Tours in Cape Town

Posts Tagged ‘Cape Town’

Empty fountain in Adderley Street

A week before the start of the world cup in Cape Town I reported that the city was dead. Adderley Street look undecorated and the fountain at the bottom of Adderley street was empty.

By Friday all that I had said in previous posts had gone out of the window.
With the opening of the Fan park and the live concerts on Friday 10^th June Cape Town looked like the past when rolling mass actions were the thing of the day.

The Grand Parade fan park can only hold about 17000 people and it was full within a hour of opening the gates. This free fan park had to be closed and that’s when the trouble started.

Imagine the disappointment of people who have taken the time to come in from the Cape Flats to the city to attend the fanfest.  Most of them most probably had to walk a few kilometres from their homes in the townships to the station or to the taxi rank to find transport into the city.  Most of these people are poor and although a R20.00 trainfare or taxi fare does not sound a lot to most people it can be a fortune for people in the townships especially when its costs the same again to get back home

Close up of centre piece of fountain before World Cup

Fortunately the stampede into the fanfest did not cause too much damage and police and security officials were able to sort things out

The V & A Waterfront which I specifically visited a week before the tournament and which was dead also suddenly came to life. From being able to stroll around without a care in the world one had to fight to move in any direction as the place was so full.  Viewing points in the Waterfront were all filled to capacity with revellers and people making their way to the first game in the new stadium.  Luckily in this area there were no stampedes and people all enjoyed themselves joining in the “Gees” which has pervaded the whole of Cape Town.

New centre piece with World Cup decorations

The arrangements to get people to use public transport and the new My Citi buses seems to be working pretty well.  The park and ride area situated at Century City was widely used by people from the northern suburbs of Cape Town who left their cars and made their way into town on the trains provided.

Fans who got to the new Canal Walk railway station early had no problems boarding the trains but people who left things a bit late had to fight to get onto the trains as they filled up with people wanting to get to the match .   I did not see the trains but can imagine that they looked pretty similar to those which come into town from the townships on weekday mornings.  The only difference being that there would not have been people hanging onto the sides of the train and that the train doors most probably would have been closed while the trains were in motion.

On arrival in the city many of the people would have made their way to the stadium using the free My Citi buses while other used the fan walk to get there.  Those who got to the city early went into the Waterfront watering holes to cool down before the big match and to watch Bafana play their first match in the event.

Those people who did not have tickets for the event or decided to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city made their own arrangements at home.  Many sheep and cows must have succumbed to the demand for meat for those who entertained their friends at braais all over Cape Town and South Africa.

Luckily the Brits were not in town for the opening event as their fans would have emptied all the pubs in Cape Town as they did when the English cricket team was here for a test series a couple of months ago.

All in all the city coped pretty well with the first day of the event.

Since then a number of things have happened in the city which have not been too good. A young girl has been snatched from a shopping mall in the southern suburbs.  Women have had their bags snatched in city restaurants by Brazilian gangsters who have entered the country.  As I warned in my previous post look after your valuables,  DO NOT leave them lying about.  A handbag in your shopping trolley or left on the chair next to you in a restaurant is an open invitation to have it stolen.  Just remember it is not always the locals who are committing the crimes.

Security Guards at stadiums have also gone out on strikes at the last minute due to non payment of wages.  Fortunately the SA Police have been training thousands of new recruits and they were used to secure the stadiums.

The “Gees” has however got to most people and vuvuzelas are flying off the shelves.

There are not only vuvu’s for SA fans but you can get them in colours of most of the teams playing in the tournament.  As to other paraphernalia such as shirts and jackets,  scarves, flags etc you cannot go anywhere without someone wearing a shirt or scarf or something representing either the local team or one of the other 31 countries.

On this morning’s radio program there was a caller who phoned in and told this story.

The caller was using the ATM when an old lady who was almost bent double walked past him. To keep herself erect she used two walking sticks. What was so wonderful was that she had attached the SA flag to each of her walking sticks and was displaying her “Gees”.

For those who have not heard the word “Gees” its an Afrikaans word meaning festive spirit.

