The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town is a prime tourist destination with its many shops, activities, bars, restaurants and entertainment options such as various boat cruises (including trips to the well-known Robben Island). There are even a few top quality hotels such as the Victoria & Alfred and the Cape Grace. Have a look at some of these fascinating videos :

Here is a selection of photographs taken in Sutherland during August 2006, just to prove that the Cape can indeed get snow Pic 1  ;  Pic 2  ;  Pic 3  ;  Pic 4  ;  Pic 5  ;  Pic 6  ;  Pic 7

 

Johannesburg is a cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic city with suburbs which display the characteristics of the various nationalities which have congregated in the region. This city of contrasts offers an array of sights ranging from the ruins of Stone Age settlements to extensive sports complexes hosting international events. Once a gold-mining shanty town, Johannesburg has evolved into the business hub and largest metropolis of South Africa, featuring the largest airport on the continent approximately 20km from the CBD.
The architecture is dominated by height rather than beauty and the horizon is a constant reminder of its origins, featuring man-made mountains of rocks from the Witwatersrand gold fields which were first discovered in March 1886 by George Harrison, an itinerant Australian prospector. An interesting anecdote relates how Winston Churchill, captured during the Anglo-Boer War, was hidden in a mine at Clewer for six days before being sneaked to Lourenco Marques in an empty goods truck.
Johannesburg and its satellites are collectively known as the Witwatersrand or simply the Rand, the East Rand including towns such as Germiston, Springs and Benoni whilst the West Rand includes Krugersdorp, Carletonville and Soweto. Combined with Pretoria (which is less than 60km North) and the Vaal Triangle (which includes Vereeniging, Sasolburg and Vanderbijlpark), you have the so-called PWV area the economic heart of South Africa which encompasses approximately 2 % of its surface, yet generates more than half of the GDP and accommodates at least a quarter of the population. Johannesburg, the capital of Gauteng Province, is located at an elevation of about 1,750 m (5,740 ft) and less than 60km from Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. Sadly, it is also the crime capital of the country and tourists are advised to be vigilant and apply a good measure of common sense whilst going about their daily activities.

The greatest gold rush ever saw corrugated iron buildings erected at such an alarming rate that hemmed in wagons often had to be dismantled to be extricated. Diamond magnates rushed from Kimberley to Johannesburg to stake their claims and by mid-September 1892 the first train from the Cape arrived in the erstwhile shanty town.

One theory regarding the origins of the Witwatersrand is that it had been a lake featuring an island-like granite outcrop, which is now known as the Vredefort Dome. As mineral deposits accumulated over millennia, the lake tilted and was buried by geological deposits, leaving only its northern rim, which is approximately 7 km wide, exposed. Three bands of gold-bearing rock are found on the Rand and, besides providing more than half of the gold produced in the western world, it has proved to be one of the primary sources of uranium worldwide. Most gold-mining today occurs elsewhere along the Witwatersrand, but the headquarters of many mining houses remain in Johannesburg. The important Johannesburg Stock Exchange, located in Diagonal Street, was founded in 1887. In 1921 the largest gold refinery globally, Rand Refinery, was established in the satellite town of Germiston and continues to supply its bullion to the gold markets of London and Zurich.
The first Stock Exchange and Turffontein racecourse were both established in 1887, followed by the Wanderers Club, a school and hospital in 1888.The so-called “Randlords” such as Barney Barnato, Robinson and Cecil John Rhodes made immense fortunes and erected luxurious homes, whilst the migrant Black workers from rural areas lived in abject poverty. Within three years Johannesburg had grown into the largest town in South Africa and by 1928 it became a city. At present it is the third largest city on the African continent (after Cairo and Alexandria) and is home to various international mining houses, with its Stock Exchange at Diagonal Street being one of the most active globally. The latter has a visitor’s gallery which is open to the public on weekdays.
Within a year of its foundation in 1886, the population of the mining camp reached 10,000, many of whom were immigrant whites. One of the most important prehistoric sites in the world, the Sterkfontein Caves, was discovered ten years later by an Italian prospector, Guigimo Martinaglia. Soon the new city took on a more settled ambience—by 1889 it had horse-drawn trams, by 1890 electric lights, and in 1892 a railway linking Johannesburg to Cape Town was built as a result, by 1895 Johannesburg had a population of 100,000.
The first mayor, Johannes de Villiers, was appointed in 1897 and the town continued its prolific growth until the October 1899 outbreak of the Anglo-Boer war. Many refugees vacated the area and Johannesburg was practically deserted for a two-year period until, with the British back in control, a wave of newcomers recommenced mining operations. In 1928, Johannesburg was chartered as a city.
During and after World War II economic growth brought rapid black immigration, giving rise to extensive shantytowns such as Sophiatown. Beginning in the late 1950s, these communities were demolished, and many blacks were moved to Soweto (an acronym for South Western Township). Presently the 130 square km township houses more than 4 million people and is popular for guided tours, which explore the local grassroots lifestyle. Sights include the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Hector Peterson Memorial, the Mandela Park Squatter Camp and the relatively affluent area of Diepkloof. Tours usually include a visit to the erstwhile Mandela home in Vilikazi Street (which is unique insofar as it has a second Nobel Prize-winning resident, Desmond Tutu), traditional medicine shops and shebeens.

