...Cape Town Discussion (Closed Feb 2009)

[SYDNEY]

Thanks Mo - you are a walking encyclopedia .... Cape Town is kicking some serious booty

Cape Town (80) in South Africa and Port Louis in Mauritius are the region’s cities with the best quality of living followed by Dubai (83) and Abu Dhabi (87). In contrast, Johannesburg slips from 90 in 2007 to 94 in 2008 and Harare in Zimbabwe slips from 168 in 2007 to 174. Out of the 25 lowest ranking cities, 19 are from Africa including Lagos (198), Port Harcourt (207) and Bangui (214). Two are from the Middle East including Sanaa (207) and Baghdad (215) – the city with the world’s lowest quality of living and lowest levels of personal safety. Cape Town scores 87.9 compared to Baghdad’s 13.5.

[annman]

Good God! I would hope we're better than Baghdad!

[SYDNEY]

Originally Posted by annman

Good God! I would hope we're better than Baghdad!

You do have a sense of humour pleased to meet you Annman I am Sydney the terrible

[annman]

Hi, I'm Annman-the-Abominable of the Norwegian Viking Hordes of Trondheim... I found Greenland, I'm also psychic, I named it that, 'cos I could see global warming in our future...

[joburg]

Originally Posted by SYDNEY

Cape Town (80) in South Africa and Port Louis in Mauritius are the region’s cities with the best quality of living followed by Dubai (83) and Abu Dhabi (87). In contrast, Johannesburg slips from 90 in 2007 to 94 in 2008 and Harare in Zimbabwe slips from 168 in 2007 to 174.

10 points to CT I would put it even higher!
Pity about Joburg slipping four places - we should be gaining! tut, tut

[Mo Rush]

Cape Town - A top 10 Beach City
]Top 10 Beach Cities - askmen.com

10. Venice, Italy
9. Mumbai, India
8. Sydney, Australia
7. Brighton, UK
6. LA, USA
5. Cape Town, RSA
4. Rio, Brazil
3. Barcelona, Spain
2. Dubai, UAE
1. Miami USA

Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town -
Body of water the city borders: Indian/Atlantic Oceans
Population: Around 3,500,000
Average temperature in winter: 53°F
Average temperature in summer: 68°F

A city where sickening wealth rubs its Prada-clad shoulders with heartbreaking poverty, Cape Town has risen up the tourism ranks in the past decade to become a go-to place for expat residents looking for a better life in the sun. Fusing European elegance with the exotic nature of the African continent, Cape Town has it all: Five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, chic nightclubs, designer shops, and beaches better than the ones on Baywatch. Hugged by the warm waters of both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans in front and sheltered by the mountainous landscape behind, the sheltered beaches that lie before the city are some of the best in the world for getting your tan on.

Best beach: Clifton Beach is one of Cape Town’s most glamorous waterfronts, with flashy yachts moored in the shimmering water and rock-hard bodies flaunting themselves in the surf, while Big Bay and Little Bay are best for water sports like windsurfing.

[Mo Rush]

'Western Cape the place to be in SA'

By Gershwin Wanneburg

Western Cape residents are among the most well-off in the country, according to a survey released by Statistics SA.

The 2007 General Household Survey (GHS), released on Thursday, detected an improvement in all South Africans' living conditions and ranked the Western Cape in the top five in areas like housing, electricity, education and health.

Despite soaring food prices, fewer South Africans went hungry in 2007, the survey showed. Adult hunger more than halved the previous five years to 2 percent in 2007, as did child hunger.

The survey also revealed that access to the electricity grid and water connections had been improved and South Africans were more satisfied with health services.

The Western Cape's ranking alongside Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal - whose populations are more than twice the size of the Western Cape's 4,8-million - is even more impressive.

More than 1,3-million people in the Western Cape are connected to the electricity grid - the fourth biggest after Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

About 930 000 in the province have running water in their homes - third after Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

About 1,7 million people about the age of 15 in the Western Cape are literate - fourth behind Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape - and about 130 ,000 attended university, technikon or college in 2007, putting it in roughly the same position as Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

"Economically it's well off, so, yes, it will do well in many of the service provision areas," said Kefiloe Masiteng, deputy director-general for population and social statistics at Stats SA.

"You would expect migration from other poor provinces like the Eastern Cape into the province would've dragged it down, but that is not case."

However, it is exactly because of its attraction to job seekers from poorer provinces that it also has one of the nation's biggest housing backlogs.

That was highlighted this week after thousands of people in informal settlements were left homeless because of floods.

