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Great travelling in 2002 PLEASE remember to include your email address for this ONLINE accomodation Booking form :
Your name(s):
**Email Address: "Please fill this in"
When would you like to arrive at The Green Elephant?
How long would you like to stay?
What accommodation are you requiring? All rates are before any discount
Would you like to be met at Cape Town International Airport
What is your flight number :
What is the time of arrival
My name is Robin and with the dog
Defa, I will try to make your trip to Cape Town memorable for all the right
reasons. I have backpacked in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania,
Kenya, Uganda and Egypt, as well as Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New
Zealand, Philippines, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and New
Orleans, USA! This is in addition to working in Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Syria
and Brunei. Backpacking is my hobby and passion. If you can help me with great
places to go to, please drop in and share your experiences.
We feel we can offer the best advice with a friendly smile in Cape Town, so
give us a question and we'll find your answer.
The Green Elephant is situated in the lively student area of Observatory.
Close to pubs and restaurants, public transport, shops, movies, sportsgrounds
and theatres it is well placed for a base in Cape Town while you enjoy the
benefits the Cape has to offer. Being in a student area, the pubs are full of
young people and prices are low . We are Not in the centre of the city!
Because we understand travelling on a budget, we continuously offer you the
best deals in Cape Town. There is no compromise on quality, only affordability.
We are here to enjoy ourselves too, so join us when we go parachuting, sailing,
hiking or just out partying!
We aim to be friendly and efficient !
FEATURES :
Laid back atmosphere with frequent sundowner trips ( sunset drinks) and
braais (BBQs)
Solar heated swimming pool for those hot days
Hot Jacuzzi for those enjoyable relaxing evenings
Top quality Double rooms with 4 poster beds
Beach and mountain walking trips
Free tea and coffee
Clean and hot showers
Spacious living area with local information, tourist information and local
subscriptions to The Mail and Guardian , Out There Magazine, Getaway
Magazine for the best Action sports and current SA news
Pool table, drinks and music
Views of Devil's Peak, Table Mountain and Lion's Head, plus to the beach
at Milnerton
Cape Town has a magnetic attraction that draws people back
time and again. It is not anything specific or necessarily unique, but a
combination of factors that add up to a great city.
Cape Town has a wealth of places to see and things to do. You should
not be bored during your stay in our city!
Table Mountain - a National Monument and the landmark of Cape Town
Parliament - buildings that have seen tremendous change over the decades
Robben Island - prison where Nelson Mandela was held
Planetarium and Museum
Two Oceans Aquarium filled with life from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans
Victoria and Alfred Waterfront
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens –
Cape Point Nature Reserve – The meeting points of The Atlantic and Indian
Oceans
Boulders Beach Penguin Colony – Africa's only mainland colony
Seal Island boat trips in Hout Bay – Cape fur seals abound
Township Tours – See and experience the vibrant life of recent and not so
recent migrants to our cities.
Bo-Kaap walking tour – The old cobbled area of Cape Town prviously known
as The Slave and Malay Quarter
District 6 Museum – Relating the stories of a lost and relocated community
in the apartheid days
Castle of Good Hope – Well renovated and with fantastic old Cape Furniture
Greenmarket Square – Crafts and African arts daily
Greenpoint Market – Weekends of huge crafts and arts
From our latest guests : 80% say because : Friends have told me
about it and The Lonely Planet says "its a happy place"
and I've heard good reports about you up through Africa 10%
say : I found you on the Internet And the other 10%... Well, they are as
important to us as the rest of you!
If you have stayed with us before, you can also send us a
message for the
We organise trips to The Wine Route - excellent day out in the country
sampling SA wines . Go with South Africa's Big Brother hero - Ferdinand!! see him on www.bigbrothersa.com
Cape Peninsula - have a great walking/cycling session in The Cape Point
Nature Reserve and tour the whole Peninsula, seeing the resident penguins at
The Boulders and enjoy the winding coastal route on Chapman's Peak Pass.
Whales - day trips to Hermanus to see the Southern Right and Humpback
whales close in to shore from June to November
Township Tours - an interactive tour around the old and new townships of
Cape Town and a history of their development through th apartheid years to the
present day.
Sunset yacht trips in Table Bay with the excellent backdrop of Table
Mountain
Robben Island - and a tour around the prison where Nelson Mandela was held
Renting a car gives you the most flexibility for travel on your holiday.
