Western Cape is a region of majestic mountains, well-watered valleys,
wide, sandy beaches and breathtaking scenery.The cold Atlantic Ocean along the
west coast is a rich fishing area, while the warmer Indian Ocean skirts its
southern beaches.
Visitors to the Western Cape can disembark at Cape Town International Airport
or at the Port of Cape Town in the shadow of Table Mountain. A network of roads
also leads to Cape Town, the capital, also known as the Mother City.
The province, covering the far south-western tip of the continent, is the
most populous and arguably most attractive of South Africa's nine provincial
divisions. It extends from the sandy, semi-arid western coastal region, around
the Cape of Good Hope and then eastwards, along the scenically lovely southern
seaboard, to the well-named Nature's Valley. Inland, it takes in the famed Cape
Winelands and part of the Great Karoo.
The Western Cape has everything the heart of the holidaymaker could wish for:
golden beaches, secluded coves, charming little fishing harbours along the
coast, a hinterland graced by orchards, pleasant pastures, vineyards and the
grandeur of the backing mountains. Then there are the myriad attractions of the
Cape Peninsula and of Cape Town - South Africa's 'mother city', legislative
capital and ranked among the world's faster-growing international tourist
destinations.
Prime drawcards of the city and its surrounds are the Mountain itself, rising
more than a thousand metres above the central metropole and the sprawling
dockyards beyond; the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront development that has
transformed the old part of the harbour into an extravaganza of eating,
drinking, entertainment and shopping venues; and, a short distance offshore,
Robben Island, once notorious as 'South Africa's Alcatraz' and prison home to
Nelson Mandela for many of his 27 years behind bars. It is now a nature reserve
and national monument, the prison block a shrine to those who suffered in the
struggle for liberation. Far to the south, at the tip of the Peninsula, are the
massive cliffs of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.
Leisure-bent visitors to the city have a splendid selection of excursions to
choose from. Many embark on a trip to the Winelands, following one or other of
the wine routes that wend their way, unhurriedly, through entrancing
hill-and-valley country. Most of the wineries and estates offer daily 'tastings'
in homesteads built in the simple, dignified, elegant Cape Dutch style of
architecture. Well worth exploring, too, are the small towns of the region -
Stellenbosch, with its oak-lined streets and stately old buildings; Paarl, the
'pearl' of the Winelands; Franschhoek, set in an exquisite valley and home to
the early French immigrants; Wellington and Worcester; Tulbagh and Ceres, aptly
named after the Greek goddess of abundance.
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