Even as a local I still find Cape Town to be absolutely astonishing. While its Summers seem to get hotter every year and our whining grows even louder about the rain in winter, Cape Town never seizes to pleasantly surprise us with it's extraordinary climates and bizarre weather patterns.

When it rains, it pours and when the sun shines it lights up the entire city, however the weather has a tendency to do one when it's supposed to do another. During the summer months, it'll hardly rain during the day. But every now and then we'll wake up to a thunderstorm and have the opportunity to see the flashes of light dance around our iconic Table Mountain. 

What is truly remarkable, is that it can also be the middle of winter and amongst days of rain the Cape of Storms somehow transforms itself into a bright and light city, with temperatures reaching close to the 30's. 

One of Cape Town's most charming attributes is that it's temperatures and weather is mild throughout the year. The days are never particularly freezing and the hot days are always bearable. Regardless of the time of year, there's sure to be a grand sight to behold and a surprise awaiting you. 

We've found some stunning photographs of Cape Town's bizare weather. Some call it Global Warming, others simply state "Africa...", regardless, we're sticking around for the show.

Cape Town - A photographer's Paradise

It quite often goes without saying as the countless Japanese tourists snap away on the top of Table Mountain or as endless camera flashes scatter the beaches of the Cape Peninsular, but Cape Town has become somewhat of a photographer's paradise.

Known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and recently voted by Trip Advisor as being the most desired holiday destination on planet Earth, Cape Town is undoubtedly a pretty place to take photographs of. But it's also a lot more than that - it also allows us to take pretty pictures of other things.

Every where you turn, there is an amateur photographer in Cape Town - it's the perfect backdrop for every image and has a temperamental weather pattern which offers a range of moods for photographers to style their objects and subjects around. Photographers can make the most out of any weather in Cape Town, and cradled by the mountains and reflecting off the oceans, the light available is a true photographers dream. On the rainy days, the clouds accentuate and on the sunny days the sun lightens and brightens up. Depending on the time of day, photographers can capture soft sides of their subjects and can even bounce the colours of the Mother City's vibrant sunsets off their skin tones.

When it comes to holidaymakers, every second one of them is equipped with an impressive camera, tripod and zoom lens. While in Cape Town they can map out a holiday against the backdrop of some seriously impressive sights, and can capture their loved ones amongst the diversity and vibrancy. This is where a professional, amateur or the simply snap happy can take beautiful photographs which they can treasure for a lifetime.

For examples of these photographs, go this stunning photography blog; http://www.capetowndailyphoto.com/

Design Indaba 2012

Over the last few years the South African design Indaba has made an incredibly popular name for itself, and what was once visited by the amateur designers who wished to one day be a part of it and the select view who could pass opinion on each designer, is now one of Cape Town's most popular annual exhibitions and events.

Last year, Cape Town was voted as 2014's design capital - a title and award which will no doubt expose itself to prove just why the talented locals in the Mother City led the city to gain it. The combination of the designers, their pieces, the Indaba as a whole and the people who choose to visit it will express South Africa's true vibrancy and unique talents.

This year we can look forward to an extra 1000 square meters of the Design Indaba which will be dedicated to hosting more local designers than usual. Designers will have the opportunity to present their portfolios, show their abilities and to sell items to the public. They'll also be able to interact with the public directly; removing the online platforms or shops which host their collections from coming in between their direct interaction with the public.

This year, one of the slogans attached to the Indaba is: "Take home the best of South African creativity at DI2012 - a trip to the Cape Town International Convention Centre during the first weekend of March will enable you to do just that.

Event Details: 

Date:
2 March 2012 - 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
3 March 2012 - 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
4 March 2012 - 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Venue: 
Cape Town International Convention Centre


Tickets: 
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office on the above days. No tickets will be sold after 7:00pm on the Friday or Saturday.

For those of you coming from a far to visit the exhibition, there is plenty of closely situated Cape Town accommodation establishments to stay in.

Take a sneak peak at the Design Indaba website to see what you can expect. Go to www.designindaba.com to "inspire, interact and indulge".

QM2 Graces Cape Town - Cape Town Docks Disgrace QM2

Despite much complaining about the state of the harbour and the arrivals hall for cruise ships at the Cape Town docks it doesn’t seem to prevent world class cruise ships from visiting Cape Town. This morning as I was driving into town I was greeted by the site of the Queen Mary 2 docked in the harbour and I was forced to ask myself; what does this mean for Cape Town as a tourist destination and what does it mean for Cape Town holiday accommodation. Not really I actually asked myself “How the hell do you park something like that,” then I asked my girlfriend how the hell they would park it, she rolled her eyes and muttered “tug boats retard.” It was early in the morning I was concentrating on far more important issues, such as how I was going to persuade my colleagues that I have not been leaving dirty coffee mugs in the sink.

