Yesterday I got to join a group of kids and adults aboard the red City Sightseeing Bus, exploring the Mother City as tourists in our own back yard.
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| All aboard the City Sightseeing Bus! |
When Cape Town Kids and City Sightseeing Cape Town decided to run a competition for one winner to invite all their friends and family for a trip on the red bus, the aim was to show parents and kids how family-friendly Cape Town’s attractions are. The two companies want to encourage Capetonians to be a tourist in their own city, and to explore what the Mother City has to offer. However with the winner being Renee Turner from Kidz at Heart, the passengers on the bus comprised some of her own adult-sized friends and associates and a group of children from Beautiful Gate, a whole new set of ambassadors for Cape Town Kids and City Sightseeing.
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| Eli Alperstein and Terminator the Seal look at the new Cape Town Kids maps with the kids |
And what a wonderful day out was had by all of us who were lucky enough to get on the bus yesterday! Cape Town put on a spectacular display of early summer with a clear blue sky and no wind. The group met at the V&A Waterfront’s Two Oceans Aquarium where we were greeted by Eli in a fetching top hat decorated with copies of the hot-off-the-press Cape Town Kids map, as well as representatives from the Aquarium including Sharkie the shark and Terminator the Seal (the two mascots), as well as Assistant Marketing Manager Alichia Nortje.
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| Heading past the Wheel of Excellence |
Once on board our driver Patrick Mankosi turned our wheels towards the City Centre past the Wheel of Excellence, and pulled up outside Cape Town Tourism’s head office. Mariette du Toit Helmbold, CEO of CTT came on board with goody bags for all, and wished us a wonderful day enjoying the city. The children lost no time in pulling on the brightly coloured My Cape Town t-shirts they found in their bags.
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| Eli and Mariette du Toit Helmbold |
One of the child minders from Beautiful Gate was the lucky winner of a spa experience for adult and child from the Mount Nelson, which was handed over by Louise Pfeiffer.
A walk in the leafy shade of the historical Company Gardens was next where children and adults alike (some more successfully than others) tried to lure squirrels and pigeons with handfuls of peanuts.
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| Prize winner Renee Turner feeding squirrels with the children |
Next we headed for Table Mountain Cable Car''s lower cable way. En route, Ariella Raucher from Putumayo Kids encouraged a round of Wheels on the Bus but at this stage the young ones were still a little shy with their singing – something that definitely changed over the course of the morning!
At the Cable Car Station we all had a chance to stretch our legs and take in the wonderful views of the Mother City. Eli handed copies of the new CTK map to Kahshiefa Ryklief of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway and pretty soon we were once again on the bus.
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| At Table Mountain |
All along the route, our fun and friendly tour guide Siraj Abrahams pointed out many interesting sights, and Eli and Ariella handed out prizes from Putumayo, Wheel of Excellence, Table Mountain Cable Car, and the Two Oceans Aquarium. By now the children were completely enjoying every moment and all shyness was gone – the rest of us were entertained with songs by the happy crew, some of whom really took to the microphone – future idols winners for sure!
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| Future superstars |
Our journey took us to the Atlantic Seaboard side of the city where the beautiful people (who clearly don’t need to work in the middle of the week) were soaking up the sun’s rays all along the palm tree lined beaches, or enjoying cocktails and lunch at the many cafes and bars that litter the beach facing sidewalks all along the way. Not to be outdone, we were welcomed into the aromatic Primi Piatti, Camps Bay, where the friendly staff under Rebecca Harvie plied us with delicious pizzas and bruschetta. The kids had a wonderful time in the Primi Pods section, making their own pods from pizza dough and smarties, before tucking in to the real deal pizzas.
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| Making pods at Primi |
Soon we were heading for our last stop – The Blue Train in Mouille Point. This fun ride for the smaller kids proved irresistible to some of the adults who folded themselves in half to fit in to the carriages for the 10 minute ride around a beautifully maintained seaside playground filled with happy children enjoying the sun.
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| The Blue Train |
All too soon it was time to head back to the Waterfront, where we said good-bye to Alichia and Terminator from the Two Oceans Aquarium as well as Shannon Moore and Christoph Kroeger from the Wheel of Excellence. We all disembarked, tired but happy, clutching our goody bags and Cape Town Kids maps, and determined to tell our own friends and families about our fun day out and encourage them to take a ride on the Cape Town City Sightseeing Bus this summer.
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| Renee Turner plans her next outing... |
- More images available here.
- All images by Joy-Anne Goodenough. Please credit and link back if you use these images.
1 Response to Exploring the City with Cape Town Kids and the City Sightseeing Bus
Thank you Joy-Anne for taking such fantastic photos and capturing this wonderful day for us in text and image. We had such a great time and these photos really show what fun it is to be a tourist in our own city!
:0) Eli
By Eli, Cape Town Kids (4 years ago)