live cape town

Naming your burger joint after canine testicles takes…. well balls I suppose. But Nigel Woods’ burgers really are the dog’s bollocks.

This is my kind of place, a driveway come alleyway in Gardens; a few old-style table and chairs, some hot coals and a been-there done-that still-doing-it Englishman making the best burgers in Cape Town.

This is a no-frills burger driveway; bring your own cutlery, if you think you need,  your own drink, any kind of drink,  unless you want wine, in that case buy 1½l  of Nigel’s own brew – good wine and excellent value at R50 for the funky tube. It comes papsak style inside the tube but this papsak is quite o.k. to take to a party.

Then there are the burgers. Choose one from the generous list, considering the no frills approach of the place. R55 a burger or R50 for the plain and you get a tasty large burger with a good piece of meat and plenty other goodies plus your choice of toppings. Pepper mushroom was my choice and delicious but the American 50’s style slider also looked good. Pity @Capetowncandy didn’t leave me a taste. Anyway, I’m putting this burger joint at the top of my burger list and I know my burgers – I was eating them before they became trendy – lots of them.

Nigel only makes 30 burgers a night – first come first served – and late comers might get Nachos if they behave. But you don’t tell people you went to the DB and ate nachos – they give you that pitying, condescending look – like everyone knows you need to get there early and the Nachos are really a consolation prize. Being occasionally helpful people we tried to assist some new arrivals with advice but were told very quickly, “we’ve been here before.”

Who would have thought burgers in a Gardens alleyway would become the trendiest food spot in Cape Town?

He opens at 5pm – don’t try booking. Cash only.

6 Roodehek Street, Gardens
www.ukuvaiafrica.co.za or find them on Facebook

When I mentioned the Topless Bus to some friends the usual jokes about Mavericks and other places of ill repute followed, but on this bus everyone kept their top on. Now red double-decker tourist busses are the norm around the world and Cape Town is no different. The shame is that locals very seldom take advantage of this pretty cool experience; we did and loved it.

While driving our cars in Cape Town we are too busy avoiding wild taxi drivers, speaking or texting on our cells and just trying to stay safe (irony noted), we often don’t notice our beautiful surrounds. But riding on the top deck of a fancy red bus, the wind in our face, we let the driver negotiate the traffic so we could just enjoy.

We chose the blue route, which takes in the Atlantic Seaboard, the Cape Town CBD and some of the Southern Suburbs. We boarded in Sea Point at 1pm which didn’t leave us nearly enough time to do all we wanted (first bus is at 9am). These are hop-on hop-off busses so plan your stops and make a day of it. We at least made an afternoon of it.

The initial scenic drive along the Atlantic Ocean, through the Waterfront was both scenic and enjoyable but it was in the CBD that our modest but not unimpressive skyline

caught my eye. I suddenly noticed buildings and small shops I probably had passed 100s of times without paying them much attention, now they stood out. While it was a warm day – travelling on the top out in the open kept us comfortable and allowed for a new perspective of our city.

We rounded the mountain past the famous Groote Schuur Hospital, where the first heart transplant was performed on a cousin of mine in 1967. We passed the lovely UCT Campus, where memories of wild parties, card games and a chequered academic career flooded back.  We enjoyed the lush greenery that is the Southern Suburbs and watched as a few passengers disembarked at Kirstenbosch, but we were heading for wine territory in Constantia.

Busses were changed at Constantia Nek, where we joined others on the wine tour shuttle. First stop was Groot Constantia, the oldest wine farm in the country, where for R33.00 we tasted five excellent wines. The next stop was supposed to be Eagles’ Nest, but in our hurry and lack of decent signage we landed up at neighbouring Silvermist Wine Farm instead, and at R15.00 for one measly, albeit good quality, taste  of wine we promised to pay more attention next time.

But for now it was time to leave the manicured wine farms and visit Imizamu Yethu Township in Hout Bay. We were met by tw

o guides on the outskirts of the township; we were thirsty and decided to forgo the “formal” tour and head straight for the local shebeen. Our guide led us to Phillip’s Tavern, taking us through dirty narrow alleys populated with life, colour and characters aplenty; friendly mamas, cheeky kids and some rough but slick looking dudes.

