3. GO FULL TOURIST IN THE BO-KAAP Cobblestones, steep uphills, brightly coloured houses, the country’s oldest mosque, early morning calls to prayer and shops shuttered on Friday afternoons… This neighbourhood – now a mix of descendants of freed slaves and latter-day arrivals keen to own a piece of history – is the most photogenic in Cape Town, and no matter how often you walk through, across or around it, there’s always something new to see.
2. BOUNCE ALONG THE BOOMSLANG WALKWAY Although named for one of our most venomous reptiles, this particular ‘tree snake’ is perfectly harmless. It’s an architecturally imaginative way of strolling through the air, walking between the branches with a gentle bounce as you survey the tree canopy at Kirstenbosch Gardens. Stare down at the curious blooms, try to identify indigenous trees, and make up your own Latin names for plants you spy from this elevated angle. sanbi.org
1. REACH THE TOP The most direct walking route up Table Mountain is via Platteklip Gorge. It can be tough on your calves, like climbing an endless stairway built for giants, but at the end you’ll feel as though you’ve conquered Everest. Once at the top, take the path left that leads to Maclear’s Beacon (the mountain’s highest point). City, sea and mountain views change with every step. It’s a 45-minute walk back in the opposite direction to the upper cableway station for the easier, quicker trip down by cable car. tablemountain.net
TAKE A WALK WITH MOUNTAINS, FORESTS AND HIKING ROUTES CRISS-CROSSING HER, CAPE TOWN IS A WONDERFUL CITY TO EXPLORE ON FOOT
4. SURVEY SQUIRRELS IN A PARK Since Capetonians of every stripe walk through here at some point, strolling through the Company’s Garden is a soulful way to get a sense of the city’s rhythm. Bordered by historic buildings and inundated by brave squirrels, it might be considered the equivalent of making a turn through New York’s Central Park or Hyde Park in London, although a walk through Cape Town’s original fruit and veggie garden is on a much tinier scale and takes just a few minutes.
5. HEAD EAST AND TRAVEL ACROSS TIME Within a fairly compact area, you can stroll through hundreds of years of history. Start at the Castle of Good Hope – not a castle in the royal-dwelling sense, but rather a star fort, with battlements and dungeons, and the oldest surviving built structure in the country (completed 1679). Then make your way past City Hall (with its balcony from which Nelson Mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison), and ramble up Parliament Street, to have a gander at the buildings where so much mayhem unfolds today.
