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Jetty Square is situated alongside Piers Place, the square just next to Adderley Street that is littered with life sized bronze statues, ensuring that you won’t feel alone while sitting on a bench in this area.

Jetty Square is just behind Piers Place, while a public area, it is a bit more hidden away from the activity of any main streets and is surrounded by popular restaurants and coffee shops, such as Bizerka. The perfect place for business people to escape the hustle and bustle of the city temporarily, one could easily walk from their Cape Town Waterfront accommodation, and it shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes by foot.

If you are planning on finding some public art to appreciate during your stay at one of our Cape Town Waterfront apartments, then this is the place for you, as it is home to the Ghost Shark sculptures by Ralph Borland.

These mild steel sculptures of the basic outlines of sharks’ skeletons are not as scary as they sound. They are each perched 3 meters above the ground atop a pole, and reference the fact that Jetty Square forms part of the area where the sea was reclaimed by the land, when you walk along Jetty Square bare in mind that you are walking where sharks once swam. Perhaps the sculptures also reference the sharks of the business world. The spooky aspect of the sculptures is that they have infrared sensors in their noses and sense when someone walks below them, causing them to swivel.

Guests of our Waterfront accommodation will find that when the wind blows the sharks will sing through flutes built into their gills. The sharks also behave like weathervanes, pointing in the direction of the wind.

So when you are next out exploring the city by foot, if you can tear yourself away from the luxuries of the Cape Town Waterfront and our apartments equal to any 5 star hotels, be sure to stop in at Jetty Square to experience the treasure of the Ghost Shark sculptures in person.

Located next to each other in the Cape Town Waterfront, just across the road from the Two Oceans Aquarium is the Scratch Patch and Mineral World. Those staying in one of our many luxurious Cape Town Waterfront apartments will find them conveniently located in short walking distance to their Waterfront accommodation.

The Scratch Patch began in Simons Town in 1970 and a branch at the Waterfront followed in the 1990’s. It has a large variety of tumble polished gemstones that literally cover the floor, allowing visitors to spend hours marveling at the large abundance and variety of gemstones. The large variety includes Southern African stones such as Tiger’s Eye, Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Jasper, Agates, Crystals, Lapis Lazuli and Blue Lace Agate. It is no wonder that South Africa is known as the gemstone capital of the world as half of the world’s gemstones are found here.
Many of the world’s finest 5 star hotels incorporate these semi precious stones into their interior design and décor, including intricate mosaics.

The scratch patch allows visitors to purchase a bag which they may fill with any stones they desire. The Scratch Patch is a wonderful way to entertain kids on a rainy day when other Waterfront Cape Town activities are not available. While children love sifting through the piles of stones, adults alike will also enjoy the calm, contemplative experience. It is also a relatively inexpensive exercise, with a small bag costing as little as R15 and the largest container R90. The best part is often tipping out your bag once back at your Cape Town Waterfront accommodation, examining your loot and comparing it with others.

Mineral World is just next door to the scratch patch and contains many jewelery, gemstone carvings and inexpensive items such as keyrings and small boardgames. A wonderful place to find souvenirs, presents and stocking stuffers.

When visiting this magnificent aquarium, which prides itself in exhibiting a cornucopia of sea creatures, over 3000 in fact, it isn’t difficult to understand why the Two Oceans Aquarium is one of the top tourist attractions in Cape Town.

The dark blue and green colour scheme, crystal clear tanks and sparing use of light contribute to a feeling of being part of this underwater wonderland, with the benefit of being separated by a thick sheet of glass when encountering something scary such as a 3 meter long shark. The larger displays, such as the Frog exhibit, Frogs: beyond the pond, transport you right into the rainforest while advanced divers are allowed to literally dive amongst the kelp in the kelp forest exhibit.

Some of the sea animals on display are so strange (some have a tendency to glow in the dark) that one feels that they may have temporarily drifted into outer space. While the familiar turtles, octopus, penguins and other beloved fish and animals of the sea are also on display.

The Two Oceans Aquarium is a must for anyone looking for an educational outing or an experience filled with wonderment, it’s also one of the few indoor activities that will keep the kids amused for hours on a rainy day. If you choose to stay at one of our many stylish Waterfront apartments, the Two Oceans Aquarium is conveniently situated just a few steps from your front door.

The Aquarium is open 365 days a year and a day of unforgettable amazement will cost you about R100 for an adult, R48 for a child, R75 for a teenager, undergraduate student and pensioner and children under 4 go in for free, but prices are subject to change. Here’s a tip, get your tickets online at the Two Oceans Aquarium website and you can save up to R10 a ticket.