Damhuis Restaurant and Melkbos Beach - Cape Town, South Africa

Damhuis Restaurant is the latest restaurant to make it onto my breakfast favourites list. The building itself is rich in history and is perfectly situated just over the road from the main beach in Melkbos, making it a lovely place to start the days adventures before heading over to the rock pools and beach.

The outdoor section has a well thought out play area cleverly set in beach sand perfect for toddlers to play and build sandcastles. There is also a wooden ship and lighthouse complete with a slide, lookout deck and monkey bars that Max and Goose absolutely adored playing on. The play area is located at the back of the restaurant, which makes it easy to watch the children while enjoying your meal. The restaurant is also pet-friendly.

The breakfast menu has delicious and affordable options for adults and children alike (breakfast served til 11h00). Bug and Goose devoured the french toast, and the adults at our table enjoyed Poached Eggs Hollandaise and Large Breakfasts. The service was sharp despite the restaurant being fairly busy, staff were friendly, and the food was delicious with eggs cooked exactly according to our requests.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I'd love to come back to try some of the seafood options for a lunch or early dinner. The beach theme and decor make it feel like you are on holiday, and the inside and front sections of the restaurant (with a view of the beach) would also make for a lovely location for a date night.

After breakfast we walked across the road (there is a zebra crossing right in front of the restaurant and vehicles were great about stopping as we crossed) and went to the beach. The beach itself is nice and flat so a perfect place to take older family members who may usually struggle walking on loose sand dunes.

What I love about Melkbos beach is that there are shallow rock pools to explore, people fishing and paddling, children flying kites or surfing, and there is a long stretch of clean breach sand to walk or run on. It's a lovely family-friendly place to go - just don't forget to pack some beach towels and sunblock!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, I hope that you and your own family take this idea and turn it into your own adventure! 

Kid Friendly Nursery - Stodels Bellville, Cape Town - Cape Town, South Africa

Stodels Garden Centre in Bellville is one of my favourite places to take the kids. Outside near to the back of the nursery is a restaurant with two lovely big play areas either side. To the right is a wooden playground with swings, bridges and jungle gyms, as well as a large trampoline set into the ground. On the left is a train shaped jungle gym, a few rocking horses and cute tree triangular tree houses which the kids adore. Prior to the national lock down there was also a jumping castle, but for now this has been removed.

The food at the restaurant is fair but not spectacular, and when it gets busy the service can come to a screeching halt, so coming here with hungry kids is a risky move! We like stopping here for a coffee and a basic snack, and only when the restaurant is quiet. 

Behind the restaurant is an Animal Park which you do not pay to walk through, although for a small fee you can purchase feed for the animals. There are llamas, goats, sheep, ducks, pigs and monkeys. Last year they had a sweet little pony named Bonsai, as well as some rabbits and guinea pigs - which may have permanently left, or just temporarily relocated during the winder months (I'm hoping for the latter).

Prior to the national lock-down there was also a little train, a merry-go-round and a few other child friendly activities the kids could enjoy for a small fee. I am hopeful that once the lock-down subsides the rides will return.

In the inside section of the nursery, over in the far corner, is a Snake Park, which we would have missed if it weren't for a friendly staff member who pointed it out to us. For a small entrance fee, you can walk through the park, and the staff make it into a fun and educational experience for the kids...and if you brave enough, you can also pay to have your photo taken while holding a snake!

The nursery itself has a nice variety of plants and flowers, and we can never resist taking home a small garden decor item (as per the pictures below) on or way out. 

Bug and Goose love helping me water, plant and prune plants, and in a world where so much that our children are exposed to centers around instant gratification, I am very happy that they have developed a keen love for the slow, deliberate and rewarding process of gardening.

 

Kid Friendly Nursery - Cape Garden Centre, Joostenbergvlakte - Cape Town, South Africa

 

Spring has finally arrived and this means that Bug, Goose and I are exploring kid-friendly nurseries!

