Western Cape

"The Fairest Cape of them all"

Early explorers called this southern tip of Africa ‘The fairest cape of them all’. Upon seeing the region you would be forgiven for thinking that it was issued with an unfair dose of the country's beauty. The general feel of the Western Cape and it’s peoples attitude towards life, is vastly different from the rest of the country. It is notably laid back and is both geographically and culturally isolated from the rest of the country.
The Western Cape has a slightly different racial profile to the other provinces with a large number of its inhabitants having descended from the Khoi Khoi, the San and the Malay people.

Cape Town itself, also known as the ‘Mother City’, is South Africa’s oldest city and has a large portion of the countries tourist attractions. It is a trendy and progressive town, known both for tolerance and good living. Above all else it is stunningly beautiful and has become one of the worlds favorite cities for everyone from backpackers to celebrities. Although the city itself is an attraction, it contains iconic draw cards such as Table Mountain, Robben Island, and the V&A Waterfront. To the south of the ‘City Bowl’, is the Cape Peninsular, an extended part of Cape Town, containing a series of appealing villages such as Simons Town, Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek. The very tip of the Peninsular, known as Cape Point, is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.

The Western Cape is well known internationally as a great wine producing region. The Winelands describes the area that broadly covers the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington and Franschhoek. Tours and self-drive routes between the wineries are well established and hugely popular. Neo-Dutch, Georgian and Victorian architecture is in stark contrast to the typical building seen elsewhere in the country.

There are more flower species found on the Cape Peninsular than in the entire United Kingdom. UNESCO has recently marked out eight areas within the Cape that are now known collectively as the Cape Floral Kingdom and have been given World Heritage status. The eight areas include parts of the beautiful desert regions north of Cape Town, the stunningly sparse West Coast. The Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show in London has to date won 28 gold awards out of 31 attempts.

The coast, moving eastwards from Cape Town, is dotted with towns of varying interest. The towns of Hermanus and Gansbaai, on opposite ends of Walker Bay, are best known for whale watching. Thousands of whale watchers scan Walker Bay every year to see Southern Rights frolic a stones throw away. In the most Eastern part of the Western Cape is the most popular strip of the ‘Garden Route’. Plettenberg bay is commonly known as Joburg by the sea, while Knysna and its neighbors enjoy a steady stream of enthusiastic holiday makers year round.