“I don’t want to pickle, just want ride on my motor sickle.
And I don’t want to die; just want to ride on my motor cy…cle.”

IT’S THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE FROM EVERY ANGLE AND IS A MUST-DO EXPERIENCE WHETHER YOU ARE A TOURIST OR A LOCAL.

Classic lines from folksinger Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Motor Sickle Song’, a saga that invites enthusiastic audience participation. At Waterfront Charters we could be forgiven for humming the catchy chorus: we have joined forces with another iconic Cape company to come up with a unique tourism opportunity – a motor sickle (sorry, cycle) tour followed by a luxurious Atlantic Ocean cruise. Now there’s an opportunity you don’t find every day.

Yes, Waterfront Charters have teamed up with Cape Side Cars to offer an exclusive Cape Town experience: see the Peninsula from the perspective of both land and sea – on the same day! Now, as you may have gathered, these motorcycles are not superbikes; they are designed for leisurely tourism, taking the sights and sounds in from your unusual vantage point on pillion or in the sidecar. They are ‘boxer’ 750cc opposed-twin cylinder machines, are extremely stable, and have a heady top speed of about 85 kph, downhill, with the wind. The riders who pilot these three-wheeled machines are all passionate about motorcycles and Cape Town, and so an excursion with any of them at the controls is a combination of safe fun, shouted facts and great views. With your complimentary bandanna keeping unwanted winged beasties from flying into your mouth, you’ll have the look of an experienced outsider, getting jealous glances from all the cagers* and pedestrians you pass.

There is a choice of excursions aboard the quirky sidecar machines, all of which give spectacular views of Cape Town’s magnificent scenery from the sidecar or pillion positions. You can either cruise the Atlantic seaboard to Chapman’s Peak past Hout Bay and then back to town, or you can choose the City and Surrounds option, that takes you to a selection of inner-city attractions, up Signal Hill and then to Camp’s Bay, returning along the spectacular Atlantic coast to the city.

And then…to the V&A Waterfront for the Waterfront Charters aspect of the adventure. You’ll board a luxury catamaran for a relaxed cruise along the Atlantic coastline. The sound of a guttural engine is replaced by the cracking of sails in the breeze and the watery rush of the twin bows pushing gently into the swells; refreshing drink in hand, you can point out all the amazing places you puttered past recently, and see them from a seal’s point of view. With Table Mountain and the Apostles as a backdrop and the reaches of the Atlantic on the other side, it’s the Cape of Good Hope from every angle and is a must-do experience whether you are a tourist or a local.

We reckon Arlo Guthrie would add another verse to his song if he experienced the tour, except for the fact that there is not much that rhymes with ‘luxury yacht’.

(*Cager: motorcyclist slang for people who are bound to the claustrophobic confines of a motorcar.)