Written by: Charles Thomas

If you plan a tour to Cape Town, your first question will probably be "Where are we going to stay?".  Well, this was my first question when we planned a tour down the West Coast for 5 days, then in or around Cape Town for 10 days and then to return by train.  

In planning such a tour the most important for us was the places where we're going to sleep. Why? Because there are so many of them and the prices differ a lot.

Yes, it's all about the place we decide, because:

- when you are exhausted after a day's walk, you need a warm, friendly place that reminds you of your own home;

- when the wind is blowing and it looks like everything is going to be blown away in the next minute, you’re in this lovely home where you can still relax and see everything outside flying and bending under the heavy wind, while relaxing with a nice cup of coffee (it's your own choice what you want to drink of course); and

- when the sun sets over the ocean, you can see and feel the greatness of God's creation, all from within the comfort of your holiday home.

So, even when you leave your holiday home early every morning and return late every evening, it's still the most important part of organizing your holiday.

Spotlight on the sea - the sun breaking through the clouds. Captured from within our holiday home in Gordon's Bay at 19:00.

We used the internet for all our bookings and were glad we found this website. We stayed at The Upper Deck Penthouse in Gordon's Bay, which fulfilled in all our needs as mentioned above. Reservation and payment were fast and easy, the reception friendly and the stay fantastic.

We had a route planned for each day to cover the whole of Cape Town and surroundings. It was exiting to stand at Cape Point with the wind nearly blowing through you, to ride the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, to see the Cape Town harbour from the top of the big wheel, to be in beautiful nature and the winelands and to drive on roads without potholes (guess where we’re from?).

We met some wonderful people and we decided that it's worth to look at houses for retirement in the Cape. Maybe we will visit the Cape Province again, sooner than we have thought.

Thanks to everyone that welcomed us and made our tour an unforgettable one. Thanks for this comfortable website that made it easy and fast to find our ideal holiday home.

Greetings from Secunda, Mpumalanga

By Charles and Magda Thomas

If you’re on holiday in Cape Town and the surrounding areas, a moonlight hike up Lion’s Head in Cape Town is a must!

Have a look at this 360 degree view visual from Table Mountain of Cape Town by night.  Move your mouse from left to right and the photographs will turn round with a view over the whole of the Cape. 

Click on the link below and don’t forget to drag your mouse up and down and to the sides to get the whole effect:

http://leecasalena.com/fullmoonhike.swf

The visual (available on the Internet) was forwarded to us by Charles Thomas from Secunda in Gauteng who stayed at The Upper Deck Penthouse Apartment in Gordon’s Bay with his wife Magda and from there they explored the whole of Cape Town, the Cape Peninsula and surrounding areas during an amazingly thorough, enjoyable exploration of 10 days.  Gordon’s Bay is an ideal base location for an unforgettable holiday in the Cape.  And Table Mountain and the moonlight hike up Lion’s Head not to be missed!

Cape Town International is Africa’s best airport, according to the Airports Council International. (Image: MediaClubSouthAfrica.com)

Cape Town International was recently named the top airport in Africa at the 2010 global awards hosted by Airports Council International (ACI).

The council awarded Cape Town’s facility the title of Best Airport in Africa in the Airport Service Quality’s (ASQ) accolades for 2010. The airport was also named Best Improved Airport on the continent.

Cape Town International’s executives will collect the awards in New Delhi, India, in April at a ceremony where the world’s most impressive airports will be acknowledged for excellent customer service.

“... We are exceptionally proud of this award. It demonstrates that our airport is indeed among the best in the world," said the airport’s spokesperson Deidre Hendricks.

Management attributes the award to massive structural improvements that were made as part of preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. All refurbishments were completed well in time.

According to the ACI’s survey, the airport scored well in areas such as availability of parking facilities and trolleys, as well as the cleanliness of washrooms. More than 190 surveys, which tested overall passenger experience, were conducted in over 50 countries.

The ease of finding one’s departure zone was also identified as a major improvement at Cape Town International.

The facility’s new central terminal building was opened in November 2009, after being expanded to accommodate 14-million passengers a year. Upgrades included the addition of 8 000 new parking bays.

"The airport has come a long way since its full transformation; however the journey is ongoing as we continuously strive towards delivering a seamless passenger experience,” said Hendricks. “Accolades such as these demonstrate that we are on the right track.”

The airport also scooped the Best Airport in Africa title in the Skytrax International Awards in 2010. It’s currently ranked 35^th out of 150 airports in the world.

Article courtesy of MediaClubSouthAfrica.com - by Bongani Nkosi

Read more: http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2239%3Acptairport&catid=42%3Alandnews&Itemid=110#ixzz1GGx9T3b6

MEDIA CONTACTS
Deidre Hendricks
Communications manager
Cape Town International Airport
+27 21 937 1303 or +27 82 377 4521

3 March 2011