Western Cape

The Western Cape Province is an incredibly varied region which encompasses the Winelands, the Overberg, the Garden Route and the Little Karoo, as well as the magnificent West Coast and Cederberg. Each area is unique and charming to the point where you are literally spoilt for choice.

Cape Town

Cape Town, affectionately known as the “Mother City”, is the oldest city in South Africa with a history spanning more than 350 years.

A visit up Table Mountain gives a breathtaking view all the way to Cape Point in the south. The V&A Waterfront is a unique shopping and holiday experience which was created in the former harbour area. The V&A’s Clocktower is the starting point for tours to Robben Island, the island of banishment where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years.

Some of the worlds’ best wines are produced along the wine routes around Cape Town while the internationally acclaimed Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden – one of the finest of its kind – not only offers extraordinary flora but also picnics, summer concerts and beautiful hiking trails. Cape Town is a city of superlatives with a wide range of attractions, sights and activities.

Top Attractions:

Table Mountain

When you visit Cape Town you cannot leave without having seen the world from the top of Table Mountain. Already the journey up there is an experience in itself: while the rotating cable car is gently sliding along its steel cable, passengers enjoy an ever wider view of Table Bay and the sprawling city. Those who are physically fit and have a bit of time to spare can conquer the world’s most striking mountain on their own steam.

V&A Waterfront

The V&A Waterfront on the grounds of the dockyards around the old harbour is the country’s most visited shopping destination. Elegantly restored former warehouses and wharf buildings now house the boutiques of international and local labels, jewellers, arts & craft shops, galleries, cinemas, numerous cafés and restaurants and luxury hotels.

Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope

The narrow end of the Cape Peninsula is aptly named Cape Point. There you find the original old lighthouse which was supposed to guide the seafarers of yore safely around the ‘Cape of Storms’ – as Bartholomew Diaz named it after his first circumnavigation. In foggy conditions, however, the lighthouse is situated too low and couldn’t be seen. Therefore a new lighthouse was built on top of the 250 metres ‘point’ which you can reach by climbing 120 stairs. The Cape of Good Hope, as Diaz called it after another, smoother trip, lies below the lighthouse on the right side.

Cape Agulhas, geographically the southernmost tip of Africa where the Indian and the Atlantic oceans meet, is situated a further 150 kilometres southeast.

Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach, a popular beach just out of Simonstown, was conquered by African Penguins several years ago. A sheltered section has been closed off for the colony of birds, which by now numbers around 3,000 Jackass penguins. Visitors can get quite close via boardwalks and watch their antics. At the remaining public beach section next to the little reserve you may find yourself swimming among them.

Robben Island

The former prison island became a museum in 1997 and was declared a World Heritage Site two years later. Robben Island is a focal point in South African history. During the last 20 years of Apartheid it was used to isolate political opponents. Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years of imprisonment on Robben Island. Daily tours (weather permitting) of roughly four hours, including the ferry rides, are conducted daily. The ferry leaves from the Clocktower at the V&A Waterfront.

Kirstenbosch Gardens

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is world-renowned for the beauty and diversity of its displays of Cape flora and for the magnificence of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Kirstenbosch grows only indigenous plants. The estate covers 528 hectares and supports the diverse fynbos Floral Kingdom and natural forest; 36 hectares are cultivated garden. Enjoy a leisurely day taking in the bounty of nature, browse in the well-stocked shop and relax for tea or light lunch at one of the Garden’s restaurants.

The Winelands

Fertile green valleys are surrounded by proud mountain ranges. The towns and villages of the winelands have many historic homesteads and monuments. Orchards, whose produce is exported to all corners of the world, are often found next to the vineyards. Thanks to the Mediterranean climate some of the country’s best wines are produced in the south-western part of this amazing province. The rich, fertile soil along the Breede River and especially the cellars around Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl have become world famous for their white and red wines, fortified wines and brandies – not to forget the Cap Classique, South Africa’s excellent champagne-type of sparkling wine.

Attractions in the region:

Garden Route

Named for the amazing beauty of the area, this coastal route is a natural garden of mountains, forests, fynbos and water. The Garden Route is one of South Africa’s favourite holiday destinations. As befits a region which has been welcoming guests for generations, the people of the Garden Route are friendly and hospitable.

The Garden Route is a mixture of modern golf courses, ancient forests, secluded artist communities, retirement estates, modern malls, craft centres, mountain hideaways and beach holiday resorts.

Overberg

Overberg is a region rich in beauty and diversity. Rolling golden fields of grain are framed by magnificent mountain ranges. Overberg is the centre of the apple-growing industry. The coast, especially at Hermanus and all around Walker Bay, is the nursery of the great Southern Right whale. Hermanus itself is the perfect seaside getaway which boasts superb beaches and a large variety of fynbos and wild flowers.

West Coast and Cederberg

The West Coast region consists of three main areas: West Coast, Swartland & Sandveld and Olifants River Valley. This amazing natural hub has a host of unspoilt beaches, magnificent mountain ranges and the most spectacular wild flowers, which bloom in the spring. The beautiful Cederberg Wilderness Area alone boasts 200 indigenous species of wild flowers – as well as ancient San rock paintings.

Clanwilliam, the gateway to the Cederberg, is situated along one of the largest dams in the country. Drive over Pakhuis Pass, just outside Clanwilliam, and you are on your way to Wupperthal, a Moravian mission village hidden deep down in a valley.