Why South Africa?
South Africa really is many worlds in one. Expect stunning coastlines, dramatic mountainscapes, huge areas of untamed bushveld, starkly beautiful semi-deserts, lakes, waterfalls, spectacular canyons, forests and wide plains, plus Cape Town, undeniably one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
South Africa is renowned for its excellent tourist infrastructure and huge choice of accommodation, from luxury game lodges and five-star hotels to friendly country houses, small hotels, B&Bs, and camping and self-catering establishments. Although there are plenty of globally award-winning five-star establishments and luxury lodges, there are also superb value-for-money budget accommodation, tours and experiences all over the country. A trip to South Africa is very affordable as the South African rand offers great value for money against major world currencies such as the dollar, the euro, the British pound, the yen and the yuan.
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Stretching all the way from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, the longest #wineroute in the world, the #Route62, takes one right through the heart of the #BreedeRiverValley, also known as the āvalley of vines and rosesā.
The āVale of Breede Riverā stretches from Tulbagh in the north to McGregor in the south (and is flanked by the rugged Cape Fold Belt, Hex River Mountains, Skurweberge, Langeberg Mountains, the smaller Boland Mountains, and the Riviersonderend Mountains.)
Known as the largest producer of wine and fruit in the country, the valley hosts lush green vistas, crystal streams, indigenous flora, orchards, stark cliff faces, and several annual #winefestivals.
Located in the heart of the valley alongside the Breede River, is Robertson (proud producer of internationally acclaimed wines), and pictured here - simply breathtaking!
#WesternCape #thesevenbest #SouthAfrica
Just LOOK at this #TableMountainView!
#DidYouKnow that #TableMountain actually faces north? And when clouds head in, on a clear day the cloud cover often settles in such a way that it drapes over the mountain just as a tablecloth would.
Another interesting fact is that a small constellation, lying close to the south celestial pole is named after Table Mountain. In 1754, French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, originally named the constellation Mons Mensae, now referred to as Mensa, which means ātableā in Latin. The constellation appears highest in the evening sky in the months around December.
Note #GreenPointStadium in the pic at the foot of Signal Hill? The trendy suburb of Green Point started out as a cattle grazing station by the Dutch, which was then transformed into one of the popular social centres of Cape Town society through horse racing, by the British.
While you canāt see it here, Green Point Lighthouse, nicknamed Moaning Minnie by the local residents, is a national monument and has been operational since 1824.
#thesevenbest #CapeTown #SouthAfrica
šø @kris.goes.traveling
Living in Hazyview, a sub-tropical farming town in #Mpumalanga, for a few years while growing up was quite the #wildlife experience.
The best and most surreal memory is of the hippo that would wander up in the evenings from the small dam at the bottom of our road. It would make its way up our driveway and round to the back of the house, where weād often be in the midst of hanging up the laundry!
Sometimes, when it was a bit more used to us, it would also bring its baby along.
As much as we lived in coexistence then, we always kept a cautious distance from them and were mindful of the two fundamental rules when it comes to a #hippopotamus:
Never get between a hippo and itās water
Never get between a hippo and its baby
Weād love to hear of your extraordinary #experiences from visiting Mpumalanga if you have any. Leave us comments š
#southafrica #thesevenbest #sharesouthafrica
Weāre about halfway into the wine #harvest season in the #WesternCape. While the yield will be slightly lower in 2022 for #southafricanwine, the quality is expected to be promising.Ā
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As we toast to the end of summer and start making our way into autumn, we thought weād tantalise you a little with some unusual ways to go #winetasting in these parts - which you most certainly can and should still do!
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Thereās segwaying through vineyards in Stellenbosch, and the hop-on hop-off vintage Franschhoek wine tram experience⦠all while planning the more seasonal whale watching and wine tasting tour along the #WhaleCoastSA š
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To end off, we have a peak at the first 2022 Sauvignon blanc grapes that have come in @jordan_winesĀ #DidYouKnow that āSauvignon blancā stems from the French sauvage ("wild") and blanc ("white"), and is possibly a descendant of Savagnin blanc? Cheers!!
