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Obs is anything but obvs.Have these questions never crossed your mind whilst chilling at Ferdinando's?
Why is Observatory?
Who is Lower Main Road?
How is Stones?
When is Bourgeois-Bohemia?
Where is dagga?
What is love?
We aspire to give you definitive answers to at least none of these questions this coming Sunday on our magical mystery ramble through the best suburb in the country.
Observatory is, in short, the wedge of Cape Town - the district that's never officially been one in the first place. It started by sucking in the loafers and flaneurs of the Imperial age and thrived through catching the hearts of every prospector hopelessly lost on their way to Jo'burg. It defied the apartheid-era by comprising the fringes of segregated worlds and bouncing most of the Commerce bros at the door.
Today, like a loveable cockroach, it's survived years of recession and the pandemic and come out fighting with more coffee-spots and daylight-robbery-based vintage stores than ever before. And we all have at least one favourite establishment where our lives were exemplified in a moment's notice. Think about yours, and I'll tell you its history.
So join me at the gates of the entrance to the actual Observatory just past the Two Rivers Urban Park and I'll blast you through a living past of decolonial raiding, Victorian astrophilia, saloon-jazz derangement and diasporic immortality.
RSVP for kicks, stack up your own half-true anecdotes and come wander along the first and oldest frontier of our nation opening your mind to the raw ore of creativity laid out under the Devil's peeking gaze.
"We joined the Observatory walk last weekend and it was absolutely stunning. I was so impressed with Cameron’s delivery and his vast knowledge. I’m a former history lecturer and am now a book publisher, and I’ve been on city walks throughout the world and I’m not easily impressed. But Cameron ranks up there with the best. And yet he’s still so young!
We’ll definitely be going on more of his many walks!"
- Steve C.
P.S. If you've read this far I'm guessing you'll want even more of the specs, so here goes:
- We'll be starting by the gates of the SAAO at 14h00 then finishing by Wrensch House on Lower Wrensch Road, so I'd advise parking by Ossian Road or the entrance to Valkenberg.
- We've just put up our ticket prices for the first time in two-and-a-half years, from R120pp to R150pp. Obviously this is just to keep with inflation and to allow the tours to remain a sustainable enterprise for the foreseeable future, but this is still about R50 less per person than our nearest competition. In other words, we are deliberately undercharging the tours so as to keep them affordable for locals and visitors alike and to encourage guests to come back weekend after weekend.
- Book via Quicket, WhatsApp us on 076 033 8164, E-mail us on [email protected] or Message us via the buttons on our home page to secure your place.
- We have also just introduced a broad scheme of discounts you can apply for on each tour, so please do consult the list below before contacting us!
- And we've decided to partner with a different local NGO or charity for each and every one of our tour routes so that R10 of every ticket purchased goes directly to a good, sustainable, local cause. For the Obs tour, we've chosen to fund-raise for Obs Can Feed You, and you can inspect their brilliance here:
https://obscanfeedyou.co.za
- This is a consistently well-reviewed heritage-focused walking tour; which is to say that all you'll need to enjoy yourself is curiosity about Cape Town's past (and History in general) and enough stamina to walk just less than 3km in one afternoon (with stops and snacks).
- If you're rejoining us, please please please please please please consider dropping us a short (or extensive) review on our Facebook Reviews or Google Reviews section as it will help spread our gospel of curiosity and playful appreciation across the internet and across the spectrum of all potential visitors to the Cape. It helps us more than you can believe!
- You can also add an optional R10 donation on your ticket which will go directly to the NGO Streetscapes as part of our mission to spread love, enthusiasm, mutual support and respect for all of Cape Town's people and histories. Just think how many people we could help and the difference we could make with a few hundred tours!
- Feel absolutely free to spread the word, invite friends who've been looking for this kind of experience and badger us with every imaginable heritage query. We live for it!
Can't wait to meet ya, really! 🙂
THE CTHT DISCOUNT LIST:
1. Guests over 65 and under 18 can claim a 33% discount on each ticket, at R100pp pre-booked.
2. If you buy tickets for both the Saturday and Sunday tours on one weekend, you can claim R50 off each ticket, at R200pp pre-booked.
3. If you buy a Cape Town Heritage Tours Tote-Bag or any of our books on sale at our Half-Booked Online Shop, you can claim a free tour voucher for each piece of merchandise.
4. You can buy individual advance vouchers for our public tours at R150 each and then message in the week before a scheduled tour. But you can also buy value-packs of five for the price of 4 (R600), 10 for the price of 7 (R1050) or all 18 for the price of 10 (R1500).
5. If you bring 2 or more friends on a weekend tour you can claim R30 back on each of your tickets, at R120pp pre-booked.
6. If you share the posts promoting individual tours you can claim R30 back as well, at R120pp.
7. If you review the tours on Google Reviews, Facebook or TripAdvisor (at any rating) you can claim 50% off your next ticket, at R75pp pre-booked.
8. Likewise if you recommend the tours to a friend who then attends a weekend tour, you can claim 50% off your next ticket, at R75pp pre-booked.
See ya next weekend!
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