It’s taken a while for me to pen this, but finally, Cape Town, I have some news for you!

It was in 1963 that the last record was set for a London to Cape Town car adventure, when Eric Jackson and Ken Chambers beat the previous record of George Hinchliffe and his team by only 18 minutes. Considering that this is after 2 weeks of driving, and covering some 10,000 miles, that’s extremely close and could easily be disputed unless the teams start and finish at exactly the same points.

The current explorers therefore decided to fly to Cape Town to find out where exactly the finish point would be.

When the Guinness Book of Records administered the record, their rules had mentioned that the start point was Marble Arch in London and the finish was the Royal Cape Club in Cape Town. Max Adventure were however unable to find the Royal Cape Club (What?! It’s an institution!)

When John Hemsley set the record for Cape Town to London Overland (14 days 19 hours and only using a ferry to cross the English Channel), he started at the Head Office of the South African Automobile Association, unfortunately this has since been demolished.

So the finish point from now on will be the City Hall in Cape Town. The clock at the City Hall is an exact half scale copy of London’s Big Ben (Jeepers, you learn something new every day!)

The first recorded drive between London and Cape Town took place in 1924, when Major Chaplin Court Treatt led a team of 25/30hp Crossley trucks from Cape Town to Cairo and then onto London. The 10,000 mile journey took them 16 months to complete.

By the late 1930’s, the various overland routes from the Mediterranean to Cape Town were no longer the scene of just attempts to get there. The difficulties and dangers were still there, but they had proved surmountable, so speed replaced simple attainment of the goal as the object. This led to dangers of its own, since contempt for obstacles in the interest of haste meant taking risks.

On the 22nd December 1938, Humphrey Symons and Bertie Browning set out from London in an attempt to be the first to drive a ‘high-speed’ run to Cape Town. They aimed to finish in just 17 days.

The support behind the Max Adventure London to Cape Town adventure is astounding, with Sir Stirling Moss honouring Max Adventure with his patronage.

And…even the one, the only, the man, the legend…Jeremy Clarkson has put his support behind this record attempt!

The guys are attempting something quite considerable. Take this in:

10,000 miles, 20 countries in under 13 days, 8 hrs 48 minutes

This is who the guys are doing it for, Help For Heroes:

“Help for Heroes supports our wounded. Help for Heroes provides practical direct support to those servicemen and women wounded in the line of duty in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan”

There is so much information available on the website, that I’m going to simply forward you on to the Max Adventure London to Cape Town 2010 website .

Can’t wait for the guys to arrive safe in Cape Town after they finally kick off their adventure!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Going on a savage journey to the heart of the Cape Town dream requires more than one person, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without my entourage, a group of people I rely on and trust, and who make all of this possible. So here they are:

The Editor

Charlie V

Andy B

JJ

Chase

Josh and Rolz

Felgate (R)

Gary

“Gypsie”

Jo

Brendon: An average day in his life

Gaz

Ayce

Cape Town benefits from some of the finest weather on the planet with long, hot summers accentuated by movie stars and models visiting the city, and capped off with the hottest crowd and the best nightclubs in the world. Everything about Cape Town revolves around excess, from million rand cars to mansions for houses, it’s all here. Some of Cape Town’s favourite nightclubs and restaurants are located on the Camps Bay Strip overlooking palm trees and the beach and provide the perfect setting for the worlds elite. We’ve seen Billy Zane in the city, Matt Damon, Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, President Clinton and Jared Leto to mention but a few of the movie stars who have come to work and play in the city.

Summers generally hit a high note from November right through till March, giving us a full five months of sheer summer bliss. In those 5 months you will see more parties, more fun and more money than you would care to know.

As a playground for the rich and famous, Cape Town sets the scene for people to indulge in their wildest fantasies. Beach parties, pool parties, house parties, parties parties, it’s all here!

Winters can get cold, but never extremely cold and most people get away with jeans and thicker tops, but it’s really not necessary to break out the NorthFace and GoreTex jackets because we won’t be seeing snow!

Summer requires nothing more than some boardshorts or a bikini, and your credit card. The action is all provided by the city and it’s locals, who don’t even dream of going anywhere else in the world. There is no other place in the world where so many people in a city take photos of their sunsets. Look at any person in Cape Towns cellphone, and you are virtually guaranteed to find a photo of a sunset in it.

Let’s have a little look at the current live weather forecast:

We love the city, and we know you will too. So come on, book your ticket and come and explore the city of dreams. I’ll see you around the city! And if you need anything relating to Cape Town, getting here, really…anything, then don’t hesitate to contact me at seanl (at) slxs (dot) co (dot) za

(This is not a paid for, nor endorsed review, rather just a brand I believe to be highly reputable and respectable for luxury car hire in Cape Town)

When looking to hire luxury cars in Cape Town, and also to hire limos in Cape Town, there is only one place to look and that is SLV or Status Luxury Vehicles.

The Cape Town lifestyle was tailor made for cruising in luxury cars and anything else simply will not do. If you want to live the lifestyle while you’re visiting Cape Town, you’re going to need a vehicle of status. Lamborghinis and Ferraris are standard in this city, and with a favourable exchange rate, if you’re coming from England or the USA, then you really have no excuse for driving a vehicle that is less than exotic!

Status Luxury Vehicles offer the finest vehicles in Cape Town and I’ve personally looked over their list of luxury cars to rent in Cape Town, and it’s a definite first rate choice.