Soon we were seated and drinking much needed cold quarts; the dj was spinning the tunes inside while the friendly locals spun us some yarns outside. All too soon it was time to go. That’s why you need more time, it’s no fun leaving somewhere prematurely, and we were enjoying Phillips.

With time running out we hopped on again, dropped some American girls at Mariners Wharf and settled in for the spectacular drive back. Sea views all the way, a cooling sea breeze and a bustling Camps Bay. All too soon we were hopping off for the last time, at least for today. We couldn’t believe it went so fast and that we had enjoyed our trip so much – and yes we really did feel like tourists.

When one of South Africa’s favourite artists plays at one of SA’s most beautiful botanical gardens on a magnificent summer’s day in Cape Town – it’s always going to be a good evening out. Sitting on the sloped lawns, mountains standing majestically in the background, thousands of eager concert goers and a cooler bag full of cold beer, it was a perfect afternoon. Except for one thing.

I acquired a case of severe picnic envy. Not that me and @CapetownCandy – my PIA – partner in adventure (at least those that don’t involve steep ascents and severe drop offs) don’t know how to put a decent picnic together. On the contrary; we are highly experienced picnic-goers capable of doing wildly creative picnic stuff on an almost empty fridge and sometimes empty wallet too. But we don’t always get it together to the best of our ability.

This Sunday was one of those. Even though Provita and cheese, olives, Pringles and peanuts were adequate for our needs – it paled in comparison to what I saw flaunted on the hallowed Kirstenbosch turf. It wasn’t just the sushi platter the couple next to us devoured but the range of amazing looking treats served from perfect looking picnic baskets that got to me.

A trip to the gents took me past so many awesome looking picnic hampers that I had to put my hands deep in my pockets to stop me helping myself to a quick snack here and there. Seeing so much tasty food brazenly displayed does make it feel a bit like a large cocktail party where you are welcome to help yourself – but here it would seem wrong. Bbq chicken pieces cut into perfect bite size helpings, platters of exotic cheeses (well they looked exotic), pies, meats and other goodies which all seem to glow with a robust tastiness – despite the hot sun beating down on it. Luscious fruits, expensive nuts, sweet nibbles and amazing looking sandwiches – it all looked so good. But I restrained myself and made do with our humble offerings and cold beer, which did help ease the envy. One neighbour did share his homemade beer with us, which was excellent; he also informed us about the local subculture of home-made beer brewers developing in the Cape. Check out www.southyeasters.co.za

Food aside – Jonny delivered as always – singing old classics and introducing new songs that we hadn’t heard before. As much as I enjoyed the concert I couldn’t help keeping one envious eye on the mountain as the setting sun made it glow with a come hither look (even though I had enjoyed an awesome morning adventure up Kloof Corner Ridge, and my other eye on the delicious looking food surrounding me. Next time we will be better prepared.

Running up and down Cape Town’s three peaks (Devils Peak, Table Mountain and Lions Head) isn’t most people’s idea of fun – but it is mine. This is kind of strange as I used

to hate running. Well hate is a strong word; I just didn’t like it much. I loved hiking though and found once I got into it that I could hike pretty fast up some fairly steep mountains. Then I saw an article in the paper about the Three Peaks Challenge which caught my interest, but after reading that they start in town near to Greenmarket Square and return to the Square after each peak – I laughed to myself “fucking crazy” and lost interest.

The following year, 2002, the Three Peaks reared its beautiful three heads again and a friend, a Celtics runner at the time, told me to phone fellow Celtics runner Gavin Snell, the organiser of the event. As sceptical as I was I soon found myself chatting to Gavin who told me about the event, showed me some pics and hauled out his shoebox of memorabilia including the hand carved trophies of the Three Peaks that every finisher gets. The trophies are made by Don Hartley, founder and co-organiser of the event. All well and good I said but I don’t run. Don’t worry said Gavin you’ll be fine. Far from convinced I decided to give it a bash and entered.

