Cape Town - Shades of San Diego

I’D BEEN TOLD CAPE TOWN, South Africa, is much like San Diego in both appearance and climate, but I’m still astonished at the myriad similarities. To begin with, they both have busy harbors next to their downtown areas, and both are popular destinations for cruise ships year around, thanks to their temperate climates.

Both have a distinctive land mass visible from the city. In San Diego, it’s Point Loma. In Cape Town, it’s the famous Table Mountain, as well as Lion’s Head, a rocky peak that looks like a lion in profile. Both cities have suburbs that are well known in their own right. We have the rocky shorelines and beautiful beaches of La Jolla and Del Mar. Cape Town has Camps Bay, Clifton and Bantry Bay. We have the affluence of Rancho Santa Fe, and they have Bishops Park, a gorgeous residential area nestled at the base of Table Mountain.

As in San Diego, there are many elegant hotels along the Cape Town waterfront near the city center. We stay at The Twelve Apostles, a small but fabulous five-star hotel and spa just 15 minutes from the center of the city (at the base of the Twelve Apostles mountain range and overlooking the shoreline of Camps Bay).

It reminds me so much of La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Even the view from The Twelve Apostles’ highly acclaimed restaurant, Azura, is much like looking out at the La Jolla coastline from the Sky Room at the top of La Valencia.

In San Diego, we can visit the continuously expanding vineyard region in Temecula. In Cape Town, you can choose between the wine-growing regions of Stellenbosch and the Hemel-en-AardeValley. We visited Bouchard Finlayson, a small winery located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus Bay. It’s dedicated to making pinot noir, Chardonnay and sauvignon blanc wines of outstanding quality. We were so impressed by the Chardonnay that we brought several bottles on our cruise. We also went to the Marine, a Relais & Chateaux hotel in Hermanus Bay, for a delightful lunch. For a wild-animal experience in San Diego, there’s the world-class San Diego Zoo, or the even more realistic Wild Animal Park. From Cape Town, you drive just two and a half hours and you’re in a real wild animal park. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve doesn’t compare to any other place in the world. This magnificent Relais & Chateaux resort accommodates only 32 guests and offers a complete spa and a truly gourmet dining experience. It’s over the top in every aspect. Our room was sensational, with a swimming-pool view and a fireplace in the living room. The name of the resort relates to the numerous Bushman paintings in the caves all over the property. There are more than 130 rock-art sites dating back some 10,000 years.

We had a marvelous driver for our trip to Bushmans Kloof. He was born and raised in South Africa and related many interesting facts about the areas we passed through on the way to the resort. You can also fly to Bushmans Kloof, but you’d miss the extraordinary scenery and constantly changing topography en route. Our last two days in Cape Town were spent aboard the luxurious Crystal Serenity. This time in port gave us the opportunity to take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, visit the famous Kirstenbosch Gardens and shop at the Waterfront, a sensational mall much like Fashion Valley if it were on San Diego’s waterfront.

The sail away from Cape Town offers a spectacular view. So beautiful and, in many ways, so similar to home.

IF YOU GO

South African Airlines (800-722-9675) flies round trip from San Diego to Cape Town. An economy-class special fare is $1,360; premium class is $9,395 . . . Rooms at The Twelve Apostles Hotel range from $626 to $1,233. For more information, go to the Web site at 12apostles.com . . . Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve rooms range from $316 to $585; go to relaischateaux. com/site/us/rc_bushmans.html . . . For Cape Town wineries, call Arnelle Kendall at 561-659-5800 . . . Cruises aboard the Crystal Serenity start at $2,700 per person (double occupancy) for a seven-day cruise. For more information about Crystal Cruises, go to crystalcruises.com or call 866-446-6625.

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