Places of interest

Travel Places in Cape Town

You will notice that our branding has changed from a "zebra" to the "lion" Please do not let this deter you, we are still the same team. Our holding company has always been African Welcome Travel Services, however due to changes in the companies Act we now need to trade under one name. Please be assured that our service shall remain the SAME.

Beaches
South Africa boasts some of the finest beaches in the world. From the pristine coastal stretch of Cape Vidal in KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape's famous Wild Coast, from the penguin colony of Boulders Beach to sun-drenched Camps Bay in the Western Cape … when it comes to beaches, we win, hands down.
Bird Tours
Birders from around the world come to experience both the great variety of typically African birds, migrants, and endemic birds. These birders enjoy excellent birding, whether they are with an organised commercial birding tour or are touring independently. Of the +/- 850 bird species recorded in South Africa, about 725 are resident or annual visitors, and 50 of these are endemic or near-endemic to South Africa, and can only be seen in South Africa. Apart from the resident birds, South Africa hosts a number of intra-African migrants such as cuckoos and kingfishers, as well as birds from the Arctic, Europe, Central Asia, China and Antarctica during the year.

Bungi Jumping
Bungee jumping in South Africa has earned a global reputation for its claim to having the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. Positioned along the gorgeous Garden Route, the Bloukrans Bungee Jump will send you plummeting 216m, headfirst, towards the bottom. Because of the extreme height of this bungee jump, a full body harness is used, instead of the traditional ankle harness. The harness, combined with a technique called ‘pendulum bungee technology’, makes for a very comfortable jump - considering the fact that you’re jumping off a 216m high bridge!

Cango Caves
29km from Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lies the spectacular underground wonder of the Klein Karoo - the Cango Caves. Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the well known Swartberg Mountains, you will find the finest dripstone caverns, with their vast halls and towering formations.

Cango Wildlife Ranch
Tucked away in the Little Karoo you will find a place offering sanctuary to a number of endangered species such as cheetah and Bengal tiger. No visit to Oudtshoorn is complete without having visited the Cango Wildlife Ranch, the conservation heart of the Little Karoo. The Cango Wildlife Ranch, oldest and largest cheetah contact center worldwide where you can see and feel a huge variety of animals including Africa’s spotted king, the cheetah. From the slithering snake to the majestic lion, you will find all you want here. .

Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is most famous for Cape Point, the farthest tip of the Cape Peninsula. There are a number of drives and picnic sites in the Cape of Good Hope Reserve, which is home to baboons, zebra, eland, red hartebeest, ostrich, and the pretty bontebok. (Be aware that the baboons, which have become habituated to humans, can be dangerous; dont approach them, keep your car windows closed, and never feed them.)

Cape Town
Cape Town - a city with a diverse range of attractions, sights and activities to offer. From lavish and luxurious to back-packing on a budget, Cape Town has something for everyone. From the landmark beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay to the vibrant V&A Waterfront and Cape Town city centre and the award winning wine farms of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek - time spent in CapeTown will not be forgotten. .

Cape Winelands
The fertile green valleys of the Cape Winelands are surrounded by proud mountain ranges. Towns and villages have many historic homesteads and monuments, and every so often fruit orchards are to be seen, whose produce may be found in all corners of the world. It is the Mediterranean climate and winter rainfall of the south-western Cape that produces some of the best wines in the country. The rich, fertile soils along the Breede River Valley and especially the areas of Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, have become world famous for their whites, reds, sherries, ports and brandies.

Cradle of Humankind
The Site lies mainly in the Gauteng province with a small extension into the neighboring North-West province, and covers 47 000 hectares of land mostly privately owned. The Cradle of Humankind Site comprises a strip of a dozen dolomitic limestone caves containing the fossillised remains of ancient forms of animals, plants and most importantly, hominids. The dolomite in which the caves formed, started out as coral reefs growing in a worm shallow sea about 2.3 billion years ago.