Housing remained a blot on most provinces' records, although South Africans were mostly better off in 2007 than they were six years ago when the GHS was launched, Stats SA said.

Except for KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape, all provinces showed an increase in informal settlements.

The number of informal settlement dwellings in the Western Cape grew by almost 35 000 to 159 000 between 2002 and 2007 and by about 20 000 nationally to 1,2-million over the same period.

Education also produced mixed results. More South Africans had some form of education in 2007 than six years ago and a greater number had progressed past primary school and matric.

However, crucially, the number of individuals who attained a tertiary qualification increased by only 0,7 percent between 2002 and 2007.

Poor teaching and a lack of teachers also seem to have become bigger problems in 2007.

In addition, just over 8 percent of those surveyed lived without the bucket toilet system or no sanitation in 2007, down from 9 percent in 2006 and 13,2 percent in 2002.

[Mo Rush]

JUNIOR WORLD CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIPS OPENS IN CAPE TOWN

12 July 2008

The first day of the 2008 UCI Junior World Championships at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town got off to an exciting start as the top juniors in the world fought for a position on the track and ultimately the podium.

449 Riders from 59 nations are competing for podium finishes and world records in the Junior Worlds. If it is indeed the incubator for future elite champions, then today's performances promise the emergence of some cycling superstars in the near future. Today was the first of five days of intensive track racing, considered the most spectacular of the disciplines for spectators.

In the Men's 3km Individual Pursuit, US rider, Taylor Phinney, hailed as the next superstar of World Cycling, didn't disappoint the crowds as he put in a historic ride. Claiming gold with a time of 3:23.759 - an outstanding performance on a track which was deemed slow because of the cold conditions - he had the crowds on their feet with his charisma and talent. Second place was taken by Rohan Dennis from Australia with a time of 3:27.422 and third place went to Jason Christie from New Zealand in 3:29.987.

Gold medallist, 18 year old, Phinney set a new world record in the Junior Men's 3000 meter individual pursuit last month in Los Angeles at the US Olympic trials. Taylor is part of the US Olympic team going to Bejiing, where he will compete in the elite distance of 4000 meters. Until then, Capetonians have the privilege of seeing a true champion on their home ground.

In the Ladies' 500 TT, Kristina Vogel put in strong ride to win a gold for Germany with a time of 35: 905. Victoria Baranova won a silver for Russia and Olivia Montauban bronze for France.

Drama came in the Ladies' 7.5km Scratch Race Final when eight riders failed to finish as a result of two crashes - one involving two riders, the other a massive pile-up of six riders, in the peleton. Three of the riders needed additional medical attention at a nearby hospital. Australian, Megan Dunn won the gold, Jemma Dudley from New Zealand, the silver and Colleen Hayduk from USA, the bronze.

The Men's Team Sprint was won by the French trio, in a time of 46.6sec with Australia and Poland taking the silver and bronze medals.

Tomorrrow, Sunday 13 racing starts at 15h00 with the finale, the Men's Keirin, considered one of the most exciting track events. A motorcycle paces six cyclists releasing them for a breakneck sprint for a finish.

Entrance is free and Capetonians are encouraged to come and see South Africa competing against the best in the world in an event that is a celebration of youth and cycling.

[Mo Rush]

Cape Town International Airport enters global top 10 airports list
Best in Africa


1 Hong Kong
2 Singapore Changi
3 Seoul Incheon
4 Kuala Lumpur KLIA
5 Munich
6 Kansai
7 Copenhagen
8 Zurich
9 Helsinki
10 Cape Town (13th in 2007)

"We congratulate Hong Kong for their repeated success in winning the World's best Airport title" said Skytrax CEO, Mr Edward Plaisted. "In recent years, the whole air travel experience has become much more focussed on the time customers spend in the airport environment, and Hong Kong has established itself as a clear passenger favourite in this respect."

"The World Airport Survey evaluates a broad spectrum of product and service touchpoints across the airport experience, covering a wide spectrum of passenger types. Hong Kong was particularly notable for gaining highest satisfaction ratings in such a diverse market. Like any other business, an airport is striving to deliver world-class standards that will make a customer want to use it again, and achieving this level of loyalty requires the highest levels of quality consistency - something where Hong Kong was singled out again and again during the survey."

"Over the last 10 years, the Skytrax World Airport Awards have become recognised as the trusted, global symbol of quality for airports," said Edward Plaisted. "Our survey participants represent the most experienced, diverse and discerning travellers in the marketplace, and airports throughout the world recognize the inherent value that comes with their endorsement."

