To most, the thought of Cape Town evokes sights and sounds of summertime, sun worshippers lining the beach, people edging slowly up Table Mountain and public parks littered with picnic blankets. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that during the winter Cape Town has many hidden attractions that are often overlooked in summer. The Mother City is fortunate enough to boast about its moderate winters, demanding no more than an extra layer of clothing and an emergency umbrella to get you through the colder, wetter months. In fact, even though we’ve passed the halfway mark for winter, we’ve been lucky enough to count on one hand the amount of rainy days we’ve had thus far and have enjoyed many days warm enough for the beach! Mother Nature, never one for predictability, will surely keep things in balance by sending rain clouds our way so the Connect-123 team are ready to offer local advice on great activities to keep your warm.

The city is alive with indoor attractions and cosy eateries offering up some great food to warm the soul. Many of the city’s restaurants offer great winter specials served next to roaring fireplaces, accompanied by locally produced red wine. The Connect-123 Winter Restaurant Specials List gives you the breakdown of all the specials on offer with over 80 restaurants to choose from. The city centre itself is a gateway to the Cape Winelands, the estates of Constantia, Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek offer cosy and scenic locations from which to enjoy the rainy season. This is a great time to visit the wine farms, participate in cellar tours and tastings and spend the afternoon enjoying a hearty meals made from freshly grown produce.

Cape Town’s city centre plays host to numerous museums, historical sites and galleries. A stroll along the Company Gardens will lead to the South African National Art Gallery, hosting both local and international artists with rotating exhibitions. As well as the Iziko South African Museum, the Planetarium and the Slave Lodge offer insight to the bygone era and natural history that acts as the foundation of the city’s landscape as it stands today. The Cape Town Holocaust Centre, Bo- Kaap Museum and District Six Museum are well worth the visit and highlight the cultural diversity of Cape Town.

With the final whistle of Africa’s first World Cup about to blow, a number of galleries are currently holding football-related exhibitions in the Cape Town. The Amen Photographic Exhibition on Grassroots Football throughout Africa runs at the Joao Ferreria Gallery until 24 July. Dreams & Goals at the Waterkant Gallery captures football fan mania on a global scale.

Rainy days in Cape Town also offer a good excuse to squeeze in some retail therapy. Hosting a multitude of shopping malls, Cape Town is often seen as a premier shopping destination. The V&A Waterfront, Cavendish Square, the Cape Quarter and Canal Walk offer a variety of shopping experiences, with a fine selection of local and international products to choose from as well as housing the surefire favourites of cinemas and restaurants. The Two Oceans Aquarium showcases the diversity of South Africa’s unique marine ecosystem and is best way to get acquainted with marine life without getting wet! The indoor Redshed Craft Market, also located at the V&A Waterfront, offers an eclectic mix of locally produced handmade items – which you will often purchase directly from the creator themselves.

For live entertainment, we are spoilt for choice, with world- class theatrical performances at venues such as Artscape, Masque and Baxter Theatre. Everything from classical ballet, contemporary dance, local theatre productions, burlesque, stand up comedy and musicals are on offer, providing you with a range of mainstream and unconventional entertainment. Music enthusiasts can enjoy winter concerts every Sunday at the Silver Tree Restaurant in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Even though the rainclouds might be gathering in the distance, pull yourself together, wrap up and set your sights on a winter exploration of Cape Town, whether it’s watching a local production, shopping up a storm or enjoying a cosy meal with a group of friends. And remember Connect-123 has an insider’s perspective on what activities are happening to keep the winter blues at bay!

The Connect-123 team tackled turkey stuffing and roasting in the name of Thanksgiving yesterday.  Two South Africans, one Irish, one English, & two turkeys!

We filled the Perspectives building, where the majority our interns and volunteers stay, with smells of delicious roast turkey, attracting some curious interns who sniffed us out!

We then had a potluck party up on the roof with everyone bringing a dish to the table, and what a feast!  We all tucked in to the tasty spread while looking out over Cape Town in all her glory, with views of Table Mountain on one side and the harbour on the other.

Whilst not the traditional Thanksgiving many of our Americans would be used to, a feast with new found friends from across the world, looking out over Cape Town was not a bad way to spend it, and the turkeys weren’t half bad either!

Happy Thanksgiving from us all at Connect-123…

Connect-123 recently joined forces with The Sisanda FunDaytion, a fantastic outreach organization that works with volunteers to bring fun days to disadvantaged children in Cape Town.  There are so many things for children to see and do – beautiful beaches, mountains, and parks, but these vulnerable children don’t often get the chance to enjoy them.

The Sisanda FunDaytion recruits volunteers so they can offer fun filled days to the children, when they can be what they are, children for the day.

Some of our volunteers signed up to spend a Saturday taking the kids to Ratanga Junction, a roller coaster ride and theme park.  They also had a show at lunchtime where one of the children had an opportunity to sing on stage – a dream of hers.  They commemorated Nelson Mandela’s birthday by creating cards with the children’s handprints, and singing Happy Birthday on a radio station.

Mandela’s birthday is marked in South Africa with Mandela Day, an annual celebration of the good work Mandela has done for South Africa and the world. The day recognizes individuals’ potential to make an imprint and change the world around them. We are looking forward to continuing to work with The Sisanda FunDaytion in making a positive imprint on vulnerable kids’ lives, giving them days to remember.

Do It Day was another day to give up our time to make a difference, this time building houses in one of the townships outside of Cape Town, Wallacedene.We worked with The Niall Mellon Township Trust, an Irish organization dedicated to not only building houses, but also buiding lives in South Africa through both physical, and capacity building. They have to date built over 12,000 houses in South Africa, addressing the overwhelming need of those living in shacks.

Between our keen bunch of volunteers, we were able to build the base of two houses. Everyone got really involved and learned the strenuous skills of brick laying and cement mixing. Many hands make light work – well not so sure about that, try lifting a bag of cement!  It was great to work together as a team, seeing our progress, brick by brick making a positive impact in building not only a house but a positive future for those in the community.

It is great to see our volunteers getting involved with these community outreach projects on their weekends when we know there is so much else they could be doing between wine tasting, shark cage diving, hiking Table Mountain, lounging on one of the many beautiful beaches, eating in affordable award-winning restaurants, and exploring the City’s vibrant culture and nightlife. They are all working hard during the week at their internships and volunteer placements, making every day Mandela Day and Do It Day, working hard to make a difference in this beautiful and challenging country.