With the picnic basket and cooler box packed, the That’s Cape Town team embarked on a trip to explore one of the most beautiful and fascinating parks in Cape Town over the weekend — the Green Point Park and Biodiversity Gardens which is situated in Green Point next to the Cape Town stadium.

Upon arrival, while taking a long slow walk through the park we noticed all the amazing facilities available. These include an outdoor gym, a section perfect for cyclists, a learning park for functions (business or pleasure), clean toilets, drinking fountains and a cordoned off play park for the little ones which is completely safe. Not only is the Green Point Park a beautiful setting for people of all ages, it is very educational as well.

Educational boards can be found clearly marked throughout the garden. These boards provide useful information about the wildlife and vegetation found in the garden.

The lovely picnic tables, benches and green grass are perfect spots to enjoy breakfast, brunch, lunch, picnics and even birthday parties.

Entrance to the park is free and open to everyone, however there are a few rules (by the City of Cape Town) which should be adhered to at all times:

The Green Point Park is open every day from 07:00 until 19:00.

Picnics are permitted

Swimming, skateboarding, fires, braais, camping, loud music, flower picking and alcohol are not permitted

Dogs are welcome in the park, provided that they are on a lead and owners pick up and dispose of their excrement. Dogs are not allowed in the biodiversity garden

Parking is available near the entrances on the corner of Beach/Vlei Roads; on Bill Peters Drive (near the entrance to the Virgin Active gym); and on Bay Road (near the Mouille Point lighthouse).

There are also numerous pedestrian links to surrounding areas 

The park has an outdoor gym and play park

Every inch of this magnificent landscape should be explored and absorbed, so be sure to spend an entire day there when visiting. Your children will love it.

Any jazz lover in Cape Town knows that there is definitely scope in the city for a good jazz club. Local jazz musicians like Kesivan Naidoo and Lee Thomson have felt the same for years. It’s what sparked them to begin looking for the ideal venue. And they’ve been looking for a long time. There were rumours of them taking over Obs’ beloved Armchair Theatre and one or two murmurs about other venues but nothing seemed to come off the ground. Until now…

With partner and investor, Lawson Naidoo on board, the musos have been able to make their dreams a reality by creating a cosy space where serious jazz musicians can come and play, and jazz lovers can come and listen. And the focus is the jazz itself – not the food, or the drinks.

Tribe playing up a storm!

The Mahogany Room, on Buitenkant Street stands next door to Diva’s. As you walk in, the smell of pizzas from next door is subdued by the scent of raw wood that’s been used for the bar, tables and chairs, and the stage. It’s an inviting, warm, smell that just seems to ‘fit’ in a jazz club.

On the evening that That’s Cape Town went to visit, Tribe was playing their 12^th Anniversary gig. It was incredible listening to some of the country’s top jazz musicians just let loose. They played their hearts out. And you could tell by the grins on each of their faces that they loved every minute of it. In the audience, some of Cape Town’s other jazz greats listened and relished every note; every beat.

Buddy Wells and Kesivan Naidoo of Tribe

We can’t wait to go back! And we will, soon.

Keen to check it out? Find out who’s gigging and when on the Mahogany Room Facebook page here.

On a recent trip to Noordhoek, we decided to take Chapman’s Peak drive after not having driven on it for a number of years. The beauty of the surroundings, and the sheer scale of the the work that has been done to make it safe for people to be on left us gobsmacked. It was definitely a highlight of our trip. And unquestionably worthy of a That’s Cape Town blog post

A bit of history: Although the peak itself was discovered and named by an English ship’s pilot in the 1600s, it wasn’t until the early 1900s that building a road along the cliffs linking Noordhoek and Hout Bay seemed possible. Making use of convict labour, construction of the road began from the Hout Bay side in 1915. Seven ears later, in 1922, the road was officially opened to the public. Years later, in 2000, Chapman’s Peak was indefinitely closed to the public following a number of tragic accidents due to rockfalls.

Between early 2000 and December 2003, major planning and reconstruction of the road began taking place. The reconstruction focussed on making the road safer for those wanting to travel on it, but with minimal impact on the surrounding terrain, forming part of the Table Mountain Nature Reserve. On the 20th of December 2003, the road was re-opened to the public. However, it has since been closed a number of times, as needed, for maintenance and clearing of debris and rockfalls.

Today, the breathtaking views along the road make it one of Cape Town’s top tourist destinations. The sweeping landscape of the cliffs dropping down into turquoise waters below provide countless photo opportunities. And the numerous paths and tracks make hiking in the area a pleasure.

