Interesting Places in Cape Town

Cape Town is a diverse city of South Africa having rich culture and great potential for tourism. Both domestic and international tourists, frequently visit this city for historical and modern architectural attractions. Some most important and interesting places in Cape Town are as follows:

Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope is one of the most important places in Cape Town which is located at the south-west corner of Cape Peninsula. This place is not only famous for attractive picnic sites but also known for rich species of flora and fauna. A popular place at Cape of Good Hope is the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve having 1036 species of plants. This place is actually a sanctuary for endangered species. Here bird lovers can also find many birds to see including little Spotted Prinia and Black Eagle. Besides this Nature Reserve, Cape of Good Hope is also popular for its silvery beach having rocky cliffs which are known to be the highest coastal cliffs in world.

Greenmarket Square

Greenmarket Square is a well-known shopping place in Cape Town. This place remains full of both local and international products so you can have a large variety of things here. Some goods sold in Greenmarket Square include African curios, electronics, gift items, apparels and candles. Apart from shopping, you can also enjoy a wonderful dining experience in the lanes and streets of this market. There are many bars and restaurants offering mouth-watering cuisines. Coffee shops and pubs are also common here. Greenmarket Square is also a place of entertainment because performances by renowned dancers and singers also take place at this market.

Table Mountain

This attraction offers breathtakingly beautiful scenes of the entire city and beaches. Table Mountain is 1086 meters above the bay and forms a main part of Table Mountain National Park. This park is a home to 1470 species of plants which also include important medicinal plants and herbs. One of the most enjoyable features of Table Mountain is the Cable way which takes visitors from Tafelberg Road to top of this mountain. At summit, you will find a restaurant and souvenir shop providing visitors with foods and drinks. Hiking along the paths of this mountain is also an enjoyable activity. Hiking trips are conducted by professionals.

Hout Bay Harbor

Located by the bay, Hout Bay Harbor is a town which is surrounded by mountains. It has been blessed by nature with scenic beauty and pleasant weather. Here travelers can enjoy a number of activities like sailing, jet skiing, hiking, scuba diving etc. Other attractions at this place include Seal Island, Chapman’s Peak, Birds Park, historical buildings and museums. Bird Park is an interesting place which houses almost 400 species of birds. Modern facilities like that of dining and accommodation are also provided in this town.

V & A Waterfront

V & A Waterfront is an entertainment and recreation center located between Table Mountain and Robben Island. Here you will find a number of dining and entertainment spots along with luxury hotels, business centers and lodging centers. Besides facilities of enjoying water sports, there are 11 cinemas in V & A Waterfront where you can watch your favorite movies. Other attractions include boat trips, marine aquarium, walk tours and harbor cruises. You can also have a chance to do shopping here as there are more than 300 stores where you can buy handicrafts and much more.

These were five major places of Cape Town which attract the most to tourists. If you have enough resources and time, plan a visit to this beautiful city and have memorable time of your life.

Three Places you Must Visit in Sun City

Sun City is a city in South Africa which is internationally famous as a holiday destination. The reason is its multitude attractions and a number of enjoyable activities. Attractions in Sun City make it a heaven for tourists. Although there are a number of attractions in Sun City, there are three major and most popular attractions which you should not miss during your visit to Sun City. These attractions are as follows:

Super Bowl

Super Bowl is one of the best and most popular venues for concerts in South Africa. It boasts of hosting some of the renowned events and concerts in world. Super Bowl mesmerizes tourists with its entertainment options and leisure facilities. There are casinos, restaurants, Water park and sports attractions in Super Bowl making it one of the major attractions of Sun City. Super Bowl is featured with a large arena for sitting to manage a huge number of spectators. Stage at Super Bowl hosts all big concerts and parties ranging from music performances and rock concerts to singing concerts. Many renowned stars have performed in Super Bowl. These include Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams. Having a seating capacity for 6000 people, Super Bowl is considered as a favorite venue for beauty pageants as well.

Valley of Waves

Valley of Waves is a man made beach area which have a powerful wave machine. It is a water park which attracts a large number of tourists due to its exciting rides. Along with the water rides, Valley of Waves also offers white sandy beaches for enjoyment and recreation in form of beach games. Besides beach area, this attraction is also featured with winding river for those who want to enjoy tube ride and water slides. There are also some adventure activities for enthusiastic tourists. For example, there are sacred river ride and roaring lagoon. Temple of Courage is also a ride as riders are dropped 17 meters down into pool. The most thrilling ride in this place is Tarantula water ride in which riders go through channels of mountains at high speed. Other attractions of this water park include Hidden Cave Falls, The Kong Gates, Sway Bridge and Adventure Path. Apart from rides, this place also has an amphitheatre for holding cocktail parties.

Pilanesburg National Park

It is one of the most visited parks in South Africa and has an amazing variety of wild life. Spread over an area of 55000 hectares, this park was opened in 1979. Being an ideal place for jungle safari, this park has many animals including lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, hyenas, elephants, rhinos, zebras and giraffes. You will also find 300 species of birds here so it is also an interesting place for bird watchers. Some lodges and hotels are also located in this park for wonderful stay. There are also facilities of tents, picnic spots and hiking trails. You can also fly over the park in hot air balloon.

Most Visited Attractions in Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth is one of the ideal locations in world having various places of interest and attracting visitors from all over the world. If you are planning a trip to this beautiful city then you must have a proper travel guide of this city so that you can visit all these major attractions. Well! I have also made a list of some of the most interesting places to visit in Port Elizabeth, which is given below with brief description of the attractions.

