Cape Town Touring

Having suffered from chronic motion sickness since I was a small child (there once was a car named the "barf-mobile" due to my unfortunate tummy troubles), I get nervous nausea from the mere suggestion that we travel by motor coach. These huge, smelly, view-blocking, ubiquitous monstrosities of modern tourism should be avoided not only because they are second only to the wave-rocking boat for inducing panicked runs on the drugstore's Dramamine shelf, but because going on a "tour" with 60+ other people sounds more like an ordeal than a enjoyable, informative cultural encounter.

Joining a motor coach tour may be the most economical, no sweat option, but nearly everyone will find it hard to blend in with the locals and get a real feel for a place while traveling around with a horde of their own countrymen. Getting on and off the bus, being ferried from photo-op to photo-op, taking pictures through the windows, gathering around an umbrella-toting tour guide and being smothered in a circle of your tour-mates 10 people deep all straining to hear -- it's efficient but not very romantic.

These prejudices explain why we've been on relatively few organized tours. But here in South Africa the mini-bus has come to the rescue and we've gone on three day trips in five days. These van-based, small-group tours have been great for manifold reasons; here are just a few:
1) Less motion sickness stress in smaller vehicle (the opposite of boats).
2) An intimate group means a more immediate experience and a better chance of hearing the guide.
3) They can take you to places that you can't get to on public transport.
4) They can safely take you to places where outsiders on their own could be easy targets.

The numerous day tour companies offer pick up and drop off from your accommodation. While checking into Zebra Backpackers Lodge ("Zebra" is pronounced like "Debra," which, in addition to being more logical, sounds more exotic to my American ears), we also signed up for a Day Trippers tour of the winelands for the next day. Throughout our stay in Cape Town, we've had no trouble making bookings on similarly short notice and the friendly staff at Zebra's have made all the phone calls for us.

The Winelands...
are beautiful. We had Sonoma flashbacks, except we experienced far less sticker shock in the many charming boutiques. Also, the numerous African antelope sightings while driving to and from the three wineries reminded us we weren't in California. To see so much wildlife on a wine tour was surprising, especially since we had just left safari for the big city experience. We happily ticked a few more species off our haven't-seen-yet list.

The tastings themselves were also plenty enjoyable and there was very little spitting or pouring out. Thankfully, the winery visits were spaced out over the day with stops at places of historical significance, animal watching, and a picnic lunch provided by Day Trippers. We particularly enjoyed the opportunity to sample cheeses along with the wines at Fairview.

Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope...
are very, very beautiful and very, very windy (take your sunglasses off windy). It's thoroughly worth the climb up to the lighthouse at Cape Point and very pleasant to escape the big bus parking lot crowds by taking the short hike down to the Cape of Good Hope. The variety of the dassie was fun to watch. But most of all we enjoyed the short bike ride along the peninsula at the end of the day and watching the daring of the kite surfers. How they avoid getting tangled with each other is still a mystery.

By Meredith Bragg |  January 24, 2006; 9:36 AM ET  | Category:  South Africa
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Posted by: Phyllis | February 8, 2006 05:27 PM

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