It was our last full day in Cape Town and we wanted to spend it at the V&A Waterfront. The Cape Town waterfront is the oldest working harbor in the Southern Hemisphere. It was originally established in the 1650s as a small refreshment stop for the ships of the Dutch East India Company. Construction as Cape Town’s first harbor officially started in 1860. The harbor was expanded several times over the next 60 years, especially after the discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa created the need for a larger harbor to accommodate all of the incoming ships.
In 1988, inspired by the harbor redevelopment projects in San Francisco and Sydney, construction began to develop the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront into a mixed-use area focused on tourism, retail and residential components with a working harbor at its center.
In my opinion, the V&A Waterfront is much better than both the San Francisco and Sydney harbor front areas. There is a variety of retail experiences including a traditional shopping mall with the international brands that you can find anywhere and an eclectic array of shops carrying items made by local artisans and craftspeople throughout Africa. The public spaces, bustling with restaurants, cafes and various play areas for children, are welcoming to families and are a big draw for both visitors and locals.
We found a lovely outdoor café directly in front of a play area for lunch. We enjoyed Bunny Chow and sandwiches all served with homemade oven-baked crisps (chips). The children played in the play area and then AY and EY saw a few children getting their faces painted. We watched for a while and EY asked if she could get it too. She chose a rainbow butterfly theme centered by a shiny pink gem. AY chose an edgier look, a purple tiger pattern above her left eye. Everybody was friendly and appeared to be enjoying life as much as we were.
We browsed through parts of the V&A and bought some biltong (South African beef jerky) to snack on. Surprisingly, the kids all loved the taste of both the beef and springbok biltong. We had taken a vote earlier in the day whether to go to the outdoor swimming complex at Sea Point or to rent bikes to ride along the coast.
We proceeded to the bike rental shop and geared up. Each of the children had their own bikes except for EY who rode in a trailer behind Leo’s bike. The trailer is exactly like one that I used to use in Shanghai on rainy days to bring RY and AY to school. The ride from V&A Waterfront through Green Point and then to Sea Point was nothing short of breathtaking. The views of the glittering ocean on one side and the towering mountains on the other, with people of all ethnicities enjoying the natural beauty around them, created the picture of an idyllic life.
Just before we reached the bike return, we stopped at one of the many playgrounds in Cape Town and the kids enjoyed another hour of outdoor play under the soft afternoon sun with the ocean breeze whispering gently in our ears, “Why not stay?”
