What To Do In Cape Town

by Olivia Cox February 5

It’s unlikely to have escaped your notice that I was in South Africa a few weeks ago. I haven’t exactly been quiet about it.. #sorrynotsorry.

So I thought I’d put my ramblings to good use and tell you about some of the best places that I visited.

  1. Camps Bay

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We landed in Cape Town at around 8am on New Years Day (do the maths – flying at that time from Joburg was NOT the one) so our first base will always have a special place in my memory. It was my sanctuary. Big, sprawlling garden with things like tyre trees and organic-feeling wicker sofas. Oh, and a little doormouse who we befriended. Very cute.

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2. Shimmy Beach Club

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Sort of like a mini Ushuaia (you’ll need to have been to Ibiza to get that reference, sorry). Think white sofas, cool vibes, and WAY over-priced bottle service. There’s a small pool that’s open till 7pm, but actually going in it seemed slightly frowned upon. So I didn’t. You pick your day / night based on the DJ – we were there to see Goldfish, who is apparantly kind of a big deal in SA..

3. Sevruga at the V&A Waterfront

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On our last night in Cape Town, I finally bullied the boys into having a slightly more chilled one, so we headed to the Waterfront. Naturally, we’d failed miserably to book anywhere so it was a bit of pot luck that we found ourselves nestled in a little sofa area at the bar of Sevruga. We ate dishes like Ostrich carpaccio and dim sum. And everything in-between.

4. Franchoek & Stellenboch Wine Farms

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Now. I’m not a especially wine fan. Nor really do I particularly go for the whole cheese & biscuits thing (gluten-free, innit). But even I agree you cannot visit Cape Town without seeing the wine farms. We stayed at the very grand L’Armitage hotel and ate dinner at Reubens. Word to the wise: avoid the temptation of the pond at unless you have legs the length of a giraffe. It’s secretly a man-made (aka very slippery) dome, so getting out is a serious problem. You have been warned.

We went for dinner at Rubens in the evening, which was totally magical.

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5. The Ambassador pool bar

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Our second base in Cape Town was The Ambassador’s penthouse. We spent most of our time at the top, but when we did make it down to pool level it was worth the trip. Beut views over Bakhoven and insane cocktails. Even if neither us nor the staff could figure out exactly what was in them…

6. Lunch at Rumbullion at Roundhouse

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Our waiter at Rumbullion described the experience as fine dining slash picnic. The food is snacky, tapas-y bits and pieces – humous and tapanade in jam jars, fat loaves of crusty bread. And the view is IN-SANE.

7. Grand Cafe

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A bit like Shimmy but on a smaller scale.

8. Gold Bar in Coco

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Set just back from the coast, on what I’m told is one of the most popular nightlife streets in Cape Town, aka Loop Street. Gold Bar is a super smart members’ bar & club.

8. Village Idiot Bar

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This one is on the other end of the scale. The emphasis is fun – pretty much anything goes. If I’m honest, it felt a little too much like London to be truly worth the visit, but I’m sure for non-Londoners this wouldn’t be a problem. My SA friends seemed to love it..

9. Breakfast at Caprisse

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Yummy and huge portions. I actually ended up having two breakfasts because I couldn’t decide, so I can categorically endorse the fruit salad and the avocado toast (gluten free, obv). Which sort of ticks most boxes.

Annnnd…. Shopping!

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One of the girls I was staying with is a Herbalife member, so she was telling me all about her favourite products. Good timing since I have just become their UK brand ambassador! I’ve been using the products religiously since I got back, and my skin is looking mega. I think. If I do say so myself….. 😉

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Excitingly, I also discovered a new brand while I was out there, called Malee. They’ve been around since 2010 and are actually launching into the UK – another bout of good timing ;). The products (body and home) all have a really luxurious feel, and use active ingredients native to Africa. Which means they’re kind of mini culture explosions in a bottle. I didn’t really fully appreciate this while I was out there, surrounded by the beaut landscapes myself, but now that I’m back, it’s actually bizarre how much the scent my Body Cream takes me back….

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Olivia x

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