Our recent find was Cape Garden Centre in Joostenbergvlakte. Here we started off with a breakfast at Bamboo Restaurant which was fairly priced and enjoyed by all three of us. Bug even said it was the best toasted egg, bacon and cheese sandwich he has ever had - high praise! 

The restaurant is decorated in a natural wood theme and there are sturdy wooden baby seats for little ones. There a small but lovely play area right next to the tables, enclosed on three sides - convenient for parents who want to be able to sit and enjoy their food and keep an eye on the children as they play. Despite being a fairly small play area, it has lots of charm! The walls are painted beautifully, and with a jungle gym (with a cute bridge and fireman pole), little play house and wooden toys, even my 6 year old enjoyed playing here. 

 

At one point a couple of very tame wagtails came to eat the crumbs Goose had dropped, and once the kids were finished eating they each got to go on the R5 kiddies ride. They may be getting a little big for these kinds of rides - but that didn't seem to bother them one bit, and they have already asked when we will be going back!

The nursery itself is huge with a wonderful variety of plants, flowers, trees, planters and succulents. We managed to find a fairy theme bird house as a birthday present for a family member, and had a wonderful time exploring the grounds. I got a few flowers for our garden too, which were very well priced.

Right next door to Cape Garden Centre is Bugz Play Park, which we haven't visited yet, but I hear it's a great place to take younger kids too.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I hope that this idea translates into a lovely adventure for you and your family. 

Contour Path Waterfall Hike - Cape Town, South Africa

This August we decided it would be a good time to introduce the kids (4 and 6) to hiking as we frequently go on nice long walks, often with some incline, so the have had a chance to build up some stamina and a passion for being in nature.

I would definitely suggest first getting your children used to walking for longer periods at a mild incline before attempting any sort of hike. A great starting place would be the Majik Forest in the Northern Suburbs, or the Alphen Trail in the Southern Suburbs.

As my husband is an avid hiker he suggested we start with Cecilia Forest and do some of the Contour Path, with the aim of trying to make it to a stunning large waterfall situated at the bottom of the Skeleton Gorge path. He picked this route because it is quite heavily trafficked on beautiful Cape Town days, there is a fair amount of shade, there is not too much heavy incline, and there terrain is varied with a few lovely smaller waterfalls along the way.

From the Cecilia Forest parking lot on Rhodes Drive the path started out wide with a steady uphill section and little shade. Once we got through that first portion of the hike and entered a more wooded section, the kids got really excited! We crossed a lovely stream, posed for pictures under huge trees that seemed to touch the sky, and marveled at some beautiful flowers.

 

We then walked uphill for a short while to where the path opened up to a treeless section with stunning views of the Southern Suburbs below. We stopped here so the kids could catch their breath and sip on some water, and for me to take some family photos. 

Note: I strongly suggest packing lots of small snacks, plenty of water, and taking plenty of short breaks along the way. Hiking with kids really does remind you to stop and just enjoy the sounds, smells and scenery around you.

In the next section of the hike the path became narrower and a bit steeper and we made sure to hold hands and had our kids walk on the left hand side, away from the edge, wherever there was any drop (even a mild one). Instilling caution without causing fear is important to us as parents, and I do strongly suggest that if your children are not yet at the age where they can consistently follow clear instruction or understand the potential dangers associated with hiking, rather wait until they are a little older.

That being said, if they are ready, and if you are cautious, I believe hiking with children can be a wonderfully rewarding experience. One of the many highlights of our hike was when 4 year old Goose asked to pause for a rest, and ended up sitting and staring out at the view for about five minutes before we continued on our way. 

We then reached a sign which read "Welcome to Kirstenbosch" and then another smaller one directing us upward to The Contour Path. 

The next part of the trail was fairly long and flat, which was a nice break from the previous inclines. Here we passed a stunning array of purple, white and pink flowers, had to dodge the occasional trail runner or cyclist, and let a few other hikers (many with their dogs) pass us as we continued on our slow and steady pace, stopping frequently to admire our surroundings. As we got closer to the mountain peak ahead of us, we started to hear the sound of gushing water ahead, and came to a lovely ravine.

