Beaches are cheap

It’s been said that when you want a list of things to do in Cape Town you’re faced with things like “go for a shark dive in a cage” or “shop at a really elitist mall” or “check out the wine farms”. Let’s face it, as far as cities go, this one kind of chows your money. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Why not take a stroll along the beach front at one of many Atlantic Seaboard or False Bay beaches?
Blouberg promenade, Camps Bay boulevard or Muizenberg beach are all great attractions. The shells at Eerste Steen beach in Blouberg is great free entertainment for you and the kids. What about taking a walk up Table Mountain instead of catching the cable car? Sure, it’s a bit more strenuous (and, please, keep to the signposted path!), but the views are equally magnificent. People watch at the V&A Waterfront, check out the seals near the Two Oceans Aquarium, drive up to Old Boyes Drive and see if you can spot a few whales!

Not everything in Cape Town is massively expensive. Sure, I can tell you a load of places that will charge you just for breathing the same air as them, but as a local who thinks ol’ CT is lekker, you don’t need to be a multi-millionaire to find things to do in Cape Town.

I took a one day river rafting trip this past Sunday along a tranquil section of the
Breede River in the Western Cape of South Africa, a convenient one-hour’s drive from the city of Cape Town near the picturesque vine-clad town of Worcester.

A relaxed drive through scenic countryside early Sunday morning brought our little group to the starting point where our friendly guides met us. Coffee and rusks were served on the grassy bank as we enjoyed the site of the river flowing past and the incredible, Tolkienesque mountains surrounding us.

An entertaining but informative brief on how to use the 2-man inflatable “crocodile’s” – the only variety on the Breede we were assured – and some basic health and safety tips followed. Then each pair of rowers got to decide who was to be the ‘engine’ (front seat) and who was to be the ‘rudder’ (back seat) and have a practice run in the wide section of river just in front of the camp.

It was initially harder (well, for me anyhow) than it looked. This could be due to the fact that I have very few co-ordination skills. But I soon got the hang of my rudder-role and could steer our craft around the calm waters without too much difficulty with my sister rowing upfront.

So we set off on our waterways adventure. The river narrowed steadily and flowed more swiftly while we enjoyed the serenity of the wind in the rushes whispering all around, the sweet notes of birdsong, the dip and splash of oar in water. As we were near the back I got to observe how the guide in the craft in front of us was not, as we were, rowing with a great deal of effort at all, but simply sitting back, letting the river do the work and every now and then using her oar to keep going straight. We followed her example and found we were using much less energy and able to relax and enjoy the ride more.

Our first ‘rapid’ was quite an experience. All of a sudden the river narrowed, the trees grew lower overhead and we were in a kind of natural tunnel, going at some speed. All method went out the window as, shrieking with laughter we spun around and around, in our boat, careened into the bank several times and yet kept going. We were laughing too much and trying too hard to avoid getting our hair tangled in the multitude of branches above to exercise any control over the boat, but just as it became a bit frightening it was over and we pulled up onto a small beach.

The Nappy-Run was next – our guide showed us how to wear our life jackets as nappies and we waddled bemusedly down to a very narrow, swift-flowing side branch of the river. Here we jumped in and got carried, floating on our backs with feet in the air thanks to the buoyancy of the life jackets, at high speed down this natural supertube. Many of us chose to repeat the experience – it was a lot of fun.
Later, after continuing down the river via a second rapid to a bridge where we were met by a bus, we were driven back to the camp site for a delicious buffet picnic lunch served with wine, and coffee and chocolates to end.

The bug has bitten – next I will be attempting the far more frothy waters of the Orange River, and hopefully will survive to tell the tale!