Sawubona! Four days in Cape Town is like trying to drink the ocean with a teaspoon, impossible, but man it tastes good. I’ve done this exact escape four times now and every visit the mountain looks bigger, the water colder, and the bobotie spicier. Here’s my perfect little coastal loop.

Day 1 – Land, mountain, straight to the top
I usually land morning, grab a MyCiTi bus to the waterfront (cheap and easy), drop the backpack at a tiny guesthouse in Gardens with Table Mountain literally out the window. No time to breathe, straight to the cable car queue. I go up at noon when the clouds haven’t decided to put the tablecloth on yet. The view hits like a slap, ocean one side, city bowl the other, I walk the whole top loop, dassies sunbathing on the rocks, wind trying to push me off. Feels alive.

Down by 3, quick shower, then Uber to Bo-Kaap because golden hour on those colorful houses is ridiculous. I wander the streets, say salaam to the aunties sitting on stoops, end up at that tiny cooking school where Aunty Fatima teaches you bobotie the proper way, turmeric, raisins, Mrs Ball’s chutney on top, baked with the egg custard that makes it sing. We eat it straight from the pan with yellow rice and too much chutney. My fingers still smell like cinnamon the next day.

Evening is Long Street, one craft beer at that bar with the balcony, watch the mountain lights come on, already in love.

Day 2 – Penguins and the Cape Point run
Early start, rent a tiny car (manual, cheapest), drive the coast road with Atlantic smashing the rocks on the left. First stop Boulders Beach at 8am, the penguins still waddling like they own the place. I pay the entry, walk the boardwalk, then sneak to the hidden beach where you can swim with them if you’re quiet. Cold as hell, worth it, one little guy swims right up and stares like I owe him fish.

Then the drive, Chapman’s Peak at opening (pay the toll, best money ever), curves and drops that make your stomach flip. Quick stop in Noordhoek for coffee on the beach, horses running in the waves, feels like the edge of the world. Cape Point by 11, I hike up to the old lighthouse instead of taking the funicular, wind almost blows my hat into Antarctica. Baboons try to steal my sandwich, I win this time.

Afternoon is Muizenberg, colorful beach huts, I surf for an hour (fall a lot), then fish and chips on the sand watching the mountain turn pink. Drive back as the sun drops behind the Twelve Apostles, windows down, salt in my hair.

Day 3 – Table Mountain hike (the hard way)
No cable car today. I start at 6am from Kirstenbosch, up Skeleton Gorge because it’s steep and shady. Wet rocks, chains, roots, sweating in five minutes. Hit the top when the city is still asleep, eat breakfast on the edge watching the shadow of the mountain crawl across the flats. Then walk the whole tabletop, past Maclear’s Beacon, down Platteklip Gorge because my knees hate me and I love the punishment. Four hours total, legs jelly, soul full.

Afternoon recovery: Oranjezicht City Farm market if it’s Saturday, or just a long swim at Camps Bay, ice-cold Atlantic fixes everything. Sunset from Signal Hill with a picnic and a bottle of Chenin Blanc, paragliders landing all around, city lights blinking on one by one.

Day 4 – Slow morning and goodbye that hurts
Last day I go back to whatever I loved most. Usually it’s just walking the Sea Point promenade at sunrise, old guys doing stretches, waves crashing, Table Mountain doing its thing in the background. One last coffee at that place with the ocean view, maybe a quick loop through Bo-Kaap again for photos and one more koesister from the auntie on the corner.

Then I drive to the airport slow, Atlantic on the right, mountain on the left, already missing the smell of fynbos and the sound of hadedas screaming at dawn.

Four days, zero chance it’s enough. Cape Town doesn’t do visitors, it does addicts.

Next field trip soon (probably back here),
Kohl