Cape Town- great beach city

[SYDNEY]

GREAT thread Briker - well done girlfriend

Originally Posted by Diggerdog

One thing Cape Town has more than anywhere, I would say, is variety where beaches are concerned, and actually in general.

There are literally hundreds of beaches. Urban beaches with the city right there, like in Sea Point. Glamour beaches like Clifton, beaches with pumping nightlife and restaurants like Camps Bay.
Bikini beach in Gordons Bay.
Warm water beaches on one side of the penisula, cold water on the other. Wild beaches like Noordhoek, open sandy beaches, small coves.
Beaches with wildlife like Boulders. Calm warm kid friendly beaches like Muizenberg and the Strand.
Pumping surf beaches like Dunes and Long Beach, reef and beach like Kalk Bay and Kommetjie.
Big open kite surfing at Big Bay and Blouberg...

Seriously, the list goes on and on.
All these beaches are right in and around Cape Town, due to the unique peninsula that Cape Town is situated on, and the city is absolutely one of the top beach cities in the world.

Having lived in Cape Town for 4 years I feel that I am qualified to say that Cape Town's beaches are stunning and varied but to say that it is more varied than anywhere else on earth is pushing it.

Auckland's beaches are some of the most varied that I have ever encountered and I have traveled to 5 Continents. Ranging from snow white beaches to gold sand beaches, black volcanic sand beaches, chi-chi beaches in the city etc.

One thing that we don't have is Boulders Beach - swimming with penguins is a royal treat and it is one of the very few things that I miss about living in Cape Town. I would recommend it to anybody

[briker]

hey hey! Good to see you around. CT has been turned around for the better. You might not recognise it when you return

[Diggerdog]

Well, Sydney, for variety it would certainly be up there. Obviously with 2 coastlines, it is completely unique. Its mountainous setting is wolrd famous and provides a range of microclimates, as you would know.

So it its blowing a gale at muizenberg, Sea Point or Glen Beach will be dead calm. The prevaling winds mean that there is offshore surf on one of the coastlines no matter which way the wind blows.
So we have top surf, kiting, family, city chic, harbour, wild and national park beaches, with the stunning backdrop of the mountains providing shelter from the weather.

Its pretty damm fine.

Boulders is one of the very few things you miss from your time in Cape Town? You should certainly come back for a visit then...

[SYDNEY]

Originally Posted by briker

hey hey! Good to see you around. CT has been turned around for the better. You might not recognise it when you return

I am still around hun - you are doing a great job here and with style It depends who you talk to I have some mates leaving CT for good this month because of the usual blah blah blah and I have met some Kiwi's who absolutely adored their time in the mother city and recommend it for a holiday anytime I don't see a holiday in SA very soon but if the occasion arises you will be the first to know Are you still in Taiwan (I left a message for you on Facebook) ?

Originally Posted by Diggerdog

Well, Sydney, for variety it would certainly be up there. Obviously with 2 coastlines, it is completely unique. Its mountainous setting is wolrd famous and provides a range of microclimates, as you would know.

So it its blowing a gale at muizenberg, Sea Point or Glen Beach will be dead calm. The prevaling winds mean that there is offshore surf on one of the coastlines no matter which way the wind blows.
So we have top surf, kiting, family, city chic, harbour, wild and national park beaches, with the stunning backdrop of the mountains providing shelter from the weather.

Its pretty damm fine.

Boulders is one of the very few things you miss from your time in Cape Town? You should certainly come back for a visit then...

There is no denying that - Cape Town's beaches are rich with variety but your choice of words was not the best There are many cities with micro climates and 2 coastlines - a great example is Auckland (one side of the city is on the Tasman Sea and the other side is on the Pacific Ocean - both are very different in climate, topography - one side is coastal plains and the other side is the Waitakere Mountain Ranges and the vegetation also differs).

I also miss Table Mountain, the convenience of Franschoek (our equivalent is a few hours away), the drive along the Atlantic seaboard and Sandy Bay

[Diggerdog]

Hey Sydney, Cape Town has improved and grown up dramatically over the last 3 years especially - I dont think it depends on who you talk to, its just a fact!

The natural beauty is still there, amazing as ever, but now we have the infrastructure to match. With all the road upgrades, IRT, new stadium and fantastic new Urban Park, not to mention the inner-city rejuvenation, CT is a blossoming beauty.

The CBD is fabulous now with all the development, refurbs, pedestrianisation of streets, new funky bridges, art precincts - and the nightlife is booming.
The world cup really paid off here for us, and our tourism is cooking.

Just come and visit already, and reserve judgement until then...

[Mo Rush]

CT has certainly moved forward post 2006 in a big way, but its only just begun.

2011 has much in store, with CTICC expansion already funded and announced....tay tuned BRT launches soon.

[Diggerdog]

Eden on the Bay at Big Bay is an example of the fun, bright new stuff happening now - how many new developments are there ANYWHERE in a big city that have direct beach access, as in no road in the way.

The restaurants and bars at Eden have lounges on the grass verge around the beach.

Briker, can you find any photos of this place, it rocks.

PS - I know Ushaka and Moyo in Durbs also have the same setup, and it is just as awesome!

[SYDNEY]

Originally Posted by Diggerdog

Hey Sydney, Cape Town has improved and grown up dramatically over the last 3 years especially - I dont think it depends on who you talk to, its just a fact!

That's not what I meant - I don't doubt for one minute that things have grown, changed, improved etc. That is what cities do unless they are in some war zone and/or incredibly poor. Auckland for example has changed and improved immensely in the 6 years that I have been here and I am sure that Cape Town will also continue to transform itself continuously. What I was saying is that for some people it is all just "decoration" but the underlying matters are still a worry (poverty, corruption, crime etc.) ... it is people like us who care about development etc

Originally Posted by Diggerdog

The natural beauty is still there, amazing as ever, but now we have the infrastructure to match. With all the road upgrades, IRT, new stadium and fantastic new Urban Park, not to mention the inner-city rejuvenation, CT is a blossoming beauty.

The CBD is fabulous now with all the development, refurbs, pedestrianisation of streets, new funky bridges, art precincts - and the nightlife is booming.
The world cup really paid off here for us, and our tourism is cooking.

Just come and visit already, and reserve judgement until then...

It is amazing what a huge sporting event can do for cities, Auckland's CBD is doubling in size which has been spearheaded by the RWC 2011 and major transformations regarding public transport has started such as the return of trams etc. One thing that I have noticed though is that Kiwi's are not as eager as South Africans to embrace big sporting events - it all boils down to the semantics and the money (Kiwi's are not spend thrift at all).

I have so many other places to see first but if the occasion should arise I will not turn it down

Originally Posted by Mo Rush

CT has certainly moved forward post 2006 in a big way, but its only just begun.

2011 has much in store, with CTICC expansion already funded and announced....tay tuned BRT launches soon.

Great news and about time - finally you are getting to see what your tax dollars (sorry - Rands) are being used for. Our BRT opened a few years ago and it has proven to be a huge success, they are drawing up plans to expand the network as I type this. I am sure that the Cape Town one will be just as successful and people will love it.

Originally Posted by Diggerdog

Eden on the Bay at Big Bay is an example of the fun, bright new stuff happening now - how many new developments are there ANYWHERE in a big city that have direct beach access, as in no road in the way.

The restaurants and bars at Eden have lounges on the grass verge around the beach.

Briker, can you find any photos of this place, it rocks.

PS - I know Ushaka and Moyo in Durbs also have the same setup, and it is just as awesome!

Don't even try this in NZ - you will be crucified. No developments are allowed to encroach on beaches/ sand dunes. They are extremely environmentally friendly here. They tried to build a hotel on the beach front in Papamoa and there was hell to pay. The latest application was to build houses at New Chums Beach and we had huge protests. The closest they got to building on a beach without any roadway in the way was at Omaha Beach but that is way behind the dunes .... one cannot blame them for not wanting development on the beaches .....

NEW CHUMS BEACH - NEW ZEALAND:

image hosted on flickr

New Chums Bay - A secret Paradise by JanusKopf, on Flickr

Thanks for all the advice and info boys - I will leave you to it and good luck with your thread Briker - keep it up girlfriend

[Mo Rush]

Good to hear. Back on track with Cape Town as per the thread title.

[Diggerdog]

I had to have a quick look at the thread title myself to make sure we were still talking about Cape Town!

Some good pictures of The Grand Cafe and Beach would be nice on here, methinks...

[Cauê]

New Chums is very similar to Grumari beach, here in Rio. I love Cape Town.

[SYDNEY]

These are old but still applicable - enjoy:

[briker]

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[musiccity]

Cape Town is SO beautiful

I wish people would stop trying to compare Cape Town to their city saying theirs is better, if this was a comparison thread for best beach cities in the world, Briker would've said so. This thread is showcasing Cape Town only and Briker is doing a very good job.

[skytrax]

beautiful city!

[briker]

Thanks musiccity. A picture speak a thousand words. You should visit sometime. It's definitely worthwhile travelling the distance.

[briker]

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[christos-greece]

And the beaches of Cape Town are beautiful indeed

[spongeg]

i have loads of family in cape town - a cousin has invited me to stay at their place in simonstown one of these days i will go again

as for crime - my dad's cousin's wife was robbed at a stop light - she just handed over her valuables - jewelery etc through the window and they left her alone and another cousin he had gone to a sporting event and they came back to where they parked the car to find it had been stolen

[Diggerdog]

I see tripadvisor just rated Cape Town as the NUMBER 1 city in the world for tourists. Thats pretty good stuff.

Cape Town sure is cemented her reputation of AWESOMENESS. And coolness....