This area includes the beautiful city of Cape Town, as well as wildlife reserves, marine destinations and other natural attractions in the western, northern and eastern Cape regions of South Africa. Whale-watching in spring is a highlight.
- Archaeological sites
- Whale watching (seasonal)
- Unique floral kingdom
- Big Five area
- Fantastic coastline and beaches
- Superb mountain walking trails
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Cape travel info The most species-rich floral kingdom in the world exists in the Western Cape: 7700 species occur in the fynbos biome of which 70& are endemic. The biome extends along the 800 km Cape Fold mountains. The Cederberg serve as a sandstone canvass for Khoi/San bushman art dating back 26000 years. Plant lovers may revel in the sight of the spring daisies, which explode into dazzling colour, while birders too will not be disappointed: from karoo ostriches, vleis filled with flamingoes, penguins and soraing eagles to the loeries and trogons of the indigenous Knysna forest, the Western Cape is a bird lover's paradise. A special time near the Cape is during spring and summer, as Southern Right whales arrive from sub-Antarctic waters to calve in the protected bay of Hermanus. Cape Point, the often mistaken "tip of Africa" in the Good Hope Nature Reserve, is spectacular.
The Eastern Cape (including quaint towns such as Knysna and Plettenberg Bay) has 800 kilometres of unspoiled and largely uncrowded beaches, sparkling blue ocean and magnificent forests and scenery, varying from sub-tropical coastal zones and indigenous forests to semi-arid Karoo plains. Numerous game reserves and nature reserves are located here, the most notable being the Addo Elephant National Park supporting the last vestiges of Eastern Cape Elephant, Black and White Rhino, Buffalo and many other game species.
The northern Cape is beautiful during the spring flower season (usually early August to Mid-September) when the barren landscape of Namaqualand is transformed into a floral carpet. North Western Cape is a dry scrubland, semi-desert through to pure desert. The Orange River's water irrigate plantations and fields. The Kalahari 's sweet grasses sustain enormous herds of wild game and the land is a refuge for the traditional Bushman. The Augrabies Falls is among the world's six largest, with starkly eroded granite cliffs.
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