This is something that the world cup has done for South Africans. It is bringing people from all walks of life together in a country where there are still so many divisions, all backing the same team.

Before the kick off of the world cup tournament Bafana Bafana were not given much chance of achieving anything. Their display on the opening day has given South Africans something to cheer about and its brought us even more together.

South Africans are a great sporting nation and we currently hold the Rugby World Cup, the Rugby Super 14 trophy and our cricket team is in the process of annihilating the West Indian cricket team. The draw with Mexico has lifted the spirits that Bafana might even be able to get out of the first round as all the other teams in their division have also drawn. A couple more points could just get them there.

With 41 million locals blowing their vuvuzelas and the rest of Africa backing the African teams in the tournament who knows to what heights Bafana Bafana will be lifted.

Here’s hoping!

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Table Bay with the harbour taking up a large portion of the bay

We are just about to host the world cup and are expecting many foreign visitors to our shores.

Just a few years ago there were  people living in parts of the world who thought South Africa was a backward country where lions and wild animals roamed the streets. These days the only lions roaming anywhere near the cities are dandelions.

Fans arriving in Cape Town for the world cup who still think we are a backward country are in for a big surprise.

Khayelitsha Township Housing

Yes we still have many poor people living in shanty towns, and you will see these places as you travel from our airport into the city. The reason for the shanty towns is that Cape Town has become a ray of hope for many African people. They come into our beautiful city looking for work and as they have no money and no jobs find their way into the townships and a life of squalor.

It’s a sad situation which is very difficult to solve.

However we have many more positives which I would like to tell you about.

Groote Schuur Hospital

On the way into the city of Cape Town from the airport on hospital bend you will pass Groote Schuur Hospital. So what is so important about this old teaching hospital that has been there for years.

Groote Schuur Hospital is the first hospital in the world where a heart transplant was performed. It not only put Groote Schuur on the map but it boosted the career of Professor Chris Barnard from a heart surgeon into a well known celebrity.The technologies and skills that he acquired from his pioneering work have been exported and  have saved the lives of countless thousands of people all over the world.

While visiting Cape Town take some time to visit the world renowned hospital and the Heart Transplant museum that has been established to celebrate what South African medicine has given to the world.

As you pass the hospital and make your way down into Cape Town along the eastern boulevard you will look down onto the most stunning view of Table Bay and the city. In the distance you will see the harbour which juts out into the bay. (see picture at top of post) This harbour is built more or less in the centre of the original bay which van Riebeeck entered when he arrived to colonise the Cape in 1652. The walls of this harbour and along the Woodstock coastline are protected by another South African first, the Dollose.

Dollose protecting the jetty at Yzerfontein

Dolosse are large, unusually shaped concrete blocks weighing up to 20 tons. The structures are designed to break up wave action and protect harbour walls and coastal installations.

Designed by Eric Merrifield and first installed in East London harbour they are now used all over the world. The recently completed upgrade of the Yzerfontein harbour has a couple of hundred of these large structures breaking up the waves that hammer the old jetty that protects the important fishing harbour on the west coast.

Another first for South Africa is the speed gun used in cricket these days but also used on our roads and along the eastern boulevard to trap speeding motorists. If you are hiring a car on your visit beware of speeding on our roads as either a speed gun or camera will spoil your holiday when you are pulled over to receive a large fine.

Kreepy Krawley

On arrival at your hotel you are likely to find a beautifully blue swimming pool waiting for you. It might be a bit cold in June to use the pool but if you look into the pool you are more than likely to spot a funny looking contraption attached to a pipe climbing the walls of the pool. This invention is known to us South Africans as a Kreepy Krawley. It is also a South African invention and has been exported to all parts the world.

Before 1994 when the whole world was against South Africa for our political persuasions South Africa was punished by the international community by cutting off our access to oil supplies. Of course there were ways and means of obtaining oil from foreign countries which we used to get oil, but one of the main benefits that the oil embargo caused South Africa was to allow us to build the technology to make fuel from coal. This was another world first and this technology is now being used by other countries of the world who have large stocks of coal at their disposal to produce fuel.

