Knysna Oyster Festival

Knysna is renowned for its oysters, which are celebrated each year during the Knysna Oyster Festival.The Knysna Oyster Festival attracts around 65,000 visitors each year, among them dozens of food lovers, who come to the festival to slurp their way through platefuls of Crassostrea gigas ,Knysna’s home-grown oyster.They are some of the tastiest on the planet. Oysters taste even better with a glass of wine or bubbly.Oyster festival is all about life ,fun and sports events and also enjoy seafood and wine celebrations.During the festival there are numerous competitions to enter or watch, sport events, including a snowboard competition on a specially set-up snow ramp, and for the little ones include puppet shows, fun workshops. The first Knysna Oyster Festival was held in 1983, on the initiative of a local businessman keen to attract visitors to the Garden Route and one of its favourite resorts in the winter months. The festival is essentially a lifestyle celebration of sport and the good life and has established itself as one of the most popular annual events in the Western Cape.

Soft adventure and sports include bowling,golf,canoeing, navigation event. Some tough competitors can enter the drift dive challenge or the forest marathon while the cycle tour is the biggest mountain and biking event in Southafrica. From Arts & Crafts to Sports, Exhibitions, Fun Fairs, Boat Shows,Food and Wine and other entertainment covered many areas from the Old Goal Maritime Museum to the Belvidere Manor House, Thesen’s Jetty, Lorie Park, Waterfront Knysna Quays, the Heads and other locations along the picturesque beauty scenery of Knysna. More than 80 exciting events ranging from super-popular sports events and adventure challenges to wine and whisky tasting and gala evenings, draw a large crowd to the beautiful Garden Route town. Whether you're sporty , pleasure seeker, adventurous or just plain hungry, Knysna is the place to be in July. Party goers should check out Rockspots, various live music gigs and a variety of entertainment on every day of the festival in July.

Gold Reef City

Gold Reef City is a place of pleasure in Joburg.Gold Reef City is a combination of entertainment complex made up of a theme park and casino facilities. Gold Reef City is a combination of fun and fantasy. Located on an old gold mine, the park is themed around the gold rush on the Witwatersrand. Park staff wear period costumes of the 1880s.The buildings built inside the compound designed like the same period.

The Apartheid museum is located next to Gold Reef City, which is a good place to spend to find out more about the apartheid era.The museum exhibits include antique clothing and children's toys, which take the visitor back 100 years to the city that was.The carefully-documented history of Apartheid,beautifully depicted in the Museum, is a must-see on a South African visit. And nowhere else will the tourist find such a comprehensive and colourful depiction of mining life at the turn of the nineteenth century.

The Theme park has an abundance of adventures rides, gaming, restaurants, and tours for you to enjoy. Its a fun place to take the kids. Youngs as well as old enjoy the adventure rides. From the skyline, the Giant Wheel, Anaconda and Tower of Terror will beckon all you find here. The Anaconda is the only inverted roller coaster in the world and is currently the record holder for the fastest and tallest inverted roller coaster in Africa. The Tower of Terror is a vertical drop roller coaster which features a drop of 47 meters, and a pull-out which features a positive G-Force of a massive 6.3G's.

You can also visit the original gold mine in a lift that goes down to 220 meters below the surface.Those interested in gold mining can see the gold-containing ore veins in an old mine, or observe in a small museum how real gold is poured into barrels.Thousands of feet down to a shaft of the Crown Mines there were round the looooong tunnels and the mine workers demonstrated how the gold was mined which gave a vivid impression of the work of the gold-miners.

The casino at Gold Reef City offers abundance of gaming choices. The casino at Gold Reef City is open 24 hours a day. Your gaming options include slots, various tables, for the high rollers and much more. Everyone from international travellers to family groups will find here something to keep them occupied. With 1600 slot machines and 50 tables ranging from Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat and various different kinds of Poker, there is an abundance of entertainment.

Gold Reef City provides educational aspect to any visit. The combination of Apartheid museum, historical theme park, rides, restuarants and casino is a superb combination.International travellers savour the offering of traditional African music, dance and history found throughout the complex. It is well worth a visit to Gold Reef City, to see how this entertainment package is put together and presented.

Adventure Tour to South Africa

South Africa is surrounded side by side by breathtaking mountains. South Africa offers world-class climbing, surfing, diving, hiking, horseback safaris, mountain biking, river rafting etc. There are over a hundred listed paragliding or hang gliding launch sites were you can enjoy.Thousands of kilometres of hiking trails around the country in desert, forest,you can see. South Africa is the most scenic and beautiful place for tourists to participate in adventure activities.South Africa offers a large variety of adventure activities,sports etc.On the border of the Eastern and Western Cape has the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. South Africa is home of the highest bungi jump, biggest sand dunes and tallest mountain.

