You think you know a place, but the truth is, no matter how many times you’ve visited, there’s always something new to learn, there’s always something that can surprise you.
Group marketing manager for Protea Hotels by Marriott® and African Pride Hotels, Nicholas Barenblatt, has collected some interesting facts and tips about places around the country.
Cape Town
There’s another Capetown (one word this time) – regarded as the westernmost settlement in California. It’s in their “wine country”, just north of San Francisco.
Table Mountain National Park is home to more 2 200 species of plants – more than the entire United Kingdom!
The tunnels that were built to stream fresh water from Table Mountain to the harbour and to maintain the Company’s Gardens still exist under the city today. You can take a tour, if you don’t mind the rats.
The Mother City is home to Africa’s first toboggan run. It’s aptly named Cool Runnings, and you’ll find it in Bellville.
Much of Cape Town was originally under water: and the Castle of Good Hope was originally on the water’s edge. Walk around the lower part of the city and you’ll still be able to identify traces of its marine history – Sea Street, for instance, is a small road that runs off Riebeek Street and intersects with another reminder of the ocean’s proximity, Waterkant Street.
Bloemfontein
Never mind travelling to New Zealand to visit “the real Middle-Earth” and the Shire at the Hobbiton movie set, just head to Bloemfontein: birthplace of Hobbit and Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, and now home of the Hobbit Boutique Hotel.
The National Women’s Memorial on the edge of Bloemfontein was built in memory of the women and children who died in concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War.
Bloemfontein has produced many South African sports personalities including rugby players Juan Smith, Os du Randt and Francois Steyn; athlete Zola Budd; swimmer, Ryk Neethling; and cricketers Hansie Cronje, Alan Donald and Morne van Wyk. Keep an eye out for local heroes in the streets of the city.
Bloemfontein means “flower fountain” in Dutch. Legend has it that the name stems from a pioneer farmer in the area who lost an ox named Bloem to a lion near the fountain on his property. It could also be named for Jan Bloem, a KhoiKhoi leader in the area.
Johannesburg
There’s a second Johannesburg in California, a tiny town named by miners who had worked in South Africa, near another similarly familiar-sounding town: Randsburg. Both were created to serve the nearby Rand Mine.
Johannesburg is the “most popular African city” for young people aged 15 to 29, according to the 2015 YouthfulCities Index, topping Lagos, Casablanca, and Nairobi.
This means there are plenty of things to keep the millennial generation busy, from the trendy Maboneng precinct, to modern malls.
OR Tambo International is Africa’s busiest airport, with the capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers a year. It is also one of few airports that has direct, non-stop flights to six continents.
Johannesburg is home to Africa’s tallest skyscraper and former tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, the 50-storey (223m) Carlton Centre. Head to the “Top of Africa” for 360º views of the city.
Johannesburg is the largest city in the world not founded on a lake, river or ocean. It is also widely regarded as the world’s largest man-made urban forest with more than 10 million trees.
Durban
There’s an old town in France named Durban, in mountainous wine country, but it was named long before ours, and has not even 1 000 inhabitants.
The first steam railway track in South Africa was built in Durban in 1860 by the Natal Railway Company – 3.2km long, linking the city to Harbour Point.
Durban was originally named Rio de Natal by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who arrived on Christmas Day in 1497: “Natal” means “Christmas” in Portuguese.
Durban is one of the most significant repositories of Art Deco architecture in the world.
It is also home to the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, handling 31.4 million tons of cargo a year.