Other than helping you find an internship in Cape Town, the Connect-123 team is always on hand to let you know what’s fun to do. We will be publishing a series of interviews with the Cape Town team where they share some of their personal favorite things about Cape Town. Hopefully this will help you to discover the good life in the beautiful city they live in.

Our first interview is with Eimear, the South Africa Program Director:

You’re Irish, where’s the best place in Cape Town to get a pint?
First place in Cape Town that I had a pint when I moved here was the Irish pub Cátú – and I don’t think I’ve had nicer since!

What’s your favourite dinner spot?
One that I keep going back to is a little restaurant on Church Street in Stellenbosch called Basic Bistro – their Dukkha Chicken is delicious!

You’re always out and about hiking – what’s your favourite trail?
I still have loads to discover! But one of the most spectacular is definitely the Pipe Track trail which takes you along the side of Table Mountain with stunning view of the sea, Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles.

What’s been your best weekend away around Cape Town?
This is a tricky one but probably a weekend on the West Coast – staying in a whitewashed cottage in the fishing village of Paternoster, walking along the shellstrewn beaches, eating the freshest seafood, with trips to Tittiesbaai nature reserve and to the absolutely stunning West Coast National Park on the way back to Cape Town.

I know you appreciate a good wine, what’s your favourite wine farm?
Absolutely 100% impossible to answer – there are so so many beautiful ones – but the most recent one that blew me away was Zevenwacht near Kuilsriver, as much for the idyllic setting, great food and peaceful atmosphere as for the wine itself. It’s also got a spa and spots to braai and have picnics!

Other than the traffic, I’ve heard Durbanville, the suburb where you live, is a great place – what do you do for fun around there?
My favourite thing about living in Durbanville is being 5 minutes drive from Tygerberg Nature Reserve – it’s not huge but has quite a few different trails and is big enough that you can do a 1.5 hour walk well away from noise and traffic, with stunning views of the sea and Table Mountain, as well as back towards the Hottentots Holland Mountains.
There’s loads of birds and wildlife too. Generally you’ll meet a few striped mice, one or two mountain/leopard tortoises and they even have 7 or 8 bontebok that are happy to let you get quite close and watch them grazing – and now there’s a little one too!

Durbanville is also a well known wine-producing area with several beautiful old wine farms with historic buildings, picturesque settings and of course yummy wines to drink. Being a little more off the tourist trail than Stellenbosch and Franschoek prices can be lower and you’re more likely to mingle with locals rather than busloads of tourists! Try Poplars restaurant at D’Aria wine farm for brunch under the oak trees, and then spend the afternoon meandering around to the many other wine farms – see the Durbanville Wine Valley website for ideas!  Nitida has a very popular farmers’ market on the last Saturday of the month.

Connect-123 program participants now receive a complementary voucher on arrival for an open top bus tour of Cape Town.  Cape Town City Sightseeing was awarded the title of International Tour Operator 2009 at the annual City Sightseeing Awards in Portugal, beating top international operators in New York, Paris, and London.   And you can see why! Cape Town is truly one of the world’s most beautiful cities and what better way to take it all in?

Connect-123 new arrivals get to bask in the sunshine in an open top bus whilst touring the amazing city of Cape Town, taking in the sights of Table Mountain, Camps Bay Beach, The Waterfront, and learning about the rich culture and unique history of the city.   You can hop on and hop off at your leisure for a stroll on the beach, a visit to one of the museums, a cable car ride up Table Mountain, a plunge into the Aquarium, or a boat trip to historic Robben Island.  This tour will be sure to give you a taste of all Cape Town has to offer, leaving you hungry and excited for more.

Don’t worry if you don’t get to do it all in one day, you will have plenty of time to enjoy all this and more during your stay with us in Cape Town.  Connect-123 will make sure you have the time of your life, not only in your internship or volunteer placement, but in your free time as well.  We organize loads of fun packed events and social activities to keep you busy. Check out our Facebook page to see some of the fun in store.

Work, learn, and explore in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Cape Town!

Since its recent slide, the US dollar no longer buys American tourists the luxuries abroad that it once did. As described in “Where the Dollar Rules” , the increasing expense of European and Asian travel has made South Africa a far more appealing destination to Americans in terms of value for money.

The South African rand has been losing ground against the dollar over the past two years, and this slow decline looks set to continue. High quality restaurants, wine and accommodation, as well as a plethora of sightseeing and entertainment options are now all very reasonably priced for international visitors.

In addition, Connect-123 has negotiated special deals with local tour operators and adventure travel specialists, further reducing costs for African safaris, shark cage dives, and regional travel for all our program participants.