Did you know that a South African invention went to the moon on a manned American space probe. Who will forget those words “ The eagle has landed” ? I know I won’t as I was glued to my radio as the landing of the “Eagle” on the moon was broadcast to the world.

The Eagle was stuck together with glue known as Pratley’s putty which was invented by George Pratley in the 1960s while looking for a sticky substance that would hold components in an electrical box together. Amazing!

APS M achine

Are you a person who suffers from muscular or arthritic pain and stiffness. Have you visited a physiotherapist and been massaged and then placed on a machine that sends electrical impulses into your body and relieves your pain. If so you have experienced another world first, the APS machine invented by a South African named Gervan Lubbe.

So you see when you visit Cape Town and South Africa you are not visiting a backward country. You will enjoy a modern city with many new hotels, a brand new soccer stadium and scenery to die for and much much more.

With a lot fewer people coming to South Africa than expected there is likely to be a lot of space in our hotels and guesthouses. We expected 400000 people and are only likely to get half that number attending.

As is our want, we have once again over catered and over supplied. That is what we as South Africans do. If you want to come to South Africa it’s not too late to get here to join in the fun of an African World Cup. Stadiums might be full but fan parks will definitely be able to host you if you want to watch the games live on television.

While you are here visit some of our star attractions on a tour arranged by Turtle SA. We are waiting to show you around.

Click here to find out more about our day tours.

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The world cup tournament is just 24 days away and Capetonians are working hard to be ready for the event.

Everyone can see what has been done to prepare for the event when one looks at the roads,the new hotels, the stadiums  and all the places that have been upgraded.

There is however one place where one cannot see what is going on and that is what is being done behind the scenes.

So what are the authorities doing that we cannot see?

The answer to that is that they are trying to improve  customer service throughout South Africa, not just for the locals but for all our guests who will be visiting us for the world cup.

So what  have the  authorities done that will make a difference?

They have imported Disney!

Anyone who has been to Disneyworld will know that you are looked after from the minute you arrive in the parking lot at Disneyworld until you the minute leave at the end of the day.  Everyone working for Disney has the same aim in mind and that is to give you excellent service,  keep you happy and to get you to come back again.

Disney’s motto is :

“Just now to WOW all customers”

This is the aim and motto all South Africans are in the process of making their own.

To get this motto out to all of South Africa Disney have been visiting various centres in and around Cape Town and South Africa rolling out their plan of action.

What are the pillars required to WOW our guests visiting us for the world cup?

1. Present a positive attitude at all times.
2. I am considerate and respectful to all customers.
3. I go over and above my position.

So how do Disney do this?

Present a positive attitude at all times.

From the time guests enter the parking lot of Disneyworld,  (It’s extremely large and easy to lose your car in)  they are met by Disney’s parking assistants who direct them to their parking space and then advise them where their car is parked. Disney has a number of different areas in their parking lots and these are given names of characters you will meet in the park.

Guests ( as Disney call their clients)  are told that they are parked in the  Goofy 52 parking lot when they leave their cars and are advised to write this down.  When they arrive at the tram station they are again advised that they are parked in Goofy 52 and this happens three or four times before they even get to the entrance gate to the park.

So why do they keep telling their guests where they are parked?

Guests are so excited at visiting Disneyworld for the first time that often they just don’t remember where they have parked their cars  when they arrive back in the parking lot in the evening.  Finding a lost car and often a lost hired car in a parking lot with thousands of cars is an impossibility.

After so many warnings by Disney staff often  their guests still don’t remember where they are parked. This of course could be a major headache for Disney parking attendents especially those who are working the late shift and have never seen the guest or their car before.

The positive part of all this is that one of the Disney parking attendents  came up with an easy solution. On a map of the parking lots they record the times when a specific lot such as Goofy 52 is parked and if a guest cannot find his car they simply ask him what time he arrived that morning.  By checking their maps they can see what time a certain parking lot was parked and can then send  their visitor to find their car.

What an easy and positive way to impress a client.

