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Many 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.
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Gold Reef City
The many visitors to Gold Reef City see a
combination of show, pleasure resort and a 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.
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Johannesburg Nightlife
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, 15 or so 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 bars, Jazz clubs and strip joints; there is something for everyone. Yeoville
is the place for a casual evening in jeans and tee shirt. 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.
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Gauteng Arts and Culture
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.
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Randburg Waterfront
An artificial
lake was created which gets its water from the Jukskei River. The gigantic
entertainment complex offers myriad attractions like theatre, luxury cinemas,
pubs, restaurants and even a swimming golf course. Particularly impressive are
the colorful fountains. Accompanied by music, water fountains up to 50 m high
are pressed out of more than 1000 jets.
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Durban Nightlife
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.
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KwaZulu Natal Arts and Culture
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.
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Sun City Valley of the
Waves
As an overnight
visitor, the Sun City Resort offers free access to the Valley of the Waves. A
large lagoon that has a wave machine capable of generating 6-foot waves every 90
seconds dominates this advanced water park. Exhilaration and thrills are what
you will find at the Sun City water park with five flume rides. For the less
adventurous visitor to the resort there is 'Lazy River" perfect for a gentle
ride, while the Temple of Courage drops swimmers 60 feet down a death-defying
slide and under a bridge with a final splash into a small pool at the foot of
the slide.
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Sun City - Entertainment Resort
The most
remarkable destination in all 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.
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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 and a number of other cinemas and
theatres, make 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.
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Cape Town Nightlife
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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Jazz/Music
What better way
to unwind and enjoy the summer season than relax to the strains of the all-time
greats on sax, trumpet and keyboard. Jazz is big in the Western Cape,
particularly in central Cape Town. From traditional blues through progressive
jazz to African influenced jazz, every taste is catered for in a number of
restaurants, jazz cafés, cigar bars, pubs and even at some of the wine farms.
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Ballet or Opera
The glamour and excitement of attending a ballet or opera
performance never wears off. The Western Cape has glorious open air auditoriums
set under starry skies, where you will be entranced by a variety of productions,
ranging from plays, opera, ballet, big band, and symphony concerts. Theatres
include
Spier amphitheatre,
Oude Libertas Amphitheatre,
Winelands,
Kirstenbosch Amphitheatre,
Paul Cluver Summer Concerts, Elgin Valley, Maynardville Theatre, Artscape and
Baxter theatres.
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In addition to
the examples mentioned, most major South African cities offer the following
adventures:
Pubs
Often centered around a giant TV screen with the latest rugby,
football or cricket match drawing huge cheering crowds, the pubs are a
delightful mix of sports bars and outdoor drinking establishments. They're safe
and fun to be in.
Coffee Bars
The latest international trend to hit South Africa is the urban
coffee bar offering inside- and sidewalk seating. Friends and lovers gather over
a cappuccino and a pastry for hours, using their seats as perfect vantage points
for people-watching.
Restaurants
Prepare for low prices, if you're an overseas visitor. Prepare
for good cosmopolitan dishes of your choice, ever-improving and friendly service
standards, scenic settings at waterfronts, mountainsides, parks and riverbanks.
Prepare to linger for hours over your meal, as you savor one of South Africa's
best features - the cuisine.
Dance Clubs
Been out in the bush for too long? Want to boogie until the early
hours, or work up a neon tan and a sweat with an all-night rave? South Africa's
city life caters admirably - especially in select inner-city venues - for the
dance-aholics, the rave bunnies and the close-shufflers among you.
Music Clubs
In the township shebeens, the suburbs and the central city areas,
there are always dozens of clubs where music is number one on the menu, be it
blues, jazz, rock, r&b or grassroots South African homegrown sound. Reasonably
priced entrance fees make these venues even more attractive.
Parks
Cities like Johannesburg are very heavily tree-populated, and
their parks are seen as essential stress breakers for, particularly, the
apartment-dwellers nearby. Parks are everywhere in South Africa’s urban centers,
and open to all for their enjoyment.
Museums
There's a lot of history in South Africa, and to cater for all
the different facets of this country's past, there is certainly no shortage of
museums. Whether it's Apartheid, the Colonial Era, natural history or automotive
memories you're interested in, the cities are well stocked with documented
relics from the past.
Galleries
South African art is back in its boomtime, and so are the
country's galleries, which you'll find in all the major centers. They're
showcases of, specifically, living art by living artists from the classical to
the impressionist to the tribal to the downright obscure - something for
everyone.
Festivals
Just check the tourism festival calendars, and you might be here
in time for a particular street party, a national holiday (there are many), a
Second New Year painted-face celebration, a community festival or an arts
festival.
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AmaZingwe