This summer-rainfall region often has thunderstorms and torrential downpours during the period December to March, with average daily temperatures in the region of 26 degrees Celsius. Winter days are crisply invigorating, but temperatures drop at night and it can become extremely chill.

Also known as Egoli by the itinerant Black mineworkers, it was laid out as a symmetrical New York–style grid in the 1880s to maximize the number of lots so that the government could obtain maximum rent. The land was initially rented rather than sold because it was expected that the mining community would soon be abandoned. Johannesburg is now a city of skyscrapers which is relatively easy to navigate, although peak hour traffic (07h00 – 09h00 and 16h00 – 18h00) can be quite daunting. It is also one of the largest metropolises on the continent and the financial hub of southern Africa, although landlocked and situated 1450 km from Cape Town, 426 km from Bloemfontein and slightly more than 600 km from Durban.
The urban freeways link to well-signposted major routes. Parking is at a premium and, whenever possible, it may be wise to rather use the frequent bus services which are operated from many suburban park-and-ride sites. Multi-journey bus coupons are also sold at the City Hall. There are also many fleets of sedan taxis and the SAA Rotunda terminal in the city is connected to the airport by half-hourly buses. Major international car rental companies as well as a number of competitive local firms are well represented, whilst regional train services link Johannesburg with Pretoria and the other centres of the PWV area.

Some of the popular hotels include :

Intercontinental Palazzo Johannesburg Montecasino

as well as the Protea Braamfontein Millpark Holiday Inn (5km to CBD) Carlton Hotel & Carlton Court Devonshire ; Gold Reef City ; Johannesburg Sun & Towers ; Sandton Sun Rosebank Hotel (10km to CBD)

1) Bird watching at Melrose Bird Sanctuary
2) Boating at Wemmer Pan
3) Art Galleries (Joubert Park)
4) Visit the Adamant Research Laboratory where artificial diamonds are produced (the only one globally)
5) Visit gardens such as the Wilds in Houghton or Emmarentia rose garden.
6) Tour mining compounds & see tribal dancing.
7) Museums such as Africana Museum, Railway Museum, Geological Museum, SA Nat. Museum of Military History, Archaeological Museum, Pharmacy Museum, Jewish Museum, Transport Museum & Palaeontology museum.
8) Planetarium (largest in SA)
9) Rand Show, the largest industrial & agricultural exhibition in Africa.
10) Sightseeing from the Albert Hertzog (Brixton) Tower or the J.G Strijdom (Hillbrow) Tower.
11) Ice skating at the Olympic-size Carlton Sky rink tennis & rugby at Ellis Park racing at Turffontein cricket at Wanderers & soccer at the Rand Stadium.
12) The Bernberg Museum of Costume (Jan Smuts Avenue)
13) Tour the SA Broadcasting Corporation (2 hrs)
14) The Wilds (Houghton)
15) Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve (Mondeor)
16) Melville Koppies (Emmarentia)
17) Kingston Frost Aloe Reserve (Auckland Park)
18) Snake Park (Halfway House)
19) Kloofendal Nature Reserve (Roodepoort)
20) Fisherman’s Village (Bruma Lake, Bedfordview)
Events: Rand Easter Show (March / April) SA Grand Prix (November)

