ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

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Muslim-friendly and affordable tourist hot spot

South Africa a ‘must do’ tourism experienceuntouched region that offers incred-ible experiences and diversity of tourists. From village tourism to miles of white sandy beaches to the incred-ible, yet unforgiving terrain of the Baviaanskloof, the Eastern Cape is an adventure destination par excellence. This was Nelson Mandela’s home province, and is an area with some enticing attractions - among them the Addo Elephant National Park, with the densest elephant population in the world; the dramatic Wild Coast; and, of course, Mandela’s home at Qunu. One of the major cultural events in the province is the Grahamstown Arts Festival held annually in June-July. The province, also called the Home of Legends is replete with history tourism because the number of lead-ers it has produced in the history of the country’s struggle from freedom and democracy such as Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Govan and Thabo Mbeki, Chris Hani, Walter Sisulu, etc.

■ Northern CapeAlso called a land of wild fl owers,

wildlife and diamonds. If you love wide open spaces, wild

fl owers or Africa’s big cats, you’ll love South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. Among its many attrac-tions, the Northern Cape is home to one of the world’s most important diamond mining towns, most impres-sive natural fl oral display, and famous black-maned lions.

Those who love the rough and arid countryside of the Northern Cape Province call it the jewel of South Africa. The Northern Cape is South Africa’s largest province, known for its desert landscapes, wildlife and gemstones. With Botswana, the province shares the Kgalagadi Trans-frontier Park, whose red sand dunes shelter lions and falcons. It is is one of the largest nature conservation areas in southern Africa and one of the larg-est protected natural ecosystems in the world. The park has a surface area of more than 2 million hectares and is one of the best places in the world to see rare black-maned lions.

The Richtersveld National Park is situated in northwestern Nam-akwaland. Here, the landscape has starkness to it that most visitors fi nd fascinating. The area is home to the Nama people, who are mainly sheep or goat-herders, and live off the land. The Richtersveld is popular with 4x4 enthusiasts and nature lovers who truly want to get away from it all.

During August and September, the area of Namakwaland (previ-ously Namaqualand), is transformed into a brilliant carpet of wild fl owers consisting of wild daisies and other spring time fl owers that carpet the typically its arid plains. Hence, this region is world-famous for its fl oral exuberance and photographic safaris to the area are very popular.

The provincial capital town also known as the diamond town of Kimberley is home to the Kimberley Mine Museum. Part of the museum includes viewing decks overlook-ing the famous Big Hole from the mining rush of the 1870s, as well as a number of historic buildings. Known as a ‘living museum’, the old shops, bars, restaurants, churches and banks appear exactly as they were during the diamond digging days.

■ Western CapeThe Western Cape Province is

known as a place of great splendour and natural beauty. Boasting a fantas-tic climate and extraordinary scenic beauty, combined with some of the worlds’ greatest beaches, a remark-ably rich history, fabulous food and wine culture and wonderful people, this Province offers almost everything you can wish for as tourist. Some of the major attractions include, the Iconic Table Mountain, the scenic Garden Route, the famous Robben Island, (home of political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, during Apartheid), the Cape point (the very tip of the continent of Africa where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet), the beautiful and vibrant V&A Waterfront, the richness of the local Muslim community in Bo Kaap and District Six with the fi rst masjid built in South Africa over 200 years ago and the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens.

Jazz is big in cape Town, from traditional blues through progressive jazz to African infl uenced jazz to be enjoys in a number of jazz cafes, restaurants, etc.. The top jazz event is the Western Cape is the annual Cape Town Jazz Festival. The Great Bark river in the garden Route offers a historic village with many opportuni-ties for Whale and dolphin watching along the extensive coast. Bungee-jumping at the Gouritz River Gorge, hiking and mountain biking and angling are popular activities. A spec-tacular shoreline journey of the cape Peninsula will take you to the Cape Point, the very tip of the continent of Africa where the cold Atlantic Ocean meets the warm Indian Ocean.

■ KwaZulu-NatalKwazulu-Natal is a melting port of

Indian, European and Zulu Cultures because of the subtropical lush and green environment it is often called

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South Africa’s natural and scenic beauty, good climate, abundant

wildlife, diverse fl ora and fauna, stunning landscapes and fascinating history, and culture are major tourist attractions that have grown globally to make South Africa an iconic, ‘must do’ tourism destination and experi-ence.

South Africa is infused with a multicultural vibrancy. This mix of cultures makes our country open and welcoming to nations across the world. South Africa is a Muslim friendly country and encourages Muslims to travel to beautiful South Africa and learn about the country’s history and heritage including over 200 years of Islam on these shores.

