Amazingwe African Tours & SafarisMany visitors to South Africa don't realize they're coming to a country that offers, in addition to numerous wilderness experiences, a wealth of urban adventures. In fact, there is a breed of South African that hardly ever sets foot outside city limits - the urban animal who's quite at home in the concrete jungles of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Gold Reef City
Many visitors to Gold Reef City watch a combination of shows, visit pleasure resorts or goes to the little “living theatre.” On the grounds of a former gold mine, houses and entire streets have been rebuilt true to the originals from the gold-rush times. Most of the employees of the resort are dressed in costumes of that era. Interested visitors can take the nostalgic steam-train or a historical coach for a sightseeing tour through the extended premises. Those interested in gold mining can see the gold-containing ore veins in an old mine, or observe in a small museum how real gold is poured into barrels. Adequate accommodation is also provided. In the Gold Reef City Hotel, just 10 minutes from central Johannesburg, you can spend the night in the ambience of the older days.
Johannesburg Night Life
Johannesburg by night offers a dazzling choice of entertainment. With over 2,000 restaurants to choose from, offering every possible cuisine for the cosmopolitan tastes of its multi-cultural society, more than 15 theatres to catch the latest shows from Shakespeare productions, music and dance recitals, to local stand-up comedy routines. Discos and the rave scene, heavy metal clubs and Jazz bars; there is something for everyone.
Yeoville is the place for a casual evening in jeans and tee shirts. Late-night bars and music venues, mostly on Rockey Street, where the interesting people meet and alternative music, from grunge to drum and bass, sets the mood. In Melville, anything goes, it is the ultimate destination for the fun-seeker. Streets here are lined with pubs, clubs and restaurants. The entertainment in Melville is legendary, especially over weekends. These exciting streets are closed to traffic every second Saturday for the wildly entertaining Melville Mardi Gras.
Gauteng Arts and Cultures
There is no critic, dead or alive that can begin to define the complexity of Arts and Culture in Gauteng. From the ancient drums and buffalo horn sounds of the great African kingdoms, to the modern global arts trends, the Gauteng arts and culture landscape blossoms with innovation and diversity. In the heart of the capital, Pretoria, the Spoornet State Theatre is much more than just a complex of theatres. This unusual, stylish, centrally situated venue hosts world-class shows ranging from Opera, Ballet, Musical, Drama and Children's Theatre. The Johannesburg Civic Theatre, an icon of South African entertainment delivers the best of world-class theatre, both local and global. Boasting the most contemporary theatre technology available in the world today, it’s a thriving, buzzing melting pot of cultures and artistic interests.
Sophisticated and cosmopolitan, Durban Metro after dark is abuzz with elegant lounges, funky taverns and cozy inns, distinctive local theatre and live music, trendy clubs, pubs and discos. Rave 'till dawn and catch sunrise over the vast Indian Ocean horizon - this is nightlife in a modern, authentic African metropolis! A trend that is sweeping Durban nightlife is Lounge culture, arising from raves chill-out rooms, and falling somewhere between a restaurant and a bar, it combines touches of both, and is evocative of casino or hotel lounges. If all of this is just too much for your raving soul, rest easy, the rave scene is flourishing in Durban and trance parties are happening. Durban offers a rainbow range of amusements for every taste and it is not for nothing that it is known as the Fun City.
KwaZulu Natal Arts and Cultures
Sundowner concerts, by the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, in the Botanical Gardens sets a mood of tropical delight and relaxation, while sipping drinks and enjoying the balmy evening air. The Natal Playhouse complex has five different venues, for ballet, opera, intimate theatre, drama, and orchestral music. Renovations in these converted buildings, one old Tudor, and the other with distinctly Moorish architecture, have brought them into today’s modern technology while retaining the wood paneling and foyers from yesteryear. Durban offers Sunday afternoon concerts, brass bands in the park, jazz recitals and chamber music at various theatres.
Sun City Valley of the Waves
The most remarkable destination in all of Africa - Sun City - Africa's kingdom of pleasure! This vast complex, nearly 20 km in circumference, is an enormous, opulent extravaganza of luxurious hotels, glittering entertainment centers, restaurants, gaming rooms, shops, discos and extensive, beautifully landscaped grounds, rated among the world's most unusually conceived, and most lavish, inland resorts.
In the heart of this ancient volcano, according to the legend, a great civilisation arose. The peace-loving nomads from the north settled in this lush green valley, where they built their spectacular Palace, surrounded by abundantly flowing waters and beautiful gardens. After an earthquake destroyed their home, the people fled and eventually, the Palace and its city became completely overgrown.
Centuries later, a modern explorer stumbled upon this Lost City. The Palace was restored to its former glory, and re-opened in 1992 as part of the amazing Lost City development at Sun City. There is an astounding variety of adventures waiting to be discovered and enjoyed here.
Victoria and Alfred Waterfront
The oldest part of the Cape Town harbor complex was fundamentally restored in 1990 and transformed into a recreational resort with exclusive shopping centers. Literally hundreds of restaurants, cafes and pubs, together with interesting museums, the Two Oceans Aquarium, the IMAX theatre and a number of other cinemas and theatres, makes a stroll through the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront by day and night an unforgettable experience. What makes the Waterfront exceptional is the fresh harbor atmosphere with the historical buildings, the cosmopolitan air and the presence of the magic mountain in the background.
Cape Town Night Life
The Western Cape has it all – from traditional country evenings under a brilliant clear sky, to all-night raves in the cities. There are opera, music, ballet, jazz, avant-guard theatre, pub crawls, open-air bus tours, vibrant clubs, and discos – just about anything you would possibly wish for!
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