Cape Town: South Africa Tourism

South Africa’s lawmaking capital is located at the foot of Table Mountain, the famous flat-topped mountain with views out across the peninsula to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. There is a cable car, which take you to the top of Table Mountain. The main hub of the city is the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the beautifully restored old Victorian harbor, from where boat trips leave for the notorious Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and many other nationalist leaders were locked up. The relics of early colonial government are centered on Government Avenue, with many fine old buildings and museums, including the Parliament Buildings; Groote Kerk; the Cultural History Museum; National Museum; National Gallery; Bertram House; and Company’s Garden, planted in 1652 to provide food for passing sailors.

Main attraction around Cape Town with South Africa tour packages:

• Chapman's Peak Drive:

Chapman's Peak Drive is one of the most stunning coastal roads in South Africa. It starts at the charming fishing harbor of Hout Bay and then winds up to Chapman's Point, enlightening breathtaking views of the sandy bays down below, until the road reaches sea level again at Noordhoek. Built between 1915 and 1922, this stretch was blasted into the partially vertical rock and is a masterpiece of road construction. There are numerous parking bays and picnic spots along the road and on the slopes.

• Cape Point and its Nature Reserve:

Cape Point is one of the greatest landmarks in the world: a wild and scenically stunning area at the tip of the Cape Peninsula and African continent. It was here that the fearless Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Dias first rounded the Cape in 1488, and the large stone cross seen in the reserve, commemorate his accomplishment. Cape Point is situated in the Cape Peninsula National Park and brown and white bontebok antelopes, dawdling tortoises and dashing ostriches can be seen on a drive through the pristine nature reserve. The flora too deserves your attention with 2200 species of plants including giant headed protea bushes flowering in winter and pretty little Erica’s which you will not see anywhere else on earth.

• Penguin Colony:

Boulder’s Beach is famous for its penguin colony. Newly construct boardwalks take visitors really close to the birds. Visitors can even swim in the sea with them. In the evening the penguins come back from their fishing expedition and waddle up to the beaches to go to their nests. If you visit this place between Aug-Dec, you may be lucky enough to spot the Southern Right and Bryde Whale. 

• Simon's Town:

This is a essentially English seaside town with intricate Victorian wrought iron balustrades and the flag flying British Hotel dominating the main street. Enticing alley ways lead up to the whitewashed houses on the hillside and they overlook a delightful waterfront complex and the False Bay Yacht Club alongside extensive Navy buildings.

• Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens:

Founded in 1913, Kirstenbosch lies on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. It consists of landscaped gardens of indigenous plants and trees, watered by the Liesbeek River, as well as natural forest that extend up the lower slopes. Kirstenbosch covers an area of 828Ha, 60 ha of which are cultivated; the remainder is a natural flora reserve. It is a living display featuring 4 700 of the estimated 20 000 species of indigenous South African flora, and close to 50 per cent of the Peninsula's floral wealth.

• Table Mountain: 

The exhilarating ascent of Cape Town's Table Mountain is a must for any visitor and provides breathtaking views over the city and its beaches by South Africa holiday packages. The panorama stretches from Table Bay to False Bay and around the mountain to the Hout Bay Valley and Kommetjie. On a clear day one has a magnificent view across the Cape Flats to the Hottentots Holland Mountains. The mountain is sculpted from sandstone and it rises 1086 meters above the bay. Its flat summit measures nearly 3km from end to end. The mountain is home to approximately 1470 species of plants. Many of these are endemic, i.e. appearing nowhere else on earth. Included are the rare Silver Tree and the wild orchid Disa Uniflora.