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A local’s top tips for the hidden magic Cape Town offers.
Andrew Raeburn doesn’t know Cape Town from a café window or a wine list. He knows it from the water, the cliffs, the kelp forests and the ledges most visitors never find. He’s one of the city’s most respected chaperones, and he has spent years taking people to the Cape’s wilder edges.
We asked him for his ten favourite things to do. This isn’t the Cape Town of hotel concierges and tourist boards. Over to Andrew. (All photos in this post are his too.)
Photo: Andrew Raeburn
Andrew’s ten gems
1. Swim the Boulders Gap
“Forget the boardwalk. Jump in, let the current carry you through the gap into the open ocean, and use the kelp forest as your friend. The kelp holds you, guides you and slows the swell. It’s primal and exhilarating, and it’s nothing like anything else on a standard Cape Town itinerary. You won’t forget it.”
Photos: Andrew Raeburn
2. The Secret Cape of Good Hope Walk
“Most people stand at the top and look out. I go the other way, along the ledge and the cliff face, looking up at the cliffs from below. Almost no one gets that view, and it changes how you see the whole place. The scale becomes real. You feel those rocks against the ocean in your chest. You don’t just photograph them on your phone.”
Photo: Andrew Raeburn
3. Follow the Light: Travel with the Sun
“Always do the bay first for the morning light, and end with the sunset on your face on the Atlantic side. It sounds simple, and it is. But it changes the whole shape of your day. Let the light lead and Cape Town rewards you at every hour.”
Photos: Andrew Raeburn
4. Stop at the Chappies Rock Overhang
“On Chapman’s Peak Drive there’s a rock overhang that gives you real exposure and one of the best sunset shots on the peninsula. The drop, the light, the Atlantic spread out below: that’s a photograph people print and frame. Go at golden hour.”
Photos: Andrew Raeburn
5. Brave the Cosy Bay Karbonkle Swim
“This one isn’t for the faint-hearted. The entry, the rocks and the current all demand respect, and that’s the point. The swim on the other side feels earned, in water and surrounds most people in Cape Town have never seen. It’s an adventure, and I mean that.”
6. Maiden’s Cove at Sunset (or When the Cape Doctor is Raging)
“Maiden’s Cove at sunset is beautiful in the usual way. But go when the Cape Doctor, our south-easter, is blowing hard. The spray, the drama, the light catching everything in motion: that’s when the best photographs happen. Lean into the wind and shoot.”
Photo: Andrew Raeburn
7. Ice Cream (or Affogato) from the Truck on Victoria Drive
One of Andrew’s not-so-secret talents: he knows almost every must-taste snack in the Western Cape. That’s a full post for another day.
“Some days it’s about stopping the car, getting a scoop or an affogato from the truck on Victoria Drive, and sitting with the view. Good food, ridiculous scenery and nowhere you urgently need to be. Cape Town does that better than anywhere.”
8. Shoes Off: Walk from Doodles Corner to Kite Beach
“Shoes come off at Doodles Corner. From there, walk the beach all the way to Kite Beach, with the classic mountain view on one side, the ocean on the other and sand under your feet the whole way. It’s meditative, it’s beautiful and it costs nothing. It’s one of the great free experiences this city offers.”
He’s right.
9. Skip the Hotel Breakfast
“Plenty of hotels here do a great breakfast, but don’t eat there every day. Get out early, find where the locals are eating and sit among them. Cape Town has some of the best neighbourhood breakfast spots in the country, and the way to find them is to wander with an appetite and follow the smell of coffee. The hotel buffet will still be there tomorrow.”
10. The Saunders Rock Jump
Andrew ends where a lot of the Juice team like to end the day: Saunders Rock. Some of us sit, some of us have a quick dunk. Andrew jumps.
“The rock jump at Saunders is a rite of passage. It’s exhilarating and cold, and it makes you feel alive in a city that specialises in that feeling. Just don’t jump blind: check the swell first and ask a local whether today’s a good day for it.”
Photo: Andrew Raeburn
And whatever you pick, do it the way Andrew does: with an exhilarating smile.
Juice Tip
The Boulders Gap, the Karbonkle swim and the Saunders jump are for confident swimmers, and the sea decides which days they’re on. Go with someone who knows the water, check the swell forecast before you commit, and let someone on shore know where you’re headed.
