Western Cape history tour in South Africa
| country: | South Africa | ||||
| location: | Western Cape | ||||
| departures: | 2010: 10 Apr, 13 Nov | ||||
| price: | From R 51,400 - R 51,500 (11 days) excluding flights. Price is based on two people sharing. Depends on departure date. Optional single supplement R 4,350 - R 6,200 . See below for full price inclusions
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| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Discover how the southernmost landscape in Africa was claimed, tamed - and shaped.
Roll back the centuries to unravel the past, from prehistory to the present in the country’s two oldest buildings, and the path to freedom on Robben Island, once a prison, now a pilgrimage destination and World Heritage site.
Track stories of people living in one spot for over 8,000 years collated in gem of a museum in the Winelands. Unravel the diversity of the land through its multiple languages and major faiths.
We have a portfolio of guest lecturers with unsurpassed local knowledge who lead each tour, taking you to less-travelled spots, hidden gems and places you couldn’t get into yourself. You’ll hear multiple perspectives from these diverse storytellers, whose calibre is our distinguishing difference.
We use accredited guides as tour leaders who look after the practicalities and accompany you at all times. Itineraries are researched and crafted with enormous attention to pace and variety. Intentionally small groups allow for insider access, letting you engage and enquire directly and understand content in context.
Price includes:
Hotel accommodation (two 4-star & two 5-star), all breakfasts, eight lunches and seven dinners with wine, water, coffee, two wine tasting opportunities. All admissions, all gratuities, all porterage, the services of guest lecturers and tour leaders, all transportation from arrival to departure.
Roll back the centuries to unravel the past, from prehistory to the present in the country’s two oldest buildings, and the path to freedom on Robben Island, once a prison, now a pilgrimage destination and World Heritage site.
Track stories of people living in one spot for over 8,000 years collated in gem of a museum in the Winelands. Unravel the diversity of the land through its multiple languages and major faiths.
We have a portfolio of guest lecturers with unsurpassed local knowledge who lead each tour, taking you to less-travelled spots, hidden gems and places you couldn’t get into yourself. You’ll hear multiple perspectives from these diverse storytellers, whose calibre is our distinguishing difference.
We use accredited guides as tour leaders who look after the practicalities and accompany you at all times. Itineraries are researched and crafted with enormous attention to pace and variety. Intentionally small groups allow for insider access, letting you engage and enquire directly and understand content in context.
Price includes:
Hotel accommodation (two 4-star & two 5-star), all breakfasts, eight lunches and seven dinners with wine, water, coffee, two wine tasting opportunities. All admissions, all gratuities, all porterage, the services of guest lecturers and tour leaders, all transportation from arrival to departure.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Symbolic landmark. Visit Table Mountain, the 250 million year old time-sculpted presence dominating the landscape, that holds mythological significance as well as botanical riches before a get-together dinner in a private home where you’ll be introduced into the subtleties of the Cape - its flavours, foods, wines and a few social complexities. Overnight Cape Town for the first of four nights. |
| Day 2: | Coastal meander. Wind along the False Bay coastline, looking around the picturesque fishing harbour of Kalk Bay and stopping over in Simon’s Town a former British naval base, to find out how communities in certain villages were impacted by apartheid policies. Engage close up with a protected colony of African penguins before continuing to one of the most dramatic viewpoints on earth, the tip of Cape Point that overlooks the legendary meeting place of two oceans. Return via the Atlantic coast, along Chapman’s Peak, a spectacular cliff side drive where the evening is at your leisure. |
| Day 3: | Power hub of the city. Explore three centuries of history from the seat of power - The Castle of Good Hope. Stroll along a tree-lined boulevard that runs the length of the Company Gardens, passing the Houses of Parliament, Tuynhuys, the SA Museum, the SA National Gallery, all significant landmarks, made predominantly by the invisible hands of slave labour, who built and maintained the infrastructure of the colony. Their cultural legacy is all around the city, evidenced tellingly in the former Slave Lodge. The evening is yours to explore further. |
| Day 4: | Bo Kaap. Walking around narrow, cobbled lanes of the Bo Kaap, home to Muslims and freed slaves after the abolition of slavery, you hear about the community, their cultural heritage, and why Islam constitutes one of the three major religions of the Cape. Wander past mosques and colourful 19th century Georgian terraces, lunching on authentic Cape Malay dishes where spices tell the history of the community metaphorically. Look over a world famous collection of gold artefacts from ancient African civilisations and engage in some interactive drumming, before a memorable Pan African food safari. |
| Day 5: | The Helderberg. On the way to the winelands witness how migrant labourers were compelled to live while toiling the fields at a township museum commemorating migrancy, situated close to majestic mountain ranges and historic homesteads. Spend a leisurely day on the most highly rated estate in the country, having a relaxed lunch, strolling around the manor house, expansive gardens, interactive centre and archaeologists’ display. Continue into Stellenbosch for the first of three nights in the heart of the historic town, with the evening open to try one of the many accessible restaurants. |
| Day 6: | Stellenbosch. Use the country’s second oldest town as a base to explore various wine routes and unearth original roots. Stellenbosch is a university town of great beauty and culture, where you can safely wander around its oak lined streets, traditional Cape Dutch architecture, restored streetscapes, galleries and quaint shops. Visit a complex that showcases four diverse architectural house styles and highlights the furnishings and gardens of each period. Drive to an old Cape farm for a traditional South African meal where 9th generation owners invite you into their private domain, offering you robust wines in a cobwebbed cellar while relating stories of their ancestors and plying you with their hospitality. |
| Day 7: | Vineyards and valleys. Traverse the Groot Drakenstein valley, once belonging to Cecil John Rhodes, a former governor, past a mission town created to assist newly freed slaves and a model village for farm workers, to a landmark estate which combines manor house museum, beautiful grounds and renowned winery, for an alfresco lunch under the oaks. In a 1740 wine cellar / museum hear stories which reflect 8 000 years of footprints, chronicling the times of our forebears from stone age man, through colonialism, slavery and apartheid, until the arrival of democracy, before reaching the picturesque village of Franschhoek, where Huguenots fleeing from religious persecution settled in 1688, bringing their wine making expertise and customs with them, and dining in this gastronomic capