All of the sites in this post were included in the City Pass. No, I am not getting one red cent from the City Pass folk. This particular city pass worked out for us. Not every city pass is a good deal and even if it is a good deal it may not be a good match for what you want to do. We did not use the city pass in Lisbon as it wasn’t a good match for us. Copenhagen’s city pass worked for us mainly because we were traveling with my m-i-l who had mobility issues. It’s up to you to figure out if a city pass works for you.
My problem with using city passes, at least if you are of my “maximize this!” mindset about the cash you spend, is I end up doing things or going to places I would otherwise not have to get the most out of my money. Sometimes, often, this is a good thing. Others it is not. Like getting the two free (a 180R value!) tasting platters of foamy and delicious beer at Beerhouse on Long. The stairs were a lot wobblier going down than they were climbing up. Don’t subject yourself to stuff just because you feel you’ve already paid for it. Don’t be me.
Us being with a preschooler we spent a lot of time seeking out animals. Early on we hit the World of Birds Bird Sanctuary and Monkey Park which claims to be the largest bird park in Africa. It’s a place for families with young children. Almost every other demographic could probably skip it without missing out. The highlight here, by far, is the Monkey Jungle experience. The Monkey Jungle is a walkthrough enclosure filled with tiny and admittedly cute squirrel monkeys. You can go in, the monkeys will climb on you, and you can even feed them. I did not go in. I do not like monkeys. Even teeny, adorable ones like these. I had a bad experience. But SM and LB loved it. LB didn’t stop talking about it until the next amazing Cape Town experience, which was the aquarium.
The Two Oceans Aquarium over at the V&A was well worth the visit. There are many things to do. We basically explored the exhibits with the touch pool and the penguins being highlights for LB. LB would have LOVED the march of the penguins but was too impatient to wait for it. SM took her down to the kid’s zone where there is play equipment and there are puppet shows. This meant I got to see the penguins… and it was kind of awesome.
The predator and kelp exhibits were also personal highlights as I’d not seen anything quite like them previously. To grow the kelp the water has to be in constant movement and the whole effect is hypnotic. The fish play peek-a-boo among the fronds. The predator exhibit, which you can go diving in(!), is full of sharks and other toothy, large underwater carnivores. The tank is designed in such a way that the predatorial fish seem shockingly close.
We also took a boat trip to see the seals. We went to Duiker Island via Drumbeat Charters out of Hout Bay. Hout Bay is amazing. Gorgeous with a long shallow stretch of water before the wave break that makes it perfect for littles. There are a few restaurants, flea and art markets, and the majestic beauty that is the Cape Town norm. We were so impressed that we made our way back to the Bay a week or so later just to explore. There were a couple of seals in the bay near the boat. A local gentleman did a bit of a show in feeding on of the seals. It was entertaining and worthy of a tip.
It’s illegal to go onto the island and no one in their right mind would want to because it is covered in aggressive, musky, adolescent male seals just aching to prove themselves against some idiot trying to win a Darwin Award. Because it is not a breeding colony, again, mostly pubescent dude seals, you probably won’t see many seal pups even if you go during the birthing season from November and December. The ride out to the island, which is more like a bunch of boulders poking out of the water, was lovely. We then floated a bit while everyone got their photos before heading back to the dock. LB enjoyed herself thoroughly.
The last place I’ll talk about on this post is also full of animals only here, none of them are alive. It’s the The South Africa (a natural history) Museum. It’s got fossils, bugs, and a different kind of stuffed animal. LB was phased by none of these as we lived near a science museum in Copenhagen and would stop in when the weather was shit, which, it being Denmark, was not rare. The Danish ideas around things are different from those in America. The science museum was quite graphic and hands on. So LB was ready for this place, which was much less explicit than what we were used to in Copenhagen. It’s also air conditioned which, when we were there in late spring, was a blessing. You can easily kill an hour here, even if your little is less inquisitive than LB.
The South Africa Museum is in The Company’s Garden. The gardens are beautiful for strolling, full of large shade trees, small animals, and a variety of birds. We ate at the Company’s Garden Restaurant, which serves traditional Capetonian food and the usual Western lunch standards, twice. Near the restaurant is a play area with sculptures of local animals, and kid sized hanging bird’s nest which are even cooler for the parents than the kids.
Hope y’all are keeping busy, washing your hands, staying home, and looking forward to a time when this is all just a weird communal memory.