Last year we saw ‘Der Bachelor‘ on RTL German TV for the first time, and were excited by the fantastic coverage which Cape Town and its surrounds generally and Camps Bay specifically achieved in the show, the contestants all sharing a  house in Camps Bay for the duration of the filming.  Season 4 began flighting last week, and last night I watched episode 2 of the new series. With a promotion offered by SA Tourism to visit Cape Town, as well as by Amarula, and the filming of our beautiful city and beach suburb, the reality TV series should make Cape Town a talking point in Germany for the next few weeks.

Christian Tews is the newest ‘Der Bachelor‘, and is not endowed with such good looks as his predecessors Jan and Paul had.  His biggest disadvantage is his bald head, and dress sense, or lack of!  He seems very nice, has beautiful blue eyes, and has already developed soft spots for some of the 22 finalists.

In the second episode of the new season, Christian took contestant Angelina on a helicopter flip, from which they were meant to jump out of for an adrenalin rush start to their relationship.  The south-easter was pumping, so the outing had to be abandoned. A larger open sided helicopter was subsequently used, with filming over the spectacular False Bay.   On another outing Christian took five contestants to an unnamed game farm by small airplane, where they could play with cheetahs.

Some of the action was filmed at the ‘Ladies Villa’ in Camps Bay, with the majestic Twelve Apostles in the background.  Christian went for a walk on Camps Bay beach, doing this top Blue Flag beach proud.  He also takes a Harley drive along Beach Road from Mouille Point (even though he also has a house in Camps Bay) to Camps Bay, with beautiful scenery filmed.

SA Tourism is running a competition throughout the series, offering €5000 for the correct name of ‘Der Bachelor‘, as well as a competition for a couple to visit Cape Town.  Amarula, ‘the spirit of Africa’, is punted throughout, although one does not see the contestants drink it.

A report in Bunte magazine shared that the contestants were plied with alcohol (no doubt a good boost for our local wine industry) during their stay in Camps Bay, to loosen them up for the filming.  They were not allowed to leave the house, and had to be in the communal areas at all times other than for sleeping at night.  A movement detector would monitor if they went to their rooms.  The bitchiness between the girls is unbelievable, and this is only episode 2, which means that the jealousy towards Angelina and her solo date with Christian can only escalate!  Christian is a smart lad, and can see the female politics, taking it into account when he awards a rose to the contestants that stay on.  He sent three contestants home last night.

No matter how corny the content of this ‘Reality-Soap‘ is, the  publicity benefits for Cape Town and surrounding areas in the Western Cape have tremendous value for our tourism industry!

POSTSCRIPT 5/2:   Christian had a ‘single date’ at a venue with hippos (Rondevlei?) in episode 3. He then took a group of the girls on a catamaran trip along the West Coast, probably from Club Mykonos, whereafter they enjoyed a beach braai at what could have been Strandloper in Langebaan.  Thereafter Christian invited a group of girls to go flyfishing in what looked like Franschhoek.

POSTSCRIPT 15/2:   In the episode on Wednesday, one of the girls was invited to a ‘single date’ with Christian, riding elephants.  Unfortunately the location of the outings are not named at all.  On another day, Christian invited five of the girls to quad biking (possibly near Atlantis or Melkbosstrand), to test the girls on their roughing skills.   On another ‘single date‘ Christian drove a Mercedes Benz sports car cabriolet to a winery near Noordhoek, possibly Cape Point Vineyards, showing the beautiful scenery, including Camps Bay beach, the Twelve Apostles, Hout Bay, and driving on Chapman’s Peak.

‘Der Bachelor’, RTL (via DEUKOM), Wednesdays 21h15 – 23h15.

Chris von Ulmenastein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com   Twitter: @WhaleCottage