We are planning to host one of the three inaugural satRday conferences in Cape Town during 2017. The [R Consortium](https://www.r-consortium.org/) has committed to funding three of these events: one will be in Hungary, another will be somewhere in the USA and the third will be at an international destination. At present Cape Town is dicing it out with Monterrey (Mexico) for the third location.
The satRday will probably happen in late February or early March 2017. This is the end of southern hemisphere Summer and the Cape is at its best, with glorious weather and the peak Summer tourist rush over. You could easily factor satRday into a vacation in sunny South Africa.
Why Cape Town?
Cape Town is literally the jewel of Southern Africa:
- Table Mountain (spectacular view, great hiking, cable car);
- Wine farms (too many to mention, but all within a short drive of the city and most offering free tastings);
- Boulders Beach (pristine beach in Simonstown with large colony of Jackass Penguins);
- Camps Bay, Muizenberg and many other idyllic beaches;
- Robben Island (return boat trip across Table Bay, tour of the Maximum Security Prison, and a bus tour of the Island);
- the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and the Two Oceans Aquarium;
- the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden; and
- lots, lots more.
Did I mention the wine and Table Mountain? Ah, yes, I did.
This is what the weather looked like in Cape Town at the end of February 2016: temperatures around 20 to 25 °C (70 to 80 Fahrenheit), light breezes and zero precipitation.
For International Tourists
Cape Town is well connected with the rest of the World. There are direct flights to Cape Town International Airport from Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London and Munich.
The exchange rate is extremely favourable (see below), making South Africa rather affordable for the international traveller. A healthy meal will cost you around 100 ZAR and a great bottle of wine can be had for about the same price. Decent accommodation with sweeping views of the sea or mountain costs between 700 and 1000 ZAR per night, but you can find more affordable (or more lavish) options.
Public transport is a little sparse, but Uber will take you anywhere you need to go.
We know that there are some security concerns about South Africa, but Cape Town is a very safe city. The two venues that we are considering for the conference are secure and easy to access:
- the campus of the University of Cape Town;
- the trendy suburb of Green Point, close to the Waterfront.
For useRs from the USA, Cape Town is somewhat further away than Monterrey, but it’s a trip you won’t regret making. For Europeans useRs it’s closer than Mexico and there is no time zone change.
We look forward to hosting you next year at satRday in Cape Town, the Mother City.