Drakensberg Mountains
The Drakensberg Mountains are one of the newest holiday destinations being discovered in South Africa today and with its huge range of accommodation, hiking trails, horse riding, 4x4 trails, mountain biking and other adventure activities this does not come as a surprise. Picturesque peaks and wide open spaces are a welcome break from the hustle bustle of city life.

Durban
Durban formerly known as Port Natal - A natural port that has grown into one of South Africa's best-known and most popular coastal resorts and commercial ports. With stretches of safe, sandy beaches and abundance of holiday accommodation destinations available and all-year sunshine attract visitors to this festive city every year.

Garden Route
The Garden Route includes one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline, whose starting point is constantly contested as towns such as Witsand, Stilbaai and Albertinia join the route that winds its way for some 200 km via George, Wilderness, Sedgefield and Knysna on to Plettenberg Bay and culminating in the Tstisikamma Forest - a fairyland of giant trees, ferns and bird life.

Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
The Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park was declared South Africa's first Natural World Heritage Site on 1 December 1999. It is considered South Africa's third largest park and extends from Mapelane (Cape St. Lucia) in the South, to Kozi Bay in the North. The Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park incorporates Lake St Lucia, the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves, the Coastal Forest Reserve, and Kosi Bay Nature Reserve. The park has 280km of near pristine coastline and comprises of 328 000 hectares of magnificent scenery.

Hermanus
Known as the heart of the whale route, the seaside resort of Hermanus in Walker Bay offers the best land based whale watching in the world. A cliff path stretching from the one side of the town to the other, hugs the coastline for about 12 km giving whale watchers unlimited opportunities to study and get within 20 m of the gentle giants in the coves below or lolling just beyond the breakers. Telescopes situated alongside the Old Harbour Museum makes it possible to survey the entire Walker Bay and the whales and dolphins at close range.

Highgate Ostrich farm
Highgate, established almost 100 years ago by the Hooper family, is a large Ostrich Farming concern producing primarily feathers and ostrich by-products. Highgate opened to the public in 1938 and since then many thousands of visitors from all over the world have been entertained on the establishment. The farm is still run and also under personal supervision by the Hooper family.

Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park
The Hluhluwe and Umfolozi reserves were founded in 1895 and are the oldest such sanctuaries in Africa. It was here that the world- acclaimed Operation Rhino was introduced during the 1960s, successfully capturing and relocating white rhino to havens within South Africa and abroad. As a result, this country's white rhino population is now 12 times the 1960 count of 500. Today a single park, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi is focusing its efforts on saving the endangered black rhino, whose number in Africa has dwindled from 14 000 to a pitiful 2 550 in the past decade. You'll find at least a fifth of the world's black and white rhino population here.

Hout Bay
Hout Bay is often called the Heart of the Cape, a 20 minute drive from the Cape Town city centre, almost halfway between Cape Town and Cape Point. Houtbaai was named by the Dutch explorers, which literally translated means Wood Bay. The timber was used to help build Cape Town. Hout Bay was then divided up into two farms the Kronendal and Moddergat. Over time the farms were divided up however today Hout Bay still enjoys a rural atmosphere with several equestrian estates and small holdings.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
The beautiful Kirstenbosch gardens cover an area of 528 hectares with 36 hectares of cultivated garden. The gardens are a celebration of South African flora - showcasing only indigenous South African plants. Fynbos, proteas, cycads and rolling lawns are intermingled with streams and ponds and well-laid out pathways for easy walking. A great variety of birds inhabit the gardens and the sweeping views from the upper slopes are spectacular. Whether for a casual stroll, a more stenuous walk or a lazy picnic, the gardens are a must-see when visiting Cape Town.

Kruger National Park
The largest game reserve in South Africa, the Kruger National Park is larger than Israel. Nearly 2 million hectares of land that stretch for 352 kilometres (20 000 square kilometres) from north to south along the Mozambique border, is given over to an almost indescribable wildlife experience. Certainly it ranks with the best in Africa and is a flagship of the country’s national parks - rated as the ultimate safari experience.

