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This holiday I wanted to have new experiences. Things I’ve always wanted to do or things I maybe didn’t even think of, but did when prompted.
I’m usually in Cape Town for most of December holidays, except for my annual pilgrimage to a beachy New Years celebration spot with friends. Previous holidays were usually spent catching up on wining and dining at new trendy restaurant and bars I haven’t had the time to visit during the last few busy months of the year.
Yet, this time around I found myself over it. Over overspending money I didn’t necessarily have, that is.
So instead I went in search of things that could fill me with a joy similar to the kick I used to get from a R110 plate of tapas. (Like 3 squid tails probably)
Kraalbaai, Greece or Zanzibar?
They often say the best things in life are free. To get to the Kraalbaai lagoon you need to enter the West Coast National Park and pay the entrance of R55. So almost free.
The park is beautiful, and once you approach the lagoon you realise you might have entered utopia - a few house boats lie moored in the bay, white sandy beaches and waters resembling the Mediterranean or tropics lie in front of you.
Take a picnic and beach umbrella and chill the day away for a different kind of beach experience. The water is cool, but not West Coast sea cold. It’s busy, but not overrun. It’s a whole holiday in a day.
I spent 4 hours on a unicorn float
A detour in my staycation, I went camping in Stilbaai over New Years. The highlight of my trip was floating down the Goukou River atop a unicorn float.
(Unlike this guy, my float was very good to me and me to it)
I prepared by getting all 50 SPF’d up in Avene sunscreen and tethering a floating bar to my ride. My bestie and I got on and relaxed as our unicorn trotted/bobbed/glided along swimmingly for 3-4 hours.
On this day we experienced the quiet calm that can only be felt while dressed in your bikini sitting atop an inflatable cartoon horse while sipping on ice cold beverages (it was wine), spending quality time together. We were basically the (slightly more glamorous) stars of our very own version of the film, The African Queen.
I ran Cape Town’s notorious Biskop stairs
I did a run from the Sea Point promenade to Clifton 1 where the notorious 301 Biskop stairs reside.
Nestled in between the opulent homes that dot Clifton’s shores you’ll find a stairway that absolutely doesn’t lead to heaven, but rather to a sweaty and exhaustive trek (oh, and weeklong calf pain).
I’m pretty fit and it was really tough, which is why I’d recommend you take it slowly. Stadig oor die trappe…
It filled me with joy because...
We are often taught and reminded to enjoy the journey and not necessarily only focus on the end goal. To me it wasn’t as much about the journey in this case (mainly because the journey is comparable to eating a Vindaloo curry on a hot day in Upington).
Doing new things, even if and when they are small and seemingly insignificant, like trying an oyster for the first time, is a goal in itself. The result is an added perspective. You know something you didn’t before; it's unpredictable, which can be scary, but also enriching and satisfying. Even if the result of you trying something new is that you’ve hated the experience, it still broadens your mind and in doing so helps you to grow in some way.
