Camps Bay Terrace   -   The Warmest Welcome in the Fairest Cape!

Cape Nature Conservation is trying to eradicate alien plants from our nature reserves, so every so often they start a controlled burn somewhere. First I was concerned that this was a fire out of control, but as I got to the other side of the mountain I realized what was happening. It looked quite spectacular.

April has always been a month with the most spectacular sunsets. Yesterday evening I just saw this ship moving into the beautiful dramatic sky with rain clouds above and could not resist to run for the camera. Autumn in Camps Bay is truly magnificent.

What a brilliant location for photo shoots! Camps Bay Beach is very popular with fashion houses from Europe for advertising shoots. A few days ago there were three different production companies working under perfect conditions. One of the most amusing aspects of these shoots is the fact that there are always many people standing around without seeming to do anything, and the centre point of it all is the catering tent!

Although the days are warm and the sun is shining there is a new coolness in the air both in the early morning and after sunset. When we went to the beach a few days ago we were enchanted by this diffused sunlight that brought out the newly cleaned beach in a beautiful way and told us that autumn is just around the corner.

If you are looking for a different experience with an African flavour go and enjoy dinner at the Gold Restaurant. The restaurant is located in the premises of the Gold Museum and has been beautifully integrated into the existing buildings. You will taste many small portions of interesting and delicious food from various African countries. And to top it all there is live entertainment of singing and dancing, including Mali puppets and beautiful costumes as well as participation of some diners who get carried away by the African rhythms. A really great evening!.

One of the most enjoyable things about Cape Town is the fact that however long you live here there is always something new to discover. Tintswalo was no exception. It is an amazing boutique hotel located in the Table Mountain National Park on Chapman's Peak Drive. The whole set-up is beautifully done and built around the existing vegetation, with wooden decks just above the shoreline with stunning views. It is a perfect venue for a lazy lunch not only for guests but also on days when it is open to the public.

We have just returned from a delightful lunch at Le Quatier Francais in Franschhoek. Rated as one of the top ten restaurants in South Africa, it is an experience to be savoured. The weather was perfect as we sat looking out on the lush garden and fountains, drinking fine wines and enjoying delightful company of our guests. We returned to Cape Town via the Franschhoek Pass through the apple orchards of Elgin, heavy with their autumn harvest. The finish to a wonderful day was a magnificent sunset in Camps Bay throwing shades of pink and orange onto the mountain cliffs and wispy clouds.

The Mother City

Cape Town is also known by South African's as the Mother City. At the same time of every one of us constantly using the phrase I wonder how many South Africans actually know where the phrase comes from? Well here is the answer. In the 1930's some unknown party wrote to the local Cape Town newspaper claiming that Cape Town was the only city in South Africa that could justly call itself a metropolis. The public took to this description and because the word metropolis is derived from the Greek derivation of meter or metros meaning mother and polis meaning city, the nickname of "mother city" was born. Hence today we know our wonderful city as being "the mother city". Even more fascinating is the fact that few South Africans or Capetonians know that there was a time when Cape Town was known as "Cape Grab". This was because of the grabbing practices of certain innkeepers in the old days in charging exorbitantly for board and lodging to sailors who passed by the Cape on their way to the East.

Tollgates in Cape Town

Did you know that even though we have no tollgates in Cape Town today [for how long we could ask! )-;)] there was a time when Cape Town did have tollgates. At the beginning of the century there was a tollgate at the junction of Sir Lowry Road, Victoria Rd and Searle Street. Till today the building on this corner still holds the name Tollgate (City Tramways). What is interesting and not well known is that at one stage there actually were two tollgates leading into Cape Town. The first was the aforementioned and then there also was a tollgate for a short period at the end of Newmarket Street. The money at the tollgates was collected by a tollgate master who would sit at the gate with a small receptacle tied to the end of a rod into which the travelling citizen dropped the enforced toll. Seems as even in those days municipal councils milked any money-cow that was available to them to fill city coffers, however the shrewd folk of Cape Town bypassed the tollgates and used to travel on the old Beach Road closer to the sea resulting in the fact that the tollgates eventually got closed down.

A Cape Town Living Welcome

In 1947 The British Royal family visited Cape Town, South Africa. The joint school board in Cape Town decided that it wanted to do something special to commemorate the event and the idea of a "living welcome" was decided on. The pupils of Ellerslie, Sea Point Boys High and Junior, Ellerton, Kings Road Primary and Camps Bay Primary were all put through their paces for the living welcome. Rehearsals took place on the Sea Point Junior School lawns. A Piper Cub airplane was flown by a local enthusiast during rehearsals so as to check that all looked right for the event. A site on Signal Hill was chosen. Footpaths were cut into the bushes of Signal Hill spelling the word WELCOME. The letters were 100ft long. On 17 February 1947 2000 schoolchildren, all dressed in white, lined out the marked letters with the girls forming the letters W E L and the boys forming the balance C O M E.

The family arrived in the battleship by name of Vanguard. On sighting the "living WELCOME" a signal was given from the ship that it had seen the WELCOME sign from far and this caused all the children to thunderously cheer. The first contact by the people of Cape Town had been made with the Royal family. Up until the late 50's the carved paths of the words WELCOME could still be seen on Signal Hill, but alas today they are no more to be seen. The people of Cape Town however have never lost the wonderful sense of welcome that they have always had for foreign visitors to their shores.

Cape Town Rules of the Road

In 1906, the now demolished Baptist Church in Wale Street Cape Town was used as a law-court. Somebody who would not have cared to remember this was a certain Mr.Rorich. The reason for this was because he was the first person to be found speeding in a city street in Cape Town. He was travelling at a speed of 12 miles per hour in an 8 mile per hour zone. For the offence he was fine 2 Pounds which was a heck of a lot of money in those days. This case is clearly documented however in my opinion the question remains as to how the speed of 12 mph was correctly determined?

Signal Hill

On a daily basis most Capetonians pass or see Signal Hill from wherever they are in the city. It always fascinates me to hear why Capetonians think the hill is called as such. Most say that it is because the noon gun fires a signal from hill. This answer would be incorrect.

The reason why the hill is called Signal Hill is because in bygone years a signalman was permanently stationed on the mountainside which has a great vantage point over the whole of Table Bay. The signalman's duty was to warn the castle of the approaching ships that were coming into the harbour. When ships were sighted a coded system of flags and cannon shots were used to provide the relevant information about the ship as well as it nationality. Amongst others a shot was fired for every ship that was spotted and a flag was hoisted at the same time of the shot being fired. When the ship was visually identifiable a red flag was hoisted if it was an enemy vessel attacking the harbour. This signal brought every man to the harbour so as to defend the shoreline.

The Heart of Camps Bay

Next time that you are in the Camps Bay area ask one of the locals where the "Heart of Camp Bay" is situated. They are sure to look at you with a frown and openly admit that they don't know. To get a good view of the heart of Camps Bay travel to the Maidens Cove parking area between Camps Bay and Clifton and near the Glen Country Club. Look up at the cablecar station and you then will then see the narrowest view of Table Mountain that can been seen from anywhere in Cape Town. Take a vertical view line below the cablecar station and move your eye in a downward fashion very slowly. You will then see a HUGE ditch type structure come into view in the mountain landscape. Look very carefully at the shape of the area and you will see that it forms the perfect shape of a heart. Voila you will have found the heart for Camps Bay. A fair warning is that you will not see what I am telling you unless you know what you are looking for and you follow the instructions that I have given you to the letter. Once you have seen the heart it will be with you forever.