Madikwe Game Reserve
The Madikwe Game Reserve belongs to the latest park developments in South Africa. It was opened in 1991 and comprises 75000 hectares of bushland north of the small town Groot-Marico up to the Botswana border. It is currently the fourth largest game reserve in South Africa and one of the best-kept secrets. The terrain is mainly open grasslands and bushveld plains, interspersed with rocky outcrops and single mountains. Madikwe is regarded as one of the finest conservation areas in Africa, offering all the major species, including lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, both white and black rhino along with almost all the plains antelope species.

Marakele National Park
Marakele National Park is set in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. As its Tswana name suggests, Marakele is a 'place of sanctuary' for an outstanding array of bird and wildlife species. Located in the transitional zone between the dry western and moister eastern regions of South Africa, the park boasts with majestic mountain landscapes, grass-clad hills and deep valleys.

Midlands Meander
The famous Midlands Meander in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is a unique mix of more than 160 places to eat, drink, sleep, shop, play and generally have fun. Started many years ago as a voluntary collection of crafters, who wondered if they could attract visitors to leave the beaten track and explore their studios and galleries, the Midlands Meander has grown into an eclectic and fascinating mix of arts and crafts, world-class restaurants and homely comforts, with a wide range of sporting, environmental and historical pursuits thrown in too. Physical, culinary or cerebral, there is no limit to the experiences you'll find here.

Namaqualand
Namaqualand! 100% big sky country. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the small town of Pofadder in the east, north from the great Orange River and south beyond Garies, Namaqualand is indeed a vast and varied region. During the arid summer months it is difficult for the tourist to imagine the phenomenon of the yearly wild flower appearance. After the winter rainfall, Namaqualand dons her coat of many colours and for a brief moment, the wildflowers invade the countryside. Countless poems, novels, paintings and prose have been dedicated to this annual shower of God's colour.

Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe
The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe is one of Africa's great experiences - it's an awesome trip. Start with a stroll around the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George and explore rarities like the train in which President Paul Kruger conducted the affairs of the Transvaal Republic at the end of the South African War. Then board the train (first class only) and, with a toot on the whistle you're off. Enjoy the bridge crossings at the Malgate and Gwaiing Rivers, the farmlands with the Outeniqua Mountains in the background and then that amazing vista over Glentana and the Indian Ocean. Through a tunnel and out again to a sweeping view all the way across Mossel Bay to the Cape St Blaize Lighthouse. Keep your eyes on the water, looking for whales and dolphins.

Across the Great and Little Brak River Lagoons, through a fynbos reserve and past Hartenbos and then through the eerie, deeply atmospheric Voorbaai Yards, the largest steam locomotive maintenance workshop in the country, great rusting hulks and fading carriages aching with stories and the dramas of an almost forgotten time.

Pilanesberg National Park
The crater of a long extinct volcano is the setting of Pilanesberg National Park - a fascinating alkaline complex produced by volcanic eruptions some 1300 million years ago. Pilanesberg is one of the largest volcanic complexes of its kind in the world. Its rare rock types and structure make it a unique geological feature.
The early presence of man can be seen in the numerous Stone and Iron Age sites that are scattered throughout the park. The park exists within the transition zone between the dry Kalahari and wetter Lowveld vegetation, commonly referred to as "Bushveld". Unlike any other large park, unique overlaps of mammals, birds and vegetation occur because of this transition zone.

Port Elizabeth
The city is situated 260 km from Knysna and +- 800km from Cape Town. It is known for its sunshine and safe sandy beaches .
For the tourist wanting a total South African experience, Port Elizabeth is the perfect complement to the Garden Route, Settler Hinterland, Sunshine Coast and Cape. Located on the South Eastern coast of Africa, this major sea port and tourist destination is set along the beautiful shores of Algoa Bay, and is fondly referred to as the Friendly Eco-City.