I started doing some running, completed my first half marathon in the process, and on the first Saturday in November, 2002 I found myself lined up in Long Street at 5am with a bunch of other nutters. About 8 ½ hours later I completed my first challenge, had the best time and was hooked – not just on the Three Peaks but on trail running in general.

November 2011, nine years later, I have completed my 10^th Challenge. Those years have seen me become a seasoned trail runner who now loves running and has his own shoebox of Three Peaks memories. I have watched the local trail running scene explode into a main stream sport with many roadies finally seeing the light and now stretching their legs regularly if not exclusively on the mountains. Where once there were a handful of trail events there is now one almost every week.

While the trail running scene has changed I’m glad to say the Three Peaks Challenge has not. The organisers are the same, the atmosphere is the same, and the entry fee kept affordable, unlike many events which charge almost 3x that amount for far less, and you still receive a hand carved Three Peaks trophy if you finish. More importantly I still love this event. I have roped in many an unsuspecting runner who landed up running next to me at some run or another, burning their ears with tales of this special event – some of them completed their 5^th challenge this year. The one difference is that nine years ago you could phone Gavin the night before and get an entry – that is no longer possible.

Thanks Gavin, who has not only organised all 15 events to date –read the history of the event here –  but has run every one as well –  and thanks Don for starting this event in 1997, 100 years after it was first completed. Looking forward to no 11.

The Hout Bay Triple Trouble has been trouble for me since its second running in 2006, but now, having recently completed my third, I can safely say its right up there as one of my favourite runs on the trail calendar – despite the tar sections between each peak.

Started by Eric Tollner in 2005 as a training run for the more established Three Peaks Challenge, it has developed into a very special, albeit low key, event. The run starts at the Chapman’s Peak Hotel in Hout Bay and takes in Suther Peak, Judas Peak, via Llandadno Ravine, and Chapman’s Peak, returning to the hotel after each peak. The field is small, 30 runners, and friendly, with just a few speedsters chasing records and the win. The rest of us like to take our time (often more through necessity than choice), smell the flowers, enjoy the views and camaraderie and revel in a day out on the spectacular Hout Bay mountains.

My troubles started at my first attempt in 2006. I somehow managed to get lost descending Judas Peak in the mist, wandered about the top for an hour looking for the path down before finding my own, not very safe descent and traversing back to Llandadno Ravine. After my not so kosher experience I declined the 3^rd peak leaving me with unfinished business which I planned to put right the next year. 2007 arrived and I entered early. But the year was a hectic one, with numerous moves and the birth of my son, and came Triple Trouble time, I was pretty exhausted the night before. I woke up at 4am, confirmed what I already knew and sent a text message to Eric, bailing before even putting on my running shoes. I managed to get there to take some pics on the third peak and once again vowed to be back the next year.

2008 and I was the first to enter, but then realised it clashed with my holiday plans so was first out as well. My holiday plans changed and I again landed up on Chappies taking pics.

2009 and finally I got to experience the triple in all its glory. The morning started with a scooter ride from Sea Point to the start with a large orange moon hanging lazily over the glassy sea, the day was already perfect and it was only 5.30am.

After my experience in 2006 I was determined not to get lost this year, but it didn’t take me long. After tagging Suther Peak, I led Brenda, my running partner for the day, down the garden path and landed up with a fabulous viewpoint but sheer drops everywhere. We backtracked and made our way safely down, finding ourselves at the back of the field but in no hurry.

The second peak was stunning; fynbos as far as the eye can see, clear skies with views to everywhere and Mediterranean-like turquoise seas below. The South Easter that had howled the week prior to the run had cleaned up the air and sea for the day.

We finished at the tail end of the field – hot and happy after 10 hours + of beautiful weather and stunning mountains – finally I was on the board.

2010 saw me run the entire route with Michael and Douglas, and various others along the way. With cooler weather and stronger legs we finished in just over 7 ½ hours. Almost 3 hours behind the winner, a certain Ryan Sandes, who seemed to cruise the route but still broke the record finishing in a fast 4.48 and some change.

