Capetown, Or More Correctly Cape Town, South Africa's “Mother City” Is Set In One Of The World's Most Stunning Locations At The Southern Tip Of Africa.

Table Mountain

Capetown is the most popular tourist destination in South Africa due to its good climate, natural setting, and relatively well-developed infrastructure.

Visitors expecting a conventional African city will be disappointed. Instead they will find that Capetown is a sophisticated city famed for its hospitality and its huge number of trendy restaurants, bars, hotels and casinos which compare favourably with any other cosmopolitan centre. The general ambience is relaxed and easy going.

Central Capetown is a small city by world standards but the metropolitan area is huge. To travel its length involves an 80km (50 miles) plus journey through ever changing landscapes.

Areas such as Camps Bay and Clifton boast the most expensive real estate in the world, where you will be paying for the fantastic views! Central Capetown is a small city by world standards but the metropolitan area is huge. To travel its length involves an 80km (50 miles) plus journey through ever changing landscapes.

Areas such as Camps Bay and Clifton boast the most expensive real estate in the world, where you will be paying for the fantastic views!

Camps Bay

The climate is Mediterranean in character but weather patterns are complex and it is not unusual to experience all four seasons in a 24 period.

Summers are hot and dry but enlivened on occasions by southeaster winds which can at times reach gale force and are known as the Cape Doctor for their supposedly cleansing effect on the city.

Winters are relatively mild but long, chilly wet conditions can occur at any time. These are often broken by a few glorious warm days which send the locals rushing to the nearest beach.

PLACES OF INTEREST

CITY CENTRE

Table Mountain:

One of the most popular tourist attractions is the huge flat topped Table Mountain that dominates the city’s skyline. If you are the energetic type then you can reach the top by hiking up, lesser mortals take the Cable car. Once on top there are organized walks; fabulous views around the city and of course the ubiquitous café with its 360 degree aerial view of Cape Town.

Cable Car Cape Town

Victoria And Alfred Waterfront

Robben Island

The Nelson Mandela Gateway is situated in the Port and ferries depart from there to another famous South African landmark, Robben Island. This is where Nelson Mandela and other opponents of Apartheid were incarcerated for many years. Visitors are shown the cell where Mandela spent such a large part of his life. Tours are hosted by ex-prisoners who give their own slant on the workings of the prison.

Cape Town City Centre

Colourful Homes Bokaap (Above Cape)

Today it houses a museum that which contains furniture, objet d’art, paintings and military artifacts.Elsewhere in the city centre are the Jewish, Cultural History and South African museums, the Planetarium, National Gallery and Houses of Parliament.

Cape Point

Cape Point is the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula and can be reached via the sensational Chapman’s Peak Drive, a narrow road that gives the most amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean and nearby mountains. It is considered to be one of the Worlds great scenic drives.

The peninsula is dotted with old, attractive little seaside towns any one of which could fill up a couple of hours exploring and eating in the many good restaurants that abound there.

Boulders Beach

On the way down the peninsula it is well worth stopping off at Boulders Beach which is situated in Simons Town and is home to a colony of jackass penguins with which you can get up close and personal. A short swim with these creatures is an experience to treasure. Simons Town is still a naval town with several museums which celebrate the fact.

Cape Point itself is situated in the Table Mountain National Park and a drive through the rather bleakscenery is often enlivened by the sight of group’s of baboons sitting in the middle of the road or clambering over, or even climbing in, some poor unsuspecting tourist’s car.

Occasionally zebras, cape foxes, antelope and ostrich can be spotted wandering over the terrain. There are very few trees to be seen but the area is covered by more than 1200 flowering species that in springtime transform the scenery in a blaze of colour.

The Two Oceans Restaurant at Cape Point is well worth a visit but if you prefer there is a shop that sells sweets, ice cream, crisps and cold drinks but beware of muggers, of the baboon type that is.

The high point, literally, of the reserve are the sheer cliffs that fall just under 1000 feet ( 300 metres) into the ocean. From here you can often see huge shoals of fish, dolphins, seals and the occasional whale.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

An astonishing array of flowering plants and birds can be seen when wandering along the numerous pathways.Concerts are held in the gardens during the Summer months and visitors often bring their own picnics.

The Winelands

There are numerous wine estates where wine and cheese tasting are a delight. The Spier Estate near Stellenbosch has a wonderful Cheetah outreach programme which offers visitors the opportunity to come into close contact with baby and adult cheetahs with all money made being ploughed back into the programme.

DAY TRIPS

HERMANUS

A 2 hour drive from Capetown brings you to the seaside town of Hermanus best known for its whale watching opportunities. Around September and October the Southern Right Whales make their way into the bay to calve and are quite a tourist attraction. So much so that their arrival is announced by an official ‘whale crier’.

WEST COAST

Approximately 70 kilometres from Capetown is Langebaan Lagoon which is one of South Africa’s best wetlands and a bird watchers paradise. It’s a popular trip for locals who enjoy the, scenery, the boat trips and Club Mykonos, a Greek style entertainment complex which includes a casino.

Wild Flowers

Darling is also the home of South Africa’s ‘grand dame’ tannie (auntie) Evita (otherwise known as Pieter Dirk Uys) a political satirist of note. His theatre is set in what used to be Darling's railway station and is home to a café, shop and a workshop for locally produced artifacts.

Further up the coast the arid region of Namaqualand is transformed after the Winter rains into a fabulous spectacle by up to 4,000 different floral species.

Safaris

The largest Big Game Parks in South Africa are situated in the north of the country the most famous being the Kruger National Park. This is one of the largest and most successful conservation areas in the World and attracts well over 750,000 visitors every year.

Visitors need to fly from Capetown to Johannesburg and spend a few days in or near Kruger to get the full benefit of the experience. The hotels situated in the Park itself tend to be rather expensive but they are handy for the early morning game drives which produce the most sightings.

Another but more adventurous option is a visit to the National Parks in Namibia. This desert country is home to the famous Dune Elephants, cheetah’s and many other fabulous animals and birdlife.

It offers a wide range of Adventure activities such as hunting, air, land and sea activities and for the less energetic the wonderful bird watching and star gazing opportunities.

Whale Watching: is popular amongst tourists: Southern Right and Humpback whales can be seen off the coast during the breeding season (August to November) killer whales can be seen any time of the year.

A whale festival is held in the town of Hermanus, which is a 2 hour drive from Capetown, every September but whales can also be seen in False Bay and up the West Coast.

West Coast

You can buy amazing houses here for less than a small flat would cost in the U.K. A FOUR BEDROOM, 3 RECEPTION, 3 BATHROOMS, POOL AND SUN LOUNGE in an up market area would cost less than two hundred thousand pounds A SMALL FLAT ON THE BEACHFRONT can be bought for less than one hundred thousand pounds.