What to do everywhere else...

There’s a stack of stuff to do around Cape Town and the Peninsula, and it’s almost always accompanied by the most staggering views and vistas. For the 10 best things to do near Longbeach Lodge click here - the list includes a day at Cape Point, swimming with the penguins and a shark cage dive. For a comprehensive directory of the best places to eat in the Cape Peninsula, email us for the Longbeach Lodge Good Food Guide. Meantime, check out the list below for the best of the rest.

Take a drive to Cape Point!

On the road to Cape Point, don't miss -

• Cape Point Ostrich Farm - Take a guided tour of the ostrich pens and check out the ostrich eggs and leather products on offer.
• Redhill Curio Market - an amazing collection of African artefacts in stone, soapstone and wood at the side of the road.
• And if you get to feeling peckish, enjoy a really scrumptious lunch right there at the Cape Farmhouse Restaurant (021-7801246).

Browse Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town!

Spend an afternoon browsing the junk shops of Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town for antiques and collectables.

• There’s quirky style and glamour at Kalk Bay’s Cape To Cairo and Cuban food in a vibrantly bohemian atmosphere at Cape To Cuba restaurant (021-7881566) where, they say, everything is for sale!
• Whale watch from August to December. Great places to watch are on top of Elsies Peak or from the Polana (021-7887162), on the rocks in Kalk Bay Harbour.
• And while you’re at Kalk Bay, try rough n’ ready Kalkies for tasty fish n’ chips in newspaper or, for more exotic fish dishes, try Live Bait (021-7885755).

Play a round of golf!

If golf is your passion, there are several great golf courses in the Cape Peninsula to indulge it.

• Play a delightfully picturesque eighteen holes at Clovelly Country Club, where the views will have you spellbound, or
• Try Steenberg Golf Course before dining in style at Catharina's the Restaurant (021-7132222).
• Then there’s the Cape’s most popular course, Westlake Golf Club, and finally, the classic duo -
• The old established, easy playing and ever popular Mowbray Golf Club and
• Course of golfing champions, Royal Cape Golf Club, in Plumstead, founded in 1885.

Explore wine routes galore!

There are so many wine routes these days one is spoilt for choice. Here are some that are relatively close at hand –

• Spend a day in the Cape Winelands - the Stellenbosch and Franshoek wine routes - and enjoy the heritage of Simon Van Der Stel.
• Enjoy excellent wine closer to home and do the Constantia Wine Route, comprising Uitsig, Steenberg, Buitenverwachting and Groot and Klein Constantia.
• Try the Paarl Wine Route, the West Coast Wine Route or the Durbanville Wine Route, to name but a few.
• Better yet, get Seascape Tours (083-4123275) to tailor a wine tour just for you so - no driving!

Get a Table Mountain-eye view of Cape Town!

Probably South Africa’s greatest icon (apart from Madiba), Table Mountain towers more than one kilometre above Cape Town. Take the revolving cable car and enjoy spectacular views of the city, the Cape Peninsula and the ocean from 11 viewpoints on the summit. Or hike one of numerous walking and hiking trails up and across the tabletop. (Watch a video clip).

Take a picnic to Kirstenbosch!

Spending an afternoon enjoying the tranquil beauty of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is a must – it’s the top botanical garden of the world. Established in 1913, it’s home to more than 8 500 species of indigenous South African plants. There are fynbos hiking trails, guided tours and twilight nature walks, and it’s a birders’ delight. Pack a picnic basket and eat on the lawns or enjoy a meal at the Silvertree Restaurant and Fynbos Deli (021-7629585).

Enjoy nature at the World of Birds!

The World of Birds in Hout Bay is the largest bird park in Africa and one of the few large bird parks in the World. Over 3 000 birds and small animals of 400 different species are uniquely presented in more than 100 spacious landscaped walk-through aviaries - you’ll never get closer to nature! And get there via Chapman’s Peak Drive - it’s one of the scenic wonders of the world!

Contact the area specialists!

Taste it, see it, live it, do it, experience it with Cape Point Route, the South Peninsula specialists. Find out what the area has to offer you, your family and your friends (021-7829356 or info@capepointroute.co.za). They can help with information, recommendations and suggestions for all your travel needs on the Cape Point Route.

Shop till you drop!

There’s plenty of scope for shop-alcoholics who use Longbeach Lodge as a base. After you’ve done Longbeach Mall (021-7853841), just 10 minutes down the road, try –

• Constantia Village, Constantia, and Cavendish Square, Claremont, for both local and international labels in a friendly, laid back atmosphere.
• And if the bug has really bitten, browse world famous V & A Waterfront against a backdrop of sea and mountain, and right in the fully operational harbour.
• Or, visit a comparative newcomer to the world of shopping malls, Canal Walk, just ten minutes drive from the CBD and next to Ratanga Junction funfair.
• Plenty of factory shops locally, too, the best being Meltz Factory Shop (021-7139000), Diep River. And there are many more at Access Park, Kenilworth.

Experience a different Cape Town!

Cape Town, beautiful and vibrant, is unlike any other city in the world. And there’s so much to do, this list doesn’t even cover the half of it!

• Whilst at the V & A Waterfront, why not dive the Two Oceans Aquarium - the ultimate shark cage dive!
• Take a champagne sunset sailboat cruise with the Waterfront Boat Company and watch the whales up close.
• Visit Robben Island, a world heritage site, and see firsthand the prison in which Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life.
• Don’t even think of Cape Town without taking a Township Tour, and experience heart-warming community vibes, see traditional healers, traders, markets, shebeens and more.
• For an experience you’ll never forget learn to dive with Scuba Shack, and dive, cave dive and wreck dive the many fascinating dive sites around the Peninsula coastline.
• And at the end of the day, share a chilled glass of fine Cape wine on Long Beach and watch stunning sunsets over wild Atlantic rollers.

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