My scheming was interrupted though by her diatribe on the state of Cape Town holiday accommodation and the embarrassing spectacle that is the arrivals “hall” at the Cape Town docks. I expressed much the same sentiment that I did at the start of this article. If it is so dire why do cruise ships keep coming and why do tourists keep flooding the city. I thought it was quite simple really Cape Town is so beautiful and the people are so unique we could shove the visitors into sleeping bags and tents and they would be happy just to be basking in our Mother City glory.

The gf felt differently however and as this is actually her blog I won’t describe the tone or look on her face when she told me as such but I can tell you that it reminded me of the face the cat makes right before it scratches your face and steals your tuna sandwich; the knowing look of inevitable victory. I was forced to concede that she made a valid point, I conceded I part because she did make a good point and in part because I knew from the look and past experience that resistance or arguing was futile. She pointed out, or rather shouted out that unless Cape Town and South Africa wanted to be a developing hole in the great African wall forever then they best start creating a better perception of themselves, and the best way to do this is to provide world class facilities to tourists.

It must be said that the state of the “arrival hall” at the Waterfront docks is less than the ideal first impression for anyone visiting. As a place for welcoming the passengers of a world class luxury liner however it is downright abysmal. The class of person that can afford a cruise on many of these ocean liners can generally afford to spend much of their time on holiday and send a fair amount of money while doing so. It makes sense therefore to upgrade not only the arrival area but also the entire foreshore area. As charming as it may be to us locals to have a working harbour on the edge of our CBD you can bet your hacky sack that most visitors will not be overly charmed by the smell of fish and the oil soaked concrete underfoot when they disembark from their five star cruise liner.

The real frustration with very poor conditions that await disembarking passengers at the V&A Docks is that the rest of the city and Cape Town holiday accommodation is generally in world class condition. Despite the fact that the 2010 World Cup is one of the Mother City resident’s favourite thing to complain about, the improvements made to the tourism infrastructure have benefitted the tourism industry and Cape Town immeasurably. It is frustrating then to know that there is a scene from Tank Girl welcoming some of the most lucrative tourists to visit our shores. It is time the local government looked at a serious proposal to turn the foreshore into a hub of entertainment and a fitting gateway to the greatest city in Cape Town.                                                          

2012 in the Mother City

Well another new year has come and gone with little or no noticeable change and as usual the 1^st of January was filled with more hangovers and resolutions than a meeting of the Afrikaner Broederbond. Luckily when one starts to sober up stupid decisions like choosing to give up smoking go out the window with the exhalation of the first empowering drag. Resolutions to quit are for those that have a problem. Now that the MDMA has been taken, the balloons have been inhaled and the crustys have limped their way down Sir Lowry’s pass back to the Mother City it is time look forward at what the citizens of our fair city can expect. New Year’s Eve is too often the most overrated party of the year, often weeks of planning and tickets bought months in advance will fall through due to a misunderstanding, a falling out, or a misplaced earing. Whatever causes it is irrelevant, many a New Year’s Eve count down has been spent on the couch watch washed up Top Billing presenters slugging warm JC Le Roux out of the bottle, bitter and resolving to find new friends and a less observant girlfriend during the year ahead.  

Now however that is all over and as citizens of the finest city on the planet we are obliged to ask what next, what does 2012 have in store for us. As children of the Mother City we are spoiled and thus always expecting constant stimulation and amusement, so you will forgive me for looking at what 2012 has to offer me, from political mudslinging to all night parties. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this year.

The development on the city facing side of Lion’s Head is bound to make the headlines eventually. For those who have spent the festive season gazing out towards the ocean the Lion’s Head development is a complex of flats which unsurprisingly has been met with much contention. Through some political skulduggery they seem to have managed to get plans passed by excluding certain parts of the development deemed environmentally unfriendly, when in fact the entire development is ecologically unsound and flies in the face of everything Cape Town development stands for. By agreeing to not go ahead with the section of the complex that causes the most concern the developers are making themselves look very sanctimonious when in fact they have more to gain by scrapping one section to build the rest. One can’t help but wonder if there was some crafty sandbagging going on.

Talking of politics, well I’m not going to even try and make predictions about the political landscape in Cape Town for the coming year. It’s a landscape that changes more often than the desert on a windy day. I have only one hope for Mother City politics for 2012, that there are no major changes. Not because I am particularly enamoured with the current powers that be but because I am not sure I can handle the excitement of anymore change. Mostly though I hope, no I pray that the ban on the political blue light brigade will remain in force.