Robben Island
Visit the Island where Mr. Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his 27 years imprisonment with a afternoon on Robben Island. The stunning beauty of the Island betrays her dark past and your visit to Cape Town will be all the richer for experiencing what Mr. Mandela endured to make South Africa the free, open and friendly country we all enjoy today, you don’t want to miss this!!

Shark Diving
South Africa was one of the first Countries Worldwide to make the Great White a protected species. Here you can get the chance to get extremely close to these awesome animals. You can go on a Shark dive or alternatively just view them from the safety of the boat.
Soweto
Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in the country, with Census 2001 putting its population at 896 995. Thanks to its proximity to Johannesburg, the economic hub of the country, it is also the most metropolitan township in the country - setting trends in politics, fashion, music, dance and language.

Table Mountain
Since the first person laid eyes on Table Mountain, it has exerted its powerful and charismatic pull, enchanting and drawing any and all who fall under its spell. The way to the top has never been easy, and for many centuries only a handful of bold and enterprising people could say that they had climbed it. By the late 1870's, several of Cape Towns more prominent(and possibly less fit) citizens had suggested the introduction of a railway line to the top.

The Addo Elephant National Park
Situated in a malaria free area just one hour's drive from Port Elizabeth, this finely tuned ecosystem is sanctuary to over 450 elephants, Cape buffalo, a variety of antelope species, as well as the unique flightless dung beetle, found almost exclusively in Addo.

The Baxter Theatre
Since its establishment in 1977, the Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town has played a prominent role in the South African arts and entertainment scene. The Baxter Theatre Centre was built following a generous bequest by the late Dr William Duncan Baxter, who specified that the money be used for the express purpose of building a theatre that was open to all - this occurring at a time when South Africa's apartheid regime was at its zenith.

Two Oceans Aquarium
The southern tip of the African continent is the meeting place of two mighty and bountiful oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic. The Two Oceans Aquarium on the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town is ideally positioned to showcase the incredible diversity of marine life found in these two oceans. The Aquarium is one of the top tourist attractions in Cape Town and over 3000 living sea animals, including sharks, fishes, turtles and penguins can be seen in this spectacular underwater nature reserve.


Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
Situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain in the heart of Cape Town's working harbour, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront has become South Africa's most visited destination. Set against a backdrop of magnificent sea and mountain views, exciting shopping and entertainment venues are intermingled with imaginative office locations, world-class hotels and luxury apartments in the residential marina.

White Water Rafting
As relaxing and enjoyable as a gentle river cruise is, there’s an ever growing group of people who prefer the thrills and excitement of a rough and adrenaline packed South African white water rafting trip. South Africa is home to some awesome torrential rivers promising exhilarating white water rafting adventures. Under professional guidance, novices as well as experts can experience hours of enjoyable and challenging adventures.

Zulu Battlefields
Journey with us in the footsteps of the early pioneers into Zululand. Visit fascinating old ruins that speak to us from the past. Be part of the vibrant culture that lives unto this day.

AND IN CLOSING...
Each province has its own attractions and varies from each other. From weather conditions, to its own individual beauty and scenery. Gauteng area and regions offer most of the luxury game reserves and an abundance of world-class casinos, including Montecasino, Gold Reef City, Emperors Palace, Carnival City and the Lost City at Sun City. Kwazulu Natal offers incredible history on the Zulu wars, enjoy a journey through the battlefields and Oceanside golf courses. All our provinces have world class golf courses, some designed by world famous golf pro's. Beauty, health and wellness spa's are found in all our provinces. South Africa is acknowledged as an international conference destination. We offer a variety of types of accommodation from the back packers lodges to the 5* hotels. Our infrastructure and technology makes it possible for any businessman or leisure traveler to have all the amenities on hand for an unforgettable holiday or business trip. Come and enjoy our country with us!