This year was similar – cool weather and Michael and Douglas again keeping me entertained as we as toured Hout Bay the way very few people ever do. The colourful flowers on the first peak, again the fynbos on the second and whales in the bay on the third made for another memorable trip. While we weren’t racing we realised at the top of Chappies that if we motored we might just break 7 hours. When we hit the tar for the 4km downhill dash to the cold beers – it was still on. But as we neared the finish – about 500m near – Michael started to cramp and stopped to get himself right. Douglas and I had a brief discussion, wait and risk not reaching our sub 7-hour target – or leave Mike, finish under 7 hours and face his wrath. We chose “glory” over sentiment and finished in 6.58.10. Mike, to his credit, finished a minute later also breaking the 7 hour mark and not letting us forget for a minute that we ditched him 500m from home after running together the entire day. Sorry Mike!

At the front of the field Rupert Becker proved you don’t need sponsors and financial incentives to break records (although that would be nice) – just enormous talent and a great attitude – he shaved 1.14 off Ryan’s time – smiling all the way to the finish.

I turned off the N2 and breathed a sigh of relief; I don’t like driving on national roads and avoid them if I can. The torrential rain didn’t help. We picked up some beers and wood in Gordon’s Bay and hit the slippery R44 or Clarens Drive as Overberg locals and street signs call it.

A scenic but slippery drive later and we were at our destination – Pringle Bay.

I really like Pringle Bay. It’s big enough to fill two pubs on a Saturday night but far from overdeveloped. There is a beautiful beach and lagoon and mountains surround you in every direction – where there isn’t sea that is.

It’s an hour and a bit drive from Cape Town, 30 minutes of it on one of the most scenic drives in the country. We arrived in a downpour but the comfy house we had rented for the weekend has an indoor braai/fireplace and the wood we had bought soon came into good use. As did the beer.

The three bedroom home is spacious enough – we would be two couples and three kids when the others arrived. There is a large living area with open plan kitchen and a cool

wooden deck for sundowners, but the real winner – particularly for the kids – was the outdoor shower.  Somehow kids, who under normal circumstances cannot be persuaded to bath without bribing them with an endless supply of chocolates, will happily shower 3x a day outdoors – never mind the cold and wet weather.

Thursday our friends arrived but the rain continued – we started thinking we might be cooped up for days – luckily they arrived prepared – trivial pursuit, monopoly and a bottle of Jägermeister in tow.

The storm subsided Friday and the sun came out – the dads grabbed the two bigger boys and paid a visit to the Stony Point penguin colony in Betty’s Bay, about a 15 minute drive from P Bay.  The warm afternoon saw us at the beach and lagoon where the boys ran around in their

birthday suits and the one year old devoured sand at an alarming rate. Saturday dawned with beautiful blue skies and Bevan and I headed for the hills, or one in particular, Hangklip, that chunk of rock that marks the eastern entrance to False Bay. A beautiful hike to the peak with views across the bay to Table Mountain and Devils Peak.

With at least one hike under the belt I could now relax and Saturday night saw the Trivial Pursuit come out – Bevan, a regular player, will never get over the beating I gave him, although the Jägermeister did help.

Sunday and the rain returned but we didn’t mind – we had enjoyed a full weekend with rain storms and beautiful sun shine. An hour later we were home already planning our return.

With Cape Town experiencing a mid winter summer paradise, tourism authorities finally have something to celebrate as the Mother City looks to steal Durban’s winter thunder by becoming South Africa’s best all year round destination.

“Everyone knows that people only go to Durban in winter because it’s hot but this global warming is turning things around.” said a Cape Town Tourism official from Clifton Beach today. “We know Cape Town rocks in summer, now it rocks in winter too. We have never needed to effectively market this city, and wasted millions not doing so. Now the weather is on our side and we have all-year-round summer. Our strategy worked – nature is on our side.”

With tourism officials and hospitality players recently bemoaning the quiet season – this opportunity has come at an excellent time for the city. What was once the secret season is a secret no longer as Cape Town looks to market itself as the city with an endless summer. Lifeguards and umbrella custodians have been woken from their winter slumber and rushed to beaches around the  Cape to cope with the expected influx of beachgoers. But while the few lucky tourists who are here have rushed to the beaches, Capetonians have stayed away, not believing their eyes and sweaty armpits and steadfastly refusing to hit the beaches until December.

