My trip in Cape Town revolved mostly around two groups of people. One of them were my coworkers and their friends, almost all of them South African. The other group were my roommates and their friends, most of them Europeans working or studying in Cape Town. This enabled a diversified collection of interesting experiences that happened to me while I was around.
The city
The city of Cape Town is an amazing place. I haven't visited the suburbs enough to make a judgment, but the city center (City Bowl) is a place filled with interesting stuff and cool things to do. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is a great place to hang out – a living harbor, full of bars, restaurants and shops. The sandy beaches on the other side of the mountain, a few minutes drive away, resemble a tropical paradise, and there are many of them to suit different tastes. The nightlife is lively, with great pubs and awesome clubs, packed with interesting and diverse people. Not to mention other interesting things you can see while you're there.
The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, with the Table mountain covered with clouds
Camps Bay Beach, with a view over Lion's head
Long Street, a diversified and popular party destination
The jungle inside Company's Garden
The nature
The nature around Cape Town is simply beautiful. The landscape, the scenery, the wildlife and the vegetation are a magnificent addition to the broader region of Cape Town, which makes it a perfect location for short travels for a half-tourist such as myself. The Atlantic is cold and wavy, it's temperature is around 15°C, but people still swim or simply take a short dip. It's been more than 500 years after the Portuguese explorers finally found a way around Africa to India, slowly settling in this remarkable land.
Local flora and fauna (a Kudu antelope)
Cape Point by The Cape of Good Hope
The waves of the Atlantic. Its roar is majestic.
The adventure
There are many things you can do around Cape Town. I visited Aquila Safari, which resembles a reservation park a bit, bit still does the trick, since Kruger Park is more than 1000 km away. I wanted to see the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo), but missed the leopard. The trip was still well worth it, the lion family on top of the cliff was simply epic. Otherwise, I also managed to go scuba diving with Cow sharks, and I was lucky enough another diver recorded the whole thing and put it on YouTube (look for the "strong" guy with the black fins, movie courtesy of bartfilms). This dive was without a cage, and the sharks were so close I could touch them. The experience felt so unique and authentic I canceled my cage diving trip with the Great white sharks, since it's without scuba gear and it simply felt lame after this extraordinary sensation.
A lion family sitting on top of the hill
Diving with the Seven-gill Cow sharks, image courtesy of Animal Ocean
Sadly I wasn't able to do more stuff, since my primary function there was to work, and I only had the weekends off. One thing I do regret not doing is the wine tasting tour, because the wine there is simply amazing. But on the other hand, you have to leave a few things for the time you come back, which I probably will. Cape Town is the place to be, and I really enjoyed it to the fullest. Thank you guys!
Check out the complete Working in Cape Town series.