A trip to the V&A waterfront is not complete without a trip on the Cape Wheel. The ferris wheel was installed in 2010 as a temporary attraction for the 2010 football world cup. 19 years on and it’s still in use.
A trip takes about 40 minutes, and you have a fantastic view of the harbour, the city and the mountain. An excellent way to relax in the often busy V&A. More details are on their website
I took this shot of the Vienna skyline from the top of the ferris wheel – the Wiener Riesenrad at the Prater funfair in Vienna. The ferris wheel is over 100 years old, and the funfair is filled with amazing rides (more about the fund fair in an future post). But if you want to see an amazing view of the Viennese skyline in an historical manner, I recommend a ride on the Wiener Riesenrad.
The Riesenrad in Vienna is a huge and very old ferris wheel. It was originally commissioned in 1897 and is still running. It sits at the entrance to the Prater amusement park (I will speak about the park in a future post).
The cabins are huge and can easily hold about 15 people, and if you visit in the evening you can book a private restaurant cabin. I am not quite sure how they actually get the food into the cabin!
Of course, from the top you have a magnificent view of the city and amusement park. It almost looks like you are looking down at a little model of the city. A must-visit when you are in Vienna!
The Ferris Wheel at the V&A Waterfront. It was originally installed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and has been here ever since. Personally I think it is a nice addition to the waterfront.
The picture also reminds me that I need to visit the Da Vinci exhibition before it closes.
In Sep 2010, I posted about the Ferris Wheel in the Waterfront. At the time, it was scheduled to be there for a total of 6 months, but almost 2 years later it is still there (it has however been moved to the middle of the tourist area, which is probably a good think).
Anyway, I confess that I still have not got around to visiting it, but I will soon, I promise!
While I was driving to work this morning, I spotted this Ferris wheel being dismantled.
This reminded me of the thrill of going on the rides at the funfairs when I was a child; the excitement of the experience, begging my parents for money for just one more ride, and the pure indulgence of a day at the funfair. While the ferris wheel was also a little slow and stately, I always found the view from the top just a little scary, and I was just a little concerned what whould happen if it broke down with me at the top (thankfully it never did). It was always with a little relief that the ferris wheel would continue to turn and take me back safely to ground.
Considering that its primary purpose is to entertain children, it looked so sad and broken, sitting with half of its insides having being ripped out and unceremoniously packed into the trucks. But in just a few weeks, it will be standing in a new field. The circle once again complete, ready for another group of children to enjoy its rides, and to feel just a little worried should it break down.
By the way, here is a much more modern ferris wheel at the entrance to the Waterfront in Cape Town. It will be there for another couple of months.
This giant 50m Ferris wheel has been at the entrance to the Waterfront since the beginning of June.
According the website, “the giant observation wheel, a first for Cape Town and South Africa, is a unique way to savour panoramic bird’s-eye views of Cape Town, Paarl, Table Mountain and Robben Island. Sporting 36 fully-enclosed cabins, friends and family can sit back and savour the city skyline on the 15 minute round trip”
I have not managed to visit it yet (it only opens at 11am), but I am looking forward to my visit. Ticket prices are R70 per person, and R40 for children, so I don’t think that it is too bad.
You can also hire the luxary private cabin, but they decline to give prices for that on their website!
They promise it will be here for at least 6 months, so I suspect that it will move somewhere else directly after the Christmas season.
The ferris wheel at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, taken late at night. I didn’t have my tripod with me, so a table and cell phone became my extra camera gear :-)
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