At ECCO Outdoor, we design and engineer shoes that take you from the trail to the centre of the city in a heartbeat. We understand that versatility in product design and the ability to mix and match technically ready products with cutting-edge fashion and designer wear is no longer a future discussion but, rather, a day-to-day reality driven by consumer desires. That is why we chose Cape Town for part two of our Outsiders series.
Cape Town has long been considered the perfect playground for people looking for the ideal mashup of outdoor activity and a slick, international city that literally blend into each other within a few steps. With oceans surrounding the peninsula and a mountain range stretching from the edge of the city all the way to Cape Point, activities such as mountain and road cycling, paragliding, surfing, mountain climbing, kayaking, fishing and hiking are all literally in your backyard. However, most visitors to Cape Town will drive and stroll around the city, and perhaps might think about a leisurely boat trip. But ECCO Outdoor's intrepid brand ambassadors, Lizzie Carr and Sean Conway, aren't like most visitors. They tread their own path.
We challenged Lizzie and Sean to tackle 13 activities within a 33-hour time frame as they went on to explore Cape Town in every conceivable way — in the air, on the ground and on, in and under the water. They had to unlock a series of cryptic clues from the time of their arrival at Cape Town International Airport until their final stop at the picturesque fishing village of Kalk Bay. The challenges ranged from fast hiking to paragliding, tandem cycling, freediving for sunken 'treasure', open-ocean paddling and transporting an ostrich egg from the Cape Point Ostrich Farm across the finish line in Kalk Bay, where they concluded the challenge by bartering for a yellowtail that they needed to cook over a freshly prepared charcoal fire at the quaint roadside restaurant of Outspan.
With their maverick spirit, the Outsiders always dare to be different. The ECCO Outsiders adventure allowed Lizzie and Sean to be just that while getting a rapid-fire overview of what this beautiful city and its surroundings have to offer outdoor enthusiasts. Both ambassadors were absolutely blown away by the ease of access to breathtaking scenery, natural beauty and some seriously challenging activities, not to mention the 'Lekker Local'.