My Cape Town

I’m the type of person for whom the distinguishing feature of a car is its colour.  I empathise with the girl at a dinner party who, when asked what kind of cars she liked replied, offhandedly, “Oh any old thing so long as it gets me from A to B” only to later discover that she had been speaking to Ayrton Senna.

But when I was offered a ride in a Ferrari recently, I swallowed the urge to ask what colour it was.  There is only one Ferrari available for hire in South Africa and it’s a 2003 model 550 Maranello.  In silver.  I knew, because I'd looked it up.

I could hear it coming up the road.  It’s distinctive roar stood out even to my unattuned ear - all the normal cars of Woodstock were reduced to little squeaking mice in comparison.  It wasn’t Tom Selleck behind the wheel (I guess I couldn’t have it all now, could I?) but co-owner of Status Luxury Vehicles, Antony Ashley, who had kindly offered to take me for a spin.

I felt I ought to attempt to look the part and had found a scarf and, on a dusty shelf in the bathroom, a slightly wonky pair of Jackie O type sunglasses.  But all elegance went out the window as I folded myself awkwardly off the pavement and into the passenger seat.

Encased in a soft leather bucket I was already too out of my depth even to give coherent directions, and we inadvertently ended up in a rather grimy part of Observatory, nose-to-tail with clapped out student cars.  A couple of well-timed revs of the Ferrari engine had the effect of a ray gun, and all vehicles around us simply melted to the side to let us through.  I tried to be embarrassed but was really rather thrilled.

And suddenly we were on the M3.  Wheel of Death-like, my head was pressed back into the leather headrest as Antony’s foot went down on the accelerator.  As we dodged and weaved and roared our way through the other cars in a stretch five lanes wide, Antony raised his voice over the engine. “This is where all the fast cars are test-driven” he explained, as we veered around a Toyota Tazz with seven people in it.  “Great view of Cape Town, isn’t it?”  he continued.  Obediently I swivelled my eyes in their sockets to look at the view flashing by. “Snffsnsffnnnngg”.

We were a silver blur as we flew along De Waal Drive towards town.  Along this road the glare of the hard, wide tarmac is softened by the wild grasses waving either side and, hugging the contours of the lower slopes to the mountain, it offers an awesome vista over the city from a steady stream of undulating curves.  I’ve heard grown men speak rapturously of its perfect cambers, its faultless surface.  According to Antony, Jeremy Clarkson himself has declared South Africa’s roads to be amongst the best in the world and here were we, driving one of the best of the best... in a Ferrari.  It was an open invitation, really, wasn’t it?  I tried to ease my foot off the imaginary brake in my footwell.

Within minutes we were zipping effortlessly up the steep hill to Camps Bay, a speedboat cutting through a lake of pedaloes.  We turned sharply at the saddle to head down Kloof Road – a road that, cut into the side of Lion’s Head mountain, careers downhill towards Clifton in a series of hairpin bends.

‘Hugging the road’ is an expression that is commonly used for cars though not, I think, any I have ever driven.  Now that I was actually feeling it in action, I could be sure of that.  It was really quite an extraordinarily new sensation for me – a Spiderman-like grip that provided a  fig leaf of reassurance for my naked fear as we flew downhill at warp speed.

It was real James Bond stuff.  At any moment I was convinced we would either crash into the cliff face or fly off the side of the mountain if we didn’t hit another car first.  My heart was in my mouth and my stomach was in knots.  I screamed, but I think only dogs heard.

We roared into Camps Bay and slid into a spot that seemed reserved for us, bang in front of Café Caprice, hang-out of the cool and sophisticated. All faces were on us as, fumbling the opening mechanism, I fell out of the car on all fours. Standing slowly, I tugged at my cheap nylon dress and adjusted my ridiculous shades. Gratefully accepting the offer of a juice from the gracious Antony, I felt my way to a table in the corner. 

From the safety of a gloriously stationary chair it was fun to watch the attention that the car drew.  It was almost cartoon-like.  Not one, but two separate people walked into a lamppost before they could tear their eyes away from the Ferrari’s sleek lines.

I must admit, despite my wilful ignorance of cars, I could see the attraction.  I'd known that it was beautiful and pretty darn speedy but now, having been inside, I understood that the throaty growl of the engine had a Barry White quality that takes a body and vibrates it at just the right pitch to make all the clothes fall off. 

I tugged at my dress again and decided I must watch some reruns of Magnum P.I. 

Daisy

                                www.capeconcierge.co.za

The Ferrari costs R 10 000 (approx. £ 740, $ 1 470, EUR 1 110) per day to hire and is just one of many luxury cars available from Status Luxury Vehicles.  For more information go to www.statusluxuryvehicles.co.za or contact me.

