It's the last week of the World Cup, so we thought we'd take the excuse for this week's guide to go to South Africa's coolest city - Cape Town
South Africa's always been one of those holiday destinations that come accompanied with lots of warnings - it's beautiful but you've got to be careful, there's lots of crime, you'll get car-jacked, etc.
The World Cup spotlight has done a lot to change people's opinions. Tourist numbers must have shot up massively this year - so many people I know have chosen to go there - and whilst some of the bad press re crime is undoubtedly true, you can have a great holiday without worrying about your safety.
Cape Town is the jewel of South Africa - beautiful and cool, it's known as 'The Mother City'.
My mate Pete who's just been over there for the World Cup says he'd put in his Top 3 world cities. Praise indeed; Pete's pretty fussy.
The local Indie music scene...Music is a massive part of South African culture, particularly within black South African traditions - choir festivals attract as many people as football matches and we've all seen the popularity of the vuvuzela - though I'd not sure that would really count as music.
South Africa's not the biggest producer of Indie. I don't think the shoegazing miserablist-Indie-waif-vibe necessarily goes hand in hand with the South African national characteristic which is quite hearty and outdoorsy.
But, if you're going to find it, Cape Town is the place and actually there is a fairly strong scene there - most of it hasn't exported outside South Africa particularly but bands like
The Dirty Skirts and on the slightly rockier side the rather dodgily named
Taxi Violence are quite big in SA and play big gigs at festivals and open air venues in the summer.
The Parlotones seem to be doing better internationally. The Independent described them as "South Africa's answer to Coldplay". Which I think was a compliment.
There's a big scene developed out of a suburb called Belville which is Afrikaans speaking bands such as
Van Coke Kartel and
Die Heuwels Fantasties. I hadn't realised what a flemmy guttural language Afrikaans was until I checked out their stuff. It sounds like they are clearing their throat every few seconds. You'll see what I mean if you listen.
So, there's certainly plenty of bands out there worth checking out. Here's a link to a
South African Indie Compilation you can download, or just have a look at the names and check out their Myspace sites.
Where to hang out...
There are 3 main areas you should focus your adventures on:
A suburb called Observatory, known by the locals as Obs. During Apartheid it was one of the few 'grey areas' where black and white people lived together and it still has an alternative feel with a kind of New Age-stoner-hippie vibe. It's right next to the university so is popular with students.
The so-called "gay town" (Cape Town has a big gay scene), centred around the famous Bronx nightclub in Somerset Road, Green Point is full of life with lots of good cafes, restaurants and bars. Green Point is where the new stadium they built for the World Cup is and there's been a lot of development around that area as a result.
And finally, the City Bowl area, so called because it sits in a bowl between the harbour and Table Mountain contains Cape Town's most kicking street where you'll probably find yourself spending a lot of time - Long Street - a busy, vibrant street packed with bars, restaurants, cafés, cool shops and gig venues. This is party central.
Boozing and Boogieing...
There's loads of choice along Long Street and the surrounding area.
The Long Street Cafe is good. You could have cocktails and a bit of ostrich steak at
Mama Africa's.
Nearby on Hout Street there's
Boo Radley's which was Pete's big tip. It's a bistro and bar which also has live music.
About 20 minutes walk away there's
Rafiki's, a hippie bar near a backpacker hostel that's very popular and hosts bands and comedy. Rafiki means 'friend' in Swahili.
In terms of gig venues, you've got
The Purple Turtle, frequented by heavy-metal lovers and gothic types on Long Street and, not far away,
The Assembly which has a main stage for big bands and a smaller stage for the up and coming. You can expect it to be packed with skinny jeans wearing Indie types.
For something slightly different, try Buena Vista Social Cafe, in Green Point, near the stadium. It's a salsa club, very busy on Sunday nights, with an amazing atmosphere.
So is it safe to go out?
I've spoken with friends who've just got back from the World Cup about the latest situation and they said that they felt safe in Cape Town and felt you just had to be aware as you would in any other big city, but said they definitely didn't feel safe in other parts of SA, outside of Cape Town. So, I think there is still a way to go, but for every person who's had a bad experience, there are plenty who've had no problems at all.
Table Mountain
You can't talk about Cape Town and not talk about Table Mountain. It's the view you're going to pay extra for. The whole of Cape Town sits nestled along and around the slopes of the mountain. You can take the cable car up there which is pretty spectactular or a brisk 2 hour walk - you might want to get the cable car back down. However you get up there it's worth it for the views.
Some tips if you're doing it - it can get very busy, it's possible to pre-book the cable car and queue jump - it's definitely worth doing this.
Food and drink is crazily expensive at the top, so might be worth eating before/after you make the climb.
And don't forget a jacket. However warm it is on ground level, it's a lot colder up the mountain.
For some great views of Table Mountain in a slightly unsusual setting, try Putt Putt Mini Golf, between Sea Point and Green Point. 14 Rand (about a pound) a course and there are two courses. Both overlook the sea, with amazing views of the mountain; it's probably the best located mini golf ever!
Of course the other thing you'll probably be wanting to do whilst you're there is
Robben Island - the former prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. You can go on a tour with a former inmate. It's a pretty moving an illuminating look at SA's troubled history.
Festivals
With all this beautiful scenery and good weather, you want to bge heading to some nice outdoor music festivals. There are quite a few. South Africa is big wine country and there's actually a festival on the Cloof Wine Estate in the Cape area so you could combine festival going with a bit of plonk tasting - it's called
Rocking the Daisies (shouldn't that be grapes?). It's on this year on 8th, 9th, 10th October.
The
Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts are nice too. It's in the Botannical Gardens every Sunday from November to April. You can take a picnic and admire the beautiful view as well as the music. Lots of South African Indie acts play. The Dirty Skirts who I mentioned earlier played there earlier this year.
And finally, a few last quick tips from my mate Pete...
"Make sure taxis are always on the meter, if they don't have one don't bother."
"Try and get an apartment, there are loads for rent, they're cheaper than hotels and if there are a few of you, it's about the same cost as youth hostels. We had a nice place in Sea Point for the equivalent of 20 quid a night."
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|11:00 UK time, Friday, 30 July 2010
