Bobsforgood Foundation

Heart Global & Cape Point Route are giving you the latest update into the fantastic new fun-raising and social event to hit Cape Town today (Monday 15th February). Bob Skinstad will be entertaining all as he gives up 2 weeks of his hectic schedule to campaign on behalf of the 7.5 million school children in South Africa that do not have shoes. Bob will be actively raising funds with your help for his ‘bobsforgood foundation’ which addresses this under valued social problem. heart are the champions behind the management and organization of the whole campaign.

bobsforgood was born out of the need to give pride and dignity to South African children who currently go to school barefoot. Bob saw an opportunity to provide full leather school shoes to disadvantaged children with a view to restoring their confidence and pride. Bob has taken it upon himself to launch an array of fun packed, fun-raising and interactive events all under the one campaign called ‘Walk This Way’. With your help and a little work Bob can make sure that children who need shoes go to school how they should – protected from the harsh African terrain and with a sense of dignity.

Listen to KFM from 8am on Monday to reveal the event's antics! Bob will live in a make shift jail cell for 5 nights at the V&A Waterfront’s Barrow Court from Monday 15th February to 20th February. Everyone is welcome to meet Bob, make a difference, have fun, win excellent prizes, meet Bob’s passionate team and learn more about the social space in South Africa. There is something in store each day for everyone! The aim of the ‘jail break’ is to raise as much funding as possible, so we can reach out and benefit the 5000 neediest children in the Cape.

Get involved! Do Good. Make that little bit of difference to restore the faith in 7.5million South African children. It's easy to give your bit. Visit www.bobsforgoodfoundation.org and donate securely online (bank details also on website to do a quick EFT). Not got internet? Call Bob's passionate staff on 0861 00 BOBS or why not come meet Bob in person and give him your pledge at the V&A Waterfront. Bob will personally call anyone who donates R5000 or more so make sure you supply Bob with your details!

Bob will be released at 10am on Saturday morning by Gerhard Pieterse, aka jail4bail. After a farewell speech at the Waterfront’s Amphitheatre, Bob will commence a community walk from the Waterfront to Newlands stadium. Everyone is welcome to join the walk to the JP Naude supporters club if you don’t have a ticket to the game. We fully encourage fancy dress, corporate colours, sports gear and anything that makes us look as colourful as the bobsforgood logo!

From Sunday 21st Bob begins the epic journey across the Western Cape visiting the neediest schools, making our donations with the public funds raised and of course meeting as many people as possible on our way! Bob needs as much funds raised to ensure we meet the needs of 4000 of the Cape's poorest children. Bob wants to shoe them all but he needs your help! For a full schedule of where we will be on each day please visit www.bobsforgoodfoundation.org

We return to Cape Town on Saturday 27th February after 2 huge donations in Paarl and Worcester where Bob will join the hundreds of rugby fans at Canal Walk food court to watch the Super 14s at 5pm.

The tour finale will happen on Sunday 28th February where Bob will lead happy drivers from Noordhoek Farm Village at 10am on a Peninsula tour heading back to the Waterfront. The tour is completely free to anyone who would like to join and is being organized by the magic of Sally Grierson of the Cape Point Route. Expect quirky events, lots of laughter, visits to some of the gorgeous attractions on the way and with the end of the campaign being at the Waterfront, grab a lovely lunch or come see Bob give his final speech in the Amphitheatre.

For extensive information on all the events please visit www.bobsforgoodfoundation.org
The site goes live Monday 8am!

If you want to get involved or simply get in touch, please contact Claire anytime on 021 442 9628 or 072 523 7282 or email claire@heartglobal.org

On behalf of Bob Skinstad thanks so much for any contribution you may make.

Romance on the Cape Point Route - sunset spots!

Weather is gorgeous, love is in the air and we think the having a perfect view spot to watch the sun set is one of the most romantic things to do on the Cape Point Route - so here our some of our hottest tips.

We do recommend visiting one of the local delis on the Cape Point Route to organise a private picnic basket and taking your loved one to spot for some wining and dining with views to die for and sunsets right over the ocean. If you are in Noordhoek - pop into the Foodbarn Deli at Noordhoek Farm village. In Hout Bay try Deli Delish or Scarecrows, In Kommetjie the organic farmstall at Imhoff Farm has wonderful home made, home grown produce. If you are near Cape Point - the newly revamped food Store has some fantastic deli products and take-aways for your picnic. And what's a deli if you haven't visited Olympia Cafe and Deli in Kalk Bay.

