But what makes Cape Town such a unique place and especially fabulous for a party? Well, Lonely Planet only hints at the possibilities when they suggest one could “luxuriate on some of the world’s best beaches by day and kick back under the moonlight at suave cocktail bars by night”.

Whilst on holiday in Cape Town or if you are lucky enough to reside here, as I am, we are fortunate enough to have a myriad of fantastic places to visit and things to do during the day. Spend a lazy day on one of our beautiful beaches, take a walk through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or indulge in a decadent lunch and some wine at one of the many wine estates in the area …

With a fun filled day you ease into the night and Cape Town is always waiting with open arms to invite you to a party. This is what I feel makes us so unique, no matter what day of the week it is or what your mood is like, somewhere in Cape Town there will be something happening, or you can turn wherever you are into a fabulous party.

With beautiful summer weather it is easy to turn after work drinks or sundowners into a good night out. With so many wonderful restaurants and beautiful locations to chose from we are most definitely spoilt for choice.

One of my favourite summer hang out spots is the Camps Bay strip, as it is commonly known, which is the road directly opposite the Camps Bay beach and is jam packed with restaurants and funky bars. So after spending a relaxing day on the beach it is very easy to just hop across the road to either Caprice or Summerville or you can head a little further down and pop into La Med.

I think however the most renowned party zone in Cape Town has to be Long Street. No matter what the day of the week you will find one or more places with a throng of people in and around it, very vibey music and a fabulous atmosphere. Some of the favourites are Neighbourhood, the Grand Daddy rooftop bar, Zula, Long Street Cafe, The Dubliner, The Waiting Room and Fiction – these are only just a handful of what you wind find. There are also a number of restaurants where you can dine the night away.

Whereever you end up you will find some fun in Cape Town, come round and sip on a glass of Cape wine, knock back a few shooters and dance the night away. One thing you can always be sure of is that Cape Town is always ready to have a great time!

To Buy “1,000 Ulitimate Experiences”:
Directly from Lonely Planet @ £15.00
From Amazon.com @ $15.63

Useful Links for planning a Stay in the Cape:
Cape Town Attractions
Things to Do in Cape Town
Cape Town Nightlife & Theatre
Cape Town Hotels
Cape Town Accommodation

Announced by Marthinus van Schalkwyk (Minister of Tourism), who said that the increase of Blue Flag beaches from 19 last year to 29 this year was extremely good for tourism in South Africa. “In order for South Africa to optimise its tourism potential, it is critical that we offer both domestic and international visitors clean, safe and well-managed beaches.”

The South African beaches that have received Blue Flag accreditation are:

• MacDougall’s Bay, Port Nolloth (new)
• Yzerfontein Main beach, Yzerfontein (new)
• Big Bay beach, Bloubergstrand Cape Town (new)
• Clifton 4th beach, Cape Town
• Camps Bay, Cape Town
• Muizenberg, Cape Town
• Strandfontein beach, Cape Town
• Mnandi beach, Cape Town
• Bikini beach, Gordon’s Bay
• Kleinmond beach, near Hermanus  (back in programme)
• Hawston beach, near Hermanus
• Grotto beach, Hermanus
• Lappiesbaai, Stilbaai, Southern Cape
• Santos beach, Mossel Bay (new)
• Hartenbos beach, Mossel Bay (new)
• Robberg 5 beach, Plettenberg Bay (new)
• Dolphin beach, Jeffrey’s Bay
• Humewood beach, Port Elizabeth
• Hobie beach, Port Elizabeth
• Wells Estate, north of Port Elizabeth
• Kelly’s beach, Port Alfred
• Kariega Main beach, Kenton-on-Sea (new)
• Boknes beach, Kenton-On-Sea (new)
• Gonubie beach, East London (back in programme)
• Trafalgar beach, south coast KZN (new)
• Marina beach, south coast KZN
• Ramsgate beach, near Margate
• Margate beach
• Alkantstrand, Richards Bay (new)

We congratulate all the Municipalities who have worked hard to achieve Blue Flag status for their beaches!

Additional Reading:
Find out more about the Blue Flag programme at http://www.blueflag.org/

Photographs:
Top photo – Camps Bay Beach, Cape Town
Bottom photo – Muizenberg Beach, Cape Town

Useful Links:
Cape Town Beaches

• False Bay Beaches
• Cape Helderberg Beaches
• Atlantic Seaboard Beaches
• Hermanus Beaches
• South Atlantic Beaches
• Table Bay Beaches

Eastern Cape Beaches

• East London Beaches

KwaZulu Natal Beaches

• South Coast Beaches
• Dolphin Coast Beaches

Table Mountain

Table Mountain is one step closer to being named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. South Africa’s iconic mountain, and its only official nominee, has been voted as one of the top 77 sites selected from over 261 participants from around the globe, it was announced yesterday by the New7Wonders foundation, Thursday July 9, 2009.

