Activities

Cape Town, the Mother City, is South Africa’s most visited destination. From beach to bush, from Table Mountain to the Winelands, the visitor will never tire of the endless activities and sights on offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Cape Town offers a spectacular choice and views of a coastline that boasts with endless white sandy beaches.  Some of the best (Campsbay) is in very close proximity of  Floreal House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The famous Cape Town, and the respectably more famous CAPE WINES, this area boasts with some top selling international wines, and a history that will leave you truly intrigued. There are various Wine Tours availible, please feel free to ask at reception for more details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Table Mountain, with the two mountains which flank it, Lion’s Head and Devil’s Peak, offers spectacular views to the North over the bay, and to the South, down The Twelve Apostles – a spiny ridge which leads to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. A cable car takes visitors up the mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A variety of Day Trips are availible in and around Cape Town. For the best prices and advise please feel free to ask at Reception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CAPE TOWN 

 

Cape Town's own constellation

"Mons Mensa"… as every field or nature guide knows, is the Latin name of a star constellation meaning "Table Mountain" situated near the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy.

The constellation was named by a French scientific observer of the stars, Abbe Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, in the early 1750’s from his observatory in Strand Street, Cape Town. He is credited with having named 15 of the 88 constellations and Mons Mensa is the only one which represents a geological formation.

 

Abstract sculpture in Cape Town

If you visit our municipal building in Cape Town then you can see a red sculpture outside the front door which is one of the highest sculptures in South Africa. It is about 9 meters high and is made up out of industrial sections of cast steel which are cut, welded, bent and refitted to produce an abstract form. This sculpture was created by Edoardo Villa (Italy) in 1981.

Most Capetonians, or visitors to Cape Town, don't know what the artwork represents and furthermore don't know its name. Some folk call it the "bent paper clip". It probably comes as no surprise to find out that the sculpture is titled "The knot" as it supposedly unites all the sculptures on the landing in front of the office area.

King Edward

 

Edward (born 1841) was the eldest son of Victoria and heir to the British throne. During the

Anglo Boer War he did something quite remarkable. He refused to be crowned as King of England until peace was achieved between the British troops and the Boers. This marked him as a great statesman and it is for this deed that he holds such a prominent place in our city.

 

Cape Town's very own weather vane

The weather in the South Western Cape, and in particular the Cape peninsula, differs markedly from most other South African regions in that our weather is notoriously unpredictable. This is largely due to the positioning of the Cape Mountains and the regional wind systems. Being a weatherman in Cape Town must be a most frustrating profession. Clouds that cover the tops of mountains only are known as "Lenticular" or "Cap" clouds.

There is only one fool-proof weathervane in the Cape peninsula. When there is a cap cloud on Lions head, a peak in the Table mountain range, and nowhere else, rain is guaranteed within the next 12 hours.

The Saldanha Bay error

The first European to climb Table Mountain was the Portuguese explorer Antonio de Saldanha in 1503 while he and his fleet were exploring the seas between Lisbon and India. For a century after this, Cape Town was known as "Agoada do Saldanha" - The watering place of Saldanha.

Many years later, a Dutch admiral, Joris van Spilbergen made landfall about 100km up the west coast and thought that he was in Agoada do Saldanha. This is how Saldanha Bay got its name even though the Portuguese explorer had never set foot in Saldanha Bay. After this naming, the original watering hole became known as Tafel Baay.

So if it had not been for a "slight" navigation error 2 centuries ago, who knows, maybe we would all be living in Saldanha Bay today

The wooden tiles of Adderley Street

There was a time when the whole of Cape Town's main road viz. Adderley Street was made out of wooden blocks or tiles. These tiles were eventually covered with the tarred road that we have today. If one visits our very interesting Cultural History Museum in Cape Town a display of these wooden tiles can be seen.

Panorama and Plattekloof

When one travels in the northern suburb areas one can visit the areas called Panorama and Plattekloof (Flat hill) When one does this it is rather funny to see that that the area on top of the hills overlooking the beautiful Cape Peninsula is called Plattekloof while the area below the hills with no view at all is called Panorama. The reason for this is that when the title deeds to the area were issued the local municipality made an error and exchanged the names around accidentally. Till today the mistake still exists and the areas still have the wrong names.

 

 

The Blue Route

In Cape Town we have a highway that is traveled on by most Capetonians that is nicknamed "The Blue Route". The real name of the highway is "The Van Der Stel Highway". It is also known as the M3. The question arises as to where the nickname of the Blue Route comes from.