Picnic in hand, head for your spot and settle in. The sun sets on the Atlantic Seaboard and with a combination of mountain and sea as the backdrop and the view, you just can't get more romantic when trying to find a secluded romantic venue for sunset. We always recommend going HIGH!
Great locations include:
* Scarborough & Misty Cliffs - both have a wild edge to them but very secluded.
* Kommetjie - either head to the top of the Slangkoppunt Lighthouse for one of the best views on the Cape Point Route. Unfortunately you can't stay at the top for the actual sunset but walk across the road and up towards the Rubbi Chapel for some quiet space and beautiful viewing.
* Noordhoek - you can't beat the beach - the long, white, sandy space with sea and sky surrounding you!
* Chapman's Peak Drive - this remarkable road has to have the best view over Noordhoek Beach and you can view all the way to the lighthouse in Kommetjie! If you are on the Hout Bay side, stop at any of the picnic spots or the viewpoint at the top for glorious panoramas of Hout Bay and the Sentinal.

If you are on the False Bay side, you don't see the sun set but the glow in the sky, and pink hues and stunning views won't disappoint! Boyes Drive overlooking Muizenberg and Hout Bay win the award but heading up any of the hills above Fish Hoek, Glencairn or Simons' Town will do equally well. Drive as high as you can and there are numerous mountain paths that will have you alone on the mountainside in a few steps.

For More romantic ideas - contact Cape Point Route for our Valentines' specials.

Baboons on the Cape Point Route Matter

BABOONS ON THE CAPE POINT ROUTE: Published in CAPE UNPLUGGED January 2010
By Sally Grierson

Many visitors to the Cape Point Route will be excited to see baboons as they travel the scenic route from Simons Town to Cape Point. The antics of baboons entertain and delight tourists, and it is easy to understand the fascination our furry cousins hold – but unsuspecting visitors should be warned that the baboons of Cape Point have been taught some very bad behaviour – from the very visitors who find them so amazing.

Since the 1930’s, baboons along this scenic route have been recipients of food handed out by people en route to the famous Cape Point. The intelligent and opportunistic baboons have come to associate vehicles and bags with easy food rewards and have become skilled at opening car doors and grabbing bags.

But while head-on confrontations with baboons can be frightening, these curious creatures also have a smart, sensitive side to them, which is most clearly displayed when they are at ease in their natural environment, away from urban influences.

For baboons, life in the troop is full of drama – and to the observer this dynamic has the quality of a soap opera. The females are quick to take umbrage to perceived slights, yet equally fascinated by the babies of their friends. Quarrels flare up and die down with no grudges held, and the contented sighs and sporadic grunts as communication resumes are an intriguing indication of socialisation happening between troop members.

Baboons spend almost equal amounts of time grooming and resting as they do foraging for food. As they make use of a great variety of plants, bulbs, seed – and even insects – they have to work quite hard in order to meet their nutritional requirements.

Sadly, the future of these interesting creatures is not assured. Development on the Cape Point Route has mushroomed in recent years, causing ongoing human encroachment on wilderness areas. This has led to continual clashes between baboons and humans and high mortality rates for the baboons. Current statistics suggest there may not be a viable baboon troop left in the region within a decade.

But the Baboon Monitor Project may change this bleak outlook. Started 10 years ago, the initiative has considerably reduced the conflicts between primates over the past eight years by keeping baboons out of villages for roughly 85% of days. With the ongoing involvement of committed baboon monitors, the people of Cape Town may yet find a path to peaceful co-existence with our furry cousins.

FACT BOX:

Baboon Matters offers a once in a life time opportunity as their unique walking tours take you to visit baboons. The experienced guides ensure your safety at all times, whilst you have the amazing chance to learn more about the baboons of Good Hope.

The walking tours are suitable for all ages and all levels of fitness – but booking is essential as the groups are limited to just six people at a time. The Baboon Matters “Walking with Baboons" tours have been rated as a world class experience, and everyone who participates leaves with a great understanding and appreciation of the baboon families who have roamed the Cape Point Route for centuries.

Contact Baboon Matters on: 021 785 7493 or email baboonmatters@cybersmart.co.za

For information on any accommodation in the area, activities or regional attractions please contact Cape Point Route on 021 782 9356 or visit www.capepointroute.co.za

Beach Huts for Hire

Muizenberg beach is confidently characterised for it’s long stretch of white sand, with 2 rows of colourful beach huts, which were traditionally used as bathing boxes in Muizenberg’s heyday at the beginning of last century.
Today Muizenberg is regaining it’s fame as a hot spot of surf culture and the seafront and beach is crowded with surfers with flowing sun kissed locks, carrying various length boards and battling to stand in the gentle waves. Others are mere observers, sitting at the restaurants and cafes calming sipping on steaming capuccino’s and pretending to read the morning paper.