So here’s to a great year for all of you that live the Cape Town lifestyle, where ever you may be.                                

Soon they will be Nothing but Tourists

While the middle class masses of Cape Town gasped in horror and protested wildly, on facebook, about the passing of the secrecy bill the news that will have the most impact on their lives passed them by; there is talk of moving parliament out of Cape Town and into Pretoria. The real beauty about the statement and reasoning for moving parliament to Pretoria is that having it split over more than one city is that it is costing government money and affecting the efficient running of parliamentary duties. It is heartening to finally hear government admitting that things are not been run as efficiently as possible and that they are trying to find ways in which to save money. To be fair one cannot criticise the current government for the ludicrous system put in place by the previous equally inefficient apartheid government. However it is slightly amusing that within days of passing the most controversial bill in decades they finally start talking about something sensible. Could merely be to satisfy the angry middle classes?

If one looks back on the last twenty odd years of democracy the privileged few, and I mean those that were born into not those that fought for it, have been very vocal about every mistake, misdemeanour and corruption accusation that the media has printed, vocal however is the keyword. Very little else was done aside from complaints over cappuccinos, between the first and last election very little voting was done by the middle classes. Then the secrecy bill was passed and everyone became an activist, it was as if we were defending our right to complain. Cape Town, outside parliament, was a buzz of activity, well more of a low hum on “Black Tuesday” as a few creative minds came to the fore with some interesting protest ideas. However it was largely on social media platforms that the most noise was made, which is unsurprising considering the people that were making the noise.

However while everyone had their fingers in their ears and were singing loudly the residents of our fair Mother City missed the big news. The powers that BEE are planning on moving parliament out of it's Cape Town accommodation, this my fellow Capetonians is fantastic news. Just think from now on we can complain about the tourists from up north and government at the same time. While the rest of the country mourns the loss of their favourite pastime, complaining about the government us Mother City residents are being handed an opt-out on a platter.

If parliament is moved the parliamentarians become tourists and we all know how much Capetonians love to complain about tourists.              

        

The Real Wonder is that Any-body Cares.

So Table Mountain is one of the “New 7 Natural Wonders of the World.” What exactly does this mean? Well I’m not entirely sure and I’m pretty sure that Pieter De’ Villiers despite his televised enthusiasm is not entirely sure himself. I love Cape Town and part of loving Cape Town is loving the mountain, it’s compulsory, it comes with the territory. You can’t be a daughter of the Mother City and be completely indifferent to the Mother City’s largest, most obvious and frankly most popular landmark. I am super stoked that Table Mountain is recognised as one of the 7 Natural Wonders and that that Cape Town is now once again top of mind for all tourists planning a visit to South Africa. I am just suspicious of what all this means for Cape Town. Have we not been let down by enough media circus publicity stunts that promised everything and delivered nothing but disappointment and failed entrepreneurial opportunities.     

One wonders what made a Swiss born Canadian resident previously interested in aviation suddenly decided to start cataloguing the 7 Natural Wonders, especially seeing as that none of the 21 on the original list fell in Switzerland. The answer, as always in these affairs, is simple money. Now that the dust has settled and the publicity circus has left town the rather sordid truth is starting to be revealed or at least now that we have won we are actually starting to look for it. To say that some of were surprised would be an understatement, I know Table Mountain is beautiful but is it really one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The news that it had suddenly achieved this honour compelled many people to look into the criteria that was used to choose the top 7. As it turns out it was the nations that were willing to cough up the most cash that were most likely to get their landmarks on the list.

To truly understand how deep the scam runs you need to realise that the organisation that started the Wonders of the World campaign is not endorsed in any way by UNESCO the United Nations branch that is responsible for word heritage sights. Although it was started as a non-profit organisation, it has a for profit organisation attached which is, not surprisingly, profiting from the marketing merchandising and general media tomfoolery that has surrounded this whole affair. As the financial workings of these types organisations are not disclosed under Swiss law, it is not inconceivable that they are funnelling the majority of the money they make to a subsidiary that takes care of their marketing. Essentially the non-profit organisation spends its’ profit with its marketing subsidiary which is ideally not affiliated. In this case though they are, and the marketing branch of this charade has made itself a tidy sum of money. Naturally the money making hasn’t stopped there, any marketing or promotion that involves using the tag New 7 Natural Wonders comes at a heavy price. Consider for a moment what that means, Natural Wonders are controlled, usually by a national parks board or equivalent subsidised by the government. Those funds come from the taxpayers. So as excited as everyone is now to be on this magical list let no one forget that nothing comes for nothing.