Other sights in South Africa
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Liliesleaf Farm
Liliesleaf Farm, the secret headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) during the 1960s, reopened as a museum in June 2008. It tells the story of South Africa’s liberation struggle through a series of high-tech, interactive exhibits.
reviewed
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Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, always just called the Waterfront is likely to be one of the first places you head to. It’s a great example of how to best redevelop a declining dock area into a tourist hot spot. The atmosphere is always buzzing and there’s plenty to do, including making a trip out to Robben Island, the infamous prison island that is now a fascinating museum.
The Alfred and Victoria Basins date from 1860 and are named after Queen Victoria and her son Alfred. Although these wharves are too small for modern container vessels and tankers, the Victoria Basin is still used by tugs, harbour vessels of various kinds and fishing boats. In the Alfred Basin y…
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!Khwa Ttu
Don’t miss a visit to the very special !Khwa ttu off Rte 27 just south of Yzerfontein, 70km from Cape Town. Billed as the San Culture & Education Centre, !Khwa ttu is a joint venture by the San people and a Swiss philanthropic foundation (Ubuntu) and is the only San-owned and operated culture centre in the Western Cape.
Set within the ancestral lands of the San, !Khwa ttu is based on an 850-hectare nature reserve. There’s a good restaurant serving traditional South African cuisine and a wonderful craft shop. All the buildings operate on solar power, and a crèche has been built for the workers’ children. The land itself is sandveld, rising to renosterveld on the eas…
reviewed
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s-Complex
Off Rte 563 and on the way to Hekpoort, s is perhaps the best-known attraction here and is a good place to start. Housed in a building that looks like a giant grassy mound on one side and shiny modern steel on the other (apparently representing man’s journey through the ages), it’s an all-in-one information centre, visitor attraction, entertainment complex and boutique hotel. Its name is Tswana for ‘returning to your origin’, and the exhibits here show how the human race has progressed since its very beginnings. There are market stalls, active fossil sites, restaurants, a curio shop and a 5000-seat amphitheatre for outdoor events. There’s also a pretty cool boat ride …
reviewed
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Tokai Forest Reserve
This wooded area, south of Constantia, is a favourite spot for picnics and walks, the most challenging of which is the 6km hike up to Elephant’s Eye Cave within the Silvermine Nature Reserve. The zigzag path is fairly steep and offers little shade as you climb higher up Constantiaberg (928m), so bring a hat and water.
At the walk’s base you’ll find the Tokai Arboretum, a planting of 1555 different trees representing 274 species, begun in 1885 by Joseph Storr Lister, the conservator of forests for the Cape Colony.
Here, too, is the very pleasant Lister’s Place Tea Garden, where you can pick up a map of walks in the area; excellent accommodation at Wood Owl Cottage; a…
reviewed
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Eastern Shores
The Eastern Shores, has four scenic routes – pan, vlei (marshland), coastal dune and grassland – that reflect their different features and ecosystems. About 14km north of the entrance is Mission Rocks, a rugged and rock-covered shoreline where, at low tide, you can view a fabulous array of sea life in the rock pools (note: you cannot swim here). At low tide, you can walk 5km north to Bats Cave, a bat-filled cave. About 4km before Mission Rocks is the Mission Rocks lookout (signed), which provides a wonderful view of Lake St Lucia and the Indian Ocean. Twenty kilometres north of Mission Rocks (30km from St Lucia Estuary), taking in the land between Lake Bhangazi and th…
reviewed
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Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens
The scattered holiday village of Betty’s Bay is worth a pause on Rte 44. Here you’ll find the Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens, which is definitely worth visiting. There are paths exploring the indigenous plant life in the area and, at the entrance, a tearoom and a formal garden where you can picnic. Try the Leopard Kloof Trail, which leads through fern forests and up to a waterfall. It’s a 3km round trip, and you’ll need to pay a key deposit (R30) and get your key and permit (from the main ticket office) before 2pm. Coming from Cape Town, look for the turn-off to the gardens after driving through Betty’s Bay.
reviewed
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Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve
Near the Swartkop Mountains is the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve. For those who don’t have time to head out for a full-on safari experience, this is a good way to get up close to lions, buffalo, rhinos and other beasties. Lovers of fluffy cuteness can hug baby lions and tigers at the animal crèche. There are three four-person chalets (R855) and wildlife drives (R180) are offered. Within the reserve is Wonder Cave, where you can gaze up at stalactites in an eerily beautiful interior. If you’re planning to do both the reserve and the cave, ask at the gate about the combined ticket that gives a 20% discount.
