Any Capetonian will tell you that watching the fires that have been raging on Table Mountain over the past few days has been a frightening experience.

Thankfully, the fire department and Table Mountain National Park managed to get the blaze under control. The firefighters cannot be praised enough for their brave efforts.

The devastating aftermath of the fire serves as a reminder that we all need to be more careful, especially during summer. Please look after the mountain – it is our heritage.

These images tell the story of the devastation that irresponsible behaviour (like throwing cigarette butts out of a car window, or making a fire on the mountain) can cause. 

Images © Nadia de Jager and the Volunteer Wildfire Services 2009

Photo courtesy Chris Cloete

9:30pm: I was driving back home with my girlfriend from somerset west on the N2 towards Rondebosch last night when I first saw the sparkly flicker of the fire that would, by the early hours of the morning, go on a devouring rampage of Devil’s Peak.

Our first thought was that it seemed very close to Rhodes Memorial and that it would be heart-breaking to see this Cape Town landmark devastated.

At that point, though, we never expected the fire to grow into the menace it would become.

Photo courtesy Mikko Kapanen

12:30am: I went for a drive out and saw the fire slithering up the side of the mountain, followed by great plumes of thick, white smoke.

The flames tinged the clouds with deep oranges and crimson reds.

I stood in awe, not knowing whether what I saw was beautiful or a horrible devastation.

I guess it was a combination of the two.

7:45am: As I stood on the train into work I looked out and saw the dying puffs of smoke that ran all the way up to the highest peak.

Mumblings in the train of people who evacuated to families living away from the city made the morning post-apocalyptic, as though a massive bombshell had hit the city.

Photo courtesy Warren Rohner

10:15am: Standing on the balcony at work in the Cape Town CBD … there is the unmistakable smell of fire in the air, the ash on the ground bears evidence of the reach of the fire.

For some it’s just a mountain. But for the Capetonian it’s not that simple – the mountain is one of us, part of the family, and when she is in pain we feel it too.

Aslam Levy is an eMarketing Coordinator at Cape Town Tourism, you can view his personal blog here.

Thunder City, which is located next to Cape Town International Airport, continues to attract large numbers of overseas and local tourists, who come to experience the unique thrill of flying in one of the base’s ex-combat jets.

A flight in one of Thunder City’s iconic jets has become a ‘must do’ for visitors from all over the world wanting to enjoy a life-changing experience.

These international visitors come to Cape Town year-round, and especially in summer, to enjoy the wide variety of attractions that the Mother City has to offer.

Thunder City has the world’s largest civilian-owned fleet of ex-combat jets, including the last four English Electric Lightnings and the last three BAe Buccaneers still flying in the world, as well as seven Hawker Hunters, a BAC Strikemaster and a modernised Puma SA 330 helicopter.

Thunder City is one of the few places worldwide where the public are allowed to fly in ex-military jets and enjoy the thrills of Top Gun supersonic and sub-sonic flying. 

Thunder City, which was established in 1998, has flown over 1700 incident free sorties.

Cape Town has some of the world’s most spectacular scenery, best seen from the air, with panoramic views of Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula, dotted with white beaches along the surrounding coastline and vineyards on the lower reaches of the nearby majestic mountain ranges.

Being at the foot of Africa, it is also one of the most uncluttered air spaces on the planet, making it the ideal place to fly in supersonic jets. Thunder City has added another dimension to the range of attractions on offer to tourists.

For more information call 021 934-8007 or visit the website: www.thundercity.com

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, photo courtesy Derek Keats

Trees, plants, flowers and birds will take centre stage when the Botanical Society hosts its 34th annual garden fair on March 14-15 from 9h00 to 16h00. 

The festival will take place at the Stone Cottages at the corner of Rhodes and Kirstenbosch drives, opposite the entrance to Kirstenbosch Gardens. The Botanical Society, which has been running since 1975, will sell plants to raise funds for the Kirstenbosch development projects. Those who enjoy gardening should bring their wheelbarrows and carrier bags as a wide range of garden-related goodies will be available.

Kirstenbosch’s horticulturists will design the demonstration garden around the fair’s theme of “Celebrating Trees and Shade Plants”. The horticulturists will also be available to answer questions and give advice to visitors.

There is an entrance fee of R5 (children under the age of 12 can enter for free), which will go towards the Kirstenbosch Partnership Fund. Refreshments will be served under the oak tree.

Supporters of South African music can look forward to hearing The Dirty Skirts, who will be performing at the Kirstenbosch Summer Concert on March 15.

The streets of Cape Town, photo courtesy Danny C. Jackson

The treasure hunt game that got Cape Town (and the blogosphere) buzzing in February has been won! Recently married couple Jason and Lara Feldman collected the prize – a R20 000 shopping voucher – after exploring the city centre and following online clues.

