The Wineland is an area north-east of Cape Town.
It is well known for it's (surprise surprise) wineries.
Franschoek is located not a 50 minutes drive away from Cape Town.
There are so many things you can do there. The main reason
why we went there the first time was that someone told us that there
are excellent restaurants. And they were right.
You can find some of the best wineries there, most
of them are open to the public and you can visit them.
Some are even quite old with beautiful manor houses in
cape dutch architecture.
The Hottentots-Holland nature reserve is just around the corner
with beautiful walks and views on the winelands.
Paarl is not as beautiful as we were told it is. The town
is dominated by the wine industry.
The surronding mountains are for sure worth a visit.
The Stellenbosch university creates a very special feeling
in this town which makes it different from any other we've visited.
Close to Stellenbosch is the Jonkershoek valley a Nature Reserve with
a mountainbike trail.
The Overberg lies east of
Cape Town
on the way to the Garden Route.
Most visitors simply drive through on their way to Knysna although
one should stop and have a look at the beautiful landscape.
The Overberg region (which means "over the mountain") was
the second to be occupied by the first white settlers.
De Hoop is a nature reserve to the east of the Cap Aghulas.
It includes wetlands with indegnious birdlife, plains with
for example Cape mountain Zebras, Baboons, Antilopes and
mountains where the Cape Vulture can bee seen.
The costal line includes a marine nature reserve,
that is a breeding area of whales. If you're lucky
you can see whales right from the beach.
Because the road to De Hoop is not tarred,
and it takes about an hour to get there driving on gravel,
De Hoop is usually not overcrowded.
Swellendam is the second oldest town in southern Africa
(the oldest of course is Cape Town).
It is famous for it's Drostdy which really is worth a visit.
If you like have a look at the Bontebok National Park, where
the Bontebok was rescued which had been driven almost to extinction.
The little Karoo is a semi desert. Some say that the
most important tourist attractions are the Kangoo caves and
the ostrich farms
but in my humble opinion it is the landscape of the Little Karoo itself.
The Kangoo Caves are worth a visit and you can do
guided tours. Ostriches can be seen almost everywhere.
The Karoo is a desert that covers a large area of South Africa.
We entered the Karoo from Prince Albert via the Swartberg Pass,
then turned east to visit Meiringspoort. At the time we were there
the road was destroyed by heavy rainfall
that flooded away and destroyed most bridges.
We saw that the road was closed and thought about returning the way we came
when another driver stopped, left his car, removed the road sign and
drove on. My former girlfriend and me looked at each other and decided to go on.
It was a beautiful road and although most of the bridges were detroyed
we were able to cross the rivers by simply driving through.
There is not much to say about Simons Town except that
there is a Harbour of the South African Naval Service,
but south of Simons Town is a small area called "The Boulders".
You can find a beach there and a breeding area of the Jackass Penguin.
Go get your bathing suite and if you're lucky
you can swim together with the penguins.
The Cape of Good Hope lies in a national park that
covers most of the cape peninsula.
Although it is not the southernmost point of Africa (that is Cape Aghulas),
it is supposed to be the point where Atlantic- and Indian Ocean meet.
When going there be aware of the quite agressive Baboons, that
steel food. Never ever try to feed them!
Cape Town is supposed to be one of the world most beautiful cities
(the others I was told are: San Francisco, Vancouver and Sidney).
Cape Town is special because it combines urban living
(Theatres, Jazz clubs, live concerts, markets, shopping malls)
with the opportunity of doing outdoor activities (abseiling the Table
mountain, kloofing, paragliding).
The Greenmarket square is famous for the rural art that is sold there,
but I found it to sell only tourist stuff. Nevertheless
stop there have a look around sit down in a caffee and have a look
at all the peoples running around, doing business and trying to spend their living:
blacks, colored, indians, whites even some chinese;
a true melting pot with almost all racial beauty of the world.
The first place to visit is the V&A (Victoria and Alfred) Waterfront.
It is not only the biggest shopping mall in town but there's also the
"Two Oceans" aquarium and an I-Max Cinema.
The major part plays the Table Mountain which (together with Devil's Peak,
Lion's Head and Signal Hill) surrounds the city bowl.
Most of the time it is covered with clouds the so called "Table Clothes"
The Table Mountain can bee seen from almost everywhere in the city
and dominates the scenery. You can walk up the Table Mountain. I was
told that there are 100 different ways to reach the top, or
take the cable car like most of the people do. Because of the Table Clothes
there is no garanty that you will have a fascinating view from the top.
So better wait for the meterelogical service to tell that there is
no "Southeaster".
The Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden lies on the other side
of the Table Mountain and is not only a garden but a place for
life concerts. We were able to see the Dalai Lama
speeking during a life concert on a conference
of the Parliament of world religions.
The Wilderness park with almost jungle like forest is great for trecking.
When doing the Kingfisher trail go early in the morning because
otherwise you'll have to share the trail with many other
treckers. If you're lucky (like we were) you can see the
Knysna Lourie.
Mc Gregor is a small town famous for the renovated Cape Dutch
buildings. It is also a starting point for the Boesmanskloof trail.
We had a wonderful time staying there in an old farm
building and walking around appreciating the landscape.
There is not much to say about this town except that we went there
to buy some stuff in the giant shopping mall close to the N2 and
that we drove through on our way to the Overberg or Betty's Bay.
The Sir Lowry's Pass east of Somerset West is the entrance to the
Overberg
region.
Hout Bay is a small town south of Cape Town and the northern
entrance of the scenic route "Chapman's Peak Drive".
There are excellent restaurants at the harbour, that are
well known for their fresh fish. Once a week there is a
market in Hout Bay where you can buy handmade clothes,
furniture and paintings. If you're visiting Hout Bay be sure
visit the "World of Birds", a bird sanctuary.
