“We had a list of things to do and one of them included drinking cocktails!”
Rich and I have loved travelling around South Africa and finishing our trip in this city was certainly the best way to say farewell to this amazing country.
We spent a total of six nights in Cape Town and were never short of things to do. Having heard stories from other backpackers about where to go and what to do, as well as having some advice from friends who have lived there before, we had a list of things to do and one of them included drinking cocktails!
Our first two days in the city were accompanied by strong winds. We didn’t fancy the idea of walking up Table Mountain or Lions Head in them, so we opted for leisurely days exploring the city on foot followed by the Victoria & Albert Waterfront.
We battled the winds exploring Cape Town, came across whites only and non-whites only benches remembering times of the apartheid and found a small cafe in a side street to enjoy a spot of lunch.
I was thrilled the following day when we headed to the V&A Waterfront as this was the place that fellow backpacker Cindy had recommended for a wonderful cocktail experience.
The V&A Waterfront is lovely, very touristy and not like any of the places we had been in South Africa so far but walking around in the sunshine (and wind) we felt relaxed and were more than happy to spend the day there. Our first port of call was to seek out Mitchell’s, home of the one litre jars of cocktails!
Walking around we enjoyed the sights at the waterfront and found our way to Mitchell’s. Sheltered from the wind and with Table Mountain in the background, we enjoyed a litre jar of mojito cocktail each! Quantity did not win out over quality with these cocktails, not only were they huge, they were also delicious, so much so that we opted for a second one each, well we are on holiday!
Full up from our cocktails, we explored the local shops and galleries, enjoyed delicious food at the food market and stumbled across a comedy club that we thought would be a fun night out while we were in Cape Town.
The Comedy Club was in fact a brilliant night out. We weren’t familiar with any of the acts on the line up and were forewarned that the main comedian usually spoke a bit of Afrikaans during his act. Undeterred we found ourselves sat at a table one row back from the front, right in the firing line of any comedian that took the stage.
“We hope to see Schalk Bezuidenhout and Yaaseen Barnes again in the future, they were both brilliant comedians!”
Seated at a table for four, we met Vanessa and Linden, locals from the southern suburbs of Cape Town who by the end of the night were our friends. Before, between and after the comedians Vanessa, Linden, Rich and I shared stories with each other. It was lovely to meet people who lived and worked in Cape Town. When backpacking you meet a lot of people but they tend to be fellow backpackers, not local people, so it was great to get a first hand insight into what it was like living and working in the city.
It turns out that Linden and Vanessa were very similar to Rich and I! It’s amazing how you can randomly meet a couple who live in a completely different country that are so similar!
We had a great night watching the comedy show and making new friends. We got off lightly being sat near the front, each comedian engaged with us but we managed to get away with being the butt of any jokes. We hope to see Schalk Bezuidenhout and Yaaseen Barnes again in the future, they were both brilliant comedians!
Lambs on the loose 