There are frequently special deals for Backpackers, including unlimited mileage,
no drop off fees and fully inclusive insurance. At peak season times, though it
can be very difficult to organise a cheap one, so it is better to plan a car
rental well in advance. We can do all the bookings for you. Just email us
with your dates, where the car is to be collected and dropped off and how long
you require it for, and we'll organise the best deal for you.
The Baz Bus – South Africa’s Hop-On Hop-off Backpackers
Bus
We Know Southern Africa Door To Door
The BAZ BUS is a door to door service for
backpackers travelling around South Africa. You buy a ticket for the section of
travel you wish. You can get on and off as often as you like. It picks you up at
your hostel and delivers you to your next stop! It's as easy as that ! You can
buy your ticket by emailing us greenele@iafrica.com
with your planned route and we'll issue the ticket. If you change your dates or
pick-up point, it is only a phone call away!
The Baz Bus : Hop-on Hop-off Backpackers door to door Bus –
Johannesburg to Durban to Cape Town and Return. With connections to Mozambique
and Swaziland.
Regular Schedule in both directions. Excellent value.
Travel Update!! Most overland companies are
avoiding the Caprivi Strip at present and travelling to Victoria Falls via Maun
and Chobe in Botswana, but the Caprivi is now opening again.
If you are keen on a great Southern African experience, then
the trip from Cape Town to Victoria Falls is a winner. There are several
companies doing this trip with a slight difference in their itineraries, but
their route is essentially .
You travel up through the Cedarberg Mountains
past the citrus growing area of the Western Cape to The Orange River. This is
the border between South Africa and Namibia. You can have a relaxing canoeing
trip down the river. Next stop is the Fish River Canyon, the 2nd largest
canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon. It travels through desert landscape
to a small oasis with a hot spring at Ai-Ais. From here you travel to the
huge Sand dunes at Sossusvlei, the largest in the world. Torment your legs with
a climb to the top of a big dune and look further afield into the sea of
sand. Then it is down to Swakopmund at the coast for some sandboarding and
the cold Atlantic Ocean fed by the Benguela Current easing up from the
Antarctic! Swimming only for the hardy or just foolhardy. We bush camp at Spitzkoppe, an amazimg rock outcrop formation in the desert-like surrounds. The first signs of
African game come at the Etosha National Park, pans that supply wildlife with
their water. The floodlit waterholes at the overnight camps enable you to see
all the nocturnal animals coming in to drink, but don't fall asleep as you may
miss a dangerous animal looking for easy prey... Watch the gemsbok,
springbok, kudu and wildebeest avoiding lions, hyenas and other carnivores. An
excellent game reserve. On towards Botswana now, back via Windhoek to avoid the Caprivi Strip. Keep an eye out
for crocodiles, but the water is refreshing and cleans off some of the Etosha
dust. The Popa Falls are under threat of damming, so enjoy them whilst they
last. The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a paradise of birds, water, game and
tranquility. Take a trip in a dugout canoe - mokoro - poled by a skilled
waterman through the narrow channels of the Delta. You may see hippos,
crocodiles as well as lechwe, sitatunga ( buck only found in the Delta ) and
waterbuck in abundance. There are also loads of elephant and other animals to
keep the adrenalin levels high. The Delta is fed from the north from the
Southern highlands of Angola. Namibia is threatening to drain water from the
Kavango River to supply Windhoek with more water. For more information on the
potential ecological disaster, see After your trip into the Delta, it is on
to Zimbabwe and the famous Victoria Falls. Whilst the town has recently become a
tourist trap, there are excellent but expensive activities to enjoy. The
White Water Rafting below Victoria Falls is arguably the best one day trip in
the world! There are several companies running them, Shearwater, Sobek, Safari
Par Excellence all run trips daily for the same price. They are all highly
recommended. In addition you can canoe above the Falls, Bungi Jump off the
bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia, take a micro-light flight over the Falls,
parachute out of an aeroplane, play golf at the smart Elephant Hills hotel
course or just have a relaxing cruise up the Zambezi River, draining the boats
supply of refreshments! From here your tour leaves you on your own and your
driver and tour guide head back to Cape Town to start again... We can
recommend the best value companies that run this route The main difference
between them is frequency of trips, type of vehicle used, cost, training of
guides and food. If you are planning well in advance, you can choose to plan
your flights around your overland trip, but most people decide to plan their
overland trip around the dates that suit the rest of their holidays!
