The Blacksheep List of Alternative Date Ideas That Don’t Suck Pt1

*Some of these ideas are Cape Town specific

You only live once; it is on the lips of all the most obnoxious teens and used ironically by way too many a Twitter account. But just like all the most annoying clichés that we have thrown at us on a daily basis- it has its merit. In the spirit of this annoyingly overused acronym, I will be damned if I waste another two hours of my life in a less-than-comfortable movie house wondering whether or not my date will dig up enough courage to do the yawn and reach.  No, I choose to do things that are a little less predictable. These alternative date ideas can be used for first dates or even just to add a little life to your weekly date night.

Small disclaimer: I suggested going metal detecting to my last prospective date and I haven’t heard from him in 3 weeks so suggesting these ideas MAY result in you being forever alone.

Geocaching

Geocaching, simply put, is a modern day treasure hunt or a game where grown-ups use multi-billion dollar military satellites to look for Tupperware hidden in the woods. But seriously, with 6 million Geocachers and 2,408,406 caches worldwide, this hugely popular pastime is actually really enjoyable and addictive.

People hide caches (usually a Tupperware box filled with cool shit) and then post its coordinates on the Geocaching website. There are many different types of caches but the most common ones are containers that have small items that people can take and replace with a new object- sometimes these are themed, like the book cache. There will also be a logbook to sign.

Geocaches can be filled with anything, recently there was a philanthropist in California who used Geocaching as a way to give away money- read about it here

To get started you will have to sign up on the website and download the free app on your phone. Use the online map to find caches in your area and then use your smartphone to find the spot that the coordinates lead to. Your smartphone will only take you so far (within a couple of meters of the cache), you will then have to work out the hints or puzzles provided to find the actual treasure.

This is a great idea for a date because you both have a shared goal to work towards together, coupled with the fact that the thrill of the find will secrete oxytocin- which will make that victory kiss all the more magical (and probable).

Get drunk and go to the museum

The only semi-socially acceptable museum for you to do this at in Cape Town is the Iziko South African Museum- (definitely not the Holocaust or District Six museums). Between the Crappy Taxidermy worthy stuffed animals and the truly laughable dinosaur models, you are sure to get a few photo gems to document your date. Find dark corners (of which there are many) to make out in and maybe even learn a thing or two about the history of our country while you’re at it.

One of those inexplicable photo opportunity gems that I was telling you about

Opening times: Monday - Sunday: 10am to 5pm, closed on Christmas Day and Workers Day.

25 Queen Victoria Street | Gardens | Cape Town | +27 (0)21 481 3800

Sunrise Picnic

I have been dreaming of making this particular date a reality for a while now. You wake up moerse (read: very- for the non SAffers) early so that you can  fry up some bacon and eggs and deposit them into a couple of croissants. Then fill up your flask with life-giving coffee and bundle up with your sexiest blizzard-proof jacket so that you can head out to the beach (or rooftop) before the sun rises. Bring along a lantern or one of those magical Consol light jars and a gigantic, snuggly blanket and you can start your date while reveling in one of those most spectacular sights that happen to occur every morning (usually while you are still dead to the world).

The Half-half Date

One of you gets to organise the food/restaurant and the other organises the entertainment. The catch is that neither of you know the other half of the date until the day/night in question. You could also decide to each pick something you've never done/ somewhere you've never been. Dates are about getting to know each other and the best way to do that is to go through a “first time” together. You get to impress your date with your ingenious ideas and superior taste while simultaneously getting to know a bit more about them.

Cereal and Cartoons

I once read a thread on Reddit about pick-up lines and a woman told her story about how she was sitting at a bar and a kid with Down Syndrome asked if she wanted to hear his pick-up line, she said yes and he then delivered the smoothest line I have ever heard: “Do you want to come to my house to eat cereal and watch cartoons?”. If a guy asked me that I would find it very hard to resist. Make a date out of it by arriving at 9am in your pyjamas and a box of your favourite cereal and a hard drive full of your favorite childhood cartoons.  You can tell a lot about a person by the cartoons he/she watches and the way they react when you slurp your cereal milk in front of them.

I spent 20 minutes on this homage to cartoons and cereal.

 All these ideas insure that, even if your date doesn't end up being right for you, at least you didn't waste your time getting to know them doing things that weren't interesting. You can’t sit back waiting for adventure to happen to you- you have to make it happen. Please comment if you have any other alternative date ideas that don’t suck or if you have successfully (or disastrously) tried one of my suggestions and you want to share your experience. Part two coming soon!