By Chris Anderson
In Cape Town for the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate Racing Festival, or the Cape Thoroughbred Premier Yearling Sales? Be sure to take in everything this South African city can offer.
Early January is usually a time to let our waistlines and wallets recover from the celebrations of Christmas and New Year, but for racing fans it's a chance to let their festive mood linger at the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate racing Festivalin South Africa's Cape Town January 5-6. Taking place over two days towards the start of the year at the Kenilworth Racecourse, the festival is as famous for its high fashion, with its unique blue and white dress code, as it is for seeing top thoroughbreds in action.
Just two weeks later, the international thoroughbred community descends upon the city for the Cape Thoroughbred Premier Yearling Sales January 20-21.
But there is also much to be enjoyed by being in Cape Town itself. A beautiful setting on the Atlantic coast against the backdrop of craggy mountains, it combines the best of nature with a cool urban environment, featuring hip bars, designer boutiques, world class restaurants and an intriguing art scene. A multicultural destination, it's the ideal spot for some winter sun, with its summer season falling between mid-December and early January. If you're in town for either event, here's what should be on your own plate when you visit:
Mountain High
Wherever you are in Cape Town, it's hard to ignore the mighty Table Mountain (tablemountain.net), which looms over the city. Instantly recognizable for its distinctive flat top, which is 3km wide, the mountain is home to an impressive array of wildlife, from porcupines and snakes to mongooses and peregrine falcons, with more than 1,470 floral species, many endemic to the area. It's no surprise that in 2011, Table Mountain was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The quickest way up is via cable car, with the first leaving at 8am from a station on Tafelberg Road, starting at 302m above sea level and climbing to the main plateau at 1,067m. Each car rotates as it moves, offering panoramic views across Cape Town. The journey to the top takes just five minutes, with cars leaving regularly.
Locals will tell you that it's more rewarding to hike up the mountain, however, with a number of trails suited to different skill and fitness levels, expected to take between one and three hours. From January 2018, hikers aged 16 and over will have to pay a small fee for the privilege.
There are still a number of walks around the plateau for those journeying up by cable car, with a shop and restaurant there too. A small museum can be found at the Woodhead Dam located here, while the more adventurous can try their hand at abseiling.
On the Waterfront
Cape Town's V&A Waterfront (waterfront.co.za) is said to be the most-visited destination in South Africa, welcoming around 24 million people every year. Covering 123 hectares, this is the city's primary shopping and entertainment district, split into five distinct areas: Victoria Wharf, the Watershed, the Alfred Mall and Pierhead, The Clocktower and Breakwater Point.
This is still a working harbor, with fishing boats and container ships pulling in, as they have done since 1860, but the shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, museums and other attractions are clearly bringing the most traffic through these days. There are an estimated 450 stores here, covering designer brands, jewelry and local arts and crafts, with the V&A Food Market selling all kinds of regional delicacies, from craft beers to biltong.
Key attractions at V&A Waterfront include the Clocktower, an historic landmark with Victorian-gothic architecture, and the Wheel of Excellence, a 50m-high observation wheel, rotating slowly over 20 minutes and offering panoramic views. Nobel Square, with its four bronze statues of South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize winners (Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela), is popular too, as is the Chavonnes Battery Museum, dedicated to the 18th century cannon battery that once protected Cape Town from attack.
Visitors can also head to the Two Oceans Aquarium, with its array of sealife, the Cape Town Diamond Museum and the Springbok Experience Rugby Museum, which pays tribute to South Africa's favorite sport. Then V&A Waterfront is the place to catch a boat for a tour of nearby Robben Island (robben-island.org.za), which once housed the prison where Nelson Mandela served most of his 27-year sentence. Boats depart three times a day from Nelson Mandela Gateway, with the tour including a viewing of the great man's former cell.
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