Did you know the region around Cape Town, South Africa has been a big wine-producing area for centuries?  A wine-making hub, the greater Cape Town area is chock full of vineyards…hundreds of them!  Cape Town makes the perfect home base for side trips to the Cape Town wine country and beyond.

Since the 1600s, people have been making wine in the Cape Town wine country.  The Cape Dutch architecture at the vineyards is as beautiful as the rows of wine grapes, which seem to flow endlessly into the horizon.  There are a total of eight wine estates in the region known as the Constantia Valley, only a thirty minute drive from the center of Cape Town, South Africa.  One is the Constantia Uitsig wine estate, where they also serve excellent food at their garden restaurant.

A White Lion

Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is a combination of posh spa-like accommodations and miles of wilderness, located three hours from Cape Town. It’s a luxury safari experience, with the world’s only free-roaming pride of white lions. There are tented lodges, like the Dwyka Tented Lodge, with its own deck and plunge pool.  This is the ultimate splurge vacation if you’re planning any South Africa travel.

Sanbona Wildlife Reserve has a White Lion Project which seeks to return white lions to the wild.  There are rare species here, too:  the riverine rabbit among others.  Remember, this is the largest private wild game reserve in all of South Africa, so there’s plenty of room for indigenous plants, wildlife, and also for you to escape and do nothing at all.  There are vast open plains, rugged mountains, endemic bird species, and very competent field guides to assist you on your safari.

Enjoy the wonders of South Africa travel.  Experience wild game safaris on broad expanses of reserve.  Feel the beat of modern cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town.  Relax into some serious luxury accommodations.  Or do all three!

The Blue Train is a passenger train outfitted to please even the most demanding guests, with marble bathrooms and original artwork.  This orient express-like passenger train is operated by South African Airways, and is part of a package tour operated by that company.

The package takes you to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve for two nights on a safari.  You also get to stay three nights in Cape Town at the Commodore Hotel.  The tour leaves from New York and Washington, D.C. and other gateways for an extra charge.  Contact SAA for info.

Getting Ready for 2010

Soccer fans around the world, get ready for South Africa World Cup 2010! This global major sports event has never before taken place in Africa, and South Africans are ecstatic that they’ve finally been chosen to host this world event. The South Africa World Cup is also important to this nation because it symbolizes an end to the isolation felt during the terrible era of apartheid. About half a million visitors will descend upon South Africa in June 2010, donning colored wigs, crazy costumes, team-colored makeup and anything they can come up withe to support their teams. They’ll be waving flags, singing, screaming, creating the electric atmosphere known to always be a major part of the World Cup experience. The South Africa World Cup will be no exception to the usual crazy atmosphere that comes with this world soccer event.

June 10, 2010 in Johannesburg is the time and date of the start of South Africa World Cup. Fans around the world already have their calendars marked. 32 teams play 48 games in 9 cities. It’s not just Johannesburg, it’s also Durban, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Pretoria, Nelspruit, and Bioemfontein, as well as Port Elizabath and Cape Town South Africa. It all culminates on July 11, 2010 in Johannesburg, where the World Cup South Africa holds the final game attended by no less than 90.000 fans and about a billion people around the world watching on television.

If you want to see the games in person and you’re willing to travel to South Africa, you’ll need some South Africa World Cup tickets. But you can’t get these tickets on Ticketmaster! There is such strong demand, and high risk of counterfeiting, you can only get tickets on certain dates from the website of the group that runs the World Cup. Dates aren’t even announced very far in advance. Some World Cup tickets are sold via lottery, some are first-come first-serve. If you are lucky enough to win South Africa World Cup tickets, then pay online and you get your ticket at designated venues in South Africa at the time of the match. Luck has to be on your side for these World Cup tickets!

Prices of the South Africa World cup tickets range from US$80 to US$400, the latter being the price for a final game. For South Africans, there are $20 seats, but it’s for them only and they are high in the rafters. There are also special World Cup ticket packages, since chances are, if you travel to South Africa for the World Cup, you will want to see more than one game. They are called “follow your team” packages, and you get three opening-round matches and at least one elimination game.

And just as exciting as the games for many, are the celebrations and parties that follow each South Africa World Cup game. Get ready to stay up all night and celebrate!