid era.
But new housing developments, amenities and infrastructure, often named after heroes of the liberation movements, are becoming much more visible too as the democratic government makes steps to redress the imbalances of centuries.
South Africa’s troubled relationship with race is being put firmly behind it and the Rainbow Nation’s full spectrum is nowhere more visible than in Cape Town. I felt the city to be so much more relaxed than Johannesburg and the creative fusion of the various ethnic communities has been expressed in both music and food.
Jazz was an obvious starting point to bring the races together, and two of Cape Town’s favourite sons are jazz virtuosos Abdullah Ibrahim and Basil Coetzee, who cut their teeth in the bohemian multicultural District Six. The area is currently undergoing a major renovation and resettlement programme, with original residents returning to what had once been cleared to become a whites-only district. Today Cape Town hosts an internationally renowned annual showcase, the Cape Town Jazz Festival, that pulls in some of the biggest world stars for a series of concerts held over two days.
The city is also home to a substantial Cape Malay community, whose ancestors arrived as slaves and indentured labourers from Asia, principally but not exclusively from the then Dutch colony in Java. They were later settled in an area of town called Bo-Kaap.
This district retains houses dating well back into the early Victorian era and the narrow streets and colourfully decorated buildings draw in many a wandering visitor.The Cape Malays brought with them the spicy cooking skills of their homelands and, in contrast to the much blander food of the Dutch and British colonists, the Malay influence of turmeric, cinnamon and chillis provides a fiery culinary experience.
Malay-Portuguese words such as bobotie (a curried beef and egg custard dish), sosatie (marinated curried kebabs) and bredie (cooked stews with meat, tomatoes and spices) have long been assimilated by South African diners.
Whichever cuisine you favour, eating out in Cape Town is a joy. South Africa’s abundant meat and game (if you haven’t tried tandoori crocodile you haven’t lived, believe me) and the city’s location adjacent to the sea and the winelands guarantee a great experience. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront hosts some of Cape Town’s best restaurants and bars, and also boasts fabulous sea and mountain views. From the Waterfront you can visit the Robben Island Information and Exhibition Centre, which explains the 400-year history of one of the world’s most notorious prison islands.
From here you can book a four-hour tour of the island itself, which is reached by ferry. The island’s most famous prisoner, of course, was former president Nelson Mandela, and some of his former apartheid-era fellow-inmates now act as tourist guides on the island, personifying reconciliation as well as remembrance.
But the new South Africa seems determined not to remain a captive of its troubled past – and Cape Town is something of a pioneer in this regard, showcasing the best in culture, nightlife, food and wine, and hospitality that the country has to offer. Vibrant and elegant, the city is looking forward confidently to a future that will hopefully avoid the storms of the past.
GETTING THERE
Served by British Airways and South African Airways (SAA) from London Heathrow.
Return fares with BA (ba.com) booked two weeks ahead: First Class £6,668 (US$13,226), Business Class £3,650 (US$7,240), Premium Economy £1,320 (US$2,618) and Economy Class £730 (US$1,448). SAA (flysaa.com) charges £3,702 (US$7,343) for Business and £600 (US$1,190) for Economy Class.
WINELANDS: STELLENBOSCH AND AROUND
Although vines were planted by Dutch settlers in South Africa as early as the 17th century, the country’s wine industry has really come into its own over the past decade as a result of the end of anti-apartheid consumer boycotts and the introduction of a new wave of winemaking techniques.
The Western Cape is home to a number of major wine regions and day-trips from Cape Town are easy even for those pressed for time. For those with the opportunity to stay longer, the regions of Paarl, Heidelberg and Simonsberg provide a relaxed way to take in some great scenery, see examples of the best-preserved colonial architecture in the country, and taste some of the world’s up-and-coming wines.
One of the most beautiful spots is in Stellenbosch, in the heart of the Western Cape’s wine-growing region. The first Dutch pioneers who set out from their Cape Town base found the region’s soil rich and varied. The lush valleys and hills of the area draw water from the Eerste river, so named because it was the first (Dutch eerste) river the colonists found. Stellenbosch became the second European settlement in South Africa and the rich fertile soil led not just to the planting of vineyards but also to a sturdy range of oak trees that line the town, giving its nickname of Eikstad (Oak Town).
The region prospered initially by growing the food needed by the Dutch trading ships that stopped for provisions in Cape Town on their way to the East Indies. Then, with the French wine industry out of bounds during the Napoleonic wars, the Cape wineries found a ready market in Britain – although ironically, the original Dutch vintners had by this time been joined by an influx of French Protestant emigrants, the Huguenots, who brought their winemaking skills with them.
The Huguenot migration accounts for the many French-derived surnames among the vineyards and also in the fields of South African sport and politics, names such as Cronje (originally Cronier), Du Plessis, Du Toit, De Klerk (Le Clerq), Malan, Terreblanche and Viljoen (Villion). The French connection is also obvious in the quality of the cuisine – Franschhoek (French Corner), near Stellenbosch, is one of the best dining areas in the country despite its small size.
Visitors will find it easy to join organised tours or work out their own itinerary. Aside from grape varieties familiar to international palates, such
as chardonnay and shiraz, South Africa boasts its own variety, pinotage, a cross between pinot noir and cinsaut. The grape was bred, aptly enough, by a Stellenbosch university professor of chemistry.
TIPPLING TIPS
Whether you choose an organised tour or simply arrange your own, there are a few tips to follow when visiting the Cape winelands.
Timing
Allow at least an hour at each wine farm. As most restaurants close around 3pm, make sure you schedule an early lunch and arrive at your last cellar at least an hour before closing time.
Tasting
There’s no such thing as drink as much as you can. Check with the tasting assistant on the limit you are allowed – it’s normally generous in any case. Always taste white ones first, then red, and save the sweeter wines for last. You can intersperse sparkling wines in between to cleanse your palate. Don’t swallow all the
wines: a spittoon will be provided in the tasting room.
Buying
Most cellars will allow you to mix your cases of wine. Delivery can be arranged to your home and many cellars offer secure packaging for air cargo. Don’t forget to factor in the time during your visit to arrange the paperwork.
wineroute.co.za