Some of the famous adventure activities are :-

Abseiling table mountain - The world famous Table Mountain soars above Cape Town at 1000 metres above sea level. The "long drop" is 112m high - and about a kilometre above the city - making it the world's highest commercial abseil. The views from here are breathtaking.

Bungee jumping - The highest commercial Bungy Jump in the world stands at 216m high and is at the Bloukrans Bridge up the Garden Route of South Africa.

Canoeing, rafting & kayaking - The most popular is the Orange,it's a long, green-fringed oasis running through the mountainous desert area. Incredibly scenic, it also has a few fun rapids.The trail of approximately 75km is suitable for the complete novice and specially designed, stable, 2-man, Indian-type canoes makes it safe for the whole family, both young and old. There is some fun canoeing in the lakes area of the Garden Route, especially Wilderness and Knysna Lagoon.

Fishing - Shore angling is the most popular form of fishing - perhaps because it is the most accessible.

Horseback safaris – If you're comfortable on a horse you can take a ride through magnificent mountain scenery and also through vineyards.

Kloofing - Jumps range from 3 meters high to 22 meters high and it might seem crazy but it will give you an xtreme adventure xperience.

Rock climbing - South Africa offers some of the best, and most diverse, rock climbing in the world. Outside Durban, there are also a lot of sport climbs. The Cedarberg, two-and-a-half hours drive north of Cape Town, is a world-class bouldering area - and boasts some of the best rock climbing routes in the country.Cape Town is built around Table Mountain, a national park consisting of two great, hard rock types - Table Mountain sandstone, and Cape granite, which offers fantastic friction climbing.

Scuba diving - South Africa has an enormously long coastline, which isn't quite within the usual range for tropical diving. Mozambique Current flows down our east coast and at Sodwana Bay we have the most southerly coral reefs in the world.You can see pretty colourful fish and some great nudibranchs, including the outrageous Spanish dancer. Whale sharks, turtles, dolphins and ragged tooth sharks are often seen in specific areas.

Whale Watching - During the correct seasons, Southern Right Whales make the coastline their home and often come here to give birth. Hermanus, a beautiful fishing village up the coast from Cape Town, is a destination for some of the world's best land based and boat whale watching.

Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is Africa's oldest established wildlife park.Kruger National Park covers 18,989 square km and extends 350 km from north to south and 60 km from east to west.It is situated north of Johannesburg.Kruger National Park atmosphere is so unique. Most of the park is situated in the Lowveld. To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. It is the largest game reserve in South Africa.The park boasts a fabulous variety of game and birdlife in its various habitats.The Kruger National Park is home to number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. The park has 8 main gates that allow entrance to the different camps.The names of these gates are Paul Kruger, Numbi, Malelane, Punda Maria, Crocodile Bridge, Orpen,Phalaborwa , Phabeni and Pafuri.The Kruger National Park is divided into six ecosystems - baobab sandveld, Lebombo knobthorn-marula bushveld, mixed acacia thicket, combretun-silver clusterleaf, woodland on granite, and riverine forest. It boasts the highest variety of wildlife in Africa which inlcudes the "Big Five", hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, cheetah etc.Kruger National Park is divided into 4 regions so visitors could understand easily which region they want to explore first.The regions are :-
The central region :- The central region supports nearly half the park’s lion population as well as numbers of leopard,hyena and cheetah. Possibly the main reason for this is the quantity of sweet grasses and abundant browsing trees found in this area that support a large group of antelope, giraffe, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest.

The northern region :- The Letaba and Olifants rivers contain as much as 60% of the Kruger park’s hippo population, and bird life here abounds. There are plenty of bushpig in the undergrowth of the Luvuvhu River and on most of the river banks you can hope to see sizeable herds of elephant buffalo,bushbuck,and Kudu concentrated near a water supply.

The far north region :-This is a rather fascinating part of the Kruger National Park. Sightings of rare birdlife and major areas of sand formed by river flood plains, combined with sandstone formations of the Mozambique coastal plain, make it attractive to visitors. A picnic site on the river bank provides hours of splendid bird viewing.

The southern region :- The valleys are home to trees rarely found in other parts of the Kruger park, such as the Cape chestnut, coral tree and lavender fever-berry; and granite lies beneath most of the region, producing distinctive smoothed koppies at irregular intervals, which are typically surrounded by rock figs and form ideal locations for rock dassies or hyrax, baboon and klipspringer, not to mention the odd leopard. This is the region where you’re almost sure of seeing a white rhino as most of them occur here.