reviewed
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Cango Wildlife Ranch
If you’re all ostriched out, head to this ranch. It feels a bit zoolike but contains a good collection of wildlife and big cats (in rather small enclosures). An encounter with cheetahs costs R140, and with the tiger cubs R300 (for over-16s only); funds go to the Cheetah Conservation Foundation. And if shark-cage diving is old hat for you, then you’ll love the crocodile-cage diving here, in a heated pool. The ranch is 3km from town on the road out to Prince Albert. Other big cats here include lions, pumas and Bengal white tigers, and there are also pygmy hippos, alligators and other wild animals.
reviewed
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Songimvelo Game Reserve
This beautiful 56,000-hectare reserve sits in lowveld country south of Barberton, with high-altitude grassland areas on its eastern edge along the mountainous Swaziland border. There are no lions, but there are numerous other introduced species, including elephants, zebras, giraffes and various antelopes, and both walking and horse riding are popular. (Note that walking is limited to certain areas, and walkers must be accompanied by a guide.) Songimvelo is also home to some of the earth’s oldest rocks – perhaps dating to four billion years ago – and some interesting archaeological sites. You can stay overnight at Kromdraai Camp, with simple, self-catering, six-person wood…
reviewed
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Freedom Park
One of the most exciting undertakings in Gauteng is Freedom Park. The site chosen for this massive project, on a kopje facing the Voortrekker Monument, provoked an outcry from those who saw this as politically motivated, but this is hardly a self-important ode to nationalism. Rather, it’s a sombre memorial to those people, local and international, who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom. At the time of writing you could only visit Hlapho, where the names of heroes have been inscribed, and the peaceful Isivivane Garden of Remembrance. It was scheduled to be completed sometime in 2009.
Visitor numbers to the park are strictly controlled, so calling beforeha…
reviewed
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Rorke’s Drift Orientation Centre
If you have seen Zulu, which was filmed in the Drakensberg, the scenery around Rorke’s Drift may come as a bit of a disappointment. The landscape is still beautifully rugged, however, and the Rorke’s Drift Orientation Centre, on the site of the original mission station, is excellent. The Zulu know this site as Shiyane, their name for the hill at the back of the village. The Rorke’s Drift-Shiyane Self-Guided Trail brochure (R3) is a helpful reference. Two local Zulu guides, Thulani Khuzwayo and Siyabongo Mbatha give a tour of the area.
reviewed
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Tembe Elephant Park
Heading westwards along a dirt road to the N2 from Kosi Bay, South Africa’s last free-ranging elephants are protected in the sandveld (dry, sandy coastal belt) forests of Tembe Elephant Park, a Transfrontier Park on the Mozambique border, owned by the Tembe Tribe and managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Around 230 elephants live in its 30,000 hectares; these are the only indigenous elephants in KZN, and the largest elephants in the world, weighing up to 7000kg. The park boasts the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino), plus more than 300 bird species.
reviewed
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Lake Eland Game Reserve
Lake Eland Game Reserve has over 40 species of animals, of which, management claims, you are guaranteed to see 80%. You can head off on a self-drives (R25 per person) or a game drive (R100 per person, maximum seven). A short gorge walk crosses a 130m-high suspension bridge, and fishing and canoeing are available. Twitchers will appreciate the 200 bird species. There are well-maintained log cabins overlooking a small lake, fishermen cottages, camping and dorm beds in a massive pipe! It’s 40km from Port Shepstone; drive 29km along the Oribi Flats Rd off the N2.
reviewed
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Ardmore Ceramic Studio
The extraordinary Ardmore Ceramic Studio was started by artist Fée Halset-Berning. She trained Bonnie Ntshalintsahli, the daughter of a farm employee. Sadly, Bonnie has since passed away, but the studio has flourished with a group of highly gifted artists who create the most extraordinary pieces of ceramic art, some functional, others ornamental. So renowned are the pieces, that Christie’s holds an annual auction of selected items. You can see the artists at work in the studio; works are for sale, too.