The final clue may have been easy for English teacher Jason to solve – it took him only 20 minutes to find the memory stick in the newly opened Boo Radley’s Bistro & Bar in Hout Street – but getting to that point required a lot of legwork.

The game was commissioned by the Central City Improvement District and designed by innovative marketing company Cherryflava, as part of a campaign to bring people into Cape Town’s central business district during Retail Therapy week. More than 300 establishments participated in Retail Therapy, offering up to 50% off selected merchandise.

The city-based treasure hunt began with a staged spat between ex-lovers SeanO and Jodi. The couple fought it out on their blogs, seanosgame.blogspot.com and jodisrevenge.blogspot. SeanO announced he would hide a memory stick containing photos of Jodi somewhere in the city, and Jodi offered a R20 000 reward to the person who found it. Clues were posted online and scattered across the city.

In the seventh stage of the competition, contestants were required to take photographs of 18 particular storefronts. The first letters of the names of the stores spelt out the title of a famous Pulitzer prize-winning novel – Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – which was the clue to the whereabouts of the missing stick.  Boo Radley is a character in the book.

Jason and Lara (also in the teaching profession) were at first hesitant to play the game. “I am so happy we continued , though, as I met and spoke with so many people whom I never would have known without this adventure,” Lara said after finding the memory stick. “Doing this challenge every day this week between work commitments has been really difficult but we have had fun and discovered so many awesome new places in town.” 

Jason and Lara will be given R20 000 to spend at any of the 300 participating Retail Therapy stores. They will be given stickers to place on the items they want, after which a representative will purchase the item and deliver it to the Feldmans.

When asked what they would be interested in spending the money on, Lara replied: “Jason and I are newlyweds, so a shopping spree is just what we need!”

2009 Cape Argus Cycle Tour, photo courtesy Jon-Luke Lourens

Of the 35 000 cyclists who entered the 2009 Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour, 9 400 woke up on Sunday, took one look at the pumping wind, and went back to bed.

Dot Hartman, who cycled tandem, says, “The wind was howling the whole night. At the race start, the organisers were pulling the starting banner down. Portable toilets were blowing across the road! A lot of people didn’t even start.

“It was hectic,” she continues. “My racing partner was blown right over. At the end of the race he didn’t have sore legs, he had sore shoulders from keeping the bike on the road. Going downhill, pedalling on a tandem bike, you usually clock 60-70km/h, but going downhill at Suikerbossie, we were going only 12km/h!” 

The brave cyclists who continued undaunted faced winds of up to 140km/h – the worst in the history of the race. Arran Brown and Jennie Stenerhag won the men’s and women’s titles respectively in times slower than usual for the lead bunch.

A micro-light version of the original Bleriot aeroplane which carried the pioneer airmail from Kenilworth to Muizenberg

It’s nearly 100 years since the first airmail delivery in Africa, which took place in Cape Town in 1911.

The South African Minister of Posts and Telegraphs consented to the first conveyance of airmail post, between Kenilworth and Muizenberg. More than 2500 postcards were specially produced to mark the event and were carried on the flights.

According to Liz Linsell of The Muizenberg Historical Conservation Society, the aircraft, piloted by Evelyn Driver, took off from the Kenilworth Race Course at 19h15 on December 27 1911, and landed safely seven-and-a-half minutes later at Oldhams Field on the verges of Zandvlei in Muizenberg. It was met by Post Master P.J. Hutchings who received the post and gave the pilot return post. The aircraft was safely back at Kenilworth at 20h10.

Well-known philatelist Barry Smith, who has an award-winning collection of South African Air Mail covers, will be talking about this historical milestone to the Muizenberg Historical Conservation Society on Thursday March 12.  Members of the public are welcome to attend.

The talk will be at the old Zandvlei Bowling Club, from 12h00 to 14h00. The entrance fee is R25 for society members and R35 for non-members, and includes refreshments and snacks.

If you’d like to attend, please contact Joye Gibbs on +27 21 788 8224 or 082 425 3092 by Tuesday, March 10.

Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2008, photo courtesy Ian Junor

“The Argus is one race that every cyclist should do,” says Dot Hartman, a keen Johannesburg-based cyclist. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful race.”

Hartman has cycled the 109km race 13 times and has been training hard for her 14th attempt this year.

According to www.southafrica.info, the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour began in 1978 when 525 cyclists set out to complete this gruelling but spectacular race. The event has grown enormously over the years and organisers expect more than 35 000 cyclists to take on the challenge this year.

Hartman was a self-described “weekend cyclist” when she did her first Argus, taking on the challenge because “it just seemed like a good idea”. When she and her friends arrived at the Cape Town airport, they picked up their bikes and cycled into town, not realising how far it was or that they wouldn’t be able to get off the highway for many kilometres.

