Cape Town Township Visit Including a Cooking Class with a Local Chef in The Bo-Kaap

Your Cape Town tour will start with a ride along the winding Atlantic coast as we head to the township of Imizano Yetho, where you'll meet your young Xhosa guide, Nandipha.

Imizano Yetho, also known as Mandela Park, is an informal township with very challenging living conditions. Life for locals here has been extremely difficult, but on this tour you’ll get the chance to learn what’s fact and what’s fiction, how this community came to be, and what improvements have been made in recent years. Please note that this is not slum tourism — your guide will be a member of this community and the tour will explore the area with respect for life in this neighbourhood and the struggles it has gone through.

Nandipha will take you to the local community centre that houses several craft stalls, where you’ll have the option to purchase small items that have been handmade by locals. Your guide will also explain why and how the township came about during the Apartheid era of the 1980s, and why her family came to the city from the rural Eastern Cape (just like Nelson Mandela did). You’ll hear the story of how she is inspiring local teenage girls through her NGO, the Sistahood Girls Club.

From the centre, head to a local tavern (known as a shebeen), and pass by roadside hawkers selling food, furniture, and clothing. Stop at Nandipha’s modest home — a traditional shack seen in such communities, made of iron and cardboard — for tea and to sample local delicacies such as “Smileys” (barbecued sheep’s head… with all its teeth showing!) and “Walkie Talkies” (chicken beaks and feet).

After the township visit, return to one of the older parts of Cape Town, the Bo-Kaap which is well-known for its spicy Cape Malay cuisine. Walk along the cobblestone streets and between the rows of painted multi-colored houses to reach the home of a superb local cook, a featured guest on Master Chef SA, who will help you prepare and cook a typical Malay lunch. Once the meal is prepared, sit down together to enjoy your efforts, while discussing the local family heritage.

Then amble the short distance to the small local Bo-Kaap museum, situated in one of the oldest local houses, and learn more about the history and origins of the Cape Malays. Also enjoy a visit to the local spice shop and sample some of the different exotic spices imported from eastern lands.

A quick and respectful visit to a local mosque will follow before the drive back through the colourful streets and return to your hotel.