Whether it be a Mercedes s600 for the executive visiting Cape Towns shores, or a Lamborghini Gallardo for the young high flyer, SLV has it all.

Are you more stately than that? Well then the Rolls Royce Phantom for hire in Cape Town will do just fine. Elegant, luxurious and regal, it’s the car for the more astute business person.

Live the dream — Only in Cape Town

Cape Town in summer is a playboys dream, and the Ferrarri F43o Spider or the Mercedes SLK 55AMG convertible will be great for railing around the coast, from Camps Bay, past Llandudno where you can stop in at your rented villa, Villa Lara, for a little siesta.

Click HERE to rent this villa, your own piece of the Cape Town dream

Then through Hout Bay and into the quaint village of Noordhoek for some evening shenanigans.

If this sounds like you, then simply click HERE for luxury car hire in Cape Town.

Check out what some of the other people in Cape Town are saying! And just things in general.

If you would like to be added to this list, all deliveries of BMW 1 Series convertibles can be organized through my P.A

Bangers and Nash — Alcohol, women and chilling to the max

Cape Town Alive — Keeping Cape Town Alive

Shaun Oakes — Cape Town’s Favourite Son

deadkat7 — Life’s a garden, dig it!

The House Of Marketing — Marketing and advertising

Redman Design — Awesome designer, photographer and friend, Lauren’s blog showcases her truly unique skills and awesome talents.

There are a multitude of beaches in Cape Town, but the three most popular ones in summer for spotting the beautiful people are no doubt Clifton, Camps Bay and Llandudno. Let’s look at them in order of my rating, the best one being first.

Llandudno in Cape Town

Llandudno brings a true otherworldly feel to Cape Town, and access is via one entrance to this coastal suburb. Llandudno is completely secure, with private security at it’s lone entrance, and it finds itself as the place where the rich and famous come to play and hide away.

The beach is within walking distance of any of the houses, or at least a little bicycle ride down to the beach. Surfers gather at Llandudno regularly and it attracts a more discreet crowd than Clifton and Camps Bay, and it’s an absolutely pristine beach. Parties are often held at the lifesaving club on the beach, and a villa in Llandudno is the ultimate way to spend your summer in Cape Town. An example of what you could expect from a Llandudno villa:

Click HERE to rent this villa in Cape Town

This photo was taken by me during a Llandudno sundowner session, just down the road from our Llandudno villa:

Summer sees all the residents and non residents gathering on the beach with friends, family, drinks and snacks to socialise and appreciate everything that Llandudno offers us, all year round. Llandudno is still, in my mind, my favourite place in Cape Town.

Clifton in Cape Town

Clifton is the beach for everyone and you will most likely see everyone you know hanging out at Clifton in the summer! Clifton has four beaches, with the most popular being Clifton 4th beach. It is here that summer originates in Cape Town, with all the beautiful people of Cape Town (And the world) gathering at this piece of paradise.

Clifton 4th beach in Cape Town

Yachts park just off of Clifton while their owners and guests sip champagne and toast to the best lifestyle in the world.

The beach is favoured by a younger, impressionable crowd but also attracts the old favourites and it’s always good fun to cruise around Clifton. However, in summer, Clifton 4th tends to get way too packed, and for the locals, we all stay away. Parking is a nightmare, and the beach gets uncomfortable. It is great though just before summer kicks in when the weather is warm but not hot, and the tourists have not yet arrived yet in their thousands.

Click here for a preview of the sorts of crowds Clifton 4th attracts in the heat of summer.

Camps Bay in Cape Town

The Camps Bay strip is at the centre of the Cape Town dream, with supercars driving past the beach, and Cape Towns hottest restaurants and nightclubs situated along this piece of paradise. The beach hosts a myriad of tournaments including volleyball and touch rugby tournaments and is always popular.

Camps Bay Beach*

Simply pack up your towel and beach things, walk off the beach and into the nightclubs and party it up with the Cape Town crowd. My only problem is that the beach is very unsheltered and the wind can very easily ruin a good day at the beach.

Nonetheless, Camps Bay is a stunning Cape Town beach which is always worth a visit, but again, not my first choice.

*Picture uncredited, taken from an e-mail. If this is your photo, and want it referenced or removed, please drop me an e-mail*

With 2010 closing in on us, everyone is on the hunt for accommodation for the soccer World Cup. Hotels are booked out and visitors are going on to the private accommodation sector for great prices, fantastic service and an all round top class stay whilst in South Africa. To make it easy to locate accommodation, SA Sport Travel (An SLXS Cape Town Trusted Partner) have put together a listing of accommodation throughout South Africa.

All the listings come complete with their very own interactive map to show the location of the property in relation to the stadium, so you know exactly how far it is to travel to those all important 2010 World Cup games

This includes Cape Town, and so without too much further talking, I’ll simply direct you to the SA Sport Travel listing of accommodation suppliers for the 2010 World Cup.

To find accommodation during the 2010 World Cup, simply click here for listings.

SA Sport Travel are also offering accommodation options, domestic flights and road transfers for larger groups during the 2010 World Cup.

Screen shot of SA Sport Travel’s 2010 Accommodation Options

You can see some of the options over HERE, and be sure to contact the SA Sport Travel team for a custom itinerary suited to your specific needs.