SOUTH AFRICAN WINES & CULTURE

Mother City of Africa, and the Western Cape, an area which is regarded as one of the most beautiful regions in the world. The City is a rare cultural gem, resulting from the amalgamation of Indonesian, French, Dutch, British and German settlers, the local Bushman and Hottentot tribes and the Bantu tribes from the north.

The impressive presence of Table Mountain, flanked by the legendary Devil's Peak and historical Signal Hill, stands proudly above the city. Beautiful white sandy beaches along a peaceful coastline frame the Cape Peninsula, which is famed for its unique floral kingdom, bountiful rivers, vleis and dams and magnificent countryside. The surrounding area extends far into the winelands, green in summer and red-gold in autumn.

The vast range of shopping opportunities includes haggling with shopholders at Greenmarket Square Flea Market, as well as breezing through sophisticated and stylish shopping malls. The huge variety of restaurants reflects the multicultured history of the Cape and caters for everyone's taste, from fast-food outlets and casual to the chic to the very elegant.

Cape Town's central city area is relatively small. We will start our city walk at the Castle of Good Hope, which has guided tours every hour, on the hour. The Castle was built as a result of the constant threat of war between Britain and Holland, and for effective defense purposes was built in the shape of a pentagon. The corner stone was laid in 1666, but completion was only achieved in 1679.

Due west of the Castle, on the corner of Buitenkant and Darling Streets is the Grand Parade. This was the scene of many a military and political gathering, and is today occupied by a flea market and parking area. Overlooking the Parade is Cape Town's City Hall, built in 1905. The Hall was designed in the Italian Renaissance style.

The interesting, colourful history of Cape Town is emotionally reconstructed in The Distric Six Museum.

Back on course, we continue on to the Company's Gardens at the top of Adderley Street. It now contains an interesting collection of early postal stones and the history of postage and currency in South Africa. There are many displays of furniture, glass ceramics, weapons, musical instruments and toys from the many countries whose people settled in South Africa. The archaeological section includes interesting artefacts of Egyptian, Greek and Roman origin. The reconstructed tombstone of Jan van Riebeeck stands in the courtyard.

Cape Town is a city of culture, built on a history that reflects in the architecture, cuisine, music and dance. Together with a warm summer and temperate winter climate and a friendly community, the Western Cape and the Mother City are an ideal holiday destination throughout the year.

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