| The Western Cape
Sir Francis Drake described this area 'the fairest cape' of all the World. Little did he realise what beauty lay beyond the mountain ranges he could see. There is no need to add anything to this glowing testimonial, the first ever given the Cape of Good Hope. Table Bay is where South Africa's modern recorded history began on a very small scale in 1652. Jan van Riebeeck and the small group of Hollanders who accompanied him were not emissaries of the government of Holland but humble employees of the Dutch East India Company. They were not given a mandate to start a new colony but simply of establishing a base where their ships could stock up on fresh meat, fruit and vegetables.
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View from Signal Hill
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The Western Cape is an all year holiday destination, offering opportunities for the nature lover, relaxed tourist, and even the adventurous tourist. The conducive climate and the excellent and varied amenities cater for every tourists need. The scenery is a brilliance of colour and the home of the most diverse of the world's six floral kingdoms, totalling 8500 indigenous floral species. During spring, the Western Coast is transformed into breathtaking carpets of flowers.
The coastline offers sheltered and unpolluted white sandy beaches. Rocky outcrops on the coastline offer very good opportunities for sport fishing. Southern Right Whales are seen off the coast during the breeding season
(August to November) and Bryde's Whales can be seen any time of the
year. The whales visit the quite bays annually, to calf and mate. This is the best land based whale watching area in the world.The nearby town of Hermanus is known for its Whale Festival, but
whales can also be seen in False Bay.
The Western Cape is the most diverse of the South African provinces - depicted in its kaleidoscope of architecture, places of worship, arts and crafts, museums and historical landmarks.
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