Mothercity bucket list

Dear Readers,

Mothercity is the dear nickname Cape Townians call their home city. As a person who has lived in Cape Town before, I am happy to call one of my favourite places of all times by this nickname.

We started the trip at my brother’s house in Scarborough. It is on the chilly Atlantic side but the whole town is built on a hill guaranteeing that everyone has the most gorgeous view of the ocean. It is a common saying by the surfers in the area ‘work is for people who cannot surf’.

Like every time in South Africa, there is never enough time. I am destined to move back to Cape Town one day just so I can get through to my entire bucket list and really appreciate and know all sides of this wonderful city. I did manage to get some major ticks off my list this time and it made me so happy!

From the first day and the first glance of my beloved Table Mountain, I kept on saying that I have to go there asap so it only took my bother 12 hours to lose his nerve and drive me there to get it out of my system (for that day). I went up in the cable car with my mom and once again I was making my mom run after me around the mountaintop when I was trying to take in as much of the views as I could. We had a lovely lunch at the restaurant before I had to give in and come down.

Feels like I spent most of my three and a half weeks there running around and doing my best to get everything done but luckily, I had some much needed time with my African family as well. I believe that over time some people grow further apart from each other but I am so glad to say that this couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to me and my South African family and friends. I really would not change a minute away for anything, the time spend with them is always golden and I feel very much myself when I am around them, I feel understood and loved.

The roads in South Africa are just made for the most gorgeous road trips. I would especially recommend at least doing the Garden Route. We drove down to the beautiful and peaceful Hermanus where I was planning on swimming with the great whites to my mom’s eternal horror but unfortunately it wasn’t possible that day. Better luck in the summer seasons.

Pringle Bay is one of the cute hidden spots on the way to Hermanus. We actually found an odd-looking dead shark on the beach. I think my brother sent a picture to some research centre so we could find out what it was.

A penguin colony is located near Simon’s Town and Boulder’s Bay. They are cute and it is definitely fun to see so many of them mids the city but I must warn you that they do smell quite heavily!

For me, Cape Town truly is a perfect place. The lively culture, colourful personas, exciting music and tasty food just steal away your heart, there is something and everything for everyone. There are zebras roaming around the roadsides, eleven official languages, people from around the world, music like nowhere else. The life is the Mothercity is a constant, happy dance. You can climb a mountain in the morning and spend the afternoon diving with sharks. Go to Long Street for the night to let loose. Watch the sunset at V & A Waterfront and the sunrise at Lion’s Head. Visit the vineyards and national parks. Cape Townians themselves are the most welcoming, heartfelt people I have ever met and listening to their languages is hilarious.

The Waterfront has it all. Not once have I been there when there weren’t street artists and musicians around providing entertainment to all passers.

Cape Town is just surrounded by mountains and hills and you could stop by anywhere to get the most stunning angles of the city below you. One of the most popular mountain drives in the Chapman’s Peak route, especially the part overlooking Hout Bay.

Other lovely activities for a day out in the Mothercity are visiting the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or the Bo Kaap. Kirstenbosch is beautiful and peaceful and many concerts and shows take place there. Bo Kaap (meaning ‘above the Cape’) was originally a poor area on the side of the Signal Hill until the houses were painted in all the colours of the rainbow and now it is one of the most popular visiting places in central Cape Town. I managed to persuade my sister up table mountain too and we had a brilliant day hopping around the top and taking silly pictures.

The cherry on the cake this time was skydiving from 3 000 meters with my 59-year-old mother (who was loving life!).

Even though I actually underwent surgery to remove all my wisdom teeth, there’s nothing the could have made this trip any better. Next time, I will reserve even more time. You really should have seen the look on my home dentist’s face when I went for my check up after the trip and told her that I had had all my wisdom teeth removed in Africa. With my (barely) swollen face, my mom and I sat in the hop on hop off bus for two days viewing Cape Town from a different perspective.

Until the next adventure!

Love,

Mira