Safari tours :- You can also enjoy Safari tours.Hence the Kruger National Park is one of South Africa`s premier tourist attractions. Safari tours are mostly common here.During safari you can view Big Five,Elephant,Lion,Rhino,Buffalo and Leopard.You should also see Zebras, Wildebeest,Bush pig,Impala,Giraffes and baboons which are all quite easily spotted. The best time to see game in the Kruger National Park is during the winter months of April to September.November and December are the calving months, this is a fantastic time for a safari.

Water and Bush Birds in the Kruger :- There are over 600 species of water and bush birds in South Africa’s top reserve.Great egrets, reed cormorants and white-faced ducks are found by the water alongside giant kingfishers, grey and green-backed herons,plovers and black-winged stilts.You can spoteasily hornbills as well as eagles, hooded vultures and other birds of prey. Among the most colourful birds are Carmine bee eaters and lilac-breasted rollers.

Bush walks :- It is one of the most incredible ways to learn about the fragility of the ecosystems of the Kruger Park and to see the smaller, animals and insects of the park like termites, spiders, snakes and plants. Bush walks can last up to four hours.

Wilderness trails :- There are many trails offer in the Kruger National Park.Some of them are Metsi-Metsi, Napi, Massingir and the Sweni Wilderness.

Drakensberg

The Drakensberg mountains of South Africa is a 200-kilometre-long mountainous wonderland and world heritage site.It is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa.It is also know as “uKhahlamba” or“The Barrier of Spears”. The Dutch Voortrekkers named it as 'The Dragon Mountain'. It forms a natural border between Lesotho and KwaZulu Natal.The largest proportion of the Drakensberg area falls in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The Drakensberg Range has three sections,South, Central and North.The Northern Drakensberg comprises Royal Natal National Park,Rugged Glen Nature Reserve,Amphitheatre,Mont-aux-Sources, Ifidi, Mnweni & Ntonjelana valleys, Singati Valley, the Mnweni cutback, Mponjwane, and the Saddle.The Central Drakensberg or Berg comprises of Mlambonja Wilderness Area, Cathedral Peak,Organ Pipes, Ndedema Gorge,Ndumeni, Mdedelelo Wilderness Area, Monk’s Cowl, Champagne Castle,Cathkin Peak,Injasuti, and Giant’s Castle Game Reserve.Southern Drakensberg has Mkhomazi Wilderness Area,Loteni,Kamberg,Vergelegen,Hinghmoor,Sani Pass,Mzimkhulwana Nature Reserve, Mzimkhulu Wilderness Area, Garden Castle, Rhino, Giant’s Cup Hiking Trail, Bushman’s Nek, Sehlabathebe National Park, Thomathu, Devil’s Knuckles, and Ramatseliso's Nek.
The mountains are capped by a layer of basalt approximately 1,400 m thick, with sandstone resulting in a combination of steep-sided blocks.The Drakensberg Mountains, with their awe-inspiring basalt cliffs, snowcapped in winter, lush yellowwood forests and cascading waterfalls, form a massive barrier separating KwaZulu-Natal from the Kingdom of Lesotho. This 243,000 hectare mountainous region known the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park has been preserved and venerated for eons since the San people or bushmen roamed these slopes.This is one of South Africa`s best hiking spots, with varied environments and awesome views. It is an important region for adventure activities like mountaineering, camping, bird watching, river crossing, trout fishing, and many more such activities.The entire Drakensberg is riddled with incredible waterfalls, rock pools, mountain streams, crisp mountain air, caves and special spaces that draw both visitors to South Africa and locals alike.
Cave and cave paintings :- In Drakensberg of KwaZulu Natal lies Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park which is a world heritage site , it also has over 600 examples of rock paintings in caves around the park. The Drakensberg has between 35000 and 40000 works of bushman art and is the largest collection of such work in the world. The oldest painting on a rock shelter wall in the Drakensberg dates back about 2400 years", "paint chips at least a thousand years older have also been found.It is famous for its outstanding both in quality and diversity of subject. Drakensberg range is a major tourist destination in South Africa and one of the best-known adventure destinations in the world.

Mont-aux-Sources :-It is regarded as the one of the highest portions of the Drakensberg Mountain range. Mont-aux-Sources is regularly described as a mountain block. The amphitheatre, of which Mont-aux-Sources is part, is a five kilometre wall of rock that is at once intimidating and awesome, and forms part of the Royal Natal National Park.It is surrounded by mountain peaks and visitors can enjoy hiking.