The 2006 title winner, Singapore Changi Airport, is ranked 2nd in the 2008 World Airport Awards, with Seoul Incheon Airport in 3rd, and KLIA Kuala Lumpur moving into 4th place.

"We again saw a very tight finish to this 2007/8 passenger survey, with very close margins seen between the World's Top 3 airports. The opening of the new Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi was clearly visible from results during the survey, with customer satisfaction levels showing marked increases for this airport over the period it was included. We have yet to see what impact the new Concourse Terminal will have upon passenger ratings for Seoul Incheon Airport, with this being too late to have any impact on these 2008 results" said Plaisted.

Munich Airport is again the winner of Best Airport in Europe title, and also ranked 5th in the world - out of more than 190 airports. San Francisco was named Best Airport North America, ahead of Vancouver (2nd) and Dallas/Fort Worth in 3rd position for the region.

In the Middle East passengers have to wait awhile for airport improvements, with the new airports yet to open in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. In the meantime, Best Airport for the region is Tel Aviv (1st), Bahrain (2nd) and Muscat (3rd).

Best Airport in Africa is Cape Town, which for the first time has entered the World's Top 10 Airports in 10th position, with Johannesburg ranked 2nd in Africa, ahead of Addis Ababa in 3rd place.

[DoviJozi]

Originally Posted by Mo Rush

Best Airport in Africa is Cape Town, which for the first time has entered the World's Top 10 Airports in 10th position, with Johannesburg ranked 2nd in Africa, ahead of Addis Ababa in 3rd place.

I think it's safe to assume after reading this article that whoever ranked these airports has obviously never been to Cape Town International.

[Mo Rush]

8.2 million surveys must be wrong.

[Lutzno]

"Hugged by the warm waters of both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans"

Don't know about that!

[Mo Rush]

Originally Posted by Lutzno

"Hugged by the warm waters of both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans"

Don't know about that!

The Atlantic and Indian are icy. You can freeze to death at Gordons Bay.

[Lutzno]

thats why i said it! i should know, i live in Camps Bay!

Oh, and speaking of that, Mo, do you know anything about the new development in Camps Bay where the Caltex used to be?

[Mo Rush]

Originally Posted by Lutzno

thats why i said it! i should know, i live in Camps Bay!

Oh, and speaking of that, Mo, do you know anything about the new development in Camps Bay where the Caltex used to be?

At the promenade? Not sure.

This is a new one for Camps Bay

http://www.aslo.co.za/images/stories...ystal/main.jpg

The Crystal development in Woodford Road, Camps Bay has been given the green light for building work to commence.

This luxury complex developed by ASLO Holdings consists of 41 apartments, 27 of which have been sold by ASLO's marketing company, A-Property Sales, since the launch last year.

Johannes Barnard, MD of A-Property Sales, says this is highly satisfactory in today's more difficult market.

The modern design by dhk Architects has floor to ceiling glazing and double volume spaces to maximise the views, including dramatic aspects of the Twelve Apostles. The mountainside elevation of the building will be enhanced at night by a "crystal glow" from the lift and staircase shafts.

All apartments have air-conditioning, underfloor heating and kitchens with electric oven and hob combinations, integrated fridge/freezers, built-in microwaves and dishwashers.
Click here!

Barnard said Village & Life's rental scheme for short-term visitors is popular with buyers, who can make their furnished and equipped units available for specified periods.

Village & Life administers letting and servicing, and has guaranteed buyers a 5% annual return in the first year.

"Demand for such units in the area continues to outstrip expectations, and rentals in peak season will be R2 000 to R3 000 a day. Off-peak rentals show strong growth and the World Cup 2010 tournament will create a peak of its own."

Construction should be complete by November 2009.

[Harkeb]

Originally Posted by Mo Rush

The Atlantic and Indian are icy. You can freeze to death at Gordons Bay.

The Atlantic will knock your balls off, but Gordon's Bay has the warmest beach in town. Really calm and fairly warm, because it's protected by the bay and offshore rocks.

[Durbsboi]

Whats happening with the Premier of the WC? why they want him to step down?

[Mo Rush]

coming from a Zille supporter, he is surprisingly competent. Thats why he is being removed. That and being a Mbeki supporter. He will be replaced with an incompetent who will prob cause more headaches for the city and do much less for the poor.

[Durbsboi]

Ah, makes sense now.

[Harkeb]

Lynne Brown is reportedly going to succeed him till the next election. She's doing well as the finance MEC. They should leave it to the women...whos' name isnt a Mfeketo or Tsabalala