Cape Town – A trip on the City Sightseeing night bus is not one to be planned too far in advance. Our temperamental and erratic weather sees to that.
It’s more of a spontaneous outing, best undertaken on a warm evening with little wind.
Trust me on this; I’ve done it in less than perfect conditions and was most upset when my glass of wine blew clean out of my hand. So it was on the spur of the moment we decided to do it last week.
The double-decker topless bus departs from the V&A Waterfront stop outside the Two Oceans aquarium, and meanders its way along the beachfront through Mouille Point, Sea Point, Bantry Bay, Clifton and Camps Bay, before circling back to climb Signal Hill. There you will disembark for an hour, allowing you time to have a picnic, watch the sunset, and take photographs.
As dusk descends, the return trip offers a glorious view of the City Bowl and outlying suburbs glittering into night life, and the last glow of the absent sun highlighting the top of Table Mountain.
Unlike all the other City Sightseeing tours, this is not a hop-on hop-off one, except for the stop on Signal Hill. It departs daily at 5.30pm until May 3 (resuming in November), and the duration is about two-and-a-half hours. You can drive and park at the Waterfront, or catch the 5pm Green Route bus from the Long Street headquarters. You can take your own picnic or order one – from a single-person snack pack for R70, to a bigger deluxe hamper for two, which costs R220 – either from a City Sightseeing driver or at one of the tour offices at Stop 1 and Stop 5 (V&A and Long Street). These will be delivered to you on Signal Hill.
Commentary is provided in 16 languages. If you decide to brave bad weather, the bus may stop at the lower cableway station on Table Mountain instead of Signal Hill. Either way, it’s imperative that you take a warm jacket or jersey because the minute the sun sets, it can get pretty cold. Of course you could sit downstairs, but where’s the fun in that?
Tickets are R100 for adults (R90 online) and R50 for children, from the Waterfront kiosk or Long Street. For more information call 021 511 6000 or see www.citysightseeing.co.za.