Coming off last year’s World Cup hosting duties, South Africa has finally moved beyond the world-wide shunning it received during the apartheid era. South Africa is rapidly becoming an international place, and nowhere exemplifies that better than my destination Cape Town
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Cape Town is the most visited city in South Africa, and, it turns out, the most visited city in Africa as a whole. It’s the legislative capital of South Africa, (South Africa has three capitals. Weird right?) and it’s positioning on the Cape of Good Hope (sounds like something that gives a 1950’s super hero his powers) means it has many different kinds of beaches within a short distance. The city is also surrounded by mountains, the most impressive of which is Table Mountain, which looks exactly like what it’s name implies. The heart of the city is known as the City Bowl because of the surrounding mountains, which include Devil’s Peak, and Signal Hill. Saying Cape Town is picturesque is a serious understatement.
is also big, due to it’s beaches, mountainous vistas, and former British influence. Pros and hackers alike come here to play the many courses. Some of the greats are South African, including Gary Player and Ernie Els.
Surfing is big here to, and although there are some serious waves (and the occasional shark attack–they’re rare of course, but that doesn’t mean I don’t look up the statistics) there are also plenty of places to rent a board and get a lesson. Muizenberg is the best for beginners. There’s also lots of hiking and wildlife in the area. You can hike up Table Mountain, or take the more relaxing cable car to the top. The oft-repeated fact about Table Mountain is that it’s ecosystem contains more variety of vegetation than all of the British Isles. Don’t know about that, but the views from the top have anything I saw in the UK beat.