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Cape Town Property
CapeTownProperty.com is aimed at those who need information about investing in a
property in Cape Town.
It is edited by
Andre de Villiers
a veteran of 25 years in Cape Town residential property.
Andre de Villiers has received various industry and corporate awards in a long
and successful property career including the prestigious Property
Professional Associations "Movers and Shakers" Award in 2003. Andre
owns four real estate offices in Cape Town. Andre was
appointed National Marketing Manager for Chas Everitt International in September
2007 and is CEO of CEI Overseas Properties a
company that is focused on selling overseas property
investments to South Africans. (See www.OverseasProperties.co.za )
Voted Favourite Foreign City
by the UK Telegraph in 2004, Cape Town is one of the places you just
have to visit before you die. It's an awesome city. All the vibe you
want - great parties, great shopping and loads of galleries and
other
cultural attractions can't detract from the fact that what makes
Cape Town special is the fact that it is set in one of the most
beautiful places on earth. Even Sir Francis Drake, who'd pretty much
seen it all, called
Cape
Point the 'fairest cape in all the circumference of the world'.
It's a needle-sharp promontory, which - contrary to marketing hype -
does not divide the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic. But Capetonians
claim it does and you can often see a line of foam heading straight
out from the point - possibly all the way to Antarctica - which
certainly divides the
False Bay Coastline on the east from the
Atlantic Seaboard on the west.
Table Mountain
And the Peninsula Mountain Chain forms a
high-lying spine all the way from
Cape
Point to
Table Mountain above the city. Most of this high lying ground is
part of the Table Mountain National Park, which
also includes
Boulders Beach and its penguins, and
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens that showcases South Africa's
fabulous
floral heritage as well as hosting some great concerts among the
flowers.
Table Mountain is the soul of Cape Town - its emotional heart
and touchstone.
Many Capetonians escape to the slopes of the
mountain on weekends and after work as a regular - well, it's almost
a pilgrimage. There are literally hundreds of walks on the mountain.
Cape Town is the epicentre of the
Cape Floral Region, which is a world heritage site. Another
great thing about the Peninsula and its mountains is that Cape Town
has virtually two different climates in one city. When the wind is
blowing on one side, the
beaches should be warm and sheltered on the other - and even
when it's raining on one side, you may get bright sunshine on the
other.
Boulders Beach - African penguin
It's all a kind of yin yang thing -
opposites balancing - the dark and light side of the mountain and
all that esoteric stuff. And speaking of which - Cape Town is not
just a beautiful city with fantastic
beaches, a national park, an awesome mountain and beautiful
flowers. No - it's also a great city. It's a place where
residents and visitors alike work hard and play even harder.
Cape Town accommodation is plentiful and
there’s something to suit every budget but it is highly advisable to
book ahead, especially over the Christmas season (December to
mid-February) and during the
Argus Cycle
Tour (usually mid-March). The greatest density of
Cape Town hotels,
boutique hotels,
Bed and Breakfasts,
guest houses and
self catering apartments and holiday villas are
situated in the
City Bowl area and
immediate
South Atlantic Seaboard belt, all within a 10
minute drive from
Cape Town City Centre and the
V&A Waterfront. Highly desirable suburbs like
Tamboerskloof and
Oranjezicht spill down the slopes of Table Mountain towards
Gardens,
Cape Town City Centre,
De Waterkant and the exclusive
Waterfront. From the Waterfront the dazzling Atlantic coastline
curves south, fringed by the seaside suburbs of
Green Point,
Sea Point,
Bantry Bay the ultra glamorous suburbs of
Clifton and
Camps Bay.

Unless you tie on a blindfold and lock yourself in your hotel room,
there is absolutely no way you can get bored in Cape Town. There are
so many
things to do. If you're into shopping, the V&A
Waterfront is just one of many shopoholic's dream venues but it
stands out as it has so much more - boat trips, the embarkation
point for the
Robben Island ferry, the
Two Oceans Aquarium, loads of interesting historical buildings
and some of the city's best hotels with possibly the best views in
the world. Cape town offers a whole range of exciting
adventure activities, great
birding, awesome
whale watching, historical buildings, and
dozens of museums outlining the city's fascinating
history and its many
cultures.
Atlantic Seaboard - Camps Bay Beach
An easy day trip from Cape Town, the
Winelands offer great scenery, white-washed gabled farmhouses
nestling in bright green vineyards, lovely little restaurants, great
coffee shops and - of course -
wine
tasting sales and cellar tours. When the sun goes down you can
choose between hundreds of great restaurants and a
huge range of funky pubs, vibey clubs and a wide selection of
movies, theatre and live music. Cape Town is also home to one of the
most outrageous parties in the world. The
Mother
City Queer Project is a themed costume party in December that is
fast becoming one of the most popular gatherings - certainly in
South Africa - and possibly the world. And shortly thereafter,
the traditional Kaapse Klopse minstrel dancers take
over parts of the city streets in a tradition that stretches back
hundreds of years to the era when slavery was legal in Cape Town.
Don't forget to pack your dancing shoes.
Cape Point - Bontebok
Other areas close to Cape Town you may like to
explore include the dramatic
West Coast, which offers great
birding along the shores of
Langebaan Lagoon,
Namaqualand, which has even more spectacular
spring flowers, and the
Overberg, famous for land-based
whale watching. It also features lovely
flowers in spring. Cape Town is not the best
game viewing destination in
South Africa, but there is some small game at
Cape
Point and there are a few game farms a short distance from the
city, but they're not really up to the standard of the game reserves
further north and east.

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