Skydiving is a popular pastime and there are clubs at both Lanseria and Westonaria. The Martiens Kotze Park, built on an old mine dump at Springs, features a variety of statues, fountains, windmills and aloe gardens.
South of the old mine lands, which effectively split the city, are some less affluent white residential developments. More notably, to the south-west lay the black township of Soweto. Among the important features of Johannesburg are the City Hall, the Public Library, the Stock Exchange, Rissik Street Post Office, and the Civic Theatre complex. The principal institutions of higher education in Johannesburg are the University of the Witwatersrand (1922), Rand Afrikaans University (1966), and the Witwatersrand Technikon (1925). Museums in the metropolitan area include the Johannesburg Art Gallery the Africana Museum, with displays on the history and ethnology of southern Africa the Museum of South African Rock Art the Geological Museum and the James Hall Museum of Transport. Gold Reef City, a cultural centre designed to recreate the atmosphere of a Victorian-era mining town, is a popular attraction. Among the city’s performing-arts facilities is the Market Theatre, a complex that includes several theatres as well as art galleries.
Downtown Johannesburg caters mostly for the local community, which includes a number of Nigerian and Congolese residents of Hillbrow, a suburb formerly dominated by European immigrants. Most of the upmarket businesses have relocated to Sandton, Eastgate, Rosebank and Randburg. One of the oldest areas, Newtown, has been converted into a cultural district which boasts trendy cafes, museums, a theatre complex, restaurants specializing in African cuisine and a Saturday flea market. This area is also home t the Museum Africa, which features displays ranging from the stone age to 20th century Johannesburg history. The Market Theatre Complex is adjacent to the museum and offers progressive theatre, attempting to nurture new local talent. Nearby also is Kippie’s, a popular venue for jazz enthusiasts.
John Vorster Square features the Worker’s Museum as well as the SAB Centenary Centre, where tours relating to beer brewing in South Africa and abroad are provided. The Johannesburg Art Gallery at the top end of town includes Dutch and French art from the 17th & 18th centuries, works by Irma Stern, displays of traditional African objects and contemporary South African art. A number of Broadway and West End hits are presented at the oldest Johannesburg theatre, the Alhambra, which was built in 1919 and is situated in the suburb of Doornfontein. Bezuidenhoud Park, the remains of a farm which previously included the regions now known as Bezuidenhout Valley, Doornfontein and Judith’s Paarl, is a historical monument and recreational area which includes sports facilities, a swimming pool, restaurant and more.
Pioneers Park in La Rochelle features a musical fountain with changing colours which are synchronized by computer.
Joubert Park, laid out in 1887, offers a green oasis amidst the many concrete skyscrapers and includes a giant outdoor chessboard, tropical conservatory, restaurant, art gallery and market. Kyalami has been the scene of the SA World Championship Grand Prix since 1968. The Oriental Plaza, off Bree Street, was opened in 1974 and includes more than 300 shops and kiosks which sell a large selection of Indian wares. Sandton is home to the SA National Equestrian Centre, which is the only school outside Vienna where Lipizzaners perform to the classical training methods of the Spanish Riding School.