The much-loved landmark beat fellow category contenders Mount Everest, K2 and Mount Fiji in round two of the international competition that relied solely on votes from the public. Table Mountain needed to be ranked in the top 11 of its category – mountains and volcanoes. Other categories include seascapes, lakes, islands, ice formations, waterfalls and forests. “We are thrilled at the enormous level of support and votes from the citizens of South Africa as well as from fans around the globe,” said Sabine Lehmann, CEO of Table Mountain Cableway, who formed an official supporting committee to promote Table Mountain as a nominee.

Table Mountain

A panel of experts will now select 28 finalists to be announced on July 21, 2009, when the third and final phase of public voting will begin. The official New 7 Wonders of Nature will be revealed in 2011. 

A number of South African celebrities and sports stars showed their support for Table Mountain’s New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. The Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, comedian Marc Lottering, radio DJ Natalie Becker and the Proteas cricketers all cast their vote for Table Mountain.

The campaign is run by the New7Wonders Foundation which is based in Zurich, Switzerland and works to document monuments and conservation efforts worldwide. For information contact the Cableway on +27 (0)21 424 0015 or visit www.votefortablemountain.com

Useful Links:
Table Mountain
Table Mountain Photographs
Cape Town Accommodation

Tsotsi

Tsotsi, the South African film about a Johannesburg Shantytown thug won the Oscar for best foreign language film on Sunday, making it the first film from the country to win the award.

The film which was directed and written by South African Gavin Hood features a searing performance by Presley Chweneyagae a gun-toting grown up AIDS orphan, who becomes an emotionally dead gangster until he learns the value of human life when he is forced to care for a baby he has mistakenly kidnapped.

“We may have foreign language films, but our stories are the same as your stories. They are about the human heart and emotion,” said the film director Gavin Hood.

The film is based on famed playwright Athol Fugard’s only novel, a 1950s tale about the dehumanising effects apartheid was having on the lives of black South Africans. Tsotsi’s win is the crowning moment of the South African film Industry which has earned recognition throughout the world.

Tsotsi

At the previous Oscars another South African film “Yesterday” received an Oscar nomination for best foreign film and another South African film uCarmen eKhayelitsha won a Golden Bear award at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival.

At the Awards on Sunday night (5 March 2006), Director Gavin Hood said the following in his acceptance speech:

“God bless Africa. Wow. I have a speech, it’s in my pocket, but that thing says 38 seconds. But mine’s way too long. Go to tsotsi.com and there is a huge long list of people. Because I’m accepting this not for myself. This is for best foreign language film. “.

It is sitting right there to start with. Please stand up Presley Chweneyagae and Terry Pheto. My two fantastic young leads. Put the cameras on them, please. Viva Africa. Viva. I’ve got ten seconds. Ten seconds I just want to thank my fellow nominees who I’ve become deep friends with. We may have foreign language films, but our stories are the same as your stories. They’re about the human heart and emotion. It says please wrap. Thank you so much. Thank you to the Academy. Thank you

Related Links:
“Tsotsi” – The Official Website
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Nomaindia Mfeketo, said that the people of Cape Town were the driving force behind this recognition: “Congratulations and thank you to all in the tourism industry for this achievement. This prestigious accolade is a testimony to the city’s welcoming and hospitable character, and a manifestation of how the City works for its people.”

Cape Town Routes Unlimited’s Chief Executive Officer, Nokhuthula Dube, said: “The Condé Nast Traveller accolades are particularly significant because we are seeing substantial visitor growth to South Africa and Cape Town from the US market. In the first quarter of 2005 alone, more than 28 000 US tourists came to the Western Cape. We are thrilled by this acknowledgment, particularly because Condé Nast readers are presumed to be largely well travelled and drawn to the magazine for their independent assessment of destinations, as summed up by the publication’s motto, ‘truth in travel’“.

Over the past year, Cape Town has received two other very high-profile awards. Cape Town has retained its position as the only non-European city to be named ‘Favourite Foreign City’ by the readers of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph in the UK, and in July Cape Town was voted Best Africa/Middle East destination for the fifth year running by readers of the US based Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Locally, South Africans overwhelmingly chose Cape Town as their ‘ideal travel destination’ in the annual Markinor/Sunday Times survey.

Travelers once again ranked South Africa among the top tourist destinations in the world.

At The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph’s annual Travel Awards, South Africa once again dominated, leading in both the destinations and hospitality categories.

Table Mountain

Cape Town took top honours as the best foreign city in the world beating Sydney, Venice, Florence and San Francisco and other major cities for the top spot.

South Africa was voted the third best holiday destination in the world beating Italy, Australia and other top destinations. The Cape Grace Hotel, situated at Cape Town’s popular V&A Waterfront, was rated the fifth best hotel in the world.

Over 25,000 readers were polled in this survey, making this the biggest survey on the UK’s travel habits. This is the second instance this year that readers of top travel publications in the world have heaped praises on South Africa as a travel destination. Earlier this year Travel and Leisure Magazine readers voted Cape Town as the best city to travel in the Africa / Middle East Regions and they placed the Hotel at Singita Private Game Reserve as the best hotel in Africa.

Useful Links:
For travel information see:

• South Africa Hotels
• South Africa Travel