From South Africa, With Love

At this point I’ve traveled to over 35 countries: six being with my husband, and eight as a family with our children. 

I’ve decided to start off this Travel Blog series with the most recent: South Africa. With my camera and my family in tow I traveled 10,000 miles for the thrill of adventure and while there had the honor of photographing some wonderful families in Cape Town, capturing the joy and love shared between generations.

South Africa has been the furthest destination we conquered, a whole 37 hour journey from LA to reach Cape Town, to be exact. As I shared in the previous post, I want my children to not just be citizens of Southern California, but of the world. It has taken many years of hard work and sacrifice to make it possible to travel, work, and show my kids the world. An abundance of prioritizing, partnership, and perseverance are what made it possible.  I am grateful to have created this balance, but it is the product of intention, and the willingness to forgo certain elements in exchange for experiences.

This investment into the experiences and character of my children is priceless. For example, my son studied the history of South Africa in school just before our trip. He learned of the racial discrimination and segregation, Nelson Mandela’s peaceful and effective leadership, and the Civil Rights movement. I am so grateful to have been able to take him to where it all began, so he could cross the bridge between book learning and life experience. It was, in many ways, the culmination of what our journeys are all about.  

Hello, Cape Town! 

Cape Town was our launching point and is, in general, a friendly city, but especially family friendly. There are endless adventures to be had, particularly during summer months. 

We usually stay in a local neighborhood versus a touristy area as we want to experience local culture as much as possible, and find the gems sometimes hidden from tourists. On this trip, we stayed in the charming fishing village of Hout Bay and enjoyed our time there. We had easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, parks and activities for the kids. 

Most of our travels involve me taking occasional solo journeys with my camera, but I did receive some words of caution from locals about traversing the city alone. My husband was able to accompany me, since fortunately (and wonderfully) my mother was able to journey with us. For as wonderful and welcoming as the city is, you do need to embrace some common sense things for safety. As the locals said: Stay observant and avoid solo outings. 

My Favorite Things to Do and Visit in Cape Town, South Africa

Hout Bay & Bay Harbour Market

About 20 minutes from Cape Town is Hout Bay, named after Dutch settlers in the 1600s. The fishing village is a pleasant, picturesque change of pace from city exploration. This peaceful town was home for us during our stay, where we were able to awake every morning to see Table Mountain in all its glory. It’s a little more rural, kid friendly, and safe. 

You can soak up the sunshine on its white sand beaches or venture on one of the many hiking trails available in the area. There is also a quayside food hall and market that regularly has live music called Bay Harbour Market that I recommend visiting. 

Signal Hill

With a stunning view of the ocean and surrounding area around Cape Town, Signal Hill boasts historic significance to the area, where flags were raised to communicate ships coming in, trade, and weather warnings. It is also one of the premier spots for photos, and as a result, one of my selected places for a photo shoot. It was iconic and perfect! The vistas and soft sunshine were not only good for photographs, but also for the soul as we stood on the top of this hill. 

Eastern Food Bizarre Quayside Food Hall and Greenmarket Square

As Condè Nast Traveler notes, this market offers diverse authentic dishes at street-food prices. It is a journey for the tastebuds, that’s for sure! Indian, Turkish, Chinese and of course African dishes are offered, with the perk of it being one of the most affordable markets in the area. It’s the perfect place to take a culinary adventure and try things you never imagined! If you are looking to explore a local market, Greenmarket square is nearby the bazaar and a wonderful cultural experience and opportunity to pick up some souvenirs. 

Boulders Beach en route to Cape Point 

Boulders Beach is iconic, and well known for its famous residents: African penguins. Stop and see them about 40 minutes outside of Cape Town while venturing to Cape Point, the tip of the peninsula which offers amazing scenery and is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. 

The Swimming Hole and Scenic Seaside Promenade 

Imagine a massive coastal public swimming pool filled by ocean tides and you have the Sea Point Public Pool, known to locals as simply “The Swimming Hole”.  You get all the beauty and pleasure of a fresh dip in sea water without the risk of tides and currents. It’s perfect if your kids are like mine and love to swim! The promenade is well maintained and offers incredible views of the city and surrounding mountains, with the added bonus of some kids’ play areas if they have some energy they need to work off. 

Table Mountain Cable Car

With panoramic views of the ocean, mountains, and city, not to mention the most unbelievable sunsets, Table Mountain stands as a must-see. The area is known for incredible biodiversity and the mountain itself, shaped like a tabletop, is the result of millions of years of erosion. This visit requires some planning as you do need to purchase tickets in advance. We chose to go later in the afternoon so we could enjoy a beautiful sunset from the top. What a stunning view it offered! 