The Kruger National Park is South Africa's largest game reserve, about
the size of Wales! On the western side are numerous private game reserves and to
the East is Mozambique where there are already plans to create a huge park with
no boundaries, so that the animals have unrestricted freedom of movement.
The wildlife is still excellent, and the park is very well managed.
There are some excellent Backpacker trips to The Kruger National Park. They
will collect you from your hostel in Johannesburg or Pretoria, take you to the
park and return you to your hostel 4 days later. All you need to remember is
your camera and sleeping kit! The wildlife will provide the rest.
Zululand Kwazulu-Natal has some excellent
scenery and game reserves. Tekweni EcoTours based in Durban runs superb tours to
Zululand including Hluhluwe ( pronounced Shlue Shlue We! ) and Umfolozi. Their
trips are return to Durban and last 3 days. Highly Recommended !
Try this awesome abseil down the front face of Table Mountain
with the professionals at Abseil Africa
Bungi jumping
Jump the world's highest Bungi at 216 m off the Bloukrantz
bridge near Plettenberg Bay, or just out of Cape Town's own cablecar!
Canoeing and River Rafting
There are several excellent trips from Cape Town. The
Orange River is a favourite which is a 4 or 6 day trip up in the permanently
sunny part of South Africa on the border with Namibia. There is also the Breede
River which goes through the Winelands of The Western Cape for 1 to 3
days.
Climbing
Richard
Behne is a fully qualified and registered Mountain Guide. He can advise you on
any aspects of climbing in Southern Africa. He also can send you up Mount
kilimanjaro and Mount kenya! He runs beginner courses from 1 to 3 days,
depending on your requirements. Email us for more details.
Cape Town has 2 distinct diving conditions in the Open Atlantic on the
West side of the Cape Peninsula and the enclosed False Bay side with the warmer
waters, soft corals and plenty of fish. The preferred sites depend on weather
conditions, mainly the wind direction. There are several well known wreck sites
to be enjoyed. PADI dive courses are recognised world wide and are
competitively priced including all equipment.These courses run
every Monday.
Great White Shark diving
For a tremendous thrill, try diving in a cage with Great White
Sharks. These fish travel vast distances between feeding grounds across the
oceans and have had very poor press, especially after JAWS and its sequels. They
are at the top of the food chain and are a protected species as a result of
man's relentless hunting of them. They are surface feeders, which means that
even if you are not in the water when they are close to the boat, you still see
them well. An experience you will never forget...
Sandboarding
Sandboarding is a relatively new sport to take advantage of our
sand dunes and make up for our lack of snow! You can do it lying down or on
snowboards, but beware... it is fast, scary and addictive.
Kloofing –SUICIDE Gorge is excellent this
summer!
Kloofing is a unique South African term for a
combination activity of walking, swimming and jumping. It involves following the
course of a river, usually from the top. The major excitement is jumping off
cliffs into the fresh water from huge heights! If you mention kloofing to South
Africans, they usually regard you as crazy, especially if you have done the
famed SUICIDE Gorge. It is a full day trip involving over 15 km walking, jumps varying from
3 to 16 m that are compulsory and plenty of swimming. The area is in a
Conservation Zone and access is strictly controlled. The vegetation is the Cape
fynbos including the National flower, the Protea. The scenery is simply
fantastic. At the end of summer you can also see the Western Cape emblem, the
Disa, a wild orchid. If you are an active person, it will probably be one of
your best days ever! But you have to be fit, keen and slightly wild...
Mountain Biking
There are some excellent Mountain Biking trails around Cape
Town, including Downhill runs off Table Mountain and through the Cape Point
Nature Reserve. You can also head off through the vineyards of Constantia. In
Stellenbosch you can go down the Course for the World Championships held a few
years ago.
Tandem Paragliding
There is a fantastic flight from Lion's Head down towards Clifton and Camp's
Bay beaches, flying down to land in front of La Med Bar and Restaurant between
Camp's Bay and Clifton. An amazing experience for a flight of fancy!
Parachuting
Parachuting in South Africa is relatively inexpensive. For a beginners
course, training takes place every weekend. For the
thrill of floating to Mother Earth, whilst maintaining control over your nerves
and bowels, it is an experience to be enjoyed, related, and enjoyed again...
Tandem parachuting with the Backdrop of Table Mountain and the Cape peninsula
is amazing! Try it and scare me to death.... You stupid people!