reviewed
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Shongweni Resource Reserve
Shongweni Resource Reserve, about halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg off the N3, is Rte 5 and Rte 6 of the 1000 Hills Experience. Part of a beautiful river valley and grassland area, it has a number of mammals (including giraffes, zebras and rhinos) and birds. Canoeing is available (R75/90 per half/full day). The reserve has massive safari-style tents erected on wooden platforms perched over the lake’s edge. Each has a small balcony and an outdoor table and basic kitchen facilities. Camping costs R70 per person.
reviewed
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Conservatory
The main entrance at the Newlands end of the gardens is where you’ll find plenty of parking, the information centre, an excellent souvenir shop and the atmosphere-controlled conservatory. The conservatory displays plant communities from a variety of terrains, the most interesting of which is the Namaqualand and Kalahari section, with baobabs and quiver trees. Further along Rhodes Dr is the Rycroft Gate entrance, the first you’ll come to if you approach the gardens from Constantia.
reviewed
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Shakaland
There are several Zulu-village cultural experiences in this area. Created as a set for the telemovie Shaka Zulu, the slightly Disney-fied Shakaland beats up a touristy blend of perma-grin performance and informative authenticity. The Nandi Experience (Nandi was Shaka’s mother) is a display of Zulu culture and customs (including lunch); the Zulu dance performance is said to be the best in the country. You can also stay overnight in luxury beehives at the four-star hotel.
reviewed
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Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve
The Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve is inland from Port Shepstone, off the N2. The spectacular gorge, on the Umzimkulwana River, is one of the highlights of the South Coast with beautiful scenery, animals and birds, plus walking trails and pretty picnic spots. The reception office is accessed via the N2 on the southern side of the gorge. Here, too, are some delightful wooden chalets, nestled in the forest – the perfect base for those who wish to spend time in this area.
reviewed
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Smuts’ House Museum
Once known as Doornkloof, Smut’s home for over 40 years has been turned into an interesting museum. If you’re travelling to/from Pretoria by car, it’s worth dropping in for a look. The wood-and-iron building was a British officers’ mess at Middelburg, but Smuts bought it and re-erected it on his 1600-hectare property at Irene, 16km south of Pretoria. Surrounded by a wide verandah and shaded by trees, it has a family atmosphere and gives a vivid insight into Smuts’ life.
reviewed
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Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve
The small Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve is in a beautiful area of the Drakensberg foothills, 23km south of Harrismith on the Oliviershoek Pass road into KwaZulu-Natal. Looking out over this expansive dam with its backdrop of rugged peaks feels like gazing across an inland sea. At one of the many viewpoints there’s a vulture ‘restaurant’, but there’s no set day or time for feeding. Sunset cruises on the dam’s lake are available.
Camping and rustic four-bed chalets are available.
reviewed
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Cango Caves
Named after the Khoe-San word for ‘a wet place’, the CangoCaves are heavily commercialised but impressive. There’s a choice of tours on offer. The one-hour tour gives you just a glimpse – it’s better to choose a longer tour. The Adventure Tour is the most fun, but involves crawling through tight and damp places so is not recommended for the claustrophobic or unfit. The caves are 30km north of Oudtshoorn.
reviewed
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Heroes’ Acre Cemetery
Around 1.5km west of Church Sq you’ll find this cemetery, the burial place of a number of historical figures including Andries Pretorius, Paul Kruger and Hendrik Verwoerd. Henry H ‘Breaker’ Morant, the Australian Boer War antihero executed by the British for war crimes, is also buried here – look for the low sign pointing to the gravestone from one of the north–south avenues. If you miss this, you’ll never find it.
To get here by bus, take the West Park 2 or Danville service from Church Sq.
reviewed
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What if the World
These guys can be credited with kicking Capetonian creativity up the backside with this edgy gallery, which began in Hope St in the City Bowl and was the original base for the hit Neighbourgoods Market. Their design studio is still there and occasionally has small exhibitions, but head to these larger premises to witness the unruly forces of young South African art. They also host events such as the annual Numbers fashion and design show.
reviewed
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MTN Sciencentre
One of the best reasons for visiting this enormous shopping mall is this fun interactive science centre. There are displays here on everything from the science of sailing to the technology behind the controversial pebble bed nuclear reactor that is planned for nearby Koeberg. Check the website for the program of daily events including guided tours to the wetland sanctuary of Intaka Island, also within Canal Walk’s vast compound.
reviewed
