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Sunday, June 13, 2010

A Visit to South Africa


South Africa is a big country on the southern tip of the African continent. It was once under the Dutch and British colonialists. Major cities are Pretoria (the capital), Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Of all four cities, perhaps Durban and Cape Town are the nicest as they have beautiful beaches. Johannesburg is the largest of all. South Africa faces two oceans i.e. Atlantic and Indian Oceans. I am going to tell you about South African cities that I have visited.


A street in Pretoria. Look at the blooming jakaranda flowers...You have to go in October to see this flowers. Pretoria is an hour by road from Johannesburg. On the way to this capital, you can see a lot of shanty houses.


Pretoria, a view from the administrative buildings. It is modern and clean. Note that the big park below is one of the best parks in Pretoria.

Johannesburg, the biggest city. A commercial centre for South Africa. A view from the hotel.


One of the flea markets in Johannesburg. It sells many things ranging from clothes, food, souvenirs, cooking utensils, bedding etc. Some of the products are laid on the ground. I found this market is lively with sorts of music especially african dance.

Cape Town, a city that attracts many tourists. On the left is the Table Mountain. This road is leading towards the city centre. The bridge is actually a dedicated pedestrian bridge, linking the residential areas and the commercial areas on the right.

The penguin community at Simon's Town on the eastern part of Cape town. It is a half-day journey to this town. These penguins are not afraid of people.

If you are interested to visit South Africa, it is advisable to go in October as it is near summer. The temperature is okay. You can stop at Johanesburg first and then visit the cities or places around it  such as Pretoria, Wildlife Park, Sun City ( a city that was developed on volcanic crater or caldera), then fly to Cape Town. It takes 2 hours by air to cape Town. In Cape Town, visit Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak and Simon's Town. You will pass a very historical geological formation  along this route. The cliff at this Peak had stratified or layers which I suppose geologists must be very interested to study. Do visit Cape Point where you can see where two oceans meet. Happy travelling.



1 comment:

  1. dear sir, salam. very interesting indeed to see the leaps and bound south africa has developed over the years. i was there around 1995 several times. had things doing with samrand. in one of your photos, there seems to be a dedicated pedestrian bridge crossing a 4 lane carriageway. now that is a pedestrian friendly city! should visit things up again. thanks for the excellent write up and pics. keep posting. many thanks - other-roads.

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