Crayfish (West Coast Rock Lobster) is one of the most desirable seafood in the Cape. This melt-in-the-mouth delicacy was once very cheap in the Cape but is now referred to in the markets as ‘Diamonds and Gold’ or ‘Red Gold’ because its shell glistens a vibrant red when cooked. High export demand means that even [...]
Imagine the surprise of Table Mountain National Park management when they were informed on 30th October 2005 that a 2m deep weir on the cable car road, was full of fat goldfish; the kind that most people keep in a bowl and are who most certainly not native to the mountain streams and dams of [...]
1.) ATHENS – Mouille Point – Great Gale of 1865 The boiler and cylinder of this mail steamship, remain firmly wedged between the rocks, to remind us of the lives lost. 2.) KAKAPO – Noordhoek Beach – 1900 The remains of the rudder, boiler and frame of the Kakapo, lie like a skeleton in deep [...]
Take a closer look at the hand-painted murals in the Cape Grace reception and Signal Restaurant and you will find they depict scenes of 17th century Table Bay, with ships arriving at the newly constructed refreshment station at the Cape. In 1657, it took the trading ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), three [...]
The only shipwreck to occur along the Cape Peninsula, that could be considered slightly humorous, is that of the Kakapo steamship in 1900. It was of course a dark and stormy night, and a strong north-westerly wind was whipping the waves into a fury and sending spray over the decks. Driving rain dashed into the [...]
1. Silver in the Hills In the 1600s, anything glinting was assumed to contain precious metals and hardly had the settlers arrived in the Cape, before they started digging for silver. They did their best to coax silver out of the glinting ore but all they got was burned rock and black smoke. Jan van [...]
Sunfish, also known as Mola mola, are the most peculiar looking fish species found in the waters around Cape Town. These giants reach up to 3 metres in length and weigh about 2 tons – making them the heaviest bony fish in the world. Most fish look aerodynamically designed for their watery habitat, but not [...]
1.) Meat sizzling on a braai 2.) Suncream on a tanning body 3.) Freshly cut pineapple 4.) Scent of the salty ocean 5.) Sprigs of rosemary What are your most evocative summer smells?
Now overlooked by multi-million Rand apartments and Cape Grace, the old harbour office in the V&A Waterfront, dating back to the late 1800s, has a role in history that might make you a little squeamish. The date is sometime between 1900 and 1902 and the futile Anglo-Boer War is devastating South Africa. It’s a war [...]
It is said that Napoleon loved Vin de Constance so much that he didn’t want to drink any other. It is still hugely popular today but only because winemakers in 1980 decided to revive this ancient wine after a century of absence. The Klein Constantia wine-making team, headed by Ross Gower, studied historic records and [...]