  

In this next section of the forest, close to the ravine, the terrain changed dramatically. We were all entranced by the moss covered rocky outcrops,  tiny "fairy waterfalls" trickling in the bush, and beams of light peaking through the trees. It felt as though we were a hundred kilometres from the nearest town.

Just a short walk further along we came to Nursery Ravine, where we met a group of Sanparks patrollers. My husband spoke with them for a while, the kids played in the water, and I took dozens of photographs.

 

After some time, we decided it was to head on, taking a right to continue along the contour path. 

The next section of the trail was the most nerve-wrecking for me as a Mom. There was quite a sheer drop beside the path, and we held our children's hands tightly as we walked along. It was at this point that Bug and Goose started to get a bit of jelly legs too. If it weren't for the sound of the waterfall getting louder with each step, and the excitement bubbling in our bellies, I don't think the kids would have pushed on at this point. 

We continued straight past the sign to turn left and up to Skeleton Gorge, and arrived at the most incredible, gushing waterfall. The kids were shrieking with excitement, and we all knew that this last section of the trail had been worth it! We stopped for a picnic and spent ages playing in the river, the kids hopping from rock to rock until they could touch the waterfall, giggling as the spray hit their cheeks. I was happy I had my Vibrams on so I could walk in the water!

   

On the walk back we decided to take a shorter route, and turned left at the Smuts Pad Rock. We made our way down  fairly steep, shaded path, and then turned right onto a wide gravel path running along the area just above Kirstenbosch Gardens. The flowers were stunning and the kids saw dozens of black lizards sunbathing. 

  

The easier return trail meant that we were all very surprised when we passed right by the Kirstenbosch irrigation dam in such a short space of time.

This hike would have taken most folk 2-2.5 hours, but took us close to 3.5 hours...which flew by!
We had a wonderful time and will be looking for the next kid friendly hike soon.

The icing on the cake was Max finding a painted rock on the final leg of the path which said "Paradise isn't a place, it's a feeling". 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope that you enjoyed it, and that the idea translates into your own awesome adventure with your kids.

Disclaimer: I am not a hiking or child development expert. Please use caution when hiking, always hike in groups or on busy paths, pay attention to the difficulty level, and stay within your own comfort zone. Most of all, be safe and have fun!

Rotary Blue Train Park - Cape Town, South Africa

The Blue Train Park has been going for over 60 years and is well worth the entrance fee of R28 per person! This small fee gives the kids access to numerous slides, jungle gyms, a bike track, an obstacle course, a mini soccer pitch, picnic spots and a 30m zipline, as well as a ride on the highlight of the park - the little blue train. You can purchase more train rides if you like -  but I would suggest first letting the kids explore the rest of the park. 

What I really like is that the variety of play areas meant that my fiery fearless Goose as well as my more cautious Bug were equally able to enjoy the outing. It's pleasant for parents too as it is enclosed, you can bring your own picnic along and you have a great view of the mountains and ocean!

It was a bit of a squeeze for me as a 1.8m tall adult to get into train, but seeing the expression on my kids faces as the train chugged noisily around the perimeter of the park, and hearing them shriek with excitement as the train passed through a small tunnel, made the squeeze very much worth it! 

Note: you may need to remind smaller children to stay seated and keep their arms inside the train, so parental supervision is a must. 

There is a 30m zipline which Goose (4) must have done 10 times - if your kids do want to use the zipline please ensure that an adult helps them to get set up and that they are old enough to follow the instructions to hold the handles in the right place and sit appropriately to avoid any accidents from taking place. 

I really enjoyed watching the kids play, and knowing that the only other people in the park were those who had also paid their entrance fees. Because you can bring along your own food this also makes for a nice, affordable kids birthday party venue (have a look at their website for more info).  

I didn't see a toilet, which is the only downfall if you are planning to spend quite some time here, but there are facilities a short walk from the park in the Mouille Point play area...more on that in an upcoming post.

I hope you enjoyed this post!