The Ghosts of Simon’s Town By Rachel Hill At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

If you’re after something a little different on your Cape Town holiday then why not take a trip to the nearby location of Simon’s Town, which is as well famed for its ghosts as it is its ancient history.

The Simon’s Town Museum may house many artefacts of life in Simon’s Town throughout the ages, but the building has more than enough history of its own. In the past it has been used as a school, post office, jail and magistrates court amongst others. On your Cape Town holiday make sure that you take a photograph of the oil painting in the Old Residency which when photographed always fails to develop. If the very idea of this frightens you then you may not want to visit the basement of the museum during your tailor made holiday to Cape Town. The basement used to be the old punishment cell where slaves and prisoners were dealt with. Even today whiplash marks can still be spotted on the ceiling and it is said that if you walk the museum at night then you can hear the echoes of their cries.

If you want a break from the horrors and the hauntings of Simon’s Town then there are a number of different activities that you can enjoy in this region. Whale watching trips are especially popular with tourists on their Cape Town holidays and the nearby Boulder’s Beach is also the best place to spot penguins, with over 2500 birds.

As a seaside resort, Simon’s Town offers some of the best luxury accommodation in the Cape Town area. But one house that you probably won’t want to spend the night at is the Admiralty House which has been standing since 1740. The house was famously visited by Rudyard Kipling who noted that the then Admiral kept turtles tied up to the jetty, so that they could swim around in the sea until the soup ingredients were ready for them. The Royal family have since visited the house and various members of aristocracy reported the strange instances that had happened to them whilst visiting the house on their Cape Town holidays. Lady Campbell spotted men in naval uniform on the stairs, whilst the wife of a Vice-admiral reported an invisible man opening a door for her. The same woman in grey is regularly seen at Admiralty House, Ibeka and The Residency and these three buildings are said to be linked together by a network of tunnels.

With a prominent naval history Simon’s Town is home to a number of maritime heroes, but the best known of these was Able Seaman, Just Nuisance, RN, the only dog to serve in the Royal Navy. A commemorative statue of the Great Dane stands in Jubilee Square and has become the symbol of the town, with vendors selling Just Nuisance key-chains and fridge-magnets for you to purchase as souvenirs on your Cape Town holidays.

Simon’s Town is also an important pilgrimage site for Muslim visitors. During the 18th Century a Muslim grave was uncovered under trees and whilst it is unknown exactly who was buried there, the site is said to have a strange physical aura surrounding it.

Simon’s Town is the perfect place to spend a few days whilst on your tailor-made holiday to Cape Town and, like many of the former residents, who still haunt the city, you’ll be so taken with the destination that you won’t want to leave.

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