Cape Town Capers Through History on $100

My eldest son, Oliver, is 10 years old and heading off to Secondary School next September. This is also known as High School or Senior School :-) As a result, we have been spending some time looking at the subject choices on offer at each school for GCSEs and A levels.

I have been trying to explain to him the value of history and how our roots are important to each and every one of us. My husband and I were both born and raised in South Africa and lived there through the last years of Apartheid and the first years of the new Rainbow Nation. Things are still not perfect in South Africa but at least it is free of the shackles and shame of statutorily imposed racial discrimination, something so many of us, within the country, opposed for so long, and we're so grateful to have experienced the day it all changed officially on 27 April 1994, the day of South Africa's first-ever democratic elections.

South Africa as a whole is an incredible holiday destination, but if I had to choose one city within my beloved South Africa to spend a day in, I would choose our Mother City, Cape Town. It has so much to offer to its residents and travelers alike.

For the #dreemportchallenge on travel, week 1, I would spend the day with my eldest son in Cape Town taking in a few iconic sights.

Our day trip in Cape Town:

We get off the plane, having just had a filling breakfast onboard, although hardly gourmet, but it will suffice until lunch. We have some plane snacks remaining from the flight and remember to ask for an extra bottle of water at breakfast to take with us, as we know we'll need it where we are going.

We have a grand total of $100 USD to spend during the day which at the time of publication, equates to R1,512.87 at the exchange rate of 1USD = 15.1287 ZAR.

We take a taxi to the foot of Table Mountain at a cost of R226.93 ($15). Before we embark on our history lesson of the day, we want to enjoy the local scenery and get a bird's eye view of the landscape, the city, and the two oceans (Indian and Atlantic) that meet at Cape Point. We both love a good walk and I love mountains so I figure ... let's take a one-way ride up on the cableway and then hike down again, working up a hunger for lunch. The one-way cableway tickets cost us R320 inclusive of the adult and child ticket ($21.15).

We take the cableway up to the summit and enjoy a magnificent 360-degree view of Cape Town and its suburbs in the morning sunlight. To one side we have Camps Bay and the stunning beach shoreline. We can see as far as Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak. To the other side, the city below us with Cape Town's harbour, and Robben Island in the distance, the place where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of the 27 years that he was incarcerated during the Apartheid years. It is a destination that we are looking forward to visiting for the immense role it has played in modern South African history. We take a few photos and then head down on foot, taking in the magnificence of the 12 Apostles mountain range and enjoying the fresh mountain air and the chance to stretch our legs.

Less than 2 hours later we are back at the cableway base station and we grab a cab at a cost of R151.29 ($10) to take us to the V&A Waterfront from where our Ferry will depart to Robben Island for our tour of this historic and poignant place in our country. I call ahead to Pure Elixir in Bree Street, a vegan cafe restaurant and order 2 vegan gluten free chickpea curry rootis (R60 each) and 2 green smoothies (R33 each) for collection at a total cost of $12.29 and our taxi driver kindly makes a pit stop to allow me to run in to fetch our lunch parcel.

When we arrive at the V&A Waterfront we board the Ferry for Robben Island. I had availed of my South African nationality and purchased tickets ahead at local rates for my son and me to do the Robben Island Tour (R400 adult, R210 child under 18) which includes the return ferry from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V & A Waterfront. The departure point is a pier on the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, named after Queen Victoria of England and one of her sons, Albert, who was a favoured Royal in South Africa. It's a 4 hour roundtrip including the tour of the island and we eat our lunch on the 1/2 hour Ferry crossing. It is delicious and hits the spot after our wonderful morning hike.

Robben Island view from the air

When we arrive on Robben Island we are escorted to the buses which then take us to the main sights of historical importance on the island which make up the Robben Island Museum. These include amongst others, the military bunkers from WW2 and the Maximum Security prison that was once housed here. We pay a visit to Nelson Mandela's prison cell to round off the tour. It is both poignant and gutwrenching and we are surprised to learn of the close friendship that evolved between Dr. Mandela and his prison guard during his time of incarceration on the island. It is an eye-opening experience for my son to learn so much about the man that became South Africa's beloved Madiba and the first democratically elected president of our country. A freedom fighter who sought equality for all.

Cape Town from Robben Island

Nelson Mandela's Prison Cell

We arrive back at the V&A waterfront at around 17h00 and spend a couple of hours wandering around the Waterfront shops, before sitting down to watch the sunset over the Atlantic.

It's been a truly exhilarating day.

Complete costs:

Taxi to table mountain $15
Table mountain cableway $21.15
Taxi to V&A Waterfront $10
Vegan GF Rooti with Chickpea curry R60 x 2 and 2 regular green smoothies at R33 each ($12.29)
Robben Island tour including return ferry crossing $40.32

Total cost: $98.76

All photos from Canva Pro or screenshots of pricing online.

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