Emerging from Lockdown - Cape Town still offers a renowned holiday experience

As humans, we crave social connectedness. We all look back with fond memories of all the amazing places we enjoyed and the friends and family we shared them with. While looking forward to a sense of normalcy and stability, there are still a host of sublime locations and activities to enjoy within the cosmopolitan city of Cape Town.

Still there and waiting...

Ahead we list five of our favourite, simply Capetonian locations, adventures, and leisurely distractions.

1 - Beach Days

During the days of adjusted level 4 lockdown, Cape Town's iconic beaches opened up to the public provided proper protocol was observed. This meant that visiting one of the Mother City's iconic strips such as Camps Bay, Bloubergstrand, and Llandudno for blissful sunset strolls on golden beach fronts followed by a scrumptious carbonara on the promenade is still one of the best things to do. 

With a temperate Mediterranean climate all year long, beach days and coffee on the promenade are still an option on the table. Better still, keep an eye open for common marine life sightings such as dolphins and seals to turn beach days into a sightseeing excursion.

2 - Whale watching

Speaking of marine life sightings, between June and November every year the Southern Right Whales journey along Cape shores to breed and calve. This means that the unmissable opportunity to see these extraordinary creatures within their natural habitat is still very much open to the public. 

The classic Cape Whale Route stretches from Strandfontein to Plettenberg Bay across a total of 1000kms of coastline offering a variety of key destinations (such as the False Bay coastline, Hermanus, and the Cape Agulhas) to plan your visit and enjoy incredible and sometimes rare sightings. 

Regardless of whether you witness them from the shoreline or onboard a hired vessel, this sort of experience remains one of the most exciting attractions in the Cape. Even during the lockdown.

3 - Spend a day at Cape Point

Perhaps one of the most iconic attractions just 60km away from the city centre is Cape Point. Located at the very tip of the Cape Peninsula, Cape Point forms part of the greater Table Mountain proper and national park. 

Declared as a National World Heritage site thanks to the uniqueness of the landscape and the jagged formation of the mountain structure, Cape Point hosts a unique ecosystem with an abundance of wildlife. It has striking views of the deep blue and it shares its magnificence with a rich biodiversity of Fynbos endemic to the area. 

With an abundance of natural beauty, Cape Point is the perfect destination for animal lovers and adventure seekers looking for something new not too far out of the way.

4 - Pay a visit to the Two Oceans Aquarium

Believe it or not, but this local tourist spot has remained open even during the adjusted level 4 lockdown and thus remains one of the top destinations in Cape Town. Playing host to almost all of the local marine life species, the Two Oceans Aquarium includes a variety of incredible exhibits both in and outdoors and promises an experience like no other.

Some of the most popular attractions include the Penguin Exhibit, the Kelp Forest, and the Save Our Seas Foundation shark exhibit which plays host to one of the world's most poorly understood yet magnificent creatures. The Great White Shark. 

Not only that but free tank diving for the more adventurous spirits and a microscope exhibit that allows you to observe microscopic sea life you've likely never seen before makes for an educational and unique family outing.

5 - Hiking trails

Even though plenty of Cape Town's attractions remain open, some of us are still understandably concerned about relatively larger crowds. Regardless of lockdowns, this is the perfect time of the year to take a scenic hike through the adventure-filled plateaus of the Western Cape.

Regardless of your fitness level, Cape Town offers a variety of hiking trails of differing levels of difficulty so that even the most tepid of adventurers likely have a trail just for them. 

Some of the best trails on your bucket list will include The Pipe Track; Lion's Head; Kasteelspoort Hiking Trail; Maclear's Beacon; Platteklip Gorge; Kloof Corner; Devil's Peak; Nursery Ravine Hiking Trail; India Venster; Tygerberg Nature Reserve; Constantia Corner Hiking Trail; Constantia Nek to Kirstenbosch; Skeleton Gorge; Chapman's Peak; Krom River Trail, Waterfall Hike; Cape Point Hiking Trails; Jonkershoek Nature.

Whether you consider the city of Cape Town your home or if you're planning a short trip with your family, the Mother City remains an attractive and practical option to escape lockdown blues.

Read our previous article here: https://www.hamiltons.co.za/news/dreaming-of-an-ideal-lifestyle-within-the-tranquil-setting-of-kenton-on-sea/ 

Contact Hamiltons Property Portfolio for all your buying or selling requirements:

Johannesburg (Head Office): 011 463 0155

Cape Town: 021 418-0328 

Garden Route: 044 050 3295

Eastern Cape: 076 927 7787

Or email to reception@hamiltons.co.za