Further round the corner, kitesurfers try their luck at that combination sport of surfing and flying a kite – the latest in balance skills. Younger children shriek as the fly down the giant waterslide at the supertube, and others still put their best foot forward as they attempt the championship trophy of their own tournament at the mini –golf putt-putt.

Yes Muizenberg is buzzing and the bathing huts have prime viewing of all the action and activity that happens on Muizenberg beach. But here is the Cape Point Route HOT TIP of the day – I bet you didn’t know you could hire one to use yourself? Daily, monthly and annual rentals are possible – and for a bargain at today’s places. A day rental is R43.10 and a monthly rental is R299.20. Contact Edwin Genade at the City of Cape Town : edwingenade@capetown.gov.za if you would like to apply for a bathing box of your own.

I’d like to quote an excerpt written by Despine King/Burton in the book “Muizenberg Remembered” by Barbara Titley (2008) about her time as a child on Muizenberg beach around 1915. “In those days the beach was a very splendid one, dazzling white and stretching for countless miles, and a gently sloping floor. At low tide one walked a considerable distance to meet the first small waves. Very small children were allowed to swim unchaperoned as it is absolutely safe. High tide provided more problems as the waves broke high up the beach at the foot of the bathing boxes. No beach that I have seen in Europe, in North or South America, was as beautiful and safe as Muizenberg was in those early days. There were two rows of bathing boxes well to the left of the pavilion. Ours was number 18, a double box in the front row. I think that we had it for the best part of twenty years. The pavilion was in constant use by all the people who did not hire bathing boxes. Beyond the pavilion, close to the rocks below the railway line, was an area reserved for the young bucks of the day and their current girlfriends. We used to stand in great awe of them as we watched them on what were then called Hawaiian surfboards. The young men were extremely adept on these. Behind the bathing boxes was a long white stretch of hot sand where we warmed up after swimming.”

For additional information on what to see and do in Muizenberg or on the Cape Point Route please call +27 21 7829356.

Thanks to Peter Haarhof from Cape Photogaphic Company for some of these Muizenberg pictures!

Cape Point Vineyards opens a tasting venue

Cape Point Route is very excited to announce some hot off the press news from our favourite Cape Point Route wine estate - you guessed it Cape Point Vineyards! A new tasting facility has opened to the public offering a first hand opportunity to see what Cape Point Vineyards is all about. The tasting room has been a long awaited and much anticipated event for us local fans and we have no doubt that our visitors will be just as thrilled.

As their ninth year in production comes to an end, Cape Point Vineyards are finally in a position to welcome you to their new home!Having attended a special tasting and viewing I can highly recommend making a detour if you are planning on traversing Chapman's Peak Drive or visiting the Noordhoek Valley!

Cape Point Vineyards opened the doors to their new tasting room at our Chapmans Peak Estate on the 1st of November 2009. According to Duncan the tasting venue provides tourists and local wine-lovers with the opportunity to taste Cape Point's wines in their unique surroundings.

"People want to see where the wine is made and where the grapes grow. Offering wine-tastings and opportunities to purchase wines a stone's throw from the vineyards themselves enables us for the first time to bring our customers into this special environment that is the very essence of what Cape Point Vineyards is about."

Cape Point vineyards is proud to add a wine-tasting venue to the array of attractions visitors can enjoy in this special part of the world, so the next time that you travel through the beautiful Cape Point Route do stop and visit them at the new tasting room whether it be for a taste of our award winning wines, a cheese platter or to purchase a picnic basket to enjoy in any one of the areas magnificent sundowner spots.

Opening times:

Mon to Fri: 09:00 - 17:00; Sat: 10:00 - 17:00; Sun: 10:00 - 16:00

The Cape Point Vineyards Tasting Venue is on Chapmans Peak Estate, Chapmans Peak Drive, Noordhoek - literally just before the booms to Chappies.

GPS: 34° 5.697'S, 18° 22.288'E.

