The Western Cape is in the south-western
corner of the old Cape Province. Popular in the Western Cape are the
Winelands, The Garden Route, Whale Watching in Hermanus and of course Cape
Town. One aspect, for which the Western Cape is unique, is the extraordinary
flora called Fynbos.
In 1652, Jan Van Riebeeck from the Dutch East India Company
arrived in Cape Town and set up a refreshment station for the ships. Before
the European, the Khoisan lived in this area. Unfortunately they have become
extinct and their traditional cultures and languages have been almost
completely lost.
The province is also home to the “colourds”, people who have
diverse origins and didn’t fit neatly into the apartheid systems
pigeon-holes. Most people who are classified as colourds are descended from
the Khoisan, slaves, Xhosa and Europeans. Their culture is part of the Cape
Town and well known for their colourful carnival, their food and clothing.
The capital of the Western Cape is Cape Town and the main
languages spoken are English, Afrikaans and Xhosa.
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Guided Tours
from Cape Town
CAPE TOWN TO PORT ELIZABETH TOUR -
CAPE TOWN TO GARDEN ROUTE TOUR
GUIDED TOURS FROM PORT ELIZABETH EASTERN CAPE
The Eastern Cape is the second largest province in South
Africa. Although it is not as developed as the Western Cape yet, it starts
getting very popular with tourists especially for its Game Reserves in a
malaria free area. Apart from the Game Reserves you have the beautiful
coastal holiday resorts from St.Francis Bay to past East London. The coast
is well known for its good surf and white beaches. Each year the Billabong
World Championship Surfing competitions are held in Jeffreys Bay.
You find history in Settlers Country, the rolling green hills
around Grahamstown. This was the border between expansionist Boer farmers
and the Xhosa. Both groups were heavily dependent on cattle and both claimed
the grazing land in the area known as Zuurveld. Several wars have been
fought in this area.
The rainfall and climate reflects the geographic variation,
with around 700mm of rain and a moderate climate on the coast, heavy
rainfall of over 1000mm in the mountains, and low rainfall of around 450mm
in the Karoo. Because of the climate there are four different types of
flora: subtropical forest, fynbos, grass lands and succulent thorny scrub.
Main languages are English and Xhosa.
Read more on
Guided
Tours from Port Elizabeth
PORT
ELIZABETH TO GARDEN ROUTE TOUR
-
PORT ELIZABETH TO CAPE TOWN TOUR
KAROO TO COAST SAFARI TOUR
GUIDED TOURS GARDEN ROUTE
The Garden Route is a beautiful bit of coastline in the
Eastern and Western Cape and it ranges from about Tsitsikamma till about
Mosselbay. Inland its boundary is the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountain
ranges, which are between 100 and 1700 meters high.
The Garden Route is well known for its indigenous forest with
the giant Yellowood and wild flowers, all water sports like swimming,
surfing, fishing and sailing, the tourist friendly towns and the Tistikamma
National Park and Wilderness National Park.
The climate’s kind. Average minimum temperatures are around
13 degrees in winter and average maximums only reach mid 20s in summer.
There is plenty of sun throughout the year, but the best weather is likely
to be in February and March and the highest chance of rainfall and grey days
is from August to October.
Read more on
Guided
Tours Garden Route
PORT
ELIZABETH TO GARDEN ROUTE TOUR
-
CAPE TOWN TO GARDEN ROUTE TOUR