Cathedral Peak :- It is surrounded by most spectacular mountain scenery.The peak is bordered by two wilderness areas the Mdedeleo and Mlambonja.It is a retreat for nature lovers, mountain bikers and rock climbers.

Giant’s Castle :- It lies at the southern end of the Drakensberg.It get its name from the outline of the peaks and escarpment that combine to resemble the profile of a sleeping giant.There are a number of hikes to choose from and they range from the rather severe hike to Bannerman Hut, to the more sedate Champagne Pools circular walk from Giant’s Castle main gate, which takes you to secluded pools for swimming and fishing.

Some more attractions :-

Suncity

Suncity in South Africa offers everything and more and it has become a haven for holidaymakers to South Africa.Sun City Resort is set in the North West Region of South Africa.Sun City is a luxury South African casino resort. The Resort has a unique heartbeat and an African rhythm of its own. It was planned in the style of a sunken, legendary African town .This is pure fantasy and your every desire is met.It offers a multitude of attractions and activities to keep everyone occupied. Sun City attracts more than 25.000 visitors every day.It has a combination of golf, game and gambling, as well as world class hotels.It is the perfect choice for any holiday in South Africa. A huge variety of sport activities can be enjoyed at Sun City.It is surrounded by the magnificent mountains of South Africa` s Pilanesberg National Park and the game viewing opportunities are superb. Sun City offers the best golfing in Africa.You can enjoy Flying in a Tiger Moth, riding an elephant, hot air ballooning, archery, quad biking and much more. There are four world-class hotels including the magnificent Palace of the Lost City. Suncity in South Africa offers everything and more and it has become a haven for holidaymakers to South Africa .It amazed the visitors with its glamorous casinos, gourmet restaurants, sports facilities etc.You could get a lot of facilities here:-

Watersports and Activities :- South Africa has year round good atmosphere making it famous for sports such as squash, swimming,tennis, horse riding,mountain biking, golf etc. Sun City has laid out spectacular jogging trails. A wide range of water sports including Water-skiing, Parasailing and Sunset Cruises can be enjoyed at the Resort's Waterworld.

Sun City Nightlife and Entertainment :- Here famous artists perform throughout the year.

Valley Of The Waves :- This is the most advanced water park in South Africa. This water park has five exhilarating flume rides.

Vredefort Dome

Two billion years ago a meteorite hit the earth creating an enormous impact crater.This area, near Vredefort in the Free State, is now known as the Vredefort Dome. Vredefort Dome a truly unique, indeed mind-boggling site . It is 120 km south-west of Johannesburg and also it is the oldest astrobleme found on earth. With a radius of 190km, it is also the largest and the most deeply eroded. It is said to have been created by a chunk of rock the size of Table Mountain vaporizing 70 Cubic Kilometres of earth on impact and a crater 300km wide. The Vredefort Dome is among the top three, and is the oldest and largest clearly visible meteorite impact site in the world. Vredefort's original impact scar measures 380km across and consists of three concentric circles of uplifted rock. They were created by the rebound of rock below the impact site when the asteroid hit. Vredefort Dome bears witness to the world’s greatest known single energy release event, which caused devastating global change, including, according to some scientists, major evolutionary changes. Vredefort is the only example on earth to provide a full geological profile of an astrobleme below the crater floor. The inner circle, is still visible and can be seen in the beautiful range of hills near Parys and Vredefort.Within the ring of hills found granitic gneiss rock. The force of the impact produced deep fractures in the underlying rock. Rock melted by the impact flowed down into the cracks, producing what are now exposed as ridges of hard dark rock - the granophyre dykes.The Vredefort Dome is a natural heritage site.When you visit the area you will find small hills in a large dome shape with beautiful valleys between them. Evidence has been found by geologists that the cause of this upliftment was an extreme impact event. Its mountains and valleys, the Vaal River bed, and many different climatic and soil conditions giving rise to a vast variety of different vegetations, exceptionally varied bird life, all this makes the Dome a very special place to live in and to visit. It was voted South Africa's seventh World Heritage site at Unesco's 29th World Heritage Committee meeting in Durban in July 2005.

Best Time To Visit :-

The dome is an all-year round destination, although in the winter months the cooler air and reduced vegetation make hiking easier.The nearby structure of the Dome to the north is very recognizable.You can enjoy hiking and bird-watching, Canoeing, rafting and fishing, camping, riding, mountain-biking and -climbing on the site.

