Cape Town, South Africa
16:16
Perched between the ocean and the mountain, with a
national park as its heart, there is nowhere like Cape Town. Cape Town, the
"Mother City", is the oldest city in South Africa and has a cultural
heritage spanning more than 300 years.
The unique topography of the region makes it easy to
orientate oneself as long as you remember that with Table Mountain behind you
and Robben Island before you, you are facing north, looking across Table Bay
and up the west coast of Africa.
Go to Tourism Cape Town and Western Cape
It is in Cape Town that the Rainbow Nation really
covers the spectrum. Between beautiful Cape Dutch homesteads, traditional
dancers with painted faces performing in the streets, the smell of spicy Malay
cooking and the taste of a well-made wine, this city will fill your senses.
The bells of St George's Cathedral alternate with
the plaintive tones of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer. Visitors
give a startled jump, and Capetonians calmly glance at their watches, when the
noon gun booms above the city - a relic from the days of sail when sea captains
had to check their chronometers.
It has the top five national attractions in South
Africa, all of which should appear on every visitor's itinerary all year round.
These include a visit up Table Mountain, either by cable car or manually
climbing up routes of varying degrees of difficulty; and the Kirstenbosch
Botanical Gardens, internationally acclaimed as one of the great botanical
gardens of the world.
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, one of the
city's main tourist attractions, offers the visitor a unique shopping and
holiday experience on a scenic working harbour. Currently undergoing expansion,
the complex features shops, restaurants, launch areas for short cruises and a
variety of entertainment for those who flock through it by day and night.
Looking further offshore, visitors can take a boat
ride to Robben Island, the former home of Nelson Mandela and several other
political prisoners who fought against the apartheid government. Visitors to
the island are taken on a tour of the old prison complex, as well as to a
museum on the island.
You will never be bored in Cape Town. Table Mountain
offers some of the best climbing in the world, and it's right here in the city.
The surfing is fantastic; the diving is cold but good. You could go mountain
biking, or go sea kayaking - you may see whales or penguins.
A great thing to do on a full moon summer's night is
to walk up Lion's Head before dark, watch the sun set on one hand and the full
moon rise on the other and then walk down in the silvery light.
If the wind is right, you could fly off Lion's Head
with a qualified tandem paraglider pilot, and land on the beach in time for
sundowners. You'll never be bored.
If all this sounds too gung ho for you, don't worry.
You can shop till you drop at Cavendish, Canal Walk or the Waterfront. There is
lots of live music, art exhibitions, museums, plays and even opera, ballet or
symphony concerts on all year round.
The city has also recently developed tourism routes
such as the Cape care route, which showcases sustainable development by taking
tourists to destinations including a community-based bicycle workshop and a
community weaving centre, and the Southern Line tourist train route between
Cape Town and Simon's Town.
Cape Town is also probably the most popular
backpackers destination anywhere, with more hostels than any other city
worldwide. It's also the home of the backpackers special, the Baz Bus.
0 comments