Fun Ideas For Kids. Around Cape Town

MTN ScienCentre to City Rock – 25min

Follow exit signs to N1 Cape Town and retrace your route past Ratanga Junction and onto the highway into the city. At 5km, take Exit 7A, M5 Muizenberg. Keep right as the road splits, following M5 Muizenberg. At about 8km, take Exit 9B N2 Cape Town, curve around and join N2. At 10km, take Exit 8, Liesbeek Parkway. At the traffic light, turn right under the bridge (M57 North). At 11km, after stadium, turn left into Station Road. Cross bridge, turn right into Drake Street and right again into Collingwood Road. City Rock is the last building on the right.

OK, now you’re allowed to climb the walls. After squeezing into a harness and clipping onto a safety line, there are 450 square metres of wall (and ceiling), dotted with hand- and footholds, waiting for you at City Rock, South Africa’s largest indoor climbing gym. The different routes are graded from easy to (almost) impossible, and there’s a dedicated beginners’ and kids’ wall. Or you can try scrambling up a range of ‘boulders’, with the comfort of very thick mats at the bottom. You don’t have to be an experienced Spiderman to have fun here.

Two-hour beginners’ courses are available, or you can hire staff to belay you (keep you secure on the safety rope as you climb), and they’ll help you with technique too. This is guaranteed to get the adrenalin pumping, even for kids who feel no fear! And, adults, give it a go – you will definitely love the thrill. City Rock is owned and run by experienced climbers, and there’s a strong emphasis on safety. Hire gear or bring your own. This is also a great place for kids’ birthday parties, and there are special programmes during school holidays.

The climbs are graded from an eight (which anyone would be able to  do) to a white-knuckled 32 – so far only one person has managed to do that climb. Grown-ups, if you feel you now deserve a stiff drink after this kid-friendly day, there are several good restaurants and pubs along Lower Main Road in bohemian Observatory. Otherwise head back to the Waterfront where there’s lots more to do for both kids and their parents.

City Rock, Observatory to V&A Waterfront – 7min

From City Rock turn left into Drake Street then right into Station Road. At traffic lights, left into Lower Main Road. At around 600m, turn right into Bowden Road and cross Main Road. At 1km, take the left fork onto the bridge, and turn right at the stop street to City/Stad. Join the highway and follow the signs to the Waterfront.

The Great Outdoors

When the weather’s too good to waste indoors, get out and enjoy the sunshine (but don’t forget the sunblock).
Outside action: Head for the hills and enjoy the sunshine on easy walks on the mountain, from Silvermine to Table Mountain. Around the Cape Peninsula, try Groot Constantia, where there’s plenty of space to roar around while you enjoy lunch (see Antiques Route, pp 91–93), or Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden for picnics, lawns for games, nature walks and ducks on the ponds (see Big Hits Route, pp 21–22).

But for some real action, get hooked up to a cable for a 900 metre waterski around the lake (or wakeboarding and slalom) at Blue Rock in Somerset West. There’s also freshwater scuba-diving, beach volleyball, mini golf, a restaurant and a children’s playground.

Beach Babies

Pack a picnic, brolly and loads of sunscreen and head for the beach. Boulders, past Simon’s Town, offers safe, calm bathing amid huge boulders, with penguins to keep you entertained. (Entrance fee charged.) More safe seas at Fish Hoek, with rock pools to explore off Jager Walk and jungle gym near the restaurant (have a meal while the kids let off steam).

Surfer’s Corner at Muizenberg attracts board riders of all ages, with miles of beach and safe swimming. Don’t forget the tidal pools at St James, Kommetjie and Dalebrook. Closer to town there are several places to access the beach along the Sea Point beach front, although the shoreline’s a bit rocky.

Furry and Feathered friends

If you’re travelling out towards Stellenbosch and Paarl, look out for a variety of wild beasties, all fairly close to the N1 highway, at the Drakenstein Lion Park, Butterfly World, Le Bonheur Croc Park, Animal Zone and Tygerberg Zoo. (See the Cheese Route on p 66 for details.) Ride a camel at Imhoff’s Country Craft Farm in Kommetjie, or head to Hout Bay’s World of Birds, where you can see over 3 000 birds in natural surroundings.

And on a slightly larger scale, have a look at South Africa’s biggest bird at the Cape Point Ostrich Farm. Up the N2 to Somerset West, stop at Monkey Town, a primate rehabilitation centre, to come face to face with our closest relatives from covered walkways, as the monkeys roam freely. Firlands Farmworld is a little further, where you can wander among all sorts of farm animals, as well as a llama or two.

What else is nearby?

Ratanga Junction – the largest theme park in Africa. Closed in winter.
Sanccob,the world-famous rescue centre for injured or oil-soaked coastal birds. The penguin feeds at 10:00 and 15:00 are great to watch.
West Coast Ostrich Ranch. Learn about these birds, sit on one, and try standing on one of their huge eggs.
Tygerberg Zoo and endangered wildlife breeding centre – see who’s who at the zoo.