From a tour round the prison Nelson Mandela spent 18 years, by a fellow inmate, to spectacular Table Mountain views: Why you should escape to Cape Town

• There are few views that rival the impressive Table Mountain in Cape Town 
• Stay at the ocean-facing Cape View Clifton, which has only seven rooms
• Visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in captivity

By Mark Palmer for the Daily Mail

Published: 04:39 EST, 12 September 2015 | Updated: 04:41 EST, 12 September 2015

When the French astronomer Abbe Louis de la Caille made it to the top of Table Mountain in 1750, he observed no fewer than 10,000 stars and was so impressed that he named a whole constellation (Mons Mensae) after this iconic slab of stone.

Today, you’re likely to see almost as many tourists coming and going on the cable car or huffing and puffing on foot. 

But that’s no excuse not to join them — because once you get there the crowds become insignificant in such an exhilarating setting.

South Africa, Western Cape, Cape Town, Atlantic ocean, Table Mountain, Tafelberg, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront towards Table Mountain

We had allocated 45 minutes to wander about on the massive plateau, but it soon became almost two hours — and still, like Moses, we were reluctant to come down from the mountain.

There’s so much to do up there. You can hike, picnic, study the rock rabbits (hyraxes), admire the spiky plants that thrive with little in the way of soil, practise yoga, grow tipsy on the champagne air and even abseil down it if you dare.

And, of course, you can survey the scene from every angle: oceans to the left, oceans to the right, beaches down below, cloudless skies up above, Cape Point somewhere in the distance. 

I could live here, you think. In fact, perhaps only Rio has such a dramatic seascape. 

And just as that Brazilian honeypot has its favelas, Cape Town has its shacks and townships, teeming with black families waiting for proper housing. Grit is never far from glamour.

Many families have been waiting a long time, the queue barely shortening as more and more of Africa’s poor keep heading south, some 2.5 million from Zimbabwe in the past decade alone.

The city’s buzzing like never before in Cape Town — even the penguins have a spring in their step 

I was last here 21 years ago, a few months before the first democratic elections were held — and the transformation is astonishing.

The waterfront, buzzing with shops and restaurants, is a little too California for me, but it’s one of the city’s great success stories. 

By comparison, the town centre is still sleepy during the day and has largely avoided a full chi-chi makeover. 

When our guide said we were off to the bus terminal not far from the impressive old City Hall building, it was a case of following on trust.

Steenberg Farm in Constantia is the oldest vineyard in South Africa dating back to 1682, and even has its own golf course, bistro, spa, manor house and colonial-style rooms

Our reward was an introduction to a chef called David, one of several who run kitchens housed in cramped wooden shacks. 

Lunch here is ten times cheaper than on the waterfront and, somehow, ten times more atmospheric.

But perhaps our best meal was at trendy Test Kitchen, presided over by Luke Dale-Roberts, probably South Africa’s most celebrated chef. 

We stayed 30 minutes out of town for our first two nights, at Steenberg Farm in Constantia, the oldest vineyard in South Africa (1682). 

The whole place — its lush golf course, excellent bistro (wine tastings aplenty), intimate spa, manor house and colonial-style rooms — exudes charm and calm.

Spectacular views can be seen from the top of Table Mountain, which can be reached by cable car or on foot

Cape Town is a bubble compared with the rest of the country — and locals of every creed and colour seem to know that. 

I detected no smugness, no sense of entitlement. Rather, an acute awareness that this is a work in progress. 

And just as the physical backdrop plays such a huge part here, so too does the political backdrop.

I couldn’t find anyone with a good word to say about President Jacob Zuma. Some think he could be gone within 12 months, despite his term officially having almost four more years to run. 

Visiting a country that remains on a political knife-edge is exhilarating — and I was very much struck by how Nelson Mandela still has such a powerful influence; always will. 

His presence is everywhere: on street names, on billboards and, crucially, within the hearts of all South Africans.

We made the pilgrimage to Robben Island, where he spent 18 of his 27 years in captivity, joining a tour led by a fellow former inmate. 

Boulder's Beach, with its wind sheltered bays and safe sandy shores, is home to a breeding colony of over 2000 endangered African Penguins

It could be so much more interesting than it is, but if you’ve never done it, you must.

Visiting the penguins at Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town is a good idea, too. 

Then head back to the city via the False Bay villages of Kalk Bay (lunch at Harbour House was sensational and we loved the ramshackle shops), St James and Muizenburg, the latter described as the St Tropez of Cape Town, which may or may not be a compliment.

The swimming is colder on the west side of the Cape, but the views better. 

We stayed at the fabulous Cape View Clifton, which opened two years ago and has only seven rooms, all facing the ocean, all whites and greys, with soulful art and comforts of every kind.

Take a trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in captivity. Take a unique tour by a former inmate

It’s a glorious spot high above the beach, with Camps Bay round the corner. A beach house that feels more like a home than hotel.

You help yourself to drinks and jot it down; guests wander about in the kitchen chatting to the cheerful staff; no one wears shoes.

The sunset on our last night was the colour of the rosé swishing about in our huge wine glasses.

We drank deeply on both counts, painfully aware that the morning would bring a hangover made worse by the thought of flying home.

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