Cape Town, South Africa
Links
United British AirwaysTitle 14 Chapter II Subchapter D Part 382 Subpart E § HermanusEpic EnabledNoordhoek Village Hotel Farm VillageVillage Sushi restaurantFarm Village Deli Botanical GardensGroot CanstantiaVictoria Wharf Shopping CentreAfrikaansV&A WaterfrontCity GrillKristen’s Kick Ass Ice CreamVillage Sushi restaurantSignal HillTable Top MountainParaglidingTable Top MountainPenguin SanctuaryTramCape PointCape of Good HopeFlying Dutchman Two Oceans Restaurant ChilUnited
I chose to fly on United, British Airways was actually cheaper, but I had my caregiver call to ask whether they had an on board aisle chair that would take me to the lavatory, to which he had no idea what an aisle chair even was! Not to sound like an entire prick, but I do think if you work in sales of any kind, or customer service, you should probably know everything about what you are selling, even accessibility features that don't apply to you! According to the Code of Federal Regulations Title 14 Chapter II Subchapter D Part 382 Subpart E § 382.63 –
“(a) As a carrier, you must ensure that aircraft with more than one aisle in which lavatories are provided shall include at least one accessible lavatory.”
“(d) As a foreign carrier, you must comply with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section with respect to new aircraft you operate that were initially ordered after May 13, 2009 or which are delivered after May 13, 2010. As a U.S. carrier, this requirement applies to you with respect to new aircraft you operate that were initially ordered after April 5, 1990, or which were delivered after April 5, 1992.”
That law went into effect in 1990, but the law had no effect on airplanes that were in use. We are now seeing airlines buying new airplanes and those planes must have an accessible bathroom.
Whale Watching
Initially, I wanted to go whale watching in Capetown before the tour started, Capetown is known for their whale watch; but due to weather in the US, my flight got delayed then cancelled.
Here is the whale watching boat information because finding a wheel chair accessible boat was hard. The boat was called Hermanus, its weather independent, like rain weather, the rates for a 1.5 to 2 hour boat ride are based on the weather. Adults are R1320pp, students are R1220, children under 12 are R660 and children under 3 are free.
Epic enabled
We arrived in Capetown at night, Alfie was the lead guide and founder of Epic Enabled, he was waiting for us with Charles who assisted him and us during the tour. They both met us outside of customs with a sign for the van, just in case the group of tourists with mobility aides didn't give it away.
Most everyone speaks English in South Africa, traveling and not having a language barrier is pretty ideal.
Alfie and another driver drove us in 2 different vans so we weren't crowded! They both had a van with a lift in the back.
Where I stayed
We headed straight for our hotel, which was about 40 minutes away. It was called the Noordhoek Village Hotel. It was cute, homey and welcoming.
Set in a little courtyard with shops and restaurants, Farm Village. The hotel’s breakfast room doubled as a Village Sushi restaurant at night.
Near the rooms, they had lime and lemon trees that grew over the walkways, with chairs and tables outside each room.
There were four handicap rooms, the rooms were on the smaller size compared to the rooms in American hotels. The hotel had minimal décor, the light fixtures were very rustic, in the sense that they were just a bulb. I stayed in room number 19.
The bathroom was very big, it had enough room to roll me in and I could turn around. The toilet did have grab bars, just shaped differently than America's grab bars. They were too stiff and didn't really work well, for me that is. I was just happy that they had bars in the bathroom.
They had two sinks, a tiny sink next to the toilet (maybe so if you get poop on your hands, you can wash them before it turns into a shitty situation!!) And a bigger, main sink that was a roll under.
The shower was a roll in, they had a seat on the wall, and there were grab bars on two of the walls. They did have a glass wall that went half way and had an opening, not a fan of glass walls in showers, read why in my Johannesburg post. The shower was pretty good but, the shower floor mat was sharp on my sensitive feet, so I went in with my sneakers on. Making lemonade, out of lemons.