Villa of the Month

White is the dominating colour at Gryphon House.  Cool, clean, refreshing white dominates the walls and floors inside and out.  And yet the house is alive with colour, whether in the elegantly oversized flower arrangements or the large oil paintings that proliferate throughout, or the odd quirky details such as the vivid purple velvet chairs in the living room.  Even the lawn appears to be a particularly flamboyant shade of green. 

Set high up on the slopes of Camps Bay, Gryphon House offers three en-suite bedrooms and tons of living space to suit both the loud and the more contemplative guest.  The superbly equipped kitchen opens onto the dining area, which in turn leads down a few steps into the living area.  Sliding glass doors separate both the living and dining areas from their outdoor equivalents; spacious verandas cooled by the breeze from the sea and scented by lavender shrubs.  From here there are two more temptations – to laze on the neat, lush lawn or follow a short set of steps down to a uniquely private swimming pool.

The master bedroom overlooks all of this, but it is the interior of this room that is really intriguing.  The king-size bed takes predominance in the centre of the room, and the wall separating it from the en-suite bathroom is made up of frosted glass panels that can be slid aside to reveal the luxurious freestanding stone bath, whether to be social while bathing or simply to admire its sculptural beauty.

The other two bedrooms open on to another garden which can also be accessed via the kitchen.  This garden seems almost secret, a glorious surprise addition to the rest of the house.  Left to grow a little more wild, it glories in its indigenous foliage, and little paths meander here and there.  A swathe has been cleared in the middle to allow yet more room for basking in the sun, but there are also various shady spots for an individual to retire with a good book.

The villa is superbly managed by Marcus Hoelper, who lives across the road, thereby affording complete privacy to the occupants while at the same time being on hand to deal with any issues that may arise.

Gryphon House is normally available at a rate of R 4495 per day in April.  Subscribers to the Cape Concierge newsletter can get a massive 28% discount on this rate, bringing it down to just R 3236 (£ 240, $ 475, EUR 359) per night.  Subscribers can also book Gryphon House for May through to August for just R 2750 (£ 204, $ 404, EUR 305) per night. For more information contact me on .

Upcoming Events

Due to the popularity of the ‘Upcoming Events’ section, I have now launched www.WhatsoninCapeTown.com . Take a peek!  Any feedback you may have will be appreciated.

Highlights on the new site include:

TRANS CAPE
24 March - 2 May
An inaugural large-scale exhibition of contemporary art featuring more than 60 African artists from over 19 countries showing work at 24 locations across the city of Cape Town.
www.capeafrica.org/exhibition.html

OLD MUTUAL TWO OCEANS MARATHON
7 April 
The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon is the world's most beautiful marathon and one of the largest timed races in SA, attracting more than 20 000 participants each year.
www.twooceansmarathon.org.za  

MY COKE FEST
1 May
A 12 hour rock festival, featuring Evanescence, Staind, 3 Doors Down, Hoobastank and the legendary Guns ‘n’ Roses.  What’s not to love?
www.computicket.com

MARY J. BLIGE IN CONCERT
16 May
The six-time Grammy award-winning R&B, soul, and hip-hop soul singer and songwriter will bring her smouldering stage presence to the Bellville Velodrome.
www.computicket.com

CAPE GOURMET FESTIVAL: RESTAURANT FORTNIGHT
18 - 27 May
South Africa's premier food, wine and lifestyle event takes over the Mother City for a fortnight of feasting.
www.gourmetsa.com  

NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF GOLF
4 - 10 June
An opportunity for amateur golfers from around the world to see the Garden Route and test their game on some of the finest courses in Africa. Great prizes up for grabs.
www.golffestival.co.za

Cape Town Book Fair
16 - 19 June
Readings, book launches, panel discussions and seminars. A joint venture between the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Publishing Association of South Africa (PASA).
www.capetownbookfair.com

TRI-NATIONS RUGBY: SOUTH AFRICA v. AUSTRALIA
16 June
The Boks face Australia at Newlands.
www.sarugby.com/news/Content/pid=17.html  

ISUZU BERG RIVER CANOE MARATHON
10 - 14 July
This 202km race has been held every year for over 40 years and is not only the longest canoe race in South Africa but one of the most strenuous and gruelling in the world. www.bergrivermarathon.org.za

HERMANUS WHALE FESTIVAL

21 - 24 September

Celebrate the peak of the whale-watching season in a town with the best land-based whale-watching in the world.

www.whalefestival.co.za