Rugby or Soccer Match at Cape Town Stadium 

Host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the stadium was reconfigured and now holds a staggering 55,000 attendees. This is an experience like no other and one that even non-sports oriented people should do. It’s particularly fun for the kids to experience that palpable level of energy and excitement as thousands of people cheer for their teams! Although I was nervous about it, my husband took our son to his first rugby match there. They both enjoyed such a local cultural experience with sports!

Surfing at Muizenberg

Known as the birthplace of South African surfing, this is the place to get on a surfboard! Especially since Muizenberg is on the warm, Indian Ocean side of the peninsula (the Atlantic seawater is quite chilly). There are colorful huts, endless beaches, charming restaurants and an abundance of surf schools to help you make your surfing dreams come true!

One of the most unique things we saw in Muizenberg was the Shark Watch towers. There is someone who sits at the top of the hill where he monitors the water and can detect sharks from a distance. As you may know, South Africa is known to be one of the homes of the great white shark. Full transparency: I would call myself an adventure seeker, however I did draw the line there! I didn’t have any desire to explore oceans in need of shark watch towers! 

Kruger National Park 

If you want to move out of the Western Cape/Cape Town area, I recommend that anyone who visits South Africa go check out Kruger National Park. It is the largest game reserve  in South Africa, and the perfect place to see the “Big 5” (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino). 

However, if Cape Town is your home base, getting there will be its own adventure: You’ll need to fly to Nelspruit/Johannesburg and then drive. Being one of the premier safari destinations, it has beautiful, iconic landscapes, and many options for accommodations and dining. It is truly a South African experience like no other and something you should do if you have the chance. 

Being that I am from Kenya, we plan to make a trip there in the coming years for the safari  experience in Masai Mara. So for this trip, instead of Kruger we spent a few days in Aquila Game Reserve. It was a beautiful experience and I highly recommend it as an alternative especially if you have young children. 

Aquila Game Reserve

The drive alone was stunning as we left the city and enjoyed more of the countryside and even spotted baboons along the way. The service and experience at Aquila was wonderful and it was very kid-friendly. We went on two game drives one in the afternoon and one early morning and were lucky enough to spot so many wild animals. 

One of the highlights was when we ventured out in the early morning and sat there hoping to spot some lions amongst the camouflage of the rocks and hills. Our son who was 7 at the time spotted the lion far into the distance and everyone on the bus was so impressed by his spotting skills. He still talks about that to this day and I believe it’s something he will remember for the rest of his life. 

Giraffe House /Alpaca Loom/Cheetah Outreach 

All three of these experiences aren’t too far from Cape Town and are perfect for the animal lovers of the world! Not only are these facilities providing wonderful care to these animals, but they provide experiences you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. The Alpaca Loom is where you get to walk the alpacas on a trail and it’s unlike anything I’d ever done before! The Cheetah Outreach is a truly up-close experience with cheetahs – you get to be inside an enclosure and are able to pet them!  The Giraffe House is where you can get close to the tallest land mammals on earth (giraffes), in addition to seeing and learning about an abundance of other mammals, reptiles, and birds. 

Stellenbosch Countryside & Hazendal Wine Estate 

(With a Bonus of the Wonderdal Entertainment Center for the Children) 

Nestled in the picturesque Stellenbosch countryside just 30 minutes from Cape Town is Hazendal Wine Estate, a delight for adults with a penchant for wine and relaxation. A bonus for parents and children is that kids between 5-13 years old can spend time at the Wonderdal Entertainment Center, an interactive, imaginative, creative and scientific space where kids explore, learn and experiment. The kids play under professional supervision in Wonderdal while the parents relax over a great meal and a nice glass of wine. It was such a unique and wonderful experience that the kids begged to go again, so we went twice! 

Culinary Bliss 

Food is amazing in Cape Town with lots of diversity, and way too many wonderful places to include in this blog, but three must do experiences are: 

Gold Restaurant Dining Experience

It’s a bit touristy but they teach you how to drum, you get a 14 course meal where you try an abundance of local dishes. It’s a wonderful glimpse of local culture and cuisine. 

Time Out Market in Cape Town

This is also a wonderful way to try local cuisine. Any Time Out Market in a big city around the world is well worth the stop.

The Indian food is amazing here: A uniquely South African dish absolutely worth trying while in Cape Town is called “Bunny Chow”. 

Our Path, Reaffirmed 

Our few weeks in South Africa flew by and it’s honestly one of those places that you revisit in your mind because it’s sometimes hard to imagine that you were actually able to see such amazing creatures, biodiversity, culture, and vistas. 

To many people, travelling 10,000 miles to an unfamiliar place with our children seemed like an unnecessary headache. Find a sitter, take the trip alone or as a couple. But that’s not the kind of mother I want to be, and I don’t want to raise children who are isolated from the discomfort of travel. I want them to know that joy often comes from struggle and that beautiful skies are ahead after things seem rough. Travel cultivates so many of the good things in human nature, including resilience. Looking back, I can’t imagine going without them, especially since the trip changed them.