Premier Helen Zille was quick to jump on the overheated bandwagon. “The Western Cape is now not only the best run province in the country but now also has the best weather and any attempts by the ruling party to control the weather will be met with fierce resistance.”

Talk of water shortages and rain-starved farms were put aside as the sun continued to shine. A shirtless Capetonian, sunbathing on Long Street,  said:  “Hey,  if this is what global warming is all about – bring it on. Ya, it may not be PC to celebrate rising temperatures but it sure is lekker.”
Barry Washkansky

With the V&A Waterfront having recently changed hands, the members of the Oceana Power Boat Club, based at the Waterfront, are again worried about the future of their club.

They occupy a prime area, at the entrance to the Waterfront, but this is the only safe small-craft slipway in an area extending from Hout Bay to Yzerfontein – a coastline of 150 kilometres. So alternatives are few and very far between.

The Club has used the current site since been granted the right to operate in 1974 by the then Minister of Transport, and has provided valuable and safe access to the sea for small craft users, from all walks of life, for close to 40 years.

The club is currently on a month-to-month lease with the V&A. In 2002 they were given notice to vacate their premises and the club started a campaign to maintain its present location – the notice was withdrawn after the Commodore of the club secured the backing of local government. An alternate site proposed by the V&A, beyond the existing container terminal, was roundly condemned by independent experts as unsafe for small-craft boating.

Club Commodore, Colin Wolfsohn said that they had received no communication from the new Waterfront owners. Except being told not to panic. The problem is there is no other alternative and this has been extensively researched. The slipway is protected from the south easter, the north wester and is used by thousands of people every month, not just recreational users but many of Cape Town’s fishermen who rely on this slipway for their livelihood.

Besides the fishermen and recreational users the slipway is also used by NSRI, UCT, the Two Oceans Aquarium, the navy on occasion, and various events also use this vital little piece of the V&A Waterfront as a base for  Robben Island or other events.

There is talk of the new owners setting aside R4bn for additional development and an areas of 200 000m² is being spoken of, which includes the Granger Bay area. But the club has no guarantees that they won’t be in for a fight for the future of the club.

Growthpoint executive Director, Estienne de Klerk, has been quoted in the press as saying, “in the original transaction when Transnet first sold the land they were under an obligation to provide a new facility for the club.”

The solution is to fix up what exists there and make it work for everyone including the new landlords. That may involve putting up a new building, which could incorporate a restaurant to compensate the owners, and a fish market has also being proposed, providing fishermen with an outlet to sell their wares, they currently use Mouille Point, and add an additional tourist attraction to the Waterfront.

The ideal solution, according to Wolfsohn, would be for the V&A to cede the land to the city, and allow the club to continue their work in providing a safe slipway to the many small craft owners in Cape Town and continuing to ensure all safety requirements are met.

One thing that sets the V&A Waterfront apart from many others in the world is that it stands alongside a working harbour. Sure you can eat your meals, enjoy a cocktail and shop till you drop, but at the same time real life harbour work goes on around you; from larger fishing trawlers offloading their daily catch to container ships offloading their goods, many of which will be sold in the centre to ocean liners bringing in tourists from around the world.

The Oceana Power Boat Club is part of this ongoing sea life and it adds a vital component to the Waterfront, one that makes it special – besides offering a livelihood to many, it also adds character and charm to the country’s top tourist attraction.

Barry Washkansky

Barry Washkansky

Celebrating my son’s 4^th birthday this week and with the Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge being run tomorrow (11 June) it reminded me of a letter that I wrote to Runnersworld magazine four years ago.

The idea was to win first prize on the letter’s page, a decent running watch. So I wrote my letter and waited for it to appear and be informed of my pending prize.  But no, despite my best literary efforts and a very cute pic of the scoops, I was published but did not win the first prize.

Nope – some story about someone bumping into a famous rugby player while running on the road won first prize – who the hell is Francois Pienaar anyway?