After the success of her first Argus, she joined a club and has become an increasingly keen cyclist over the years.

Hartman has done particularly well cycling tandem, coming fourth at last year’s Argus in the mixed-tandem category with her racing partner, Franz-Joseph Abs.

In preparation for this year’s race, she has been cycling 10 to 12 hours (up to 400km) a week.

“The vibe of the Argus is awesome,” she says. “Over the Argus weekend Cape Town makes millions in accommodation. For every cyclist, apparently, 1.3 people accompany them.

“Capetonians are great, unlike Joburg motorists, who are really impatient with cyclists. It is a scenically beautiful race. If you’ve done the Argus, you’ve arrived as a cyclist,” she continues.

It is not just a race for competitive cyclists, however.

“If you pace yourself, the Argus is doable,” says Hartman. “Lots of people stop at every watering station and chat along the way. People do it for charities and there are all shapes and sizes on the road. A lot of Capetonians just do it because it is a Cape Town race – they dust off their bikes.”

To anyone thinking that they’d like to try it one day, Hartman says: “Just do it!”

Come and experience the exciting vibe at this year’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour on Sunday March 8. Visit the official website for more information on road closures and spectator vantage points.

The beauty of Kirstenbosch Gardens, photo courtesy Derek Keats

With the global economy crumbling, finding an affordable yet luxurious destination to visit can be a bit of a hassle. According to Joshua Hammer – former Newsweek bureau chief and correspondent at large in Africa and the Middle East – Cape Town is the place to bag a bargain.

Hammer’s recent article in the New York Times describes in detail the beauty of Cape Town and its breathtaking landscapes, which he rediscovered during a visit to the Mother City last year.

Golden sandy beaches, scuba diving, winelands, tidal pools, and hikes – these were some of the highlights of his trip.

Hammer was particularly struck by the Kirstenbosch Gardens, which, he says exemplify “Cape Town’s juxtapositions of wildness and cultivation”.

“Its Table Mountain backdrop, with a tangle of forest clinging to the rough sandstone face, exudes the raw power of nature, while its meticulously landscaped grounds reflect the hand of man,” he writes.

Hammer, who lived in Cape Town from 2005 to 2007, says that experiencing the beauty of Cape Town doesn’t cost that much – which is always good news, and more so these days.

“It’s now possible to stay in a cheaper but still very good hotel room, rent a car, eat a couple of excellent meals and hike or mountain bike in the world’s most magnificent wilderness reserves, all for a total of $300 a day,” he says.

Hammer’s opinion of Cape Town’s affordable luxury is a popular one in global tourism circles, as his article comes right after South Africa was placed 34th on the New York Times 44 Places to Go annual list.

Infecting the City 2008, photo courtesy Yasser Boodley

The city of Cape Town is set to be infected with art from February 21-27, 2009 when dramatic teams from Europe, South Africa and other Southern African countries perform in the streets.

Infecting the City is a thought-provoking new art festival that has emerged out of the Spier Performing Arts Festival and is now presented by The Africa Centre. This edgy, site-specific series of collaborative and performance works will transform the Cape Town city centre into an exciting theatre venue, pushing the boundaries of street performance.

The events will be accessible to everyone; and attending them is a new way of exploring Cape Town’s public spaces.

The festival’s curator is award-winning director and writer Brett Bailey. Hailed as the “wild child of South African theatre” by the Wits School of Performing Arts, Bailey has written, directed and designed a number of controversial and acclaimed plays such as Big Dada, Ipi Zombi?, iMumbo Jumbo and The Prophet.

He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Drama in 2001 and won the FNB Vita awards for Best Costume Design and Best New South African Script for Big Dada in 2002. This provocative play also won him the Fleur de Cap director’s award.

With a “home affairs” theme, Infecting the City promises to be just as thought-provoking. Many of the works will address the issue of xenophobia at a time when last year’s horrific attacks on foreigners living in South Africa are still fresh in our minds.

Visitors can look forward to a full programme, including Amakwerekwere (Thibault Square), Exile (Adderley Street Fountains) and Limbo (Church Square). These shows will highlight the new forms of discrimination, segregation and victimisation that have infected South Africa.

Amakwerekwere is a derogatory term used for foreigners, who have become the scapegoats for a lack of employment, crime and even failed relationships for some South Africans.

The festival also provides a new perspective on Cape Town’s heritage. An Histrionic, for example, is a cultural tour – with a difference – of South Africa’s oldest surviving building, the Castle of Good Hope, built in 1679. 

For more information on the festival and the venues themselves, please visit the Infecting the City website, where you will also find a full programme of events.