by Alison Westwood

Spectacular sunset views from Camps Bay or the cable car

If you want to make the most of sunset on your Cape Town holiday, you've got a lot of choices. Catapult yourself onto the social scene with cocktails at Camps Bay and watch the sun sink below the sea from the deck of one of the uber-trendy restaurants or nightclubs along the beach.

A walk up Lions Head will give you a 360 degree view of Cape Town as the sun sets. You may even be able to time your walk so you descend by the light of a full moon.

For an even more spectacular view, take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain and relax in the restaurant for a sunset drink or light meal. Just remember: you have to leave when the siren sounds or you'll have a long walk down the mountain.

Ride in a helicopter or on a Harley

If the top of the mountain doesn't take you high enough, then maybe a sunset helicopter trip is more appealing. Don't have a head for heights? Enjoy the sunset from sea level on a sunset harbour cruise on one of the yachts moored at the Waterfront.

For a different kind of sunset cruise, rent a Harley Davidson and ride over Chapman's Peak to combine a sunset with one of the most spectacular rides you'll ever have.

Two possibilities stand out

You'll need to spend several days in Cape Town to fit in all these sunsets. But if your time is limited and you want to do something different, there are two ways to spend a sunset that really stand out.

You can pack a picnic hamper and go to Kirstenbosch Gardens for a sunset concert, or you can head off across the bay to Blouberg and go kitesurfing. It could be a tough decision, because Cape Town is probably the best place in the world for both.

Crowds of Capetonians come to relax at Kirstenbosch

The musical summer sunset concerts at Kirstenbosch are held every year on Sundays from December to March. Crowds of Capetonians come to chill out, chat and picnic on the lawns while they wait for the concert to start.

Go with a group of friends, a big rug, some wine and finger food at about 4pm. This will give you time to choose your spot - right in front by the speakers if you want to party, or further up the lawn under a shady tree if you want to sit back and soak it in. You can have your picnic, take a stroll around the gardens and watch the musicians setting up.

Another good reason to get there early is to find parking. The sunset concerts are so popular that by 5pm the parking lots overflow and the roads around Kirstenbosch are lined with cars.

The music at the concerts ranges from classical music to rock. Local newcomers to international stars like Bryan Adams and Josh Groban have taken the stage at Kirstenbosch.

The entry fee for concerts at Kirstenbosch varies, but most of the summer sunset concerts are only about R50, and include entry to the gardens (normally R27). Value for money indeed!

It's the venue and the vibe

Music aside, what really makes Kirstenbosch Concerts so special is the setting. There's no other concert venue like it: a long, gently sloping lawn surrounded by a multitude of indigenous plants, with the city spread out below and Devil's Peak and Castle Rock looming above.

The musicians are accompanied by the calls of double collared sunbirds and guineafowl. The audiences are a complete mix of Capetonians: students dressed like flower children, yuppies, young married couples with toddlers in tow, and OAPs who bring their deck chairs and china tea-cups.

I don't like crowds or noise so I don't often go to concerts, but last summer you couldn't keep me away from Kirstenbosch sunset concerts, especially if my favourite local band, Freshlyground, was playing. The fresh air and the space, and the combination of music and nature are completely intoxicating.

As I danced on the lawn, singing along: "If you've been called by Africa then we're singing the same song", it occurred to me that this must be one of the best ways to relax and celebrate the beauty of Cape Town.

Kitesurfing is all about adrenaline

The same cannot be said for kiteboarding. Its appeal is all in the adrenaline. A fusion of kite-flying, windsurfing, wakeboarding and surfing, kiting is the fastest growing water sport in the world, and Cape Town is its capital city.

With a long white beach that stretches for kilometres and an almost constant cross-shore wind, Bloubergstrand provides all the right conditions for kitesurfers.

If you come to Cape Town, you are bound to notice them zooming across the bay. With their giant kites glowing in the sun and the sparkle of the spray as they leap 30 feet into the air, kitesurfers seem superhuman. It's exciting to watch, but it's far more exciting to do. What many people don't realise is that it can be very easy to learn to kitesurf.

I went for my first lesson telling myself just this, but without really believing it. For one thing, I'm not much of a surfer. For another, I've never flown a kite.

Three hours later, I had a couple of small blisters on my hands and an enormous grin on my face. I didn't manage to get into the water, but I had a fantastic evening on the beach, learning to control the power of the immense kite.

It's easy to learn to kitesurf

You can expect to spend a week learning to kitesurf, and by the end of that week, you'll probably be pretty good. One kitesurfer, who I watched tea-bagging with spectacular ease on Noordhoek beach one sunset, told me that it took him a month to learn to kiteboard. "But," he added with a grin, "in those days there wasn't any proper equipment. I had to use a single-line land foil kite and strap a seven-foot surfboard to my feet." The mind boggles.

There are many different ways to learn to kitesurf, but there is one thing everyone agrees about: you do need to go for lessons. The force the kites can generate has to be experienced to be believed, and without control, they can be dangerous.

That said, kitesurfing is not a particularly risky sport, especially with the advances in equipment technology. Today's kites have several safety devices, which can stop you almost instantly. They are also inflatable, so they float on the water if they fall.

That's where I hope to be this summer

Like the concerts at Kirstenbosch, it's the setting that makes kitesurfing at Blouberg such a great way to spend a sunset in Cape Town. Flying across the waves breaking on the long white beach, as the sun dips slowly into the sea and lights start to sparkle in front of the silhouette of Table Mountain - that's where I hope to be this summer.

Article © Copyright 2006 Go2Africa.

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