Sea View Lion Park

This park was built in 1975 and is spread over an area of 120 hectares. With dense bushes and grasslands, this park provides you with an opportunity to view wildlife in their natural habitat. Here you will find monkeys, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest and impalas roaming freely. There are also some animals which you will not commonly find in other wildlife parks. These animals include jackals, rock monitors, meerkat and caracal housed in camps and enclosures. But the main attraction of this park is lions of course. There are approximately 55 lions in this park 25 of which are sub-adults and cubs. Three white lions are also kept here which are successfully bred in this park. Another attraction of Sea View Lion Park is that you can also go for bird walk for viewing special species of birds. Park also provides facility to visitors to camp in camping site which is next to main lion enclosures. An African theme restaurant is also here in this park which not only provides you with delicious food but also offers you a view of ocean in which you can also spot dolphins and whales.

Hobie Beach

Hobie Beach is one of the most visited sightseeing areas in Port Elizabeth having white sand. It is an amusement beach where you can enjoy a number of activities besides swimming. The waters of Hobie Beach are considered perfect for swimming as they are quite calm. Moreover you can also have an assistance of trained lifeguards while swimming which makes this activity even safer and more interesting. Here on this beach, weather conditions do not remain the same as it may be either gentle or stormy and water may be either cold or warm. You can also enjoy visiting beach shops and bars at this beach as well as you can also enjoy viewing whales and dolphins in ocean.

Bayworld Museum Complex

One of the major tourist attractions in Port Elizabeth is the Bayworld Museum Complex which consists of Museum, Oceanarium, Snake Park and Number 7 Castle Hill. This museum is actually built to make public aware of the need to preserve natural wealth and cultural inheritance of this place. This museum is featured with some of the most amazing exhibitions like reconstruction of the giant prehistoric dinosaur. There is also a 15 meter skeleton of a whale as well as five meters long cannon which dates back to 1640. You can also enjoy seal and dolphins presentations that take place daily at Oceanarium. At the Oceanarium, you will also find two large tanks which are home to sharks and stingrays.

Snake Park in this museum is considered to be the oldest in Africa where you can find a wide variety of reptiles including snakes, crocodiles and tortoises. If you want to see some poisonous varieties, you will also find those in Snake Park which are kept in glass areas for safety purpose. Number 7 Castle is also a delightful attraction which has been designed in a way that it reflects domestic life of mid 19^th century’s Port Elizabeth.

Addo Elephant National Park

Having more than 450 elephants, this park is a major tourist’s attraction in Port Elizabeth. It not only features elephants but also houses rhinos, whales, lions, buffalo, leopard and great white shark. Other animals which are found in this park include red rock rabbit, spotted hyenas, baboons and aardwolf. Guided Game Drives are also an attraction of this park so you can go for Day drives, Night drives, Sunset drives and Sunrise drives.

Popular Places to See in Johannesburg

Johannesburg is located in the richest province of South Africa named Gauteng. Being the largest and main city of South Africa, it has a lot of attractive places to see which are capable of making the tourists spell-bound with their mesmerizing beauty. Some of the major places to see in Johannesburg are:

Lion Park

The Lion Park named en route to Lesedi is a place having more than 80 lions in it including their cubs and very rare white lions. These lions are kept in spacious places in drive-through enclosures. They are habitual of watching vehicles moving around them so they don’t generally react to it but for your safety and protection, it is advised to keep the windows of your vehicle half-closed. Other animals which you can find here include cheetahs, hyenas and antelope. You can also enjoy an experience of feeding giraffes with your hands by climbing a tower. Close encounters with cubs are also offered there.

Johannesburg Planetarium

Built in 1960, Johannesburg Planetarium is among one of the places of Johannesburg that attract thousands of visitors every year. It is also a popular school outing place especially for those kids who are interested in knowing about what is out there? Inside this planetarium, there is a projector in the middle of domed theatre. This projector shows strikingly beautiful display of night skies. Kids from all over Johannesburg come here to the skies recreated by special projector. Here in this planetarium, younger kids are taught about star signs whereas older kids get a chance to learn something about movement of moon.

Gold Reef City

Johannesburg’s population consists of both black and white. Have you ever thought why it is so? The reason is gold that had discovered in this city and millions of people get attracted towards it with a hope to change their fate. A few of old gold mines can still be seen in Johannesburg but I will recommend you to pay a visit to Gold Reef City Theme Park. In this park, you will be able to see old mining offices which are now turned into museums. Don’t forget to take a trip into real gold mine and enjoying the experience of mine dances.

Sandton City Mall and Nelson Mandela Square

Sandton City Mall is a huge double-storey shopping mall having chain stores, African art galleries and cinemas. This place is best for those tourists who are fond of shopping.

The sumptuous Nelson Mandela Square also has shops of international brands and restaurants which are located around a beautiful piazza-style square.  This square is now a home to a terrifying statue of Nelson Mandela. The shoes of this statue are too big that kids can sit on them.

Apartheid Museum

This museum provides an excellent insight to the past and present of South Africa. Inauguration of this museum was done by Nelson Mandela in April 2002 and then it became one of the most popular tourists’ attractions. This museum has been divided into spaces following the birth of Apartheid to the present day. This building has an innovative design showing cold subject of Apartheid so it has been made using concrete, steel bars, raw bricks and hurtful wire.

These were some most popular places to visit in Johannesburg. I hope that after reading this article, you will definitely be urged to pay a visit to this beautiful city.