Cape Town Tourism staff spinning their wheels

In support of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, Cape Town Tourism invited those members who offer cycling-related products to exhibit at its new visitor centre in Burg Street.

Virgin Active helped out by giving a spinning demonstration, with Cape Town Tourism members and staff burning a few calories.

All participants and visitors received a Pick n Pay carrier bag holding, among others, Cape Argus and Bike n Wines brochures and a Cape Town Tourism visitor guide.

Read about Cape Town road closures for the event.

Cape Town’s roads will make way for the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour this weekend. Photo courtesy Mark Auer

Numerous roads in Cape Town and surrounding areas, will be closed on Saturday and Sunday because of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour.

About 30 000 cyclists will take part in the main event on Sunday, and the 109km route needs to accommodate many more spectators. This year the event features cycling legend, Lance Armstorng, who is sure to attract many extra spectators.

On the Cape Town foreshore, Hertzog Boulevard, outbound carriageway between Heerengracht and Oswald Pirow, will be closed from 16h00 on Saturday, until 11h30 to on Sunday. In Green Point, Eastern Boulevard, Beach Road to New Traffic Circle (city bound carriageway), will be closed from 14h30 on Saturday, until 18h30 on Sunday.

On Sunday, road closures will affect most suburbs,  particularly in Noordhoek, Camps Bay, Hout Bay, Bantry Bay and Clifton areas, as well as the southern suburbs and roads between False Bay and Cape Point. All motorists are advised to plan their routes very carefully, and to take into account that there will be large volumes of traffic in and around Cape Town throughout Sunday.

All roads should be open again by 18h30 on Sunday evening.

See the PDF attached for a full list of road closures this weekend.

Cape_Argus_Road_Closures.pdf

Photo by Skye Grove

Cape Town Tourism hosted a photo competition to celebrate the month of love in Cape Town during February 2010. Team members were invited to submit a photo of the most romantic spot in Cape Town, motivating why it was special to them.

It was a hotly contested competition, but PR, communications and guest relations manager at Cape Town Tourism, Skye Grove’s photo took our breath away. 

The photo of a fire dancer was taken on Noordhoek Beach and if you focus your eyes on the centre of the photograph, you can see a swirl of fire in the shape of a heart.  Skye motivated her selection of this photograph with the following inspiring words:

The most romantic spot in Cape Town

is the place where earth meets water and fire

in the rhythm of a faultless fire dance

on a balmy February night at Noordhoek Beach.

This is where all of my senses meet

the smell of the ocean in the rhythmic beating of my heart

I stand in awe of the passionate energy of my city

my Cape Town

Skye and her partner will be enjoying a Dinner Club Tour, worth R1000, with Cape Town Tourism member and nightlife tour operator, Luna Nights. 

Visit Luna Nights’ website now for a stunning selection of Mother City night spot tour packages. 

Congratulations Skye, it is good to know that we have another photographer on the team!

This photograph of fishing boats in the Cape, was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Peter Grobbelaar.

Peter says: “I’ve always longed to photograph the fishing boats at Paternoster. We stopped there on a recent holiday adventure. This was shot using Velvia slide film, on my trusty Canon EOS 300v.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Peter Grobbelaar

Rene Haselbacher. Photo courtesy Tony Rocha

Austrian rider, Rene Haselbacher, won the first 106km stage of the 2010 Pick n Pay Cape Argus Giro del Capo invitational cycling event, held in Wellington yesterday. Haselbacher represents Team Safindit.co.za. Team Medscheme’s Malcolm Lange came in second, followed by Burry Stander of Team Specialized.

The second 143km stage is under way in Durbanville today, followed by the 171km Paarl route on Thursday and the concluding 5.5km individual time trial at Signal Hill on Friday.

The four-stage race, first held in 1992, takes place in and around Cape Town and the Boland, hence its name, Giro del Capo, which means “The Tour of the Cape”.

The 2010 Giro del Capo is open to six-strong teams with valid elite U23 racing licences. Teams can be entered by clubs, provinces or sponsors, which need to be registered with Cycling South Africa. Teams need to quality for the Giro del Capo on merit.

This photograph of the view from a hike above Constantia Nek was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Marie Viljoen.

Marie says: “The picture was taken just past Constantia Corner (a hike that starts above Constantia Nek) and overlooks Lemoenkloof/Orange Kloof and Hout Bay. Proffessor Michael Cherry led the hike as he had a research permit to enter Lemoenkloof, which is accessible only with a permit. It is home to one of the last surviving stands of Afromontane forest in Cape Town and is an ecologically sensitive area.”

Read Marie’s blog about her hike here.

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Marie Viljoen 2010

Exploring new horizons. Photo courtesy Chris Bloomfield

The ABSA Cape Epic takes place during the last week of March or the first week of April each year. This year the event will be hosted from March 21 to 28, 2010. It is the largest mountain bike stage race in the world, taking place over eight stages with the riders receiving food, water and energy drinks at the various feed zones during the race stages.

