Destinations

JOHANNESBURG

Johannesburg

Johannesburg, affectionately known as “Jozi” or “Joburg”, is the largest city in South Africa and one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. It is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the smallest but most populous and wealthiest of the nine provinces in South Africa. It is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills, and is the center of large-scale gold and diamond trade.

Johannesburg itself has a population of about 5.5 million people, but an urban agglomeration of about 8 million. The city, together with the satellite towns which make up the greater Johannesburg urban area, covers a massive stretch of land – the distance from north to south is approximately 50 miles, and the distance from east to west is about 100 miles.

Johannesburg is both literally and figuratively built on gold. The precious mineral was first discovered in the area back in 1886, and it didn’t take long for Johannesburg to blossom from a dusty mining village called Ferreira's Camp to the metropolis that it has become today. The amount of gold that has been mined in the region is staggering – in 1970, at the height of its production, South Africa was producing five times more gold than the rest of the world combined.

Johannesburg is situated on the highveld plateau, with an average altitude of about 1,600 meters (5,250 feet) above sea level. It has a sunny subtropical highland climate, with the summer months characterized by hot days, afternoon thunderstorms and cool evenings, and the winter months consisting of dry, sunny days followed by cold nights. It does sometimes snow in the winter, but this is a fairly unusual occurrence.

Although not traditionally known as a tourist destination, the city is a transit point for connecting flights to Cape Town, Durban, and the Kruger National Park. Consequently, most international visitors to South Africa pass through Johannesburg at least once, which has led to the development of several activities for tourists. Recent additions have centered on museums, tours to Soweto, developments around the Cradle of Humankind sites at Maropeng, and a host of other attractions such as game and nature reserves.

GRASKOP

God's Window

Graskop (the name means “Grassy Hill”) is a stunning little town located in the heart of what is known as the Panorama Route in South Africa. Originally established back in the 1880s as a supply base for the numerous gold mining activities in the area at the time, the town has evolved into a tourist mecca, and has become renowned in particular for the many wonderful scenic attractions in the vicinity.

Top viewsites such as God’s Window, Wonder View, Pinnacle Rock and the Blyde River Canyon are all located within a few minutes’ drive from the town. The world-famous Bourke’s Luck Potholes are also in the area, as are a number of beautiful waterfalls such as Lisbon Falls and Berlin Falls. Situated close by is Pilgrim’s Rest, a historic mining town that was fully restored and declared a national monument in 1986.

For the more adventurous traveler, there are a host of exciting activities on offer in and around the town. These include numerous hiking trails and walks, white-water rafting, mountain biking, quad trails and horse riding. One of the latest attractions in the village is the Graskop Gorge Lift, a 55-meter (180 feet) glass elevator which allows visitors to descend into a dense riverine forest located within a narrow ravine. Wooden walkways, carefully designed to blend into the natural environment, allow comfortable and easy access along the valley floor, providing not only a tranquil setting but also excellent bird-watching opportunities. For the adrenaline junkies, a bungy swing and a zipline are also operated from the same complex.

The town has a huge range of accommodation options, from hotels, guest farms and B&Bs to basic wooden cabins. The restaurants and eateries are sometimes a little quirky, but there is more than enough variety to cater to everyone’s taste. Surrounded by mountains and forests, and located right in the center of this beautiful corner of the country, Graskop provides an excellent and convenient base to explore everything that this magnificent area has to offer.

OUDTSHOORN

Ostriches in Oudtshoorn

Oudtshoorn is a small town located in the Little Karoo, a semi-desert region situated between two massive mountain ranges; the Outeniqua to the south and the Swartberg to the north. The first settlers to populate the area arrived in the 1750s, and concentrated primarily on mixed farming. Initially the settlement was managed as a subsidiary of first Swellendam and then George, and it was not until 1848 that Oudtshoorn was officially declared as a town in its own right.

But the main reason for Oudtshoorn’s prosperity began in 1864, when ostriches were first introduced to the area. Ostrich feathers had become fashionable accessories amongst European nobility, and within a few years, prices had soared to astronomical numbers – in 1880, the value of a pound of ostrich feathers equaled that of a pound of diamonds. Such was the worth of the white ostrich feather that it was dubbed "white gold".

Owing to overproduction, the industry suffered a minor slump in the latter part of the 19th century, but a second and even greater boom began after 1902. It was during this period that the "feather barons", ostrich farmers who had become rich, built most of Oudtshoorn's fabulously opulent "feather palaces". The boom peaked in 1913, during which year the highest-quality feathers fetched more than $32 a pound, and ostrich feathers were outranked only by gold, diamonds and wool amongst South African exports.

But the boom didn’t last very long – the market collapsed in 1914, as a result of the start of World War I, overproduction, and the popularity of open-topped cars, which made ostrich-feather hats impractical. 80% of the ostrich farmers were bankrupted, and the numbers of domesticated ostriches, which had peaked at 314,000 by this point, plummeted to just 32,000 by 1930. After the end of World War II, new markets opened up for ostrich leather and meat, and the industry gradually recovered. Today, approximately 200,000 ostriches are farmed in the Oudtshoorn area.

In recent times, the ostrich industry has been plagued by new problems (mainly by outbreaks of avian flu in 2004, 2011 and 2013), and so the town has begun to rely more heavily of tourism. Many of the ostrich farms have established visitor tours which are extremely popular, and there are also many other attractions in the area. Some of these include bush and game safaris, the magnificent Cango Caves, the Swartberg Pass / Meiringspoort scenic drive route, and the unique Meerkat Experience.