Cape Town: Slow Travel & Sustainability
Shaped by nature’s dramatic power, Cape Town is a city of continuous, inventive resilience. Join One Planet Journey’s Pamela Brennan, a Cape Town local, on a captivating slow travel exploration, where she lets the four vital elements – fire, water, wind, and earth – uncover the city’s most innovative local secrets. Find micro-adventures far beyond the usual tourist route: from the clever practice of cloud-fishing on Table Mountain to the restoration of Africa’s only working windmill, and a groundbreaking rooftop farm. Experience this destination through an inspiring lens of community and sustainability, revealing a dynamic side to the Mother City.
Slow Travel in Cape Town
The theme for this slow travel tour of Cape Town is the four elements: fire, water, wind, and air. Johannesburg is a calm environment compared to the war waged by the elements in Cape Town. In winter, we anxiously check dam levels for potential flooding, and in summer, the sound of helicopters used to quell raging forest fires bombards us.
Join me as we explore the elements and their impact on my home city. Our first micro adventure will focus on a local issue of bushfires and the fynbos (shrubland or heathland vegetation). The second element is water, and a sustainable project using the orographic ‘tablecloth’ clouds found on the summit of Table Mountain. The element of wind prompts us to engage in niche tourism by visiting an iconic windmill to learn more about Cape Town’s molinological (the study of mills) history through a local community organisation. For the final element, earth, come along as I reveal how my nearby shopping centre makes innovative use of rooftop space for a farm-to-table project.
The rivalry between fire and fynbos
One morning, a surreal sight appeared across my street, which looks out onto Table Mountain. A sliver of bushfire trailed down the slopes. The thunder of helicopters soon punctured the tranquillity. Runaway bushfires are a local issue in Cape Town, especially during our hot, dry summers. Experienced pilots water bombed the inaccessible parts of the mountain to prevent the fire from spreading. The smell of smoke lingered long after the helicopters stopped, as firefighters on the ground doused flare-ups for days afterwards.
Shrubs like fynbos that grow here have adapted by becoming fire resistant. The King Protea has a stalk that stretches underground. The dormant buds on these stalks produce fresh growth after a fire. Last year, fires scorched much of the Silvermine Nature Reserve. Authorities had to evacuate communities for a week as the firefighters fought an arduous battle. In the spring, the veld (vast grassy landscape) lies covered in a spectacular carpet of blooms across the region. Exploring this natural asset is the perfect opportunity for slow travel, for example, when engaging in safaris like Kruger National Park. It’s no wonder my street view this morning was of a fortuitous rainbow.
Element: Water – Cloud Fishing on Table Mountain
It’s a Cape Town tradition to make use of your free ticket to go up Table Mountain on your birthday. After doing the ceremonial route around the summit in true slow travel fashion, I wanted to seek out a sustainable project hidden in plain sight. It is a local version of a fog harvester, also known as a ‘Cloud Fisher’.
Cape Town, as recently as 2018, faced the possibility of Day Zero (no tap water). The city restricted water usage to 25 litres per day and resident. Despite having numerous dams, they turned into dust bowls due to the delayed winter rains. A grim wake-up call as the impact of global warming made itself felt for all.
The orographic clouds that form the famous ‘blanket’ across the summit of Table Mountain constitute a source of clean water. A combination of high altitude and these particular clouds provides the perfect environment to make fog harvesting feasible. Similar successful sustainability projects exist in Peru, Colombia, and Tanzania because of like conditions, which include high altitude clouds and proximity to the ocean. The city of Cape Town continues to seek sustainable solutions, as the potential of Day Zero lurks in the background.
Make sure you visit this fascinating fog harvesting installation on your next micro-adventure up Table Mountain. It’s an inspiring example of human ingenuity working in harmony with the local environment.
Element: Wind – Mostert’s Mill, Cape Town
I met John Hammer and his Scottie named Jaimie on a Sunday community walk with the Cape Town Scotties. We arranged a playdate for my dog Oli and Jaimie at his ‘office’. John is the chairperson of the Friends of Mostert’s Mill organisation. He gave a tour to share some of the history through the perspective of the locals.
