Rob's Quest Takes Us To South Africa | Guest Blog Post
/Tell us a little bit about yourself - who are you; how your blog came about; anything else you'd like to add:
My name is Robin or Rob. I'm a 29 year old travel addicted guy and I started to vlog about my journey just recently. My travel addiction started in 2008 when I traveled to Negril Jamaica with a friend. After this I realised there's so much more than just my neighbouring countries to explore in the world and since then I added 30 more countries to my list. The urge to start a travel vlog began in 2015. My first vlog came out in August 2016 but this was just for my friends and in my native language - German. While I met so many people on my journey in Spain I switched the language to english and started to publish it for everyone on YouTube. Next to my vlogging and travel passion I still work in a 9 to 5 Job in Customer Service... but I have big plans and hopefully they will come true - Because I really want to travel the world ;)
What is your preferred style of travel?
Solo on budget.. well - it's more a mixture. I don't want to spend too less but not too much. Does this make me a Solo luxurious Budget traveller?
Do you get to travel quite often?
As often as I can. I take every free minute I can get to travel regardless of whether it's in my own country or outside of it. Of course it's a question of money. But my days off are usually packed with a journey somewhere in the world, and these 30 days in a year are just for traveling - and of course some weekends ;).
For the purposes of this blog - think of a destination where you travelled that you'll give us some hot tips on in this blog and tell us the destination below
Cape Town – South Africa
When was this trip (month and/or year)? Do you recommend this time of year to visit this place?
February 2017 - You should travel between November and February. In February the evenings get cooler though wintertime begins around April.
How many days did you stay in this place?
16 days
What was your choice of accommodation?
Hostel
What was the name of the hotel/motel (if this applies to you)?
Mojo Hotel - definitely an insider tip - it's a new Hotel/Hostel in Sea Point and really good! The prices are cheap right now but not for long, I can assure you that.
Was this accommodation conveniently located from public transport and/or major tourist spots?
It's located in Sea Point - perfect spot between Cape Town City and the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay. You can easily walk around and you're really central!
What was your experience staying at this accommodation? Highs, lows, what made you choose to stay here - would you recommend staying at this place?
I chose this hotel because it was the cheapest one in peak season and I wasn't disappointed. It's a new Hotel / Hostel and they're still working on it - they got single and double rooms with and without a window. I recommend getting one with a window - then your room will be on the rooftop (which has a cool chill out area ), it was really quiet! But they also have dorms for budget travellers. But beware - no breakfast - they just got a small shop where you can get drinks and some pastries. In saying so, there are many good restaurants next to the Hotel. I tried all of the options nearby and I can recommend Bootleggers and for a pretty good steak go to the Restaurant Backyard, it's all located on the same street. A Spar for buying stuff is there as well. The location is just perfect!
TRY THE STEAK AT BACKYARDS LOCATED IN SEA POINT - THE BEST MEAT THAT I FOUND THERE!
If you were to go back to this destination, would you stay here?
Yes
Did you book (group) tours or see the city by yourself?
A combination of both
Give us a glimpse into some of the sights you saw - (what did the sights entail, how long should they spend there etc.)! How should one plan their day when selecting certain sightseeing options?
There is Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the Table Mountain, V&A Waterfront or Robben Island. Oh and don't forget Cape of Good hope with Boulders beach and so on. You can easily spend a day at all of these spots or at least half of the day. You should combine Cape of Good hope with Boulders beach. It's on the way to the cape and check out the funny little Penguins at the Beach in Simons Town.
For a relaxing day go to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a huge area to flee from the noisy city and spend the day there. You will love all the flowers and its fragrances. Robben Island was pretty interesting to get a feeling of the history of Nelson Mandela. You go there by a Ferry and you can combine the Tour with a Township Tour when you book it at the right place. V&A Waterfront is a giant tourist area with expensive restaurants but a good food market and the place is very lively - big Shopping malls Included!
YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY ENJOY THE TERRIFIC VIEWS AT KIRSTENBOSCH
Speaking of sightseeing - What do you recommend an absolute must do?
Table Mountain, go as early as possible - the queue is quite long when you go after 10 and book your tickets online. You go up in the cablecar and then you can go around on table mountain and enjoy the great view over cape town and surroundings. Oh and there are two ways to go down. One is that you back the same way you came up i.e. the cable car or the second one, well see the image below. I loved doing it!
ABSEILING FROM TABLE MOUNTAIN - A MUST DO!
Depending on your style of travel (i.e. solo, group, family, luxury, budget) is there a tour or an attraction that you would recommend to someone who's looking to travel like you, should do?
If you like history, take a township tour - or if you're a wine fan do a day tour in Stellenbosch and Frenschhoek!
THE VINEYARDS IN FRANSCHOEK - TRY THE WINE TASTING!
Food - that's the important stuff! What were your favourite restaurants/food joints etc. to go to? Tell us all about where we should and shouldn't go?
Backyard restaurant for a good steak with reasonable prices! It's in Sea Point.
What was the highlight of your trip? Whether it is related to the destination or the way you travel is up to you (maybe both)
The Landscape and City in a whole. I've never seen such a beautiful city. Located in a huge mountain region, you get good food and wine for reasonable prices. The people are friendly and helpful. You have the land and the sea with it's wildlife, all that combined makes this destination THE most beautiful place in the world for me.
THE TWELVE APOSTLES BEHIND THE PROMENADE OF CAMPS BAY
What was an absolute low of your trip? And how can one be prepared to avoid it if they are visiting this destination?
To be honest? I left my lights of my car on during the night and my battery was empty. I wanted to start my car in the morning and I had to fix it. Always check if you turned off the lights ;). Besides that I had no bad experience! No, wait a minute, actually there was something, be aware of the baboons at cape of good hope and try to get some dry fruits for them. If you get out of the car and go away they will jump on your car, better stay away from it - the baboon will wait until you give him something to eat. This is where the dry food comes handy - throw it on the street and he will jump off the car, I had to wait 30 minutes until an elderly couple saved me.
Any hot tips or extra information that you'd like to add before you sign off?
You can go by Uber anywhere you want. It's cheap and fast. But I'd recommend to rent a car so that you can explore the small towns near cape town.
What’s your next destination?
For my next big trip I hope to go to Argentina Buenos Aires - the small one is in June - I want to go to South France, Marseille and Nizza to explore these cities.
What are your social media and/or other links where people can find you?
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RobsQuest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/robs_quest