The answer to the above poser lies in the fact that when the original plans for the highway were drawn up, the highway was drawn on the plans in a thick blue pencil colour and someone started calling it the Blue Route. The nickname got very popular and it even led to a local shopping mall being called the Blue Route Centre.

 

The naming of Durbanville

On the outskirts of Cape Town we have a northern suburb called Durbanville.

In 1836 Sir Benjamin D'Urban, the governor of the Cape, granted the request to the villagers of the above mentioned area which was then known as Pampoenskraal (Pumpkin village) that they could call their village Durban. In later years the name was changed to Durbanville so as to distinguish it from the city of Durban in the province of Natal.

The first telegram sent from Cape Town

The first telegram sent from a venue in Cape Town was delivered in 1860. A building, named Woolvens Pagoda (because it looked like a pagoda), was erected on the one corner of the Grand Parade. This structure would serve as the first telegraph office in Cape Town. A Mr. Pickering installed the first telegraph line which stretched from Woolvens Pagoda to Simonstown. It was Pickering himself who sent the first telegraph from Cape Town. It was addressed to Governor General Wynyard and it crossed the prime distance of about 400 yards as the governor general was housed in the Castle at the time of the mail being sent.

 

Cape Town's oldest restaurant

 

When visiting Cape Town there are many good restaurants where one can have a good meal at very reasonable prices. Amongst all these wonderful establishments one of them has to be the oldest operating eating house and this honor goes to Constantia Nek Restaurant. In 1923 the land where the restaurant today stands was bought by Sydney Vincent Halls. Mr. Halls set up a farm stall and tearoom on the area which was popularly known as "The Nek". A couple of years after starting up the tea room the present day "Candle Room" was constructed and teas were

served in this area. This room soon became what then and today is known as Constantia Nek which not only was famous as a restaurant but also as a dining/dancing venue on weekends.

If one arrives at the restaurant one sees a large mountain that overshadows the building. This hill is known as Vlakkenberg. It was originally known as Vlagenberg (Flag Mountain). The high point on the hill was where a flag was raised as part of the signaling system that was used when the flagman on Vlagenberg heard the sound of the Signal Hill cannon. The flag viewing then signaled to all in the Constantia Valley that a boat had entered Table Bay

Forced removals in District 6

The forced removals of the local Cape Coloured population from District 6 in 1966 is what most people remember the area for. I wonder how many Capetonians know that the first forced removals, on the basis of colour from District 6, took place in as early as 1901. It was in this year that the African people (Black) staying in District 6 were forcibly removed to Ndabeni so as to allow for "poor whites" to stay in the area.

District 5.

When the Cape Town municipal area was demarcated into 6 districts in 1909 other areas of the city also had District names. In that way the area today known as Loader Street was known as District 5. It was in this fashionable area that most bankers and insurance men stayed. The area was renamed Loader street as this was the first road to be completely restored in District 5.

District Number 6

 

 

In 1840 the town of Cape Town was demarcated into 12 districts and the area now known as District 6 was then named District 12. In 1867 it was decided to change the demarcation and the town was split into 6 districts. District 12 then became what today is known as District 6. During this period the area also was nicknamed Kanaladorp. In 1909 the City of the Cape Town was split into 8 wards and the District 6 area was renamed Castle Ward, however the name just did not stick and District 6 remained the preferred name for the public of Cape Town.

Strictly speaking the area today is called Zonnebloem, but once again the name is not used by the local Capetonian public in preference to the name of District 6. It truly seems as if the spirit of District 6 will never die for the local Cape Town community.

Signal Hill

 

On a daily basis most Capetonians pass or see Signal Hill from wherever they are in the city. Many dispute the origin of the name although 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.

 

Cape Town's first motor car

The first motor car to be used in Cape Town arrived on South African shores in 1898. The car was a Royal Enfield Quad and was imported by a Mr.W. Jenkins who was a manager of Garlicks Cycle Supply, which was a department of the Garlicks Store. The car was later sold to Sir Alfred Hennessey.

It is told that Mr.Jenkins first started the vehicle in front of the Garlicks store. As he travelled up Lower St.George's Street he lost control of the vehicle and charged the crowd who were watching the event. An Irish policeman is reputed to have admonished him by saying " when you next intend to go motoring, may I suggest you leave that machine behind"

 

 

 

Golf Clubs in an around Cape Town:

Westlake Golf Club
Web Address: www.westlakegolfclub.co.za

Bellville Golf Club
Web Address: www.bellvillegolf.co.za

Durbanville Golf Club
Web Address: www.durbanvillegolf.co.za

Rondebosch Golf Club
Web Address: www.rondebosch-golf-club.co.za

Mowbray Golf Club
Web Address: www.mowbraygolfclub.co.za