Farm Village Deli
One night, we went to the Farm Village Deli, we got fresh sour dough bread, dairy free cheese and olives, the food is very cheap compared to America. We also went to the produce market and got a lot of fruit.
Botanical Gardens
The first day the tour began, we went to the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful but very big. Alfie gave us a map of the wheelchair route.
Groot Canstantia
Next, we went to Groot Canstantia which is a winery. They gave us chocolate and wine. I was in a good mood!
Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre
We went to a huge, upscale indoor mall, Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre. My caregiver still didn’t have her luggage, we pretty much spent our time buying necessities for her; it provided the distraction I needed so I didn't spend all my money on clothing, so I was thankful for the distraction!
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We did a bathroom stop, the door was locked and no one was in there. They had this intercom on the wall, and out of nowhere, a mall employee came and started speaking Afrikaans and the door was unlocked!
V&A Waterfront
Afterwards, we went down to V&A Waterfront. We just walked around and shopped. They have a huge high end indoor mall, then a small outdoor shopping mall.
Then we went for dinner at City Grill. I definitely wanted to try traditional African food, so, while everyone else ordered chicken parm. I ordered the Zebra. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't order it again because next time it would be the Crocodile.
What else I ate
Every morning they had a complimentary breakfast or you could order from their menu, lox and cream cheese on a bagel or eggs made to order, or they had a complimentary buffet, they would make you coffee or whatever you wanted, their cappuccinos were to die for! Best I’ve had in the world so far. The waitress was extremely nice, I wish everyone was that nice!
Across from the registration desk was a living room area with a couch and a fireplace, when you walked out to the porch you could see a mountain across the way. Quite beautiful!
They had a cement courtyard with a few shops. One night we got Kristen’s Kick Ass Ice Cream, and they had a few dairy-free options!
One night we got back late and hadn’t eaten all day. We ate at the Village Sushi restaurant, we ordered vegan rolls and vegan Pad Thai, and vegetable spring rolls, heavenly.
Signal Hill
We drove up to Signal Hill. Where you had a great view of Table Top Mountain. They had built a giant picture frame.
There was this big blue foam mat on the edge of the hill. Soon after I found out, that that's where grown adults would jump off, to their death. (NO, I’M SO TOTALLY KIDDING!!!!) They were paragliding.
I was approached by one of the guys that worked there, he told me that they had a special chair for paragliding. #accessibleadventure I would have loved to try it, but I was already on a tour and didn't have enough time.
Table Top Mountain
Then we went to Table Top Mountain, where they had a cable car. That would spin 360 degrees to give you the view of the ocean and the mountain.
Here they had a walkway that went all around in a circle. Wheelchairs could easily go down a path with stairs at the end.
They did have a concession building, a little museum and a gift shop.
Boulder’s Beach
We had an early morning the next day. We went to the Penguin Sanctuary. I guess I thought they would be like a foot away, some ran under the boardwalk, but they were a little far away, wild & free.
Afterwards on our walk back to the van, we saw a lot of people setting up tables to sell trinkets. Tip** get there early for parking, it gets quite crowded!
Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope
They had a Tram that brought you up and down, the boarding point was level and no big gaps, we just rolled in. Cape Point overlooked the Cape of Good Hope. There was a little inlet with teal blue water, it was absolutely breathtaking. The most southern point of Africa.
Two Oceans Restaurant
Back down the Flying Dutchman and the zig zag ramp, we went to lunch at Two Oceans Restaurant with another couple from our tour. We got the vegan falafel platter.
The next morning we headed to the airport for our plane ride. Where we would fly on the South African Airway (I cannot find their website). I don't like it here but for disabled passengers you need a letter from your doctor and then they will help you. The security line was not long at all, there were probably like 5 people in front of me. Like in Chile they let me go through, they also sent my half full water bottle through the xray machine. And again her patdown on me was just a quick thing. We got to our gate and we had all the wheelchairs together. They put us on a transfer bus that lifted up like an elevator. The aisle chair that I got was like a child size chair. Then we boarded the plane and flew to Johannesburg.
