Tweet  

Signal Hill Sunset

Being the famous and most popular viewpoint of Cape Town, next to Table Mountain, Signal Hill attracts a group of us at least once a week to watch the sun setting. We pack a bottle of red wine, cheese and crackers, a blanket, and four excitable friends. On arrival we were at first disappointed to realise that we couldn't drink our red wine in a public place, but then we made do with cheese and crackers while watching the sun sink behind Cape Town’s blue horizon. The sea encompasses your view, spreading from Camps Bay to the CBD and onto the suburbs (if your eyes are good enough). Your appreciation of the coastal city becomes realised on this famous hilltop.

- Brad Harris

 

    Tweet  

Arderne Gardens, Kenilworth

We used to live just behind these gardens, yet only discovered them late into the year. Our cameras were begging to be let out after gathering too much dust, and so we waited until the golden hour before sunset, and entered the Arderne Gardens. It’s a magical place. Moss-covered paths lead you onto intimate lawns surrounded by indigenous plants that hang over your head in a thin canopy. After lying on the lawns and wondering at the flora, we happened across the lower section of the gardens. Wooden walkways stem out of a bricked area that holds a fountain and a little pond with Koi and lilies. The place emanates a fairytale feeling - and if we lay under that thin canopy for the rest of the day, no one could blame us.

- Brad Harris

 

    Tweet  

Mossel Bay Point

We were on our way to George when we stopped off at Mossel Bay’s popular ‘Point’. It was midday and surfers were still committed to the windswept waves, oyster catchers scrambled on the rocks, an elderly couple shuffled through the coarse sand trying to find good shells, and the little café set up for visitors was thriving. Watching this scene, we never guessed that the town was really an industrial place, and couldn’t believe it when we found out. It was the white foam blowing off the backs of the waves that did it for us, made the place natural and untouched, despite the town’s industry. We found nature hidden, and far more special because of it.

- Brad Harris

 

    Tweet  

University of Cape Town

Any place that’s 185 years old is probably a must-see. The University of Cape Town fits into this assumption well. Six campuses make up the school, but Upper Campus, lying against the famous mountain and just below Rhodes Memorial, is where I sit to admire the fiery city. It’s night, something like eight thirty: the sky is black with little white spots, the city is sparkling in coloured lights, and UCT is lit softly. Only corners of the vine-covered Elizabethan buildings catch the light, or just the fronts of Jameson Hall’s giant pillars, and darkness finally eats the never-ending stairs descending into the city. It isn’t only a place for academics – between the cobbled paths and tiled roofs is kept a piece of Cape Town’s history. It’s the city’s personality.

- Brad Harris

 

    Tweet  

Maboneng  

You would never guess that in the heart of Hillbrow you would find a world filled with thriving businesses, trendy markets, delicious coffee shops, museums and creative spaces. The Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg has taken me and, I’m pretty sure, the rest of South Africa by surprise by emerging as one of the favourite places to go to when visiting Jozi. The atmosphere is tangible with the excitement of this new urban development and the experience of Maboneng satisfies all the senses. The food from the Neighbourgoods Market, the sounds of colleagues and friends chatting on their lunch breaks, the taste of Origin coffee, the feeling of community and finally the visual. Maboneng is a space of collaboration, of development, of integration and of creativity and this is evident no matter where you look – in the people, in the businesses and in the design. Watch out Cape Town and Durban – Jozi has brought the party!

- Daniella Toscano

 

    Tweet  

Edinburgh Castle

The city was well-known to me for inspiring Harry Potter and other gothic novels, but I hadn’t experienced it until I entered the castle. My mind revelled in the old stone and lichen-covered walkways and, staring out through a cannon embrasure, Edinburgh’s church steeple let me sit and wait for day’s climax patiently. It was to be the noon gun – a fiery telling that lunch was on its way and my trip was nearly over. The tour of the castle had been exciting and mysterious, with oddments such as the “Dog Cemetery” thrown in to lighten the otherwise quite heavy experience of dungeons, memorials and dirty dormitories. But, the grand noonday gun ended it off with a very literal bang, and sent us tourists scattering.

- Brad Harris

 

    Tweet  

The Isle of Capri 

Pebble beaches, warm, turquoise oceans and soaring cliffs. I felt like I was in heaven. Floating in the Mediterranean, looking at the Isle of Capri in front of me, I decided this was my favourite place in Italy. You have the option of lying on the beach all day or going for a hike to the Blue Grotto, where there are magical caves to explore and cliffs to leap off. The best part is that either option is perfectly satisfying! Just make sure that you take sunscreen because this is a beach you will want to spend the entire day at.

- Daniella Toscano