Travel Tips for Beginners

I recently had the privilege to visit the town of Stellenbosch , in the Western Cape province of South Africa. This town is in, what is called the Cape Winelands and is surrounded by beautiful wine estates and many mountains, reminding one of the Alps, in Switzerland. Stellenbosch, was founded by the Dutch in 1679 (just a couple of years after the Dutch founded New York!). The town is also the home of some of South Africa's richest businessmen, collectively called The Stellenbosch Mafia . I will report at a later stage about the things to do in the town, but today I am going to show you some of the beautiful scenery found in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. I had the opportunity to go and walk in the reserve and I am not exaggerating when I say that the scenery was breathtaking and the plant life resembling a garden of Eden. Mountains around Stellenbosch If you are interested in visiting the town and you are in need of accommodation, then you ...

National Gallery of South Africa with statue of Field Marshal Smuts in the forefront. Backpacking through Africa, can be a very exciting experience. One the best organised countries when it comes to backpacking is South Africa. The most popular city for backpackers in South Africa is Cape Town. Cape Town, a treasure trove of natural beauty and diversity. This city has got everything, from first world grandeur to third world poverty. It has got the sophistication of Europe mixed with the vibrancy of Africa. So be prepared for a life changing experience. There are many accommodation options when it comes to visiting Cape Town. There are many hostels (or backpackers as it is called locally) in and around Cape Town and the surrounding towns located in the famed Cape Winelands. There are also many fantastic quality hotels at extremely favourable prices. Cape Town has got many interesting attractions including the Waterfront, the Cape Town Castle and also the gateway to Robben Isl...

This has been one of the greatest sites I've ever visited on the planet. This hidden gem of nature. It is an absolute must for any nature-traveler to visit the glorious granite rocks of Paarl. Charles Darwin visited these rocks on the 4th of June 1836 during his Beagle expedition and he must have been as amazed as I, seeing these products of nature. Walking on these remnants of volcanic activity just re-affirms how great this world of ours is and what great wonders there are, all around us. It also showed me how great it is to travel and to discover and experience these wonders. View of  Gordon's Rock on Paarl Mountain, South Africa There are three massive granite rock outcrops on the Paarl Mountain, namely Bretagne Rock, Paarl Rock and Gordon's Rock. The biggest rock accessible to the public is Bretagne Rock. It has a chain running up to the top, to assist us normal folk in ascending this jewel of South Africa. The chain was added to the rock in 1925 to assist the...

I visited the beautiful town of Paarl , 60 kilometres from Cape Town, in South Africa a couple of weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised seeing this community at the southern point of Africa living a very much European lifestyle. The town is engulfed in its history, with countless historic buildings lining its roads. Most of the old part of town has got beautiful old oak trees planted in the 1700's. Afrikaans Language Monument on Paarl Mountain. The first European to set foot in the valley was a man called Abraham Gabemma, in 1657 sent from the fort in Cape Town by the then governor, Jan van Riebeeck to barter cattle with the local natives called the Khoi and San people. As Abraham Gabema entered the valley he saw the sun shining on the huge granite outcrops on the mountain that was wet as a result of rain earlier on the same day. The glare from the rocks reminded him of pearls and he promptly called the mountain Parel mountain which means pearl in Dutch. This name has chan...