We awaken to a restful sight of quietly plush yachts streaming by the Victoria and Alfred waterfront across the The Table Bay Hotel. So far, Cape Town has been a mad whirlwind of treks across mountains, beaches, lush greenery and flea markets – all accomplished in our manic attempt to transport the raw exquisiteness of a spectacular landscape onto our fashion pages. At Camps Bay and Clifton Beach, known for its posh apartments and buzzing lounge bars, we shoot against icy winds as obsessive surfers swish by us along the capricious waters. The evening brings more cheer as we hop across Café Caprice and Salt restaurant (overlooking the ocean) at The Ambassador hotel for some well-deserved cocktails and canapés, mingling with the swish set in this elite area.

Boulders Beach is another spot that enthralls us; imagine a maritime habitat for 2500 resident penguins that look happy enough to be away from native Antarctica and you would be spellbound too. The quirky creatures stroll along the sandy stretch with supreme unconcern for the curious humans around them; these two-toned birds feed themselves and are only given a hand with cleaning and rehabilitation in the case of an oil slick.
Our final day of shooting ends at Table Bay’s Atlantic restaurant with a specially prepared Indian feast of fried savouries, creamy black dal and delicious biryanis (the chef is happy to create a custom-made meal for finicky palates) along with the Enotica cellar’s fine South African wines.

And today, the morning of our wake up call from sea gulls and moorhens gliding along the V&A waters, kick-starts our official travel itinerary for the remainder of our stay.
History forms the crux of Cape Town. The oldest city in South Africa, this was the land where the first Dutch settlers established base and created a new race, the ‘coloured people’, through their intermingling with the black population. Ella Bauer, a delightful encyclopedia of interesting facts and also a spirited bundle of inexhaustible energy, is our guide and mentor from African Pride Tours. Never one to shy away from a challenge, she finds us forest shrubbery for a wilderness shot and a handy viewing of a homegrown zebra when our creative director expresses a wish to photograph the striped animal from close quarters.

The ostrich farm on the west coast is our first stop. A gangly assortment of beady-eyed, feathery beasts scamper in the distance while we put on suitable impressed expressions on learning that this one-of-a-kind set-up trades in every ostrich-related aspect; from eggs to meat, leather and feather accessories. It’s only after hesitatingly trying my hand at holding a soggy baby bird, feeding a larger one and finally sitting atop a fidgety male for a photo-op that I am told to keep the bling on my fingers away from the animals as they are prone to biting off diamonds! Apparently, in eons gone past, these native creatures fed on natural diamonds lying along the coast to aid their digestion. Talk about high-maintenance...

Hesitant to sample the ostrich-meat burger grilled for our lunch, we beat a hasty retreat into the Winelands area. The Fairview estate is a calming stopover; known to be a complete unit that grows grapes, ferments and bottles the wines. The massive site also holds the distinction of being one of the most successful cheese producers of the country. A few rounds of wine tasting later, we pile our shopping baskets with South Africa’s finest whites and blush varieties, crusty loaves, brie, pickled olives and sweet chilli jams and leave to drive further on to Stellenbosch.

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