It was a spur of the moment decision. An email arrived one morning a few months ago announcing British Airways had just launched a brand new service to Johannesburg that day, and there was plenty of availability to make a reservation using air miles over the Christmas and New Year period – something that’s usually impossible to do without a large amount of forward planning.

I’d been to Cape Town for a work trip in 2006 and always promised Coman we’d go back together one day, so I bagged the seats there and then and all of a sudden we were planning an adventure to South Africa. It seemed appropriate to embark on a special trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary so driving the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth – one of the world’s great road trips – fitted the bill precisely. And with seats booked with air miles and a very favourable exchange rate it shouldn’t cost much more than a blast of winter sun in the Canaries!

It’s quarter past 7am when we touch down at Johannesburg’s O R Tambo airport, named in honour of Oliver Tambo, hero of the ANC. We’ve got a four-hour stopover spent blearily drinking coffee before our Mango Airways connection to Cape Town, and then two hours in the air descending over mountains and patterned farmland towards the sea, meaning it’s past lunchtime before we finally arrive in one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

As we come into land we fly directly over huge shanty towns and Mohammed, the driver who greets us, points out various townships as we leave the airport and head into the centre of Cape Town, all sitting at the foot of mighty Table Mountain. He drops us at the Commodore Hotel, situated right next to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the very heart of the tourist area. Having spent the last 24 hours travelling, we revitalise ourselves with a super quick shower, making use of the little egg timer on the door to keep an eye on not wasting water. This city of nearly seven million inhabitants almost ran dry last year, and is still suffering its worst drought in over 100 years, so every drop counts.

Leaving our bags unpacked we decide to head straight out into the blazing sunshine as we have a specific destination in mind and just a couple of hours left to visit it today. The Zeitz Mocaa (Museum Of Contemporary African Art) is brand new and housed in a spectacular redevelopment called The Silo, home also to an amazing hotel which we had seen on a BBC programme a couple of months ago.

Fashioned out of a derelict factory on the waterfront, it’s an incredible structure housing dramatic African exhibitions. We spend an hour baffled, amused and provoked by the art inside before visiting the hotel and sipping cocktails and local beer in the Willaston Bar, the warm sun bathing us through the industrial windows.

As we leave, huge clouds of mist are rolling down Table Mountain, like a dry ice machine at an 80’s disco. We walk past the Nelson Mandela Gateway ferry terminal to Robben Island and the nearby famous Clock Tower, then stroll through the Waterfront, souvenir shopping and soaking up the atmosphere along with thousands of other tourists.

Eventually we stop for dinner at Gibson’s Burgers, Coman almost falling asleep over his Beirut veggie option while I gaze idly out at the dusky harbour tucking into a cauliflower and hemp affair. Both are utterly delicious and give us hope we’ll be able to find good vegan and vegetarian food in a land infamous for its love of meat.

It’s been a long, long journey to get here and our bed is calling so we retire by 9pm, ready to tour Cape Town’s sights bright and early on New Year’s Eve.