tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185798032008-07-23T08:32:04.782+02:00SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comBlogger265125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-91438674086456177172008-07-23T08:30:00.000+02:002008-07-23T08:30:01.789+02:00

Located in the foothills of the Langeberg Mountains, on Route 62 between Worcester and Swellendam, is the small town of Robertson. With a history spanning more than 150 years, having been founded in 1853, the town has plenty to offer, despite only having a population in the region of 17 000 people. Many of the original Victorian houses still line the streets, along with the Jacarandas that have

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-90921395915929765092008-07-22T08:30:00.001+02:002008-07-22T08:30:00.751+02:00

When driving towards the Transkei, particularly between East London and the Kei River crossing, it almost seems as if you are entering another country. This, you can tell, is wild, untamed country. Whereas en route to Transkei you will travel through towns and cities much like any other in South Africa, when you get there these bastions of civilization are few and far between, with miles and

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-85860937736746653352008-07-17T08:30:00.000+02:002008-07-17T08:30:03.408+02:00

Many people remember being a teenager with a fond, misty, sentimental look on their face. I for one am lucky to crack a grimace at some of the downright outrageous things I got up to during those years. Like the time my friends and I decided to go camping in the Cederberg. At the end of high-school, instead of heading to Plettenberg Bay, the age-old venue for school-leaving parties, we thought

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-20114412332056959552008-07-16T08:30:00.000+02:002008-07-16T08:30:00.526+02:00

Silently balancing in a state of almost complete weightlessness, the dark water moving around you, it can feel almost meditative. Here, in the quiet depths of the ocean, you are forced to ignore your often hyperactive, chattering mind and just focus on the dive, all your attention focused on absorbing the strange and sometimes alien world around you. As regular divers know, nothing compares to

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-75903730612205488142008-07-15T08:30:00.001+02:002008-07-15T08:30:00.342+02:00

Blackheath Lodge is, quite simply, an indulgence. Set snug up against Signal Hill in Sea Point, Cape Town, this Victorian style, spacious home has been converted into a guest house deluxe with first rate service and that something ‘extra’ that comes from its gracious and downright affable host, Anthony. Blackheath Lodge is a gorgeous Victorian renovation. Its wooden floors, high ceilings,

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-40718452527659656832008-07-09T20:17:00.003+02:002008-07-09T20:42:36.495+02:00

The KhoiSan used the Cango Caves thousands of years ago as shelter but nobody else realized the beauty under the limestone ledge until the curiosity of a farmer in 1780 made him lower himself into the caves to investigate. For the first time his dim torch showed an awesome splendour that still takes the breath away today as countless people make the pilgrimage to the caves each year. The Cango

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-65113426444565791782008-07-08T08:30:00.000+02:002008-07-08T08:30:00.694+02:00

Until fairly recently it was unknown to all but locals, but mention the small South Africa coastal town of Hermanus anywhere in the world today and someone will have heard about the village, and no doubt, the whales. Whales are one of the most popular and well known attractions on offer in this small town, located nearby Cape Town on the eastern coast of the Cape and have been instrumental in

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-41385138938722864512008-07-04T08:30:00.001+02:002008-07-04T08:30:00.555+02:00

Hot springs have long been known to have beneficial effects on health, as well as a relaxing, rejuvenating way to while away time. High in natural minerals due to geothermal activities deep below the ground, which causes the water that bubbles up through the earth to be heated, their waters are thought to provide physical benefits to the skin. Whatever the scientific reason, there is no doubt

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-52061145075712440562008-07-02T08:30:00.000+02:002008-07-02T08:30:00.791+02:00

When they say you have to be ‘reasonably fit’ to be able to do the Otter Trail it means you better be able to carry all your equipment across rugged terrain for five days. However, as any serious hiker will confirm, the Otter Trail is simply the most glorious hiking trail in South Africa. The Otter Trail is for people who really want to hike and enjoy the extraordinary landscape as they go along,

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-72388416150893861792008-07-01T08:30:00.001+02:002008-07-01T08:30:01.381+02:00

My first memories of Hermanus are from high school holidays, my school friends and I taking the bus up the East coast for a week of getting ejected unceremoniously from bars for being underage, scorned by the local girls for not being cool enough and raiding the liquor cabinets of parents that were gullible and unfortunate to allow us to stay in their Hermanus holiday homes. At around 115kms

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-74289851514395169112008-06-27T08:30:00.001+02:002008-06-27T08:30:01.247+02:00

Every day, thousands of Capetonian commuters use public transport to get where they need to be. Squeezing into minibus taxis and train carriages, it’s a long haul to and from work for many of the Mother City’s citizens. Public transport offers a cost-effective way of travelling in our fair city and also allows one to immerse oneself in its day-to-day culture The bedrock of transport on Cape

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-41041350536285595402008-06-26T08:30:00.000+02:002008-06-26T08:30:00.418+02:00

Known to some as the perfect weekend getaway and to others as an artistic refuge, 75 kilometres from the heart of Cape Town lies the sleepy town of Darling. As Cape Town has expanded, more and more city folk have chosen to leave behind suburban living and build a new life in one of the Western Cape's outlying villages. Darling was one of the first such towns and remains one of the favourites for

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-61700207907144636282008-06-25T08:30:00.001+02:002008-06-25T08:31:45.869+02:00

