SA Soccer 2010

CAPE TOWN’S HOTSPOTS REVEALED

Katja Hamilton

The World Cup Soccer is hotting up, and while the world’s best football teams are battling it out on South Africa’s pitches, don’t forget to come up for air every now and again and get your taste of the best that Cape Town has to offer.

Be a tourist in your own town and explore it with new eyes.

Paging through the “Your Guide to Cape Town A-Z” included in The Big Issue’s 2010 FIFA World Cup™ special edition, opened up my eyes to how much we have to enjoy right on our doorsteps. The guide features listings from art, bakeries and comedy clubs to restaurants, markets and coffee shops. Everything that you’ve always wanted to know about Cape Town’s coolest hotspots is in here.

I liked these entries: Under “Art”: “Do yourself a favour while you’re here and go check out the From Pierneef to Gugulective exhibition at the Iziko SA National Gallery. This large exhibition, up until mid-September, represents a timeline of South Africa’s history in art, from the time of the formation of the Union of South Africa a century ago to the present [Government Ave, CBD/021-467 4660].” And this one under “Takeaways” got my tastebuds going: “In what may well become a disputed fact, The Big Issue readers have rated Biesmiellah [2 Upper Wale, Bo-Kaap/021-423 0850] as the reigning queen of the veg roti, with Sunrise Chip Ranch [94 Main Road, Mowbray/021-689 3250] coming in at a close second.

“In what may well become a disputed fact, The Big Issue readers have rated Biesmiellah as the reigning queen of the veg roti.”

One entry under ‘Jazz’ that really intrigued me and that I’d love to try out some time is that of the Rainbow Room. “At the Mandela Rhodes Place Lifestyle Centre [23 Church Street, CBD/021-422 1428], [this is] where local and international jazz stars perform regularly, often along with up and coming youth acts.”

There are loads more hidden gems like these listed in the guide.

“It’s the first time we’ve done something like this. There’s been a nice response especially from the tourism industry. I’m happy with it and we got more than enough listings for the guide,” said editor of The Big Issue, Melanie Bendix.

The initiative was the result of Cape Town Tourism and The Big Issue calling on the people of Cape Town to participate in sourcing the content by sending in their suggestions across a variety of themes using Facebook and Twitter. They were encouraged to suggest anything that they would like a 2010 FIFA World Cup visitor to experience in Cape Town.

“There wasn’t a big response from non-White communities so we don’t have enough of what to do in the townships or in the Cape Flats because we couldn’t shape or control the way people were going to respond, so I had hoped to get more diversity. But for tourists the “Your Guide to Cape Town A-Z” offers them something completely different from what they’re used to,” says Melanie.

“I’ve done a fair amount of travelling and I know what it’s like to be in a place where there’s this whole tourist veil and you know there’s this whole scene going on behind there which you’re not really invited to or you don’t know about. I’ve always managed to crack that and sneak behind the tourist veil to check what the locals are really doing – that’s always the best part of travelling. That’s what I want to achieve with this guide. I want the tourists to see that part of Cape Town behind the official guidebooks, to know to go to The Kitchen [111 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock/021- 462 2201] for a sandwich for example or to the Eastern Food Bazaar [The Wellington building, Darling St, CBD/021-461 2458], which is the mega home of Eastern takeaway. A tourist wouldn’t normally know that because no one tells them in the guidebooks, not so this time.”

“I’ve done a fair amount of travelling and I know what it’s like to be in a place where there’s this whole tourist veil and you know there’s this whole scene going on behind there which you’re not really invited to.”

The Big Issue provides employment to over 400 vendors. They, in turn, support some 1,500 people.

“The vendors are ideally positioned to be tourism ambassadors. We feel certain that this useful guide will push up sales and directly benefit these people during the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold.

So whether you’re a visitor to Cape Town, or like me, a local looking for a new way to experience Cape Town, look out for your Big Issue vendor and get a copy of the magazine today before July 9.

It’s only R18.