Category: <span>South Africa</span>

Cape to Cuba is (surprisingly) a Cuban restaurant in Kalk Bay, Cape Town. We have had several meals there, and they are generally very good. They also have a very casual pub area (think shorts and bare-feet) where they sometimes have live music.

Inside, the restaurant is a little like a rabbit warren. Rooms and corridors seems to extend all over the place, giving some open areas but many quieter areas with just a table or two in a room.

If you are in the area pop in; the food is good and the atmosphere is great.

(You can see the Kalk Bay harbour wall in the background)

Cape Town South Africa

In the short walk that I took through the Kalk Bay Village, I saw five street musicians (ok, 2 groups of 2 and a solo guy).

This guy was just jammin’ away on his guitar, making up the solos and chords as he played. He was accompanied on the bongo’s by his mate.


On Bongos

They were really good, somehow that had convinced the shop behind them to supply some free power, and they were just playing for whomever walked past, and that is something that I love about Cape Town. There is almost no regulation of street music; you can just play wherever you want. I hope it stays that way. It keeps the city alive.

These Jazz muso’s were busking on the beach by the harbour. They were playing local versions of some old standards.

Cape Town South Africa

I haven’t taken an HDR shot in ages (since I was in Italy in Oct last year), and the recent debates on digital photo school have raised my interest in it. So when I saw this car in Kalk Bay, it was the perfect opportunity.

Cape Town HDR South Africa

Taken about 6 weeks ago at a conference in Pretoria. I love the red sunsets that you get up there on the South African highveld.

Looking for a place to stay? Check out the best hotels in Pretoria on SafariNow – this post was written in collaboration with SafariNow.

South Africa Travel

Cds IMG 6542

Lakeside from above. Zandvlei in the front, with the Muizenberg mountains in the distance.

Cds IMG 6540

From the bottom right, you can see a little of Muizenberg beach, and the exit of the vlei in to the sea.
Towards the back, you can see Marina da Gama on the right, and Zandvlei (the lake) in the middle, with the little village of Zandvlei (where I live) on the left. The Muizenberg village is bottom left.

Cds IMG 6544

And finally, Marina da Gama.

Cape Town South Africa

Cds 153 TheFactory

I am not sure why, but this building freaks me out a little. It is an old factory in Port Elizabeth that has been converted into offices. However, it looks to me like the sort of place that a Stephen King movie might be set. I don’t think I would be entirely happy working there.

HDR South Africa Travel

We spent the weekend at Gold Reef City for annual Toastmasters conference. We arrived in a beautifully warn Thursday afternoon, and we had a couple of hours to spare before the formalities started. So what better way to spend it than wondering around the theme park.

The theme park is made to look like and old mining town, complete with mine trucks full of ore, old houses, and mining equipment strewn all over the place. It is a little cheesy, but not too over the top. The theme park is home to the (real) Crown Mines #14 shaft, which stretches over 3500m deep, and it its time was the deepest shaft in the world.

Today, you can travel down the shaft to a depth of about 250m and get a taste of what it is like working in a gold mine. being a theme park, there are the usual set of rides such as roller coasters and ferris wheels.

Cds 2010 05 13 15 31 58 Canon Canon EOS 50D
Ferris wheel, note the soccer balls.

Cds 2010 05 13 16 29 57 Canon Canon EOS 50D
One of the many roller coasters.

Cds 2010 05 13 15 26 51 Canon Canon EOS 50D
Sign for town square. The whole park is laid out to look like Johannesburg around 1900.

Cds 2010 05 13 15 20 33 Canon Canon EOS 50D
There are peacocks wondering around all over the place, in particular around the Protea Hotel where we stayed. The rooms have just been redone, and it is very nice.

Cds 2010 05 13 15 25 58 Canon Canon EOS 50D
Old steam engine.

Gold Reef City is a great place to spend a day, but in honesty, a day is probably long enough, you could probably even get away with 1/2 a day if you were pressed for time.

South Africa Travel

Cds 124 sunsetOk, so it was 2 sunsets in a row, however this pic is really different from yesterday’s pic.

This was taken at Langebaan, standing on the balcony of our holiday house, watching a west-coast sun setting over the lagoon. Even though winter is coming, we still get the best weather this time of the year, and it was just wonderful standing outside enjoying a wind-free evening.

Langebaan is a small holiday community about 100km North of Cape Town. It is home to the West Coast National Park, and (although I cannot confirm) the largest lagoon in the Southern Hemisphere.

I have been going there since I was a little boy, and I still find it to be an amazing place.

South Africa Travel