Cape Town is a large and incredibly metropolitan city, home to 3.5 million people and situated on a peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. In 2008 it was voted the best city in Africa and The Middle East.

A short history:

The first inhabitants of the Cape were the nomadic Khoi people who moved with their cattle with the changing seasons. Cape Town’s recorded history Dates back to the early 1500’s when Portuguese mariners were exploring a sea route to the east. They would stop off at the Cape to replenish their food and water. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the Cape when they setup a refreshment station for their trading ships travelling between Europe and the East. The Cape only really started to flourish when the British took over the Cape from the Dutch in the early 1800’s. Gold and Diamonds were soon discovered in the interior and lots of money and more European settlers started arriving, forever changing the cultural and physical landscape of Cape Town and South Africa. Cape Town was always the most liberal city during the Apartheid years after the end of Apartheid Cape town has shone as the most culturally diverse city in Africa with everyone getting along peacefully together.

Climate:

Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate which means we have long warm to hot summers and short cool winters. This type of climate helps to create a prefect outdoor lifestyle, which Cape Town locals (Capetonians) have embraced.

The lifestyle:

Cape Town’s most notable and famous feature has to be Table Mountain which stands proud at 1087m above the city centre, dominating the scenery. Capetonians consider Table Mountain their “Central Park” with many people making a lot of use of its numerous hiking trails and jeep tracks for hiking, trail running and mountain biking and the cliff faces for climbing and abseiling.

Capetonians also love the beach, and its no wonder, because Cape Town is littered with amazing white sandy beaches, and depending on what you want to do at the beach, like sun bathe, walk your dog, swim or surf, there is a beach for you. Surfing is really popular in Cape Town is situated on a peninsula, no matter what the swell direction or wind direction you will always find good waves to surf. And no matter your skill level there is a break for you, from outer reef breaks, to point breaks to gentle beach breaks.

With so much to see and do, you would wonder where everyone gets the energy from? Well, Cape Town is also known as “The Tavern of The Seas” because there are so many excellent diverse restaurants to choose from. Whatever your taste buds are craving, there is something for you!

All this amazing weather and beautiful scenery has created a very laid back environment, which is one of the first things you will notice about Cape Town.