Here in Cape Town I regularly visit shopping malls and park my vehicle in an available parking spot in the parking lot.  There is normally a parking attendent hanging around and usually I just ignore them as they just want money to look after my car in broad daylight.

I always know  where my car is but often when I get back into the parking lot I play the fool with the attendent telling him that I cannot find my car.  I am normally pleasantly surprised  when the attendent takes me to my car without me even telling him the type of car I have.

It must take some practise to remember all your clients and their cars but because the attendent has actually taken the trouble to remember me and my car he gets a tip.   It makes him happy and he will look out for me next time I visit the parking lot.   Its just a small thing but its good service at the end of the day.

I am considerate and respectful to all customers.

How do Disney do that?

Disney know that children often want to take rides that they are too small to go on.  The parents or the other kids in the family want to take the ride and one unhappy child is leftout making him very unhappy .  In Disneyland all staff are trained to handle such situations. The person who is refusing to let the child onto the specific ride will take the unhappy  child aside and ring his neck.

NO!  he takes the child aside, gets down on one knee so that he is at the same eye level as the child and explains to him why he cannot go on that specific ride and then offers him an alternate ride.

If the child agrees the Disney official with the permission of the accompanying adult will take the child to the ride he has offered him. He will not dump the child in the back of a long queue but take him to the front of the queue and put him onto the next available ride.

By being considerate to the child  and treating the child with respect he not only has a happy child but one that will tell all his friends how he got taken to the front of the queue and was made to feel important.

Disney not only ends up with a happy client but a good advertisement as well.

I go over and above my position.

So how does one do this?

A visitor from America after a long flight arrived in South Africa and was shown  to her hotel room. Not only was she tired but also very worried as her friend had just been rushed to hospital for an emergency operation. The visitor needed to phone the friend’s  family in the USA to find out what was happening but after dialling the number she had been given was unable to get through.

She phoned down to the front desk of the hotel and asked the receptionist what she was doing wrong. The receptionist told her what to do to get through and once again the visitor could not get through.  By this time she was becoming desperate so she once again phoned down to the reception for help.  The receptionist who answered the call recognised the problem the guest was having and told her that she would come up to her room and dial the number for her so she could speak to her friend’s family.

Obviously  the actions of the receptionist were not part of the service she was expected to give  but by going  over and above her call of duty to assist the guest in her hotel room she went the extra mile.

So what was the outcome of the receptionists actions.

The hotel had one very happy guest and a guest who would be telling her friends about the service she received.

What makes going the extra mile even more important is that you never know who you are dealing with.

The visitor I have just mentioned was one of the Disney staff visiting South Africa and she is going all over South Africa telling her story and no doubt will be telling people at Disneyworld about the fantastic hotel and its service.

What a way to get your message out there. There is no easier way than by giving good service and then letting word of mouth do its job.

Come on South Africa, we have one opportunity at making the world cup a success. Lets do it together by givng good service and making friends with our guests.

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A long range photo of the airport's new apron

Since 1994 and the takeover of South Africa by a democratically elected government people have started visiting Cape Town. The airport has had to handle an increased number of planes and people and it became apparent that some work would have to be done on the terminals to handle the increasing number of planes arriving.

In 1995 before a Rugby World Cup Match at Newlands I sat in awe as jumbo jet after jumbo jet flew over my home making their way to the airport. I had never seen so many planes flying in to the airport and eventually I had to go and have a look from the Tygerberg to see where all the planes were being parked.

Scene from the newly completed central terminal building

There were only a limited number of spots available for planes to park at  the terminal buildings and the airport company had to move planes away from the terminal as soon as their passengers had disembarked. Many of the jumbos were parked to the east side of the airport where they never go under normal circumstances.

Some of the new shops in the newly completed central terminal building.

With the granting of the 2010 world cup event to South Africa it became apparent that something had to be done to increase the size of the airport and the terminals.

Even prior to us knowing of the football event, traffic through the existing terminal was taking strain. Millions of visitors were arriving in Cape Town each year. In 2005 over 60000 aircraft carrying 6.7 million people arrived at the airport. By 2015 it is expected that 14 million people will make their way into Cape Town through Cape Town International airport.

