Here in South Africa they keep urging us to please support our local tourism.
To be honest I would love to visit all the tourist attractions but with the state of our economy sadly I can not afford it. Not even as a single individual…
On Saturday I had to work at a birthday party at the Two Oceans Aquarium in the Victoria Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town. I was fortunate enough that my entry ticket to the aquarium was included in the birthday package and paid for by my client. I only had to pay for my assistant’s (who is also my boyfriend) ticket.
Very excited to have the opportunity to spend the day in the Waterfront and Aquarium we got up early to beat the traffic to Cape Town. We wanted to make the most of the day. I bought one ticket for the aquarium. The last time I visited the aquarium was in 2012. The price of the ticket doubled in price since then.
I do understand that upgrades, maintenance of buildings, care for animals and plants, salaries and so on costs allot but why can’t they at least give the Capetonians or even South African citizens a cheaper rate. Do they even realize how many South African citizens turn around and leave when they see the entry fees. If they make it affordable for us they will attract much more feet….
Now I am not only talking about the Aquarium but most of the tourist attractions are just too expensive for a family of 4 and when we as blended family go out we talk about 3 adults 2 teenagers and 1 child. A day at the Aquarium for example would work out R870 for entrance, approx R1200 for meals, cooldrinks and snacks. Then there is still parking that needs to be paid for another R40+ and last but not least fuel to get to your destination….. If you add it all up it comes around to over R2200 just for a few hours at the waterfront. It’s shocking and that is why most of South Africans will rather stay at home and spend the money on something they need.
Okay okay enough of the gloomy but true stuff. Let me tell you about our day at the Aquarium….
While waiting for the party to start I took photos of the birthday table and the decorations.
We then headed outside to look at the seals lying in the sun.
Shortly after the party started they told us we can head to the entrance of aquarium. We are going to watch a puppet show…
They did quite a few upgrades to the aquarium. Added a few new exibits and a few are still a work in progress. There were fewer fish in the exhibits than I remembered from my previous visits to the aquarium.
The boys and I used to visit the aquarium on a weekly basis when they were still small and did not pay an entry fee. I got myself a one year subscription and later on I got a family deal and we visited the aquarium at least once a month.
All the photos in this piece was taken with my Huawei P10. I will share my other photos taken with my camera in another blogpost.
Well I must say goodbye for now. Need to go do some editing……
