Summer sun, blue skies, cyclists, joggers and walkers galore, January is of course the perfect month for doing one of possibly the most Capetonian things that there is to do – taking a stroll down Cape Town’s incredibly popular (and beautiful) Sea Point Promenade. So this then is precisely what Chantelle, the girls, and I found ourselves doing on one particularly sunny Sunday back at the start of this year.
The famous Sea Point Promenade stretches on for about 11 km, from Mouille Point all the way to Bantry Bay, and offers up stunning views of the Atlantic Seaboard from start to finish. Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, and Table Mountain never leave your sight as you make your way along the broad brick path that eventually snakes past the small beaches of Rocklands, Graaf’s Pool, Milton and Brokenbath, all of which are sandwiched between a rocky bed and a dramatic sea. Big ships lie at anchor beside you, and of course the route itself is littered with both playful and serious sculptures and art (the fresh murals thrown up on the public toilet facilities being particularly magnificent!), and of course a kiddie playground or two. Buffering you from the busy Beach road is the now lush again adjacent lawn (perfect for running around and stretching out on), and indeed in that vein, space aplenty, an important factor given the sheer volume of people that seem to constantly be moving from the one end to the other.
In addition to all of the above, at the time of this particular outing the promenade was also home to the conversation provoking Wild Seas photo exhibition (by National Geographic photographer Thomas Peschak), as well as a gigantic painted arms on the grass mural entitled Beyond Walls (by Saype). Honestly the only way to actually see the latter would have been from high above, but hey, I guess that is what the Internet and drone footage is for! Not that it mattered though – we were in any case having loads of fun just watching the paragliders stick their landings as they floated down from Signal Hill above us. (And yes, of course, the girls found a dog to play with on the lawn as well!)
Having started our stroll at Three Anchor Bay, we marched on until our turning point at the Sea Point Pavillion Swimming Pool – where naturally first cooling down with melty soft serve ice creams, snacking on some delicious samoosas, and downing a proper Cape Town original, Bashews cooldrinks was the order of the day. In summary, what more can I say, the perfect activity for this absolutely gorgeous Cape Town summer’s day!
Mind you, not that this was the only thing that we got up to on this particular day of being out and about in Cape Town. Indeed, up Signal Hill we went, not to mention snapping some pictures of those oh so famous Bo-Kaap colours!