Let me start by saying that I hate city tours. You know the type: worst case is a bus of noisy tourists and a loudspeaker that you can barely hear, best case is a private guide whisking you from one museum and architectural wonder to another with a detailed spiel and photo stop.
Forget what you know and imagine that your best friend knows everyone in the city and is taking you to meet them... that's the best analogy for this day, billed as a foodie tour, but really a chance to wander town and meet new best friends. When we first met Anine, dubbed "the hugger" by several of her friends that we encountered along the way, she declared that we must start at Table Mountain. Never mind that we had only hired her for half the day and that we were planning to do Table Mountain on our own in the afternoon.... no, the weather was coming in and she was worried the cable car might close, so off we went together.
Views over Table Mountain (Mary Curry)Anine never seemed in a rush... she escorted us around Table Mountain on a gorgeous walk as we admired the views and the adorable dassies, rodent like hyraxes whose closest relatives are manatees and elephants.
Rock Hyrax Table Mountain (Mary Curry)
When we had gotten all the photos we wanted, she took us back down the cable car and off to Truth Coffee. This has to be one of the greatest coffee shops on the planet. The theme is steampunk, which is exactly as you might imagine - Mad Max meets Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The giant roaster is one of the largest in the world - shipped in pieces from Germany, and then decked out to fit the theme that all the staff also adhered to in full costume of top hats and glossy metal. Truth takes coffee seriously, offering two-day barista classes to anyone who wants to serve their organically sourced coffee. A 'latte artist' (yes, a well deserved title) drew elephants, puppies and kittens into our foam - much more lifelike than I could draw on paper - and the handmade croissants rival the very best in Paris. Latte Art at Truth Coffee Cape Town (Mary Curry)
From here we wandered past the District Six Museum. Anine asked if we would like to stop in, never mind that this wasn't part of the 'tour' either. This tribute to the 60,000 residents forcibly displaced when bulldozers destroyed their homes in the 1960s-80s in an Apartheid effort to clear prime real estate for white developers is lovingly looked after by Joe, one of the residents displaced, and another friend greeted by Anine's hugs. After the museum we stopped into Haas (rabbit by translation) for 'bunny chow', an earthy, fruity curry served in hollowed out bread.
From here we walked down to the transit terminal. As Anine explained, this was not on any tourist track, but rather a daily stop for locals commuting in from the poorer suburbs. Here you could get a giant platter of traditional African cuisine for 35 rand (~ 3 dollars) from one of the food trailers that lined the walkway. We met one of the chefs here who explained how he made pap (a cornmeal side dish similar to mashed potatoes), chakalaka (a spicy onion, pepper, vinegar and chili chutney), samp (unhusked maize) and beans, spinach, cabbage and beef. We got a chance to try everything, and the flavors melded together beautifully . Local Chef in Cape Town (Mary Curry)
While we were there, a local man by the name of Brian stopped by to buy lunch. He approached me by asking "Are you a Democrat?" and introduced himself. He had been imprisoned in Robben Island for 10 years during the same time as Nelson Mandela, also for political crimes. He only had 2 front teeth left, explaining that the others had been kicked out during beatings in between time in solitary confinement and hard labor. I shook his hand and thanked him earnestly for sharing his stories... With a wide grin, he wished us goodbye. Robben Island Survivor in Cape Town (Mary Curry)
From here we headed into BoKaap, the brightly painted, delicious-smelling Islamic district of Capetown. We stopped first at Monkey Biz, a beading cooperative where over 400 (mostly female) artists display their intricate beadwork- especially whimsical animal sculptures- for sale. A red-haired ball of energy explained the history of the cooperative and how it functions today. MonkeyBiz buys the sculptures immediately from the artists so that they don't have to wait for payment. Each sculpture is signed so that artists who are able to generate a higher demand for their pieces can also earn higher compensation.
Bo-Kaap Cape Town (Mary Curry)
Next we walked across the street into the delicious-smelling Atlas spices where we picked up some incredibly inexpensive spices and a local candy consisting of a dried apricot dipped in sugar and salt. From here we ventured into Heritage Square where the oldest vine in the southern hemisphere has grown since 1771, even during decades of neglect. I did a brief wine tasting, and then we visited You Bet It's Ice Cream where the owner shared his organic creations including Springbokkie- a combo of Peppermint Chip and Amarula Liquor ice cream.
Just when we doubted our bellies would hold much more, we strolled a bit further and then ventured into House of H. Anine told us the history of this funky restaurant housed in a converted parking lot: Heinrich (H) was an assistant chef at an up-and-coming restaurant who had ideas of how to handle some of the issues of dining out- specifically service problems such as split bills, complaints about wrong charges, etc. In his restaurant, House of H, you are given a plastic card as you enter that you take to each ordering station. As you select organic salads, desserts, grilled items, etc. directly from the stations, your card is swiped based on what you order and you check out at the end. Everything is fresh and the atmosphere is warm and quirky. Even though we were already getting full, Anine ordered a giant plate with a huge variety of salads. They were so delicious that we nearly ate them all! House of H Cape Town (Mary Curry)
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
7 hours ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
22 hours ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
5 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
6 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.