South Africa – Cape Town

Photography: Stacy Bauer 

Table Mountain to the beautiful beaches on the coast. Cape Town truly

captures every walk of life and offers something fun for everyone in

your group!

Lodging:

We stayed at the charming boutique, More Quarters. It’s located in the

heart of Cape Town, just a few miles away from the scenic waterfront.

From the second we stepped foot in the door, we fell in love with this

place! The staff welcomed us with open arms, gave us an overview of

the property and the local area, provided restaurant recommendations,

and subsequently booked our reservations. On top of that, they were

able to book a personal tour guide to show us around the area for a

full day since we opted not to rent a car – this was a major highlight of

our trip and I highly suggest using a guide! More details on this later…

Our rooms were apartment-style; we had our own kitchen and dinning

area outside of our bedroom. It was super spacious, had beautiful

natural light, and… our own private terrace! Having Cape Cadogan

(More Quarters’ sister hotel) just across the cobblestone walkway was

excellent; we were were able to enjoy both properties for the cost of

one. Cape Cadogan is equally as beautiful and it had a wonderful pool

area.

What to See/Do:

Where do I start?! When I travel, I like to cover ground! I want to see

and do everything I can. It’s not always the most relaxing, but I’m all

about adventure and wouldn’t have it any other way! Here are my

highlights:

Bo-Kapp:

This is where unicorns, mermaids, and the happiest people

on earth live! Seriously look at this place; it’s my dream neighborhood

– look at all this color!!

Table Mountain:

Depending on your motivation or fitness level, you can

either make the treacherous hike to the top of the mountain or enjoy a

nice cable cart ride. Can you guess what I chose?! Ha, seriously, I love

adventure, but I’m not that motivated…cable cart it was! Warning: if

you are a little nervous of heights, beware. Even riding in this cable

cart had me feeling a little weak in the knees. This is coming from the

girl who’s all about standing on the edge of the cliff for that perfect IG

pic! #bloggerproblems. If this sounds a little scary, I recommend

standing in the center of the cart, and try not to look out. You will be

just fine and it’s completely safe. It’s worth it. The view from the top

of Table Mountain is truly breathtaking; I can promise you that. We

caught it on a clear day and were able to see most of Cape Town. Also,

the water is the most magical shade of blue. One suggestion:

buy/print your tickets online ahead of time to avoid the line!

Shark Diving:

Say what?! Yeah girl, I’m not kidding…when in South

Africa! Back to adventurous McKenna, this is a MUST! South Africa is

home to some of the most populated areas of Great White Sharks and

is known as Shark Alley. Two hours east of Cape Town is a town

called Gansbaai. This is where the private charter companies take you

to cage-dive. Most of the companies offer a shuttle service to and from

Cape Town, which is great when you have an early dive time. We went

with Sharks Unlimited. They were wonderful, but I’m sure all of

the companies are as equally great. This is certainly a full day

excursion and it starts-off by signing your life away, Ha! No really, this

was becoming the ongoing joke throughout our adventure. Good news

is we made it out alive!

No matter what time of year you go the water is cold. I mean really

cold! They offer everything you need as far as wetsuits, towels, and

even a heavy-duty waterproof jacket.

I suggest bringing an extra pair of clothes to change into after the

fact. Something warm and comfy like sweats, especially if you have to

make the two-hour trip back to Cape Town.

Onto the good part: the cage. The sharks…oh my!

After the short journey out to Shark Alley, the crew chum the waters,

and our teethy little friends arrive! These little suckers were hungry

during our trip. We saw up to five Great Whites at one time, holy

sharks batman!! To say these guys are huge is an understatement.

The view from on top of the boat was probably my favorite for this

reason. I swear they were as long as our boat; no exaggeration, it was

UNREAL! I’m not sure how to express my feelings of jumping into the

cage for the first time. Maybe it was the rush of the cold water or the

reality that I was human shark bate, either way I loved it all. There

were a few times I made eye contact with these guys and I swear a

few were gave me bedroom eyes, somehow I don’t think that would

have ended well for me. After a few hours of rotating turns in and out

of the cage, the fear wore off and the comfort of being around these

animals was amazing. At one point, I stuck my hand out of the cage

and touched one. Shhhh, don’t tell them, that’s 100% against the

rules and for obvious reasons. But I couldn’t resist and it was his fin

not his head ha!

Overall, I would say this experience was a solid 10. I’m telling you it’s

something you have to add to your bucket list, even if you just take

the boat ride and don’t get in the water (that’s also an option). It’s an

experience of a lifetime that you don’t want to miss!

Boulders Beach:

Imagine a beach full of adorable penguins, does that

even exist? Yes, yes it does and it’s amazing! This is that place,

Boulders Beach! True story, these African Penguins

were originally named The Jackass Penguin due to the

strange squawking they make that is similar to the donkey. It’s

actually quite funny to hear in person. It’s crazy that these little things

can make all that racket. Once arriving at the penguin sanctuary, there

are two paths, one takes you to a long dock overlooking hundreds and

hundreds of penguins. This sanctuary is protected property so you’re

not able to get up close and personal with these guys ,but it is fun to

see them interact in large groups. If you walk a little further, you will

see a sign for Boulders Beach, which is a more remote location. This is

sight you don’t want to miss! This beach isn’t covered with penguins,

but certainly has a fair amount, which you can snap a selfie or two

with. I wouldn’t recommend touching these things, they bite! Boulder’s

Beach was a perfect day trip and another great highlight of our trip.

Other great stops you may want to check out include: Cape of Good Hope,

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Vineyard hoping at the Cape Winelands, Lions Head

Hike, & explore all the beautiful beaches (Clifton is amazing)!

Restaurants you don’t want to miss:

Kloff Street House– Seriously, hands down THE coolest place I’ve ever seen in my life, see photos below!

Yours Truly– Total hipster hot spot, great atmosphere and ever better booze.

Blues, Camps Bay– Obviously a favorite!

Harbour House V&A Waterfront 

The Roundhouse Restaurant

The Woodstock Exchange

Cape Point Vineyards Noordhoek 

If you get a chance to make the trip to Cape Town I hope you go, it’s truly one beautiful place!

Cape Town I love you and I will be back!