‘Camps Bay neophyte tries to dangle swag from both shoulder holes of his Ed Hardy sequined vest, fails miserably.’ That was what popped into my head after I received this tweet:
I don’t have a vest, or enough swag to dangle any of my body parts. I also had to YouTube Clifton Shores to see what that was, apparently it’s a swimwear channel or something. Still, not one to pass up a party, I joined the Getaway digital team on what was to be our weekend of team building at the luxury apartment at 6 Nettleton Road, the highest road in Clifton and most expensive road in Africa, courtesy of Nox Rentals. In case you’re not familiar with our team, we’re the ones who are online, rounding up the best travel stories, advice and tips to keep you motivated for that next big adventure. If you’re ever stuck for any travel ideas, destinations or information, drop us a comment or send us a tweet … we love giving travel tips.
Here’s one right now: don’t try turn around on Kloof Road if your looking for Camps Bay Accommodation. It’s really narrow in places. I did (because I missed the turn into Nettleton) and it ended up with me doing an embarrassing three-point turn in front of a street vendor. He thought I had stopped to buy something. I hate that. If you’re an “˜ease the tension’ buyer, you’ll know what I mean: buying that avo that you dropped on the floor at the Spar because you think someone will judge you if you put it back. Well, it was that remorse that almost landed me up with another wooden giraffe. I quickly turned around, went back up Kloof Road and into Nettleton.
The house
I was well aware that I would be staying in a luxury apartment, but the house that I walked into was mind blowing: four stories high, seven bedrooms, six bathrooms and (at a very conservative guess) accommodates 14 guests easily.
The street level housed the double garage, the first level down had two lounges (each with their own fireplace), a dining area and kitchen and a large terrace with a gas braai. Of course, there was a view, but we’ll get to that.
The second level had four bedrooms, the main bedroom had a king size bed, walk-in cupboard and en-suite bathroom with bath and shower. The other four bedrooms had either king or twin beds, some with en-suite bathrooms, some with a separate bathroom and shower. The level also had a separate laundry room with a washing machine and tumble dryer (which I avoided).
The third level down had yet another complete, modern lounge and dining area with its own kitchen and a terrace with an infinity pool and another braai, the carbonaceous type this time. There were two more bedrooms on this level, the biggest one had a king bed, a walk in cupboard, direct access to the pool and an en-suite bathroom big enough to have a eight-person towel fight in (we did say we were team building).
I got lost a few times. Thoughtfully, the house has an elevator so you can just back up to the top and start again.
The view
So, to the view. As I have come to expect from Cape Town, the view was astounding: far-reaching and spread wider than your mouth at the dentist. But to actually wake up to such a view, that was something completely different. Growing up in Johannesburg, (read: Benoni) ‘the view’ was never really a consideration when it came to property value, sometimes the less you saw the better. But, I totally get it now … I didn’t even bother closing the curtains before I went to sleep.
Team building
The Friday evening gave me a chance to get to know my colleagues really well. It’s not that we don’t know each other, but here’s a little insight into the lives of ‘digis’: although we sit in the same office, arm’s length from one another, most of our communication is done via some or other online social network. We could argue the merits of this at length, suffice it to say, it was great to have some face-to-face banter over a couple of Col’cacchio pizzas and a few drinks, watching the sun dip behind the slow-rolling breakers. ‘I could get used to this,’ I thought, as we sat around ’til the wee hours talking about all things travel and non-travel related, taking in the view and slightly chilly sea breeze.
I have really active colleagues, most of whom were up and doing activities before I even had time to remember where I was staying. The three of us that did rise at a ‘reasonable’ hour braved the wind and went down to Camps Bay to get some breakfast, errm lunch. One of our interns thought it would be a great idea to walk on the beach after the meal. I remember her saying, ‘How can you come all the way down to the beach and not walk on it?’ Inspiring. When the wind is tearing through Camps Bay, not so much. We managed about five minutes before we were all crunching on sand. She’s Canadian.
I stayed over an extra night because they had lightning-fast internet. Did I mention that I work in the digital department?
Images by Shalini Tewari
Want to experience how the other half live? 6 Nettleton Road is available to rent from R4,500 a night (seasonal).
Contact
Nox Rentals
Tel 021-438-6440
Email [email protected]
www.noxrentals.co.za