Crouching behind a rock with a stinging wound on my back that was almost certainly going to bruise, I was having the most fun I’d had in a long time. I stood up and fired two rounds of high-velocity paintballs at the approaching weekend warriors. Shouts of pain and frustration told me that my projectiles had found their mark. Yes, despite Cape Town’s amazing range of wines and plethora of

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-65175903589166223672008-06-24T08:30:00.001+02:002008-06-24T08:30:00.727+02:00

When you wander up the R27 coastal road that winds up the West Coast of South Africa, you pass through towns and villages that make you think you have somehow stepped back in time. Towns and villages that are untouched by the frenetic energy of the city maintain the same steady pulse of living that has sustained them for decades. Here the clock ticks to the rhythm of nature with sea being main

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-50010373897355650482008-06-23T08:30:00.000+02:002008-06-23T08:30:00.589+02:00

The town of Jeffrey’s Bay, located just South of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, is undoubtedly South Africa’s surfing capital. Stories about the formation of the town abound, many claiming it was found by a shipwrecked captain. Some say the town was founded by surfers, but the real story is that a certain Captain Jeffrey, while sailing his cargo ship along the coast in the mid 1800’s,

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-10057188815359239662008-05-30T08:30:00.000+02:002008-05-30T08:30:02.387+02:00

There's a stretch of beach up the West Coast where I always go when I need to think. It may be when I need a little goal-directed thinking – like the time I decided that I desperately needed to see the world a little and impulsively packed my bags and set the gears in motion for some overseas backpacking. Or even just for some philosophical time-out, when the day to day grind becomes a little

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-16288951237178048802008-05-29T08:30:00.001+02:002008-05-29T08:30:00.718+02:00

It was opening night and adrenalin and lack of sleep were fueling an unhealthy intensity in the house we were staying in. We had arrived in Grahamstown after a ten hour drive which ended with the actors in the back seat trading more elbow jabs and knees to the midsection than in a Thai kickboxing match. We were in Grahamstown, a small town in the Eastern Cape, for the National Arts Festival, a

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-45324398567018604242008-05-28T08:30:00.000+02:002008-05-28T08:30:01.222+02:00

My friend Brian - tall, skinny and covered with tattoos, is a waiter in one of the trendiest restaurants in Camps Bay. I'm waiting for him to get off work in an hour so we can go down to the beach and to fill the time, he is giving me the low-down on the mating habits of the Greater Spotted Camps Bay Trendoid.“See the guy over there wearing the giant mirrored sunglasses?” he asks. I look over to

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-44883968757385366502008-05-27T02:16:00.000+02:002008-05-27T02:16:10.103+02:00

To the first indigenous people of the Cape, the Khoisan, Table Mountain held a particular sacred significance. There are many stories about the great mountain, and in some of these, the moutain itself is a storyteller, overlooking the surrounding area and telling about what it sees. Looking down from the mountain one can see the Cape coastline weaving a jagged boundary between the land and the

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-73731488660102904352008-05-19T14:44:00.004+02:002008-05-19T15:10:31.220+02:00

Situated in the tiny beach village of Jacobsbaai on the popular Cape West Coast between Saldanha Bay and Vredenburg, Whispering Whale is three luxury, self-catering or bed and breakfast apartments set amidst some of the country’s most unspoilt natural beauty and rugged coastline. Whispering Whale is one of those truly idyllic escapes that go beyond the call of duty to fulfil their every promise.

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-55392044106371106672008-05-08T08:30:00.002+02:002008-05-08T18:17:01.667+02:00

I have to admit, I'm not a very good rock climber. I'm the guy that experienced climbers take along in order to show off their skills and soon regret it. Invariably I'm the guy that gets stuck or injures myself and has to be helped and/or rescued. But one doesn't have to be Stallone in Cliffhanger to recognize the goldmine of rock climbing opportunities that Cape Town offers. Those coming from

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-25267402730985597392008-05-07T08:30:00.000+02:002008-05-07T08:30:02.924+02:00

The first in our feature on "Family-friendly Game Lodges" is the 5-Star RiverBend Lodge in the Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. Children of all ages are welcome at River Bend. Various activities are on offer including a playroom where hours of fun can be had. The team at RiverBend are geared towards every need and children will be taken on walks with their guide, baking biscuits

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-5528753579055712802008-05-06T09:30:00.001+02:002008-05-06T09:30:00.771+02:00

Crammed inside a smoky Cape Town club watching a floppy-haired, skinny jean-wearing indie band prance around on stage, it can be difficult to put your current musical appreciation into its proper historical context. And considering that last round of tequilas at the bar, probably unwise. That said, it can be an interesting trip looking at just how much musical history is concealed beneath the

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-65397264763003909592008-05-05T09:30:00.001+02:002008-05-05T09:30:01.568+02:00

Mention Langebaan to Capetonians and they smile; only 100 kilometres from Cape Town this hugely popular holiday town offers the ultimate in easy getaways. Weekends away in Langebaan are an excellent opportunity to get some time out and indulge in the holiday mood without arduous planning or a long drive. But it's not only convenience that this West Coast town has in its favour. The Langebaan

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18579803.post-89859728953793277282008-05-01T01:46:00.002+02:002008-05-01T02:34:03.166+02:00

Shopping is one of those small joys in life. Although there's a lot to be said for the simple things in life that don't require money, sometimes nothing makes you feel quite as good as buying some new stuff. That said, big shopping centres offer the same thing all over the world and finding something unique to an area is becoming more and more difficult. Craft markets have long been a part of

SA Travel News Editornoreply@blogger.com