Why Cape Town is a tourist magnet

Cape Town (CT) is one of the most southerly cities in Africa at the confluence of two oceans, one cold, and one warmer.

The city is stunningly beautiful with Table Mountain and her sisters in the background. Add her multiculturalism and good weather, milder than Europe. If you recall your geography, the southern tip of Africa is one of the few places with a Mediterranean climate.

Just like Kenya’s white highlands, weather played a role in attracting colonialists. If you doubt, live through a dark long winter. In Cape Town, the sun rose at 5.28am and set at 7.41pm last Friday; it’s summer. Compare that with northerly Hamburg; sunrise 8.11am and sunset 4.06pm - its winter.

Why has Nairobi not popularised its proximity to Ngong Hills, why can’t Ngong be our Table Mountain? How many visitors hike the hills to admire Nairobi city from the top like CT from Table Mountain? We can add Lukenya Hill, which uncannily resembles Table Mountain.

Strategic location

The strategic location of CT has economic implications. Everyone wants to live there, leading to the high cost of living. There is competition for housing but flats that characterise Nairobi are not that common. IT seems a horizontal city.

You quickly come across ‘mabati’ shanties near the airport next to modern houses. I was told the owners of the modern houses once lived in the shanties. Once they got government-built houses, another group built shanties waiting for their turn! There are more shanties towards West Somerset. Inequality characterises the rainbow nation.

The taxi driver explained how segregation did not end with independence. It now depends on how deep your pocket is. Does that sound familiar?

The roads are good but traffic jams rival Nairobi at peak hour. The city looks more European than African going by architecture and racial mix.  The street names show the city’s legacy, a mixture of Afrikaans, English and local names. CT enjoys not just the city status, but it’s a port. The view of ships at the port from the slopes of Table Mountain is just stunning.

My destination for a DAAD academic conference was Church Street, not far from Long Street famous for its nightlife. We sampled it one evening with lots of loud music and related activities.

There was time to visit the waterfront, a semblance to Mama Ngina Drive in Mombasa but with more walking space along the oceanfront. Both taxi drivers to our hotel and back talked Swahili. But they were definitely not Kenya or Tanzanian.

Huge boulders and concrete structures protect the city from the ocean, they seem to have been designed for the worst-case scenario.

The port, its ships and boats, are a huge tourist attraction. Why not our ports? Boat rides around the port and to Robben Island are advertised. Will take one next time.

The Table Mountain is completely visible from the waterfront. But it seems rising skyscrapers will soon obstruct it. As the sun sets, there is more beauty along the oceanfront.

Along the waterfront are high-end apartments, curio shops, restaurants and a shopping mall, Victoria Wharf, built in 1992. What was there before? Are grain silos turned into apartments?

The area is designed for pedestrians and they are many. The rainbow nation is evident. Motorists stop respectfully to let pedestrians cross the road.

The city is not just about shanties, we visited their Muthaiga, stand-alone houses tucked by the Table Mountain on its leeward side. Newlands and Bishops court stand out. Rhodes Memorial and the University of Cape Town are the neighbours. Another neighbour is a botanical garden.

Many cultures

Kenya boasts of her wildlife. How come no one talks about our indigenous plants and flowers? How many of us have seen sandalwood? Do we have any botanical gardens in Kenya? Private or public?

A statue of Nelson Mandela completes your visit to the botanical garden. I did not find many statues in Cape Town. Belgrade seems to beat all cities I have visited in statues.

Curiosity took me beyond the natural beauty espoused by mountains and coastline. I met one mzungu who once lived in Nanyuki. I met Afrikaans (Boers) but while they all recognised Anna Maria Cornelia Crous as one of their own, not her relatives. Remember who she was? Facebook and LinkedIn might do a better job.

My fascination was with indigenous South Africans and their languages, particularly iXhosa and its clicking. There are about eight clicks - xh, qh, qa, gq, nkq with added vowels. A good example is Gqeberha. Gqe is a click.

I went beyond clicks into their culture. Never mind indigenous South Africans seem cold on us. One fascinating lesson was on ‘blessers’, called sponsors in Kenya. I was given a hierarchy of blessings. Mzungu at the top, Nigerians and the rest. When I asked about Kenyans, I was told they are just teachers and hairplaiters!

I was told the most aggressive women are Xhosa and the humblest are Swati and Zulu. I had no way to independently confirm that. There was a   Xhosa lady in our midst and if she was the representative, there could be some truth. She taught us how to click. A Kenyan man married to a Xhosa denied they are aggressive. The list for the most aggressive men and humblest is being compiled.

I now know the difference between a sangoma and inyanga. South Africa is culturally fascinating; I guess an anthropologist’s paradise. I found unisex toilets in our hotel. Asked, I was told that reflects how far ahead the city is with personal freedom. There was more ‘freedom’ on Long Street.

Someone could ask why I am not talking about economic growth, GDP, inflation, exchange rate and other intellectual and economic issues. But to the vast majority, including the highly educated, we are driven by small things. Muchene here and there, relationships, money or the weather.

Check what is trending on WhatsApp groups. What usually goes viral? That does not mean I have regressed to the mean. Next week we focus on seals, penguins, whales, wineries and economics.