Held over eight days, the route for the ABSA Cape Epic changes each year, but consistently covers 800km, winding its way through the most beautiful natural areas in the Western Cape, with some 16 000m of the route over mountain passes. 

Race registration will take place in Cape Town on March 20, 2010, with the race starting at Diemersfontein, going to Ceres, Worcester, Oak Valley and finishing in Lourensford. 

A requirement of the Cape Epic is that all riders must enter in teams of two. The teams must remain together throughout the race as they must reach each day’s finish line, at 17h00, as a team. Teams can enter in one of four categories: Men, Ladies, Mixed and Masters The winners on each day will cycle the next race stage wearing the leader jerseys. 

The ABSA Cape Epic is not only viewed as a sporting event by participants, but as a travel experience. The race organisers offer participants a 24-hour service during the race, which includes tented accommodation, carbo-loaded breakfasts and dinners, race nutrition, bike servicing, masseurs and entertainment on every evening of the race. 

How can you get involved? 

• Kit out, chin up and start training for next year’s ABSA Cape Epic Cycle Race.  The race register for next year will open on the website, http://www.cape-epic.com, on March 29, 2010. 
• Try the Epic Trippers,  a much shorter bike route, including a picnic lunch stop along the way and hotel accommodation.. 
• Enter one of the one-day races. The Wilde Cellar to Cellar Mountain Bike Race is a brand-new addition to the Epic event calendar. This one-day mountain biking race starts on the first day of the Cape Epic on March 21, 2010, at 09h30, covering 40km from Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate, through Wellington, and ending at Doolhof Wine Estate; it coincides with the Wellington Harvest Festival.  You can enter online on the ABSA Cape Epic website before March 18, 2010.
• The MTN Cape Times Vigne à Vigne one-day race takes place on Sunday, March 28, 2010, on the last day of the Cape Epic. The race will start and end at Lourensford Wine Estate, mirroring the final stage of the Cape Epic and entrants can choose between 26km or 55km routes.  Both routes will see participants finishing well in time to see the winners of the Cape Epic cross the finishing line. Enter online at http://www.vigne-a-vigne.com before 12h00 on March 19, 2010. 
• Head to Lourensford Wine Estate on March 28, 2010, to listen to SA band Watershed who will be performing at 12h30. 

Visit the ABSA Cape Epic web-site http://www.cape-epic.com for more information on this amazing event. 

Lance Armstrong has arrived in Cape Town. Photo courtesy Eugene Wie

Legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong arrived in Cape Town yesterday evening, despite a slight delay caused by passport problems.

Armstrong announced on his Twitter blog just before 21h00 last night: “Well, made it to Cape Town but can’t get in the country since my passport is full and there’s no room to stamp it.”

He was, however, allowed through a short while later, and welcomed to South Africa by many of his Twitter followers. One fan wrote: “Welcome to my valley, Lance. Be glad you missed the heat today. Enjoy your stay man, this place is awesome!”

The South African government advises visitors, through its website, to keep two blank pages in their passports. This law applies in various countries around the world.

Armstrong will take part in Sunday’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour. The 39-year-old cancer survivor, who has won the Tour de France seven times in a row, will be a huge crowd-puller for the well-subscribed 109km race.

If you are in need of accommodation or entertainment ideas during the cycle tour, be sure to check out Cape Town Tourism’s special offers.

This photograph of Cape Town Harbour was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member blerimi-prizren.

The photographer says: “After a long walk across Green Point and the harbour, I sat down right here at the docks and watched the fishermen unloading their freight. Then the sun was setting and the colours changed into these stunning tones.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © blerimi-prizren 2010

There is plenty rugby action still to come at Newlands this season. Photo courtesy Dplanet

Cape Town rugby fans had much to smile about this weekend, as the Stormers thrashed the Highlanders 33-0 at Newlands on Saturday.

On a scorching afternoon, the Stormers burned several holes in their opponents’ defence, ending the match with a bonus point after an opportunist try by world-class wing Bryan Habana.

The Stormers now sit third on the Super 14 log and will have a chance to continue their winning ways on Saturday, when they take on the fourth-paced Hurricanes, again, at Newlands.

Although the Stormers weren’t flawless in their demolition of the Highlanders, they showed many promising signs, and are starting to show some cohesion between forwards and backs. Captain Schalk Burger lead from the front, and even crossed the line for a try of his own.

One area where the Stormers are missing some very obvious tricks is out wide, with speedsters such as Habana and Sireli Naqelevuki needing to get their hands on the ball more often. Replacement Gio Aplon, one of the smallest players in the Super 14 at 72kg, showed some great pace and prospect when he came on in the latter stages of the match. He could indeed be one to watch in coming weeks.

Another exciting player of diminutive build is fullback Joe Pietersen, who bears a striking resemblance to one of his predecessors, Percy Montgomery. Pietersen has been in great form during the last two seasons, both off the kicking tee and in general play.

Newlands offers far more than just rugby, with great entertainment on offer before and after kick-off. Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes, from Wellington in New Zealand, kicks off at 19h10. Tickets are available through Computicket.

Visitors to Cape Town can find accommodation through our visitors’ section.