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.
Cape Town
Fifteen miles south of Cape Town South Africa lies Noordhoek Beach, perfect white sand backed by lush cliffs facing the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Town South Africa is so many things, and first and foremost it’s big and wild. Perched at the bottom tip of the African continent, at the edge of the icy Atlantic waters, we have rocky canyons, sandstone and granite outcroppings that border every landscape in every direction. There are white sand beaches, penguins, dunes and baboons.
Cape Town South Africa was settled more than three centuries ago by the Dutch, who chose the Constantia Valley for their new home. They subsequently covered the valley in sun-drenched vineyards, which still exist today, producing some of the world’s best wines. Cape Town South Africa is not just about rugged nature and big skies, it’s about vineyards, funky neighborhoods, fine dining, and luxury hotels. What’s more, when it’s wintery and cold – perfect time for a sunny getaway in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer time in Cape Town South Africa.
If you love the outdoors, now’s a good time to consider South Africa Travel. The South African currency, the rand, is low against the US dollar. Luxury South Africa hotels that previously cost US$400 now cost US$350. You can get everything cheaper now, in 2009 prices. Renting cars, hotels, eating in fine restaurants, exploring some of the worlds’ most magnificent wilderness areas for hiking or biking, it has all come down in price for the time being.
Go horseback riding on Cape Town South Africa’s Cape Peninsula, fifteen miles south of town. There are trails through wetlands and dunes and you end up on the beach. View Egyptian geese wading in freshwater streams, and other birdlife that stops on its way. The cliffs rise straight up from the beaches here near Cape Town, and one of the most famous is Chapman’s Peak, famous for its harrowing road, built on the edge of oblivion. Birds go swooping for oysters and clams here on the beach, seals can be seen, and it feels so remote you wonder if you’re not at the end of the world.
Cape Town’s beach communities are worth checking out too. South Africa has a wide range of cultures, and you will see urban poverty in Cape Town. But beach towns will offer a funky view on life. Kalk Bay is right on the coast, and picturesque. Back to Noordhoek, you will find a grand example of Cape Town South Africa at its finest: the culinary revolution. Head for the Foodbarn and you’ll see what we mean!
Table Mountain is also on the Cape Peninsula, with its foothills suburbs of Newlands, Claremont and Bishopscourt. The plantlife is wonderful here: bougainvillea, palms and all kinds of lovely tropical vegetation. Visit Kirstenbosch here, South Africa’s Cape Town location of the National Botanical Gardens. It’s under US$5 to get in and is well worth five times that price. Pathways, hiking trails, cobblestone walkways, benches, manicured lawns, ponds, and more. What a treat!
