Canal Cruising with Citysightseeing

What a week! In one way it seemed to fly by but in another, it seemed to drag on forever. Do you feel that way too?

I feel like we are in month 22 of 2020 with little to no end in sight. At least it is nearly December but, if your work commitments are anything like mine, there are never enough hours in the day. Still, I am SUPER grateful!

Catching up

It’s been an age and a day since I blogged over here and, so much has changed. I left my job just before lockdown hit in 2020 and started writing on a freelance basis.

I learned so much and, it was the ideal situation for my family at the time. The kids thrived! Z1 started formal education again but at a learning support centre for other homeschoolers and Z2 will begin there in 2022. We’re hoping to get to the point where they write their IGCSEs and then A-levels before starting real life.

Once the freelance work slowed down to worrying levels, an online friend told me about an opportunity for an in-office freelance gig for two weeks, for which I applied for and landed.

I worked there until 30 March and must have knocked their socks off because, within less than a month, they asked me to apply for a permanent position as a copywriter. I’ve been doing that since 15 May. Praise the Lord!

Canal Cruising with Citysightseeing

One of the reasons the last two weeks have been so chaotic for us is because we have just finished celebrating two birthdays, and an anniversary. Z2 turned 14 on the 4th and, Z1 turned 17 on the 7th. And then we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on the 10th.

If you follow us on Instagram, you would have seen all the things we did however, for this post, I wanted to feature the Citysightseeing Canal Cruise and burger special. We worked with Citysightseeing before, so it was a no brainer to plan something special for Z1 since he is almost a grown-up.

We collected our tickets and headphones from the office in front of the 2 Oceans Aquarium and took a short walk to the dock behind the One & Only to catch the ferry. Covid protocols of sanitising and social distancing are a must as far as possible. And it is usually much easier to social distance on the boat earlier rather than later during the day.

Our favourite part about Citysightseeing tours is how much you learn via the audio commentary, which is available in 16 languages along the way. Earphones, included in your ticket price, gives you access to historically accurate tales of days gone by while you enjoy the sights.

Even though we have done this tour before, we have found that we usually continue to learn new things each time.

But first, Battery Park

Z2 has been dying to visit Battery Park and, as it happens to be one of the stops along the route, we disembarked there. After drooling over skateboards and Vans at The Boardhub and realising that she hadn’t saved up nearly enough, we left to watch other kids on the ramps before seeking the assistance of the security guards to find our location for lunch.

Lunch with a view

With this combo, you have a choice of 2 locations where you can enjoy a burger, included in the price of your ticket.

Without realising it, we chose the one that was more off the beaten track than the other, so we got to see more of the Waterfront than initially anticipated.

After a long, long walk, we finally entered the doors of the Canal Cafe at Harbour Bridge Hotel, where we redeemed our Citysightseeing vouchers for burgers. You get to choose between beef or chicken with chips, and we added celebratory Appletisers to our order since it was Z1’s birthday.

The meal was well prepared, and the restaurant was empty for a Sunday afternoon. After chatting and eating our fill, we made our way to the dock just outside the restaurant to catch the ferry for our return journey to the Waterfront. Yes, it is on the route – so we could have saved ourselves a walk, but since when do we choose the easy way of doing things?

The alternative lunch location is the Shift Espresso Bar and is located just across from Battery Park. Here, you can choose between a Shift cheeseburger or Shift chicken burger.

This ferry route currently also has a Boat & Breakfast special which is ideal for those who would like to catch the first ferry at 9 am. Check out their website for more details. This ticket allows you to hop on and hop off, so it is an excellent way to explore a lesser-seen area where you can shop, have a meal or simply enjoy the fresh air.

The nitty-gritty

Anyway, we had a lovely day out and wanted to encourage you to follow in our footsteps. Here’s what you need to know to do so:
* Tickets are R115/adult and R90/child.
* Lunch gets served between 11 am to 3 pm. Drinks excluded.

This special offer is just one of many Citysightseeing tours. Whether you have lived in the city for years or are just visiting, this is by far the best way to get to know the area. It is also a lovely day out for under R200 per person.