Sea Kayaking
Sea kayaking is a tremendous sport that is enhanced by the
backdrop of Table Mountain. We usually paddle out from Three Anchor Bay along
towards Clifton beach, in the lee of Table Mountain and Lion's Head. There are
whales, seals , dolphins and penguins around us at different times of
year. We also do trips up the West coast to Paternoster and St Helena Bay,
where you also see dolphins and can catch your own crayfish in season. A great
activity and you do not need any experience! (Although on my 10th trip on a dead
calm day, but in front of an armada seeing off The Whitbread Yacht Race, I
personally managed to amuse the crowd by simply falling out of me kayak! It is
easier to fall out of a bathtub, so I am reliably informed.
I am finding it harder to stay in touch with past guests as the
time passes, but email is a wonderful thing!
If it is an original comment that doesn't infringe netiquette, I'll post it
here! If you have stayed here before, please send me a message and some
friendly abuse!
Email Address: Your
name(s): What do you have to tell me?
A message from Dave in Townsville, see his webpage by clicking
here! A message from Mads - 17th July 1998 Hello,
everybody. I fell for the temptation and
went to South America. It's good to be travelling again, though it will never
quite match my time in the Green Elephant (that was one of the most nauseating
cliches I could come up with at the moment, I'll see if I can do better the next
time.). I arrived in Colombia three weeks ago, and apart from the odd guerilla
attack at the border to Ecuador, everything went fine. I spent the last two
weeks taking spanish classes in Quito, to at least have some remote clue of
what's going on around me. I enjoyed the hospitality of an extremely catholic
family, complete with a blood dripping crucifix above the bed reminding me that
I will burn in hell for my mortal sins. Now my spanish has improved greatly, and
I feel up to the challenge of seeing what Ecuador has to offer. I'll probably
write you later. Give my love to Jane and Richard (I expect they are still with
you!), and obviously Defa. Love Mads. Nope I will never forget the Green
Elephant a dutch weirdo
Hi Robin and Defa Here is Andreas from Germany things are doing well for me,
i hope for you too!! I am planning coming to SAfrica for a short Climbing trip
at the end of November. Give my regards and best wishes to all who know me. Take
care Excuse this fuc..bad English Andreas from Germany *the man who was
incredibly involved in a lot of stuff!_!_(*just a joke((:
hi Robin and Defa, Thank you very much for
the message - good fun to hear from you now and then. I enjoyed my time in SA
very much and will go back one day but have to work hard before next trip. I
watched the soccer game between South Africa and Denmark - a good game with a
lot of action (a crazy judge). Otherwice we don't have much to worry about in
tiny Denmark. WE all "escape" to south europe this summer (it is raining all the
time) - I am of in two hours. Have fun! TINA from Denmark
Jan is trussed up in Sweden, loving his work.: Latest email July 98:" Hi
Robin! It's a defenetly a cool pic, don't you think...:) How is Defa? Still
going strong? I will try to go visit Oli & Co in Germany this summer and try
to arrange a new Africatrip next christmas. I miss southern Africa badly. Keep
up the good work.. Cheers // Jan
Jan has sent out a great photo of flying Defa. If you want a copy emailed to
you, drop us a line...
since i don´t know who is in chage of the office at the
moment or who of the people i met at your wonderfull place are still with you
.... this to everybody who is interested in. greetings to everybody !! the best,
sus
Kerstin and Carsten are back again! Hey Jane! I just got one question! Did
they make it? Did they arrive? That would give me hope for my trip in december.
Talk to you later, love, Oli Greetinx to all of you incl. Carsten and Kerstin
Franceso wrote : I had a lovely time, even if I had to
sometimes share the Elephant with the dregs of Australian backpackers... oh well
such is life... now I am surrounded by 16 million dregs! ARRRRRGHHHH (again)" so
hope his golf is improving!
Hey Arthur! Bloody get back to England and it's raining! Had a lovely time
while staying there, it was like a dream, it feels so strange to be back here,
it was amazing etc. etc.(there you go Arthur, just for you!)
thank you for the news bulletin! hope you all are allright down there! the
summer up here has been rainy so far, but the tempereature is fairly ok, so it
is possible to climb.(when i am not working, shit!!!)
To Robin, Jane, Arthur, Daniel, & Defa. Thank you all for a very
enjoyable stay. I stay in some flash hotels when working, but a good backpackers
is more fun.
A special thank you to Jane for changing my flight and arranging my
itinerary. That was a level of help and service that I have never found from a
major hotel chain.
