Forum Members,

My wife and I will be traveling to South Africa for a safari in May 2004. This will be my second trip to Africa and the first for my wife. My first trip was to Zimbabwe, so I overnighted at the Afton house in Jo-Berg. This trip we will be flying to Cape Town, where we will spend three days before flying onto Kimberly for our hunt on the Botswana border. My questions are as follows:

1. What should we do with our guns while we are spending the three days in Cape Town?

2. Where should we stay while in Cape Town? Hotels, B&B, Waterfront area? What can we expect for cost?

3. What would you suggest for tours, shopping, Restaurants etc. for our three days there? What can we expect for cost of these as well?

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks In Advance,

BOWHUNR

You might like to do a search on the user list for "Sunshine" who owns a lodge in that area.

Bowhunr,

I've sent my suggestions to your posted email address. Please write directly if you have other questions.

Les

I have stayed at the Holiday Inn Waterfront in Cape Town on my last four visits to Cape Town. It is an excellent five star hotel that runs a shuttle to the mall every twenty minutes or so. Rates were about $100/night double occupancy. They have a saferoom where you can store your firearms. If you are a member of the Holiday Inn Club, whatever it is they call it, they will give you a slight upgrade, nice flowers, and free wine on arrival. They have a wonderful breakfast bar for a set fee. It is safe and convenient to walk any place uptown DURING THE DAY. At night, stay home in the hotel. Cape Town is not a place to enjoy the night life.

There are several outfits that offer tours in the Cape Town area. I hardily suggest taking one or more of them. Cape Town and its environs are very beautiful. Table Mountain you can see for the price of tickets and a taxi ride. Go on a clear day with moderate weather. The Cape of Good Hope and the Franshoek (wine growing)area to include Boeschendall (sp) also are musts, but require you drive or go on tour. There is a wonderful restaurant in Franshoek, the French Quarter, that is worth the trip alone. It is one of the 50 best restaurants in the world according to one list I saw. Your wife will enjoy it. Promise. Two meals with desert and wine with tip was about $40US.

If you are feeling adventuresome, but not foolish, try going to the African market on Long Street right behind the Holiday Inn, Market Square. This is a multistory building with all African vendors of goods from all around Africa. You can bargain and try to get a good buy on batiques, spears, masks, bows, arrows, etc. You can get the same things at Out of Africa in the Mall, but it does not have near the atmosphere. Just remember you buy it, you have to tote it! In that regard, cloth products are very packable. Spears disassemble and go into your gun case.

Also on Long Street, there are many great antique shops and antique silver shops. There are some unbelievable buys there, or there were before the dollar went into the crapper. There is a wonderful pedestrian mall that runs back down toward the water front two blocks over from Long Street. If you plan to buy jewelry, learn our customs laws. I believe that set stones are not subject to duty, but loose stones are.

Regarding bringing stuff back, let me offer a little tip my brother and I have adopted. We take a light-weight duffel bag going over inside one of our bags. Coming home, it is used for extra stuff or for the stuff we carry on going over and we use that space for breakable items coming home.

There are really great restaurants around the mall and waterfront area. I'd eat at the ones outside the mall during the day, and eat in the mall at night. There is a nice seafood restaurant with a Greek flavor on the outside of the mall about where the RSA minesweeper is moored.

Food in RSA is great and cheap by our standards. Their beef tends to be tough, so go for the best cut offered. You cannot beat their seafood, and you won't see it where you are going!

Hope you and you wife enjoy your trip. Ku-dude