A few weeks ago, we packed our picnic, tucked our blanket under our arms and headed off to Kirstenbosch for a night under the stars with Harry Potter. I heard about The Galileo fairly recently and it sounded, well, heavenly.
An open air cinema that allows you to enjoy the classics in three beautiful locations – Kirstenbosch Gardens, The Waterfront or Hillcrest – while munching on your favourite picnic treats and (bottle of?) wine. It sounded a little too good to be true – so I admit to being a little bit of a skeptic before we arrived.
We printed our Webtickets and entry (at the top entrance of Kirstenbosch) was seamless. You have the option of ‘booking’ a blanket and / or chair with your ticket (at an additional cost) or paying for one on the day, if you choose. We arrived just after 18h00 with the movie starting at 20h00 – we found a perfect spot on the lawns, but I wouldn’t advise arriving much later than we did.
We didn’t book a chair, but after a few minutes of lying on our blanket, realised it would be a much better idea and carried two over – R20 each. The screen itself is fairly massive – but beautifully clear and with perfect sound. Remember I said I was a skeptic?
This is when all doubt faded away.
The trailers started with Harry Potter starting shortly after 20h00. The sun was setting, trees and mountains were silhouetted against the sky – perfection. It got a little chilly, even with our blanket – so I’d recommend taking a jacket and a few extra layers. You can see the schedule for Kirstenbosch here – we can’t wait to go back for another show. Fantastic locations, brilliant movies -and 10 points to The Galileo team for flawless execution. Happy summer, Cape Town.
Note : We paid for our tickets in full and were not remunerated in any way. I was not requested to do a review on The Galileo. All images and opinions are my own
What do you think?