Some Attractions of South Africa :-

Cape Winelands

A journey through the lush Cape Winelands of the Western Cape will soon reveal why South Africa has gained an international reputation for the production of award-winning wines.There are a number of wine growing areas in South Africa, the bulk of our wine comes from the area we classically call 'the Winelands' that includes Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. Towns such as Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington and Franschhoek are framed by mountains and lush vineyards and are home to historic buildings and museums that showcase the natural beauty, world renowned wines and accessibility to Cape Town make the winelands an ideal holiday destination.Visitors may have a hard time choosing which of the many superb wine routes to explore.The Cape Winelands is a scenically enchanting region.Dramatic mountains and fertile valleys are planted with vines stretching across rolling fields. Here farmers enjoy perfect conditions and produce some of the best wines in 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 production of wine has shaped the development of this area for over 300 years, and it has been proposed for consideration as a World Heritage Cultural Landscape.The winelands are a wonderful combination of small historic towns, beautiful scenery and wine estates producing delicious wines and brandies.The Cape Winelands features health spas, golf courses, restaurants, nature reserves, museums, galleries, open-air theaters, art & craft shops and, row upon row of vineyards changing colors with the seasons.Visitors could enjoy hiking, game viewing, bird watching, canoeing, 4x4 trails, horseback safaris, mountain biking, abseiling, kloofing, rock pool swimming and more.

Stellenbosch is the de facto capital of the Winelands. It is very attractive and full of old thatched and whitewashed Cape Dutch buildings and historic national monuments. The wine estates of Stellenbosch are most impressive, with grand manor houses and beautifully laid out grounds. Here you'll find beautiful wine farms, amazing restaurants, charming guest houses and unforgettable wines. The Stellenbosch wine route is the oldest in the country and represents over 300 wineries. Because of this it is divided into a number of sub-routes to make it easier to travel, namely: Bottelary Hills, Devon Valley Vintners, Helderberg and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch.Bottelary Hills lies on the slopes of the Bottelary mountain range and produces red wines.Devon Valley Vintners lies to the west of Stellenbosch focus on red wine but also produced premium white and sparkling wines.

Franschhoek is the heart of one of the oldest and most beautiful wine routes in the Cape. The valley produces all the classic styles and noble cultivars - from whites such as Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon through to the reds of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot. Over 30 wine cellars produce some of the country’s top wines.

Paarl is renowned for its very beautiful countryside, excellent wines and some incredible architecture. Paarl Wine Route is also known as the ‘Red Route’ because a large variety of grapes are grown in Paarl, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Shiraz, Chardonnay etc.

The Garden Route

The Garden Route lies east of Cape Town and encompasses some of South Africa's most beautiful beaches, mountains, and rivers. It is one of the famous place while visiting South Africa. The Garden Route is a series of bays, cliffs, beaches and towns, stretching hundreds of kilometres from Heidelberg in the west to the Tsitsikamma Forest in the East.This route takes travelers through a series of picturesque towns and villages, each with their own unique character and attractions.This is a strip of land like no other in the world in terms of beauty, natural attractions and unique flora and fauna . The Garden Route is a paradise for eco-lovers, bird watchers and one of the most beautiful part of the Cape.The route is a popular holiday destination for both seasons, are equally beautiful and attractive due to the largely Mediterranean climate. A wide range of leisure options, spectacular scenery and a mild climate guarantee an unforgettable holiday experience when visiting the Garden Route in South Africa.Along the way, every kind of adventure activity is possible scuba diving, abseiling,bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge,hikers and bikers enjoy here, fishing, Whether you're paragliding over sandy white beaches, spotting dolphins it's a place where nature rules, and it does so beautifully.It is also a top priority of many foreign visitor.

Table mountain

Table Mountain is a must see for any visitor to Cape Town.Its powerful and charismatic pull, draw many tourists to visit this place. The mountain is the only terrestrial feature to give its name to a constellation –Mensa which means “The Table” – standing in the Southern Hemisphere right below Orion.. Its tabular shape results from nearly horizontal layers of sandstone exposed by vigorous wind and water erosion. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park.The most easiest way of visiting Table Mountain is to ride up in the Cable Car.You can reach the top either via cable cars or if you're feeling slightly more energetic and have the time you can walk up the mountain from Kirstenbosch or Constantia. The mountain’s plateau is flanked by Devil’s Peak to the east and Lion’s Head to the west, forming a drastic drop to Cape Town and the Table Bay Harbor. The distinctive-looking mountain is one of Cape Town’s most recognized landmarks and is a popular tourist attraction that offers hiking, camping, and other activities.