In other exciting news - Cape Point Vineyards reaped more awards in 2009.
Platter's once again awarded 3 of their wines with five stars!
2009 Cape Point Vineyards Isliedh (for the 4th consecutive year!)
Woolworths Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc
Cape Point Vineyards CWG Auction Reserve Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2008 Cape Point vineyards Sauvignon Blanc adn the 2007 Cape Point Vineyards Semillon were awarded DOUBLE GOLD at the Veritas Awards!

And finally more good news. Cape Point Vineyards has launched a new wine: a fantastic and unashamedly cloaked, vibrant and fruit forward Splattered Toad Sauvignon Blanc 2009.
The Splattered Toad is dedicated to their loveable neighbour, the Western Leopard Toad. Ever dodging traffic in nightly pursuit of refreshment, this rather large (up to 140mm) and beautiful amphibian remains endangered. To help protect it Cape Point Vineyards is donating R1 for every bottle sold to the CPV Sustainability Fund.

Retailing at approximately R38 per bottle, the Splattered Toad Sauvignon Blanc is available from their tasting room and from selected Cape Town retailers and restaurants. For more information please visit www.splatteredtoad.com

Jager's Walk in Fish Hoek is open!

One of the Cape Point Route's most loved amenities - Jager's Walk in Fish Hoek has reopened to the public after being closed for 15 months. Jager's Walk was closed after heavy storm damage in August 2008 for safety reasons.

Jager's Walk has been reconstructed & repaired and is once again filled with walkers, joggers and anglers. People of all ages can be seend along this gentle undulating path which takes you along the rocky coastline from Fish Hoek to Sunny Cove.

Informative sign boards explain the life history of the dolphins that play in these waters throughout the year and of the Southern Right and Humpback Whales that come during late winter and early spring to calve.

Access to Jager's Walk is via Fish Hoek Beach - a glorious kid friendly, white sandy beach with colourful Victorian bathing boxes that add a festive flavour. The beach is popular with wind surfers, lifesavers, paddlers and hobie cat sailors.

Look out for the trek fishermen who can often be seen pulling their haul onto Fish Hoek beach. Trek is the Dutch word for pull and refers to the pulling in of the fishing nets. Harders and yellowtail are the fish most frequently caught. In the early days of European settlement, fish were plentiful in False Bay and fishing was one of the major activities along with open boat whaling which took place until 1868. Fortunately the whales avoided extinction and are now one of the main attractions on the Cape Point Route between May and November. They are often seen from Jager's Walk.

After your walk, stop in at Fish Hoek Galley - a local and international favourite as one of the only restaurants quite literally on the beach. They have a huge range of cuisine - from sardines on toast to full seafood platters. Indulge under the umbrellas or in the big sunny open room. Drifters take way sells pizza, pasta, salads, burgers or ICE CREAMS to go! It's a great spot for parents who can enjoy a meal whilst the kids play on the beach or in the playground in full view of the parents who can then relax and enjoy a quiet meal.

For more information on Fish Hoek or the Cape Point Route please contact +27 (0)21 782 9356 or visit www.capepointroute.co.za

Emzantsi Carnival - Sat 5th Dec 09

The 2009 eMzantsi Carnival will take place on Saturday 5th December, and as it is the fifth time the annual event has been staged, it seems appropriate to make the theme "The Big 5". But the indigenous animals we aim to celebrate are not lions, giraffes or elephants but our local wildlife: the penguin, the whale, the baboon, the shark - and the leopard toad!

We will also take the opportunity to highlight the contributions 5 local celebrities have made to our cultural heritage. Nominations from the communities of the south peninsula will be welcomed in a competition later in the year.

Most excitingly, this year will see the return of the eMzantsi schools programme, with 10 lucky local schools being offered free workshops in carnival percussion skills, recycled costume making, interactive drama and diversity awareness in 5 'twinned' intercultural groups.

Spectators are advised to park at the Sun Valley Mall and walk down Ou Kaapse Weg to the fourway junction to watch the parade approach from each side of the Kommetjie Road from 10am. The free stageshow, compered by comedian Mark Sampson, runs from 12pm on the Sun Valley green opposite Pick'n'Pay, featuring a wonderful array of local bands, singers and dancers. Toilets and security are provided.

The Kommetjie Road will be partially closed between Masiphumelele and the fourway junction from 9.45am, and traffic delayed along Ou Kaapse Weg until 11.30am. Drivers wishing to get to and from Ocean View and Kommetjie are advised to go earlier or via Red Hill. If you want to go to the Longbeach Mall from Fish Hoek, please use Corsair Road.

For more information, email info@emzantsi.org.za or call 021 785 1515.