It’s a curious thing. Here we are in sunny South Africa, and the beautiful city to which most foreign tourists come to escape their cold northern climes. And the shopping malls give us ice and snow.
It makes me wonder whether places like Scandinavia create hot indoor tropical theme parks during winter.
Canal Walk is the one with the snow. Or to be accurate, a “form of flaked ice that is crushed to snow and blast frozen to form long lasting snow particles”. The nice thing is you get all the fun of snow without the misery of being cold.
We went along last week with our junior EsCape Timer Phoebe Armstrong (aged 7) to get her opinion. She was super excited but after watching the other kids hurtling down the ice ramp on rubber tubes, she said it wasn’t for her and headed for the snow pit.
There she filled buckets with snow and built a pile which was supposed to become a snowman. Snowperson? Are we to be PC here? Anyway, things were going well until a little boy circled up from behind and started filling his bucket from Phoebe’s pile. This is how trouble starts.
Luckily Phoebe is pretty easygoing and she diverted her attention to making snowballs. Being a girl, she collected them in a neat pile. The boys, they threw them at each other. They also get a bit aggressive with the plastic spades, so even though there is supervision provided by the snow crew, I’d suggest parents keep a close eye on their bratty offspring.
Children are nothing if not flexible and adaptable and out of nowhere Phoebe announced that she would indeed go down the ice ramp. “You said you would too,” she pointed out in what I thought to be a slightly accusatory tone. “Yes, well, I’ve done it before,” I countered while running mental images of not being able to stop at the bottom and hurtling through the Liquifruit stand, past Clicks and all the way to Pick n Pay, scattering shoppers like skittles on my way.
It’s quite safe really – Phoebe beamed from ear to ear afterwards.
The snow will be there till December 30, 10am till 10pm daily (except Christmas Day). Tickets range from R15 to R60. Book at Computicket, or get them at the entrance.
Another place at Canal Walk which will keep the younger ones entertained is the La Piazza play zone where they can go on fun rides and a giant inflatable slide, 11am until 6pm daily (closed Christmas Day), weather permitting. For more go to www.canalwalk.co.za.
Besides the big ice rink at GrandWest there are now two other holiday options for skaters – Somerset Mall (Somerset West) and V&A Waterfront.
The cute little temporary indoor rink outside the Mugg & Bean finally opened last week after delays. And it’s also not cold in there so no need to bundle up in winter woolies to skate.
Open from 10am till 10pm daily, skating assistants will be available to help beginners, or provide assistance to more experienced skaters. After dark, the air pockets of the cube will be illuminated with sound-sensitive LEDs and projections, thumping music from DJs, ice artists and other entertainment. Themed evenings include Saturday Nice Fever, and so on. Food and beverages will be on sale.
The cost is R50/hour a person between 10am and 7pm, and R70 thereafter. It’s R10 an hour to spectate. You can book the place for parties and year-end functions and there are group, family and “super-skater” packages available.
The ice rink is also included in the V&A’s Fun-Seekers package (R195 for adults and R125 for children aged four to 12, free for children under four) which gives access to the rink, the Wheel of Excellence, the Jolly Roger pirate ship and the Chavonnes Battery Museum.
Speaking of which, the Wheel Of Excellence has moved and is now right in the heart of the Waterfront where it will remain until the end of February.
They say it’s designed to function in winds a lot stronger than our Cape Doctor and I do believe them because it would be jolly bad form to lie about such a thing. But my goodness, it’s a bit hairy up there when the breeze is blowing.
When you get in, there is a voice in the ceiling that tells you “not to rock the gondola”. Thank you very much, but did anyone tell the wind that? I think not. I’ve dived with sharks and jumped out of aeroplanes, but I’m still a bit of a wuss when it comes to big wheels. The photographer thought it was hilarious.
It’s only the first revolution that’s scary, when the wheel is still stopping to fill up with passengers, and leaves you swinging at its highest point for what seems like an eternity. Then it’s four smooth turns with a great view of Cape Town. Personally, I’ve enjoyed my day rides more, but the wheel itself is much prettier at night.
Ticket prices for the Wheel are R80 for adults, R50 for children four-12 and free for under-fours.
l For more info go to www.waterfront.co.za