Amazingwe - South Africa Cities

Cities of South Africa

From industrialized urban centers with a sophisticated infrastructure to charming country hamlets, our cities and towns all have something unique to offer.

Nelspruit

Mpumalanga

Nelspruit

Nelspruit is the sunshine capital of Mpumalanga and the gateway to the many tourist and business attractions of the region. It is blessed to be situated in the fertile Crocodile River Valley and has a mild sub-tropical climate. The city has a population of about 230 000 residents and it is the main shopping, service and tourist center for the region. Nelspruit grew to be one of the largest producers of tobacco, litchis , mangoes , avocados etc. Today Nelspruit is a substantial town situated amid the orange grove. The streets are shaded with flowering trees, this town has a very important place on the tourist map as it is a stop over to the route to Kruger National Park.

Rustenburg

North West

Rustenburg

Rustenburg was founded in 1851, Rustenburg means Town of Rest, and is named after Rustenburg farm in Cape Town. There is a museum, built in 1841 as a pioneer cottage. The Pilanesberg Game Reserve is north of the town, and is home to the Sun City pleasure resort. Rustenburg Nature Reserve lies southwest of the town on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg.

Polokwane

Limpopo

Polokwane

Polokwane (Pietersburg) was founded in 1886 by Voortrekkers who had been forced to abandon their camp by malaria and "hostile natives". Wide streets, jacaranda and coral trees, colourful parks and sparkling fountains characterize the principal town and capital of the Northern Province. In addition to its status as a major commercial and agricultural center, Polokwane is the cultural hub of the region, featuring impressive art exhibitions and elegant historical buildings. Strategically placed on the Great North Road, and halfway between Pretoria and the Zimbabwean border, this attractive city is an ideal base from which to explore. Winters in Polokwane are mild with little or no rainfall and summers are warm with a fair amount of rain.

Eastern Cape

Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth - short "PE" - today has over a million citizens and is - after Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town - the fourth-biggest city in South Africa. The seaport is the third biggest, since PE has become an important container terminal. Otherwise PE lives largely from the car-manufacturing industry. In close proximity to the town centre there are very nice beaches, particularly Humewood and Summerstrand.

East London

East London, South Africa's only river port is set on both the broad Buffalo River and Nahoon River with the Gonubie River flowing around it. It is also renowned for being the Gateway to The Sunshine Coast and The Wild Coast. East London is a bustling city set in beautiful surroundings with a fantastic coastline, lush gardens and subtropical vegetation, which add to the overall beauty of the city. The city is built on key industries such as motor assembly, electronics, textiles, etc. and more recently, tourism. Its sheltered harbor can be seen from the city's two great bridges. East London enjoys a moderate climate, with few extremes in temperature and is generally sunny and pleasant.

Port Alfred

This small place once has been a sleepy fishing village at the mouth of the Kowie river, which is navigable for some 28 kilometers upstream. Today Port Alfred boasts a huge yacht harbor. With man-made islands and canals a paradise especially for boat owners was created, who from here can go either to sea or up the river. The climate in Port Alfred is, like everywhere else at the Sunshine Coast, subtropical. Wide and long beaches with fine sand are particularly popular with surfers. The water temperatures lie between 18 and 24 C degrees. There are reefs which provide excellent diving grounds.

St. Francis Bay

Less than an hour's drive west of Port Elizabeth lies the pretty holiday village of St. Francis Bay. The architecture of the place is one of its kind in South Africa with all the houses having thatch roofs - except for the part at the harbor which is built in a Mediterranean style. St. Francis Bay is a paradise for water sport enthusiasts: It boasts white sandy beaches and ideal conditions for surfing. In season - August to October - whales can be seen in the Bay of St. Francis. The harbor is the center for calamari fishing and a popular starting point for deep sea fishing trips.

Durban

KwaZulu Natal

Durban

The kilometers-long beachfront has been built up to meet the requirements of mass tourism and turned into one big pleasure park. On the "Golden Mile" the season lasts all year long. Here one can find anything a holiday maker could ask for: an endless beach protected by shark nets, swimming pools with fountains, waterslides, market stalls and merry-go-rounds, shopping centers and exotic restaurants, nightclubs and a long chain of hotels right at the beach.

Western Cape

Cape Town

Many experienced travelers puts it plainly: Cape Town is the most beautiful place in the world. Cape Town's city center and harbor nestled at the foot of the majestic Table Mountain. The interesting combination of historical and modern buildings, the relaxed lifestyle of the Capetonians, the multicultural atmosphere, the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the beautiful sandy beaches, the fynbos flora on the breathtaking Cape Peninsula and, last but not least, the beautiful surroundings excite and amaze innumerable visitors every year.

