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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 07 July 2004 |
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Climate
The Western Cape enjoys hot summers and mild, green winters- perfect
weather for the production of fruit, grains and, most important - wine.
Cape Town Metropolitan area .
The area between Table Mountain and Hottentots Holland comprises
the Cape' Town Metropole and encompasses pulsating cosmopolitan
city life, beach playgrounds, forests and exquisite nature parks.
Table Mountain
Cape Town's most famous landmark - a quick spin by revolving cable
car to the 1 086m summit will give the visitor a grand view of one
of the most beautiful cities in the world, and of Course the equally
famous South African 'Alcatraz' - Robben Island.
The V & A Waterfront
The most visited attraction in Cape Town is the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
with its assortment of shopping, eating, entertainment and sightseeing facilities,
all set within a working harbour.
Africa's Most Southerly Point – Sightseeing
Cape Agulhus is the most southern point of South Africa with spectacular views of the ocean. It is at this point that the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.
Cape Point
A stop at Cape Point gives the visitor the opportunity to boast of having been at the most southern point of the Cape Peninsula.
Some 26 shipwrecks have been recorded at Cape Point, some of them presenting good diving spots. A funicular takes visitors on scenic trips to an old lighthouse and the spot is a bird watcher's paradise.
Township Vibes
Township tours will remind the tourist how the will to survive can overcome any adversity. In Guguletu and Langa expect to be overwhelmed by hospitality, informal roadside traders, rowdy taverns serving local beer and toe-tapping jazz. Guided tours are recommended to get to most out of the experience.
Most Fabulous Beaches in the World
There's a beach to suit every mood in Cape Town:
- Clifton for those who want to see and be seen
- Sandy Bay for the nudists
- Muizenberg with its colourful bathing boxes for a good swim in warm water
- Kommetjie for watersports.
- Fishhoek is a quaint seaside village
- Hout Bay has a colourful fishing harbour and craft market
- Kalk Bay attracts antique hunters
- Boulder's Beach at Simon's Town is home to a colony of Jackass penguins.
Shopping Frenzy
Cape Town has many markets and impressive shopping centres and malls. One of the most talked about shopping venues is the impressive 400-outlet Canal Walk Century City. It also boasts a 20-theatre cinema complex and
for adrenaline-pumping entertainment, there's Ratanga Junction, a 30-attraction theme park with and the glitzy Grand West Casino & Entertainment World.
Great Gardens of the World
A day in Cape Town might end with a classical concert at sundown in one of the world's great botanical gardens Kirstenbosch, a repository for many rare fynbos species and a wealth of indigenous plants, trees and flowers.
The West Coast The West Coast offers some of the greatest of small town experiences in South Africa. This is a region that needs to be savoured, slowly, and therefore road trips along the West Coast are a firm favourite with locals and international visitors. Not only does the area offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the world - mountains, oceans and views that go on forever, this coast is also a haven for the finest South African hospitality.
The West Coast National Park (close to Langebaan) is where
50 000 migratory birds can be seen in the summer, and at Bird Island at Lamberts Bay, an unobtrusive viewing platform affords close-ups of a jam-packed breeding site.
The national park also contains 40% of the earth's remaining strandveld fynbos, while the West Coast
Major attractions in the at large really blooms in the spring months of August - October, even the roadsides bursting forth with lilies, vygies and daisies.
Endemic Clanwilliam cedar and snowball protea can be sighted in the Cederberg Wilderness Area, which also claims unusual rock forma
tions and well-known hiking trails.
The West Coast has two official wine routes, the Swartland Wine Route and the Olifants River Wine Region. West Coast seas also produce a bounty of quality seafood and line fIsh to accompany the fruit of the vine and some of the country's fInest restaurants are found along this coastline.
The Winelands
Just a 45-minute drive from Cape Town and you're in the mountains and valleys of the Winelands - all gracious gabled Cape Dutch homesteads, cask-lined cellars, oak-treed towns and ultra fine restaurants. The towns of Stellenbosch, Franschoek and Paarl are delightful and beg to be explored and savoured very slowly, like good wine.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 June 2006 )
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