Cape Town - When Divine Lady D and I went to Groot Constantia for our Women’s Day and month treat, we took the scenic route on the City SIghtSeeing bus.
These red topless buses are a familiar sight around Cape Town, and ply several routes. There are the two main routes, red and blue, which cover Table Mountain and the Atlantic Seaboard, and the south as far as Hout Bay respectively. There is a separate yellow route which goes through the city centre, the LaGugu township tour, and a purple route which visits farms in the Constantia valley.
There is also the night tour which goes up to Signal Hill and back which, unlike the rest, is not a hop-on, hop-off trip.
I’ve been riding these buses for years and I never grow tired of them. They are a great way to explore any city, especially if you are pressed for time, and offer a new perspective for locals. You see so much more from the top deck, and with frequent special offers on tickets there’s no excuse not to take the family on a day outing.
We hopped on the blue tour at the head office in Long Street, where you can get a coffee and a muffin. The bus goes over De Waal Drive, past Mostert’s Mill and UCT, before turning off towards Kirstenbosch. From there it travels to Constantia Nek where you change to the purple tour if you’re visiting the wine farms.
Later, you return to this point and then continue the circular route back to town, which goes through Hout Bay and along the Llandudno, Camps Bay, Clifton road to Sea Point, which is in my opinion one of the best mini road trips in Cape Town, and finally the V&A Waterfront.
We were on the last bus of the day which meant we got to enjoy the magnificent sunset.
Because I’ve done this enough times I didn’t use the free headphones which are supplied to listen to the onboard commentary (available in several languages). But it was Divine Lady D’s maiden voyage so she did. It was fun to watch her absorbing the interesting facts and information, as well as her excitement at simply being on the bus with the sunshine on her face and the wind in her hair.
l For more information on tours, routes, prices, and special offers, see www.citysightseeing.co.za, or call 21 511 6000.
Weekend Argus