The colloquially called “People’s Mill”, built in 1796 on the Welgelegen Farm, produced brandy, fruit, and wine. According to the International Molinological Society (TIMS), this mill holds the enviable title of being the only working windmill in Africa. Despite two renovations, Mostert’s Mill burned down due to devastating bushfires in 2021.
The complete restoration took 3 years. The mill had new sprinklers installed to wet the thatch roof and prevent fire damage. A collaboration between South Africa, through the Friends of Mostert’s Mill, and Dutch experts ensured the mill is now fully operational. Remarkably, they imported only a set of burr stones and the sails from France.
Apprentice millers keep the legacy of milling alive. John explained that the mill’s operation needs the assistance of two other people. The site looks to house potential herb and vegetable gardens, which will supply a restaurant. They currently use the milled flour to bake loaves of bread, which are then sold to visitors.
A mix of old and new
John has created an interesting display of the 24 types of wood used in the restoration. The central pillar is a 200-year-old mast from a ship. They employed old whale bones as anchors to tie the sails in position and stripped away the plaster to show the rocks used to build the thick walls. This is also probably the reason it still stands proud since 1796.
He explained the precision required to install the circular wooden cap by a crane. The braking mechanism alone weighs 700kg, which is astounding. Our windiest days are perfect for Mostert’s Mill to ‘do a run’ as John calls it.
The best slow travel way to round off this visit is a hike up the slopes of Table Mountain. John shared a view of Cape Town that I had never seen before. It stretches all the way along Bloubergstrand. It makes sense that as a retired naval officer, he can still keep a watchful eye on Cape Town Harbour.
Element: Earth – Rooftop to fork
Maimonides wisely said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Local entrepreneur Louis-Gillis Janse van Rensburg is doing just that with sustainable farming at Fresh Life Produce South Africa.
The farm manager, Zubayr Sydow, hosted my slow travel micro adventures in Cape Town at Handpicked City Farms in Kenilworth Centre. He led me through a narrow corridor of offices, jolted out of the hushed environment by the manic buzz of the traffic below. He guides you through a sea of undulating solar panels to the pre-fab tunnels. The structures hoisted up here by cranes must have been a sight to behold.
Redefine Property donated the roof space to the clothing retailer Mr Price Foundation. Their aim, to empower youth in the local community to set up and run their own urban farms. This story gets better as they sell harvested seasonal vegetables, herbs, and flowers to the restaurants and staff at Kenilworth Mall, hence the title rooftop to fork. The project has grown to two other sites in Cape Town.
Local Solutions
This homegrown solution uses the African Grower system. These stacked pods can hold as many as 24 plants. Zubayr, the farm manager, explained that the centre of the structure is the best place as it shelters and warms the plants. A growing medium consists of coconut coir, fertiliser pellets, and soil.
A community member sews the colourful Shweshwe fabric pot covers, which creates yet another avenue for employment. There are myriad activities on offer, such as in-depth tours and team-building experiences. In summer, the tunnel resplendent in flowers is an Instagram-worthy photography venue. It’s the perfect way to indulge in Cape Town slow travel with a twist.
Slow and Sustainable in Cape Town
A city that constantly faces off with the elements and thrives is a marvel in itself. The landscape can seem harsh, yet this is the very reason for Cape Town’s resilience, from the fynbos pollinator gardens to the upcycled mill mast, from agro-tourism initiatives at a local mall to responsible water management on the summit of Table Mountain. The residents engage in destination stewardship at different levels to minimise the impact of climate change on our beautiful city.
Have you tried slow travel in Cape Town? Where else in South Africa have you been? Let us know in the comments. Subscribe to our newsletter and benefit from travel guides, sustainable tourism and luxury travel tips, insightful interviews, and inspirational places to visit. One Planet Journey – The World’s First Deep Travel Magazine.