Hout Bay

Surrounded by beautiful mountains, this wind-protected bay is one of the most beautiful and popular places on the Cape Peninsula. Hout Bay is the center of crayfish catching. The little coastal village owes its lively atmosphere to the fishing harbor. Tourist attractions in Hout Bay includes the Yacht harbor, boat trips to Seal Island, freshly caught fish directly from the boats, white sandy beaches, excellent restaurants and fish 'n chips outlets, the Hout Bay museum, World of Birds, arts and crafts market on Sundays, hiking trails and the spectacular Chapman's Peak drive.

George

The beginnings of the town date back to the year 1776, when the Dutch-East Indian Trading Company established here one of its timber supplie bases. Initially George grew very slowly, mainly because roads viable for ox wagons were missing in the hardly accessible Outeniqua Mountains. Only with the opening of the Outeniqua Pass in the year 1847, trade with the inland could develop and George began to flourish. George is fast developing into South Africa's golf paradise. Three of South Africa's "top ten" golf courses are to be found in George.

Western Cape

Knysna

Knysna is situated on a wide lagoon that is perfectly suited to all sorts of water sport. Two impressive rocks called the Knysna Heads surround the bay. Knysna is seen as the tourist center of the Garden Route. Following the example of Cape Town, the town also got a little waterfront now, with a yacht harbor, restaurants, boutiques and much more. The options for holiday activities are varied. The lagoon is ideal for windsurfing, water-skiing, canoeing, angling and for diving. And there are many hiking trails in Knysna and surroundings.

Plettenberg Bay

"Plett" - as South Africans simply call this exclusive seaside resort - boasts the most beautiful beaches of the Garden Route. They stretch over many kilometers all around the bay. The water sport possibilities are plentiful, and in season the bay it is an excellent place to watch whales and dolphins.

Oudtshoorn

Oudtshoorn is a region of incredible contrasts. Surrounded by natural beauty, Oudtshoorn is situated at the foot of the majestic Swartberg Mountain range. Most gateways to the district are stunning mountain passes. The Swartberg Pass, between Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert, is one of the most sensational drives in southern Africa, declared a national monument. One of the world's great natural wonders, the Cango Caves, was sculpted by nature through the ages. Oudtshoorn is also the ostrich capital of the world.

Bloemfontein / Kimberley

Free State

Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein, the Capital City of the Free Sate Province in South Africa, is centrally situated roughly in the middle of the South Africa. The Judicial Capital, sixth largest city in South Africa, lies on the main road, rail and air links between north and south, east and west. The interior of South Africa is quite dry, so it is not surprising that the early inhabitants chose to stay close to dependable water sources and that many of the towns have names ending with "-fontein", meaning spring. Not quite as aesthetic as its name suggests, it is, nevertheless, an attractive, spacious medium-sized city with many parks, gardens and monuments.

Northern Cape

Kimberley

In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small white pebble on the banks of the Orange River, on the farm De Kalk leased from local Griquas, near Hopetown. The pebble turned out to be a 21.25 carat (4.25 g) diamond. In 1871, an even larger 83.50 carat (16.7 g) diamond was found on the slopes of Colesberg Kopje, and led to the first diamond rush into the area. As miners arrived in their thousands, the hill disappeared, and became known as the Big Hole. The largest company to operate a diamond mine in South Africa was the De Beers Company, owned by Cecil Rhodes. Very quickly, Kimberley became the largest city in the area, mostly due to a massive African migration to the area from all over the continent.

On 2 September 1882, Kimberley became the first town in the southern hemisphere to install electric street lighting. The rising importance of Kimberley led to one of the earliest South African and International Exhibitions to be staged in Kimberley in 1892.

Johannesburg / Pretoria

Gauteng

Johannesburg

Jo'burg, as the locals call it, is the biggest metropolis in South Africa. With its two million citizens and another two million from nearby Soweto, the city on the Witwatersrand is the predominant economic center of the republic. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, founded in 1887, is the center of the capital markets for the whole of southern Africa. The lively metropolis offers a wide spectrum of culture, combining European and African components.

Pretoria

Pretoria, the Jacaranda city, was founded in 1855 and declared the capital of the South African Republic, which was the Boer republic in Transvaal. The administrative capital of South Africa, Pretoria lies about 50 km north of Johannesburg. The population is just under a million, but in Pretoria life goes at a much slower pace than in the hectic Johannesburg.

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