It was plain to see that the old airport buildings and terminals would not be able to cope with the masses.

The new traffic plaza with the parkade in the background to the left.

The Airports Company of South Africa  decided to start an expansion program at the airport and in 2001 the new international arrivals terminal was opened. It has the capacity to handle 950 incoming passengers per hour. Construction at the airport kept on unabated and in 2003 a new R120 million international departures terminal was completed. It has the capacity to handle 1300 passengers in peak hours and a total of a million passengers per year. This is three times what the old departure terminal could handle.

Cape Town International airport was still not complete and since 2005 construction has been continuing with the central terminal building which I am happy to say  was completed and taken into use during November 2009.

With the construction of the central terminal building another project was also undertaken and that was the building of a two multi-story parkades which have been located to the rear of the  main airport buildings  close to international arrivals and the new  Central Terminal building. These parkades should go a long way to alleviating the parking problems that were being experienced by the airport. They now have parking for 4500 cars more than double what the old shaded parking areas could accommodate.

Although the main projects have been completed and taken into use the old parking areas must still be upgraded and completed before June 2010. Once they are completed and properly signposted the airport  and its approach roads will be much easier to navigate.

For those arriving at the airport expecting a small airport, you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find. Cape Town International Airport is the second largest airport in South Africa and the third largest in Africa.

As you can see Cape Town has worked exceptionally hard to prepare for your visit and we are proud of what we have achieved.

We want to welcome you all  to our wonderful and beautiful city and we wish you a pleasant stay.

Thank you for coming.

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The Queen Mary 2 at its mooring at the foot of Table Mountain

The visit of the Queen Mary 2 was too short. She spent  only two days and one night in Cape Town’s Duncan dock before she sailed away on Friday evening.

The ship was treated like royalty while here. A lot better than the passengers who had to stand in long queues to board her, thankfully on a day when it was cooler than what we have been experiencing here of late.

Cape Town came out if force to bid the Queen farewell

I was privileged to get an invite to go on a harbour cruise to see the ship leave port.

What an experience to be out on the water waving goodbye to such a magnificent ship.

The sun setting over the Queen at her berth in Cape Town

As is usual in the holiday travel industry there is always some one who is late getting back from a trip or tour somewhere  in our beautiful city and causing those who took the trouble to be on time to wait for them to arrive.

In this instance 3000+ people on the Queen Mary 2, two tugs and the pilot boat, an assorted array of boats in the bay and a number of helicopters, plus thousands of people lined up outside the Port authority building and on jetties around the harbour had to wait for an hour longer than was necessary due to two people being late back from a tour, for the great ship to slip her moorings and leave the harbour.

The Queen Mary being turned

Her bows nearly clear of the jetty where she was moored

Her bows now clear of the jetty where she was moored

Just about ready to leave

After the tugs had moved her away from her berth they had to turn her stern towards Table Mountain and then move the whole ship northwards before she was able to set sail.

The send off fit for a Queen

Her final sendoff after dropping the lines from the tugs and the pilot was one of the tugs sending a magnificent spray of water into the air to say farewell.

The Queen Mary 2 with Table Mountain and Lions Head in the background

The upper decks with passengers lining the rails

The Queen Mary  2 answered by blowing her horn, causing a large cheer from the crowds and the waiting boats in the bay to go up.

The Queen Mary 2 sailing off into the sunset

With the sun setting over Table Bay the magnificent Queen Mary 2 made her way slowly out into the bay to continue her world cruise with her next destination being the islands of St Helena.

What a fitting departure for a queen.

Cape Town is such a magnificent destination that even royalty come to stay here and enjoy our hospitality.

Let’s see you all here soon for the world’s largest sporting event.

The FIFA World cup.

Cape Town is ready and waiting for you to arrive.

While here take some of the day tours available ,  see some of our magnificent scenery, discover our wonderful wines,  and after your visit send all your friends back  to visit us.

Book your Cape Town Day Tours early to avoid disappointment.

We would love to show you around our beautiful city.

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