South Africa is a comparatively easy on the pocket and affordable tourist hot spot. This undeniably stun-ning country at the southern tip of the mystifying African continent provides visitors with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The country offers world class accommodation from top of the range luxury accommodation to standard quality accommodation for families and singles.

For the sportsman and the adven-turer South Africa, with its great climate, offers an enormous variety of activities such as hiking, moun-taineering, scuba diving, white-water rafting, sailing, canoeing, parachuting, ballooning, windsurfi ng, 4x4 safari adventure trips and many more. From hair-raising abseiling adventures off Table Mountain and nerve shattering Great White shark diving experiences to sipping cocktails with wild lions roaring, you name it, we have got it.

For those who love the beauty of nature, South Africa offers wide variety of options from its picturesque natural landscape and game reserves, diverse cultural heritage, to its beauti-ful and unspoilt beaches. Some of the most popular destinations include several national parks, such the beautiful coastlines and beaches of the KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces, beautiful parks and inland rivers and the fa-mous and expansive Kruger National Park (for the must do Big Five safaris for anyone fascinated by wildlife i.e. buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard and rhino) in the north of the country.

DiverseSouth Africa is ranked sixth out of

the world’s seventeen mega diverse countries and is home to a large variety of animal life. Among the large mam-mals found in the northern bushveld include lions, leopards, cheetahs, white rhinoceroses, blue wildebeest, kudus, impalas, hyenas, hippopotamuses and giraffes. A signifi cant extent of the bushveld exists in the north-east, in-cluding the Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa, and the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. The Kruger National Park, established in 1926, is one of the most visited national parks in the country.

For the world of retail therapy and great entertainment, the South Africa’s theme parks and shopping centres provide world-class shop-ping, plenty of entertainment, the latest movies and delicious food in conveniently situated and safe sur-roundings. Whether you are looking for something specifi c, have time on your hands to browse around or just love to shop, the boutiques, chain stores and specialist shops in the country’s malls have it all. When you leave the country after your holiday or business trip, you will lament the bag-gage restrictions of the international airlines and wish that you could take more of South Africa home with you! Thanks to a very favourable exchange rate, euros or US dollars go a very long way in South African shopping centres, and make even the more exclusive purchases very affordable.

For cultural connoisseurs, you will be spoilt for choice with a range of cultural offerings from theatre, poetry, dance, and world class art galleries, a variety of music venues and concerts, and diverse architecture and archaeol-ogy, village and townships tourism, etc. Some of the signifi cant cultural attractions include the fossil-bearing caves forming part of the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng, the ruins of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in northern Limpopo, the wine routes of the Western Cape, and various historical sites in the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg (such as Robben Island, the Castle of Good Hope and Soweto township). Eight South African sites are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa is composed of nine provinces diverse and beautiful provinces, namely Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West and Western Cape. (Please attach map showing loca-tion of each province). This article presents a summary of major tourism destinations and experiences in each province in each of the provinces.

■ North WestThe province boasts two of South

Destinations

Big Hole — Northern Cape

Wild Coast cycling — Eastern Cape

Sun City — North West

Table Mountain and V&A Water Front — Western Cape

Africa’s major wildlife parks, the Pilanesberg National Park and the Madikwe game reserve, Worlds of endless African Savannah and breath-taking wildlife scenery. The North West Province is also fondly called the platinum province. Aptly named because it produces more platinum from its rich resources than any other single area in the world. For those drawn to the African wilderness,

North West is all about the authentic African bushveld experience, with its all year-round sunshine and hot dry African Climate. A journey through the wild Pilanesberg Mountains brings you into the bowl of the crater of an extinct volcano, where you will fi nd one of our country’s world renowned attractions. Known as Sun City and Lost City, they are South Africa’s answer to Las Vegas a

fabulous resort complex in the middle of the uncultivated African Savan-nah landscape where the Big Five are roaming. The province is also home to a well-known world heritage site called Sterkfontein cave complex, also known as the Cradle of mankind.

■ Eastern CapeStarting at the Tsitsikama Na-

tional Park, it extends all the way up the golden Sunshine Coast, which

includes Jeffery’s Bay, St. Francis Bay and the Algoa Bay, continuing along the wild coast to Port Edward. The long expanses of sundrenched beaches interrupted by rocky caves and secluded lagoons makes it a para-dise wave to surfers, king size catches to angler’s and glorious sunshine to holiday makers from all over the world.

The Eastern Cape is a magnifi cent,