March 7

Happy Birthday to a Capetonian Icon: The Pink Lady turns 112!

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March 7, 2011

Just up the road from our offices sits what is surely Cape Town’s most distinguished resident, The Mount Nelson Hotel. The pink lady opened her doors on Monday the 6th of March 1899 and was, “The first hotel in South Africa to offer hot and cold running water, it received rave reviews and was applauded for being even better than its London counterparts.” Well our Nelly has certainly moved on from the basic amenities and has continued to receive rave reviews from a list of Celebrities, Royals and Socialites, longer than the red carpet at the Oscars.

At Rhino Africa we will be popping some bubbly in honour of the Grand Dame of Cape Town and wish her all the best for the next 112 years.

To commemorate The Mount Nelson’s celebrations, we have put together a ‘Then and Now’ of The hotel and of some Cape Town icons… My how times have changed!

The entrance to the Mount Nelson Hotel, Then and nowThe entrance to the Mount Nelson Hotel, Then and now.

The Planet Restaurant certainly got a little face lift.The Planet Restaurant got a stellar face lift.

Mount Nelson Hotel, then and now.The old gal certainly has had a nip tuck or two!

The Cape Town of yesteryear:

The Cape Town Foreshore mushrooms ever skyward.

The Waterfront then and nowThe Waterfront… minus a couple of luxury brands and restaurants.

Camps Bay then and nowCamps Bay… with less clothing and more skin. Scandal!

To experience the Cape Town of 2011 in all her full colour celluloid beauty, contact us about booking a holiday and who knows, in 100 years yours might be the ‘back in the day’ photos people are marveling at!


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About the author 

Matthew Sterne

Matt discovered a passion for writing in the six years he spent travelling abroad. He worked for a turtle sanctuary in Nicaragua, in an ice cream factory in Norway and on a camel safari in India. He was a door-to-door lightbulb-exchanger in Australia, a pub crawl guide in Amsterdam and a journalist in Colombia. Now, he writes and travels with us.

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