Cyclists and runners can often be seen enjoying the views while training – and two major Cape Town races (the Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon) bring participants along the road.

At the end of the day – with the sun setting over the Atlantic ocean – the roadside turns into a perfect setting for picnics. Couples and families can often be seen, especially in summer, enjoying Chapman’s like this.

Chapman’s Peak, (or Chappies, as locals affectionately call it) shows off part of the natural beauty and magnificence that is Cape Town. It is part of our heritage. With the quaint villages of Hout Bay and Noordhoek found on either side, Chappies is definitely worth exploring, and enjoying. It is without-a-doubt one of our favourite Cape Town roads.

Photos taken from http://www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za/.

Cape Town has shone this year – being awarded recognition in so many different spheres. On the last day of the year, That’s Cape Town thought it fitting to reminisce, as so many people do, on a Golden Year for the Mother City.

Beginning with being awarded the TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice best destination of the year, we saw Cape Town’s stature in the travel and tourism industry really grow. Cape Town was also announced as the Leading Destination in Africa for the seventh time! We’ve now won the award four years in a row. Eight of the nineteen South African properties making the Conde Nast Traveller’s Gold List this year were from Cape Town and surrounds. That’s half of the South African properties on the list! And the Cape Town International Airport won Best Airport in Africa (ACI award) in March this year.

Of course, it’s now common knowledge that the city was awarded the World Design Capital for 2014, adding to the list of accolades Cape Town has received this year. And there is evidence that everyone has been working at making our City better and more beautiful – with even the Cape Town Roads and Stormwater Department being acknowledged for the work they’ve done this year in improving the roads and traffic problems.

In the food world, Cape Town came out tops in the Eat Out 2011 Awards. Acknowledging restaurants across South Africa for quality and overall dining experience, a whopping nine of the Top Ten list were Mother City establishments. With Chef of the Year; Restaurant of the Year; and the Service Excellence Award all being scooped by local restaurants, too.

Cape Town is wine country – and the wines produced on the farms in and around the Mother City have shone both locally and internationally this year at Award Ceremonies.

On the whole, it’s safe to say that a visit to Cape Town will never leave one disappointed. And with a year like 2011, one can only wonder how much better things in 2012 can get. Have a great time today, remembering this past year, and welcoming in the new one.

In the last few weeks leading up to Christmas, That’s Cape Town (being lovers of good food and suckers for anything festive) visited many Christmas Markets. Some were really lovely, a few were a complete disappointment, but a few really stood out. The Blaauwklippen Christmas Market is one of these.

Fun at the Blaauwklippen Market

Blaauwklippen’s weekly market has been running for some time now, so when Market Architect, Hugo Le Roux, got to work planning a specially Christmas-themed, evening market, he had a strong sense of what would work and what wouldn’t. Adding a number of new craft stalls, and  stringing long strings of lights through the big trees created a festive, almost magical feel, with the horses playing in the paddocks a little way away, and the many old-fashioned carriages standing out on the front lawn.

Candy-floss, popcorn, pony rides and a jumping castle, ensured the kids were very well taken care of and mom and dad were free to sip on a glass of wine, listen to the Marimba Band and wander through the stalls. A number of stalls struck us as unique and special: an antique jewelry stall was a breath of fresh air, considering all the modern jewelry most markets have for sale nowadays; Burtschers Chocolaterie was also there, selling a vast array of handmade delicacies that were beautiful to look at, and delicious to taste. We were particularly interested in the chocolate appreciation courses Birgit told us she offers. The Art stall, too, with its original, local pieces for sale reinforced that local is, most definitely, lekker.

On the food side, the Thai stall, replicating an authentic Thai food market stall was a real treat. The shwarmas from Eddie and his team were definitely one of the highlights of the evening. With four different home-made chilli sauces to try, and the many shwarma ingredients stuffed generously into a bulging pita, the meal was both incredibly tasty and very good value for money. Lastly, the ice-cream stand, Cold Gold is so good it demands a mention. Only starting the company a few months ago, and creating each of her inventive flavours by hand, the proof of Janine’s talent lies in the fact that she has been nominated for two of the prestigious local Eat In awards. With flavours like White chocolate, cashew and coconut; and a kiddies ‘Bubblegum’ flavour made up exclusively of a mix of fruit flavours (taking her 3 weeks to perfect!) her ice-cream is an art and truly a passion for her.

Serving several award-winning wines, (you really need to try the Before & After – an aperitif made of fortified Nobel Late Harvest) Blaauwklippen has remained an unpretentious, family focussed farm. And if you missed out on the Christmas markets, be sure to visit their weekly market on a Sunday morning. You will be wowed. We assure you.