So no glory but still a cute letter I think – hard to believe its been four years. Happy birthday Scoops!

The letter – Runners World 2007

”With my 2-week old baby boy lying snugly next to his mother it was with some trepidation that I headed off for my first run as a new dad. Having spent almost every moment with him and his mom since he made his unexpected early arrival I didn’t know if I was ready to desert the nest just yet. But I had entered the race not expecting to be a dad at the time. Things somehow were just not what they used to be.

Being a trail junkie, early morning starts for cold mountain runs are the norm, especially in the winter months. But what had changed?

I used to set my alarm to get up in time, now I was already up. I used to do some gentle early morning stretches, now I watched my boy stretch as he woke up. I used to have a pre-race meal at home, now I watched my son feed and I munched down a bar-one in the car on the way to the start. I used to take gentle runs across the mountains enjoying the scenery, now I PB’d to the finish so I could get home quicker to see my Scoops. I used to switch my phone off until race-end, now I regularly checked-in to see if my son had eaten, farted, burped or pood. I used to enjoy many leisurely beers after a run, now I wolfed down a couple and raced home to be with my kid.

Yip, life will never quite be the same again and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Cheers
Washer

I bought my first pair of Salomon shoes about five years ago. An entry level pair that lasted a year, about standard for any decent pair of trail shoes, depending on the distance you cover.

The shoes were comfortable right out the box, drained well when wet and I really liked the draw string “laces”.  The down side to them was too little support for my ankles, I found my ankle kept going over, not badly, but too regularly for me to run freely and rely on the shoes. After six months the shoes were showing serious signs of wear and tear, more so than their owner for once. I stretched them to a year and then despite some of my misgivings about the shoes, and armed with a Salomon discount voucher, I bought another pair. Things were pretty much the same so I swapped brands when that pair retired.

I have worn various brands since, NB and Montrail to name a couple but in desperate need of new shoes I decided to go for the Salomon XR Crossmax.

My big race for the year was going to be my first attempt at the Tuffer Puffer. I did not get in but the run encompasses about 160km of tar and mountain in the Cape Peninsula. The Puffer is run from Cape Point to the Waterfront and the Tuffer Puffer starts at the Waterfront and runs there and back, this year’s route is lightly different I believe. Either way the event involves a large chunk of tar including a -+ 56km stretch in the middle, something I am not used to running on in any large distances. I would have needed to buy two pairs of shoes, one for tar and one for trail. This is where the Crossmax come in.

The Salomon ARCrossmax is a multipurpose shoe which should do as well on trail as it does on tar or vice verca. Perfect, one pair of instead of two. They are fairly pricey at about R1400 pair, (Cape Union Mart shelf price) but I managed to get a discount from the good people at Salomon and soon my shiny new red AR Crossmaxes were been  ripped from their box.

First up – they are comfortable and I managed a few easy runs of just over an hour on both tar and trail without any hassle. I did a two hour road run on tar and experienced some pain/discomfort under the soul of my foot. I put this down to them been new shoes and me running longer than usual on the black stuff. Two weeks later I put them through a much tougher test; the Ocean2Ocean, a 50km guided trail run from Muizenberg to Camps Bay via the mountains, about 95% trail including some beach running.

I love this run, I have done it often. I have run it all conditions from very hot to well…very cold. This year was cool – cold at the peaks but otherwise pleasant without much sun. Dirk lead the faster group of 20 who finished in 11 hours and I accompanied the slower group of 10. We finished just after 6pm, more than 12.5 hours on the go – remember this is a pack run with two seconding points and regular stops but always a fun day out on the Cape Mountains.

The shoes, I’m happy to say were fantastic, comfortable, no need to take them off for sand or pebbles, no pain, good grip in the dry and not bad on the wet rocky sections as well. I did discover a large popped blister once I took off the shoes but never felt it on route.

The shoe is a neutral shoe; they also have a guidance version with more control for over-pronators. So far so good – my next longish run on the hard stuff will give a better indication of their suitability to my road running needs – but off road – very happy. Next 020 is on June 11.