Southern Suburbs:
Santarama Miniland in La Rochelle / Rosettenville is a miniature city modelled on the Dutch Madurodam and features scale replicas of many prominent South African buildings and landmarks. The SA Mint displays the full range of South African currency, both past & present, as well as coins and medals from 1650 onwards.
The oldest and longest (25km) urban hiking trail leads along the Braamfontein Spruit, from Westdene Dam to the Klein Jukskei river and details are available from the JHB Hiking Club. Johannesburg Zoo is located in the Herman Eckstein Park, opposite Zoo Lake, which offers open-air art exhibitions, boating and picnic facilities. The JHB Botanic Garden on the shore of Emmarentia Dam is ideal for scuba-diving, windsurfing and boardsailing. The SABC National Symphony Orchestra offers 2 seasons in JHB and 3 in Pretoria each year. Some of the popular nightclubs include Bella Napoli, Caesar’s Palace and Sardis.
Gold Reef City is an enormous theme park which includes a casino complex, cinemas, restaurants and a variety of adventure activities such as white-water rafting. Another highlight is the opportunity to go down an original mineshaft to explore tunnels 226m below the surface and to view the exhibits of early mining equipment. Facilities include a Victorian Amusement Park and Mining House museums depicting the houses of the gold-rush era. A miniature railway and horse-drawn cart offers alternatives to wandering about on foot.
The Oriental Plaza offers an array of Eastern delights, including restaurants which are famous for their tandoori cuisine and curries.
Eastern Suburbs / East Rand:
Troyeville has a large Portuguese community and several restaurants which feature cuisine from Madeira, Angola and Mozambique. In Kensington you can view a number of grand old buildings or visit Rhodes Park and a string of antique shops. Rocky Street in Yeoville offers a variety of bars and clubs, ranging from the respectable to downright seedy. The atmosphere is pure Africa, as opposed to nearby Cyrildene with its Oriental community and authentic Chinese restaurants. The east end of the Jukskei Valley includes the Bruma Lake Flea Market which offers hundreds of stalls featuring batiks, leather goods, exotic foods and craftwork such as West African masks and carvings.
Carnival City on the outskirts of Brakpan has a Las Vegas – style casino with a mediaeval carnival theme, stages for live entertainment and special facilities for children.
Northern Suburbs:
In Parktown and Westcliff there are a number of walks and tours to view the baronial mansions erected by the original Randlords, whilst later wealth established itself even further north in areas such as Saxonwold, Craighall Park and Sandton. Ostentatious wealth permeates the region with its glitzy shopping malls and elegant houses.
The Randburg Waterfront features a musical fountain display and bungee-rocket which catapults people into the air at 100 km/h, as well as numerous games and activities, restaurants, shops and a cultural village. At the Johannesburg Zoo you can participate in a variety of tours, including night-tours to view nocturnal animals, which ends with hot chocolate around a roaring fire. There are also weekend talks at feeding time and tours which offer a behind-the-scenes look at the Zoo. Nearby also is the SA Museum of Military History with relics dating to the early 1900’s and a reference library. The Everard Read Gallery displays a selection of wildlife art, whilst the Kim Sacks Art Gallery offers textiles, basketry and African art. Contemporary South African art can also be viewed at the Goodman Art Gallery.
Mellville is the perfect place for trendy, off-beat entertainment and an introduction to local street culture. There is an eclectic selection of cocktail bars, exotic restaurants, antique stores, pubs and sushi bars interspersed with bohemian bookshops. For shopping, visit Sandton Square, a European-style mall with many outdoor restaurants, galleries and a theatre. Dressage performances are provided each Sunday at the Lipizzaner Centre in Kyalami.
Western Suburbs:
The Cradle of Humankind, a Unesco heritage site which includes the Sterkfontein Caves, is set on the far end of the West Rand. Nearby also is the Rainbow Trout Farm (ideal for fly-fishing enthusiasts), as well as Kromdraai Mine , which is one of the oldest Rand mines and which offers guided tours that are somewhat different to those provided at Gold Reef City. There are also a number of horse-riding and hiking trails in the region.
The West Rand includes Sophiatown, which was known as Triomf after the original township was bulldozed in 1955 as part of the apartheid-era racial segregation. Roodepoort has an inland Riviera at Florida Lake and offers tours of various national monuments such as the Old Jail, Confidence Reef Mine in the Kloofendal Nature Reserve and the Vlakfontein Monument. The 300ha Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden has many walkways leading to the Witpoortjie Waterfall, which is also the start of the 3km long JCI Geological Trail. The westernmost town of Greater Johannesburg is Krugersdorp, offering a number of historical sites as well as a Game Reserve which boasts four of the Big Five.