#thesevenbest
For those who enjoy hiking in the mountains and want more of a challenge, look no further than the #Drakensberg Grand Traverse.
The average duration of the trail is 12 to 15 days, and is considered to potentially be the toughest #hike in southern africa. Hiking at approximately 3000m above sea level throughout, whilst crisscrossing over the borders of Lesotho and #SouthAfrica, the total elevations exceed that of Everest!
The highest peak is Thabana Ntlenyana, meaning ābeautiful little mountainā in Sesotho - the irony!
This pic is from one such hike - thereās nothing quite like drinking crystal clear mountain stream water after a hard day of traversing the bergā¦
#thesevenbest #adventurejunkie #sharesouthafrica #kwazulunatal
Nestling up against the slopes of Signal Hill, is the quirky old gem of a district dating back to Cape Dutch times. Housing some of the #MotherCityās oldest buildings, you donāt get more quirky than Bo-Kaap.
Still colloquially referred to as the #MalayQuarter, #BoKaap (meaning āabove the Capeā) originally served as the leased-housing (or āhuurhuisjesā) township for slaves, in the 1700ās. The first slaves came from the Dutch colonies in South East Asia, hence the strong muslim influence. Many of todayās residents are descendants of the slaves.
Why are the buildings so colourful? They werenāt always this way. Up till the 1990s they were just plain white in colour. The story goes that with the end of apartheid, the residents painted their houses in bright colours as an expression of their freedom.
#thesevenbest #CapeTown #WesternCape #SouthAfrica
A quite special overnight hiking spot that holds rather fond memories for us, is along the #GardenRoute at Plettenburg Bay.
#RobbergNatureReserve is a peninsula, and therefore almost entirely surrounded by the sea, except for the western section, where it joins with the mainland.
Originally when we visited Robberg, we were extremely fortunate to get to stay in both the fishermen huts that were there. As part of Robbergās history, two families were originally allowed to build stone huts on Robberg as part of a 99 year lease agreement back in the day - namely the van Rooyen and Thesen families.
The huts were upgraded in 2005 so that #CapeNature could retain them in their original state - this would have been after our trip as they were rather rustic when we were there! The Point Shack was particularly fabulous being situated right on the furthest rocky outcrop of the peninsula. We had to take our own drinking water for the trip and there were no other freshwater facilities, so bathing in the rockpools with the waves crashing over the rocks nearby was how it was done!
Unfortunately, in 2007 the Point Shack was demolished by a storm surge. Today the Fountain Shack is managed as the only overnight accommodation facility on Robberg Nature Reserve.
Robberg Nature Reserve is not only both a Marine Protected Area and a National Monument, but also a #WorldHeritageSite! There are 19 registered archaeological sites scattered over the length of Robberg, with rocks dating back 120 million years to the break-up of Gondwanaland. Thereās also evidence of inhabitation from the middle and later Stone Age that was found in a few of the caves along the peninsula.
A definite #bucketlist item (and not for the unfit)!
#southafrica #thesevenbest
Travel and media company @Big7Travel has recently released the 2022 "Top 50 Most #Instagram-mable Places" in the world. This yearās list features 50 locations in the world, from almost every continent.
Guess who came out tops at no 22? None other than our very own #MotherCity!
Congratulations #CapeTown, we couldnāt be prouder!
#sharesouthafrica #thesevenbest #westerncape #southafrica
"Mindblowing, limit bending, "red-zone-captured" and an absolutely AWESOME experience!" ~ Peter Frandsen, 60 year old #adventurejunkie from Denmark.
Picture this: you're looking for an adrenaline infusing adventure...
No, you're not going to be summiting Mount Everest any time soon, we'll leave that to the pro's shall we?
You're looking for this experience in the least-of-expected places⦠The old decommissioned Orlando Power Station in #Soweto - colloquially known as the #SowetoTowers - should do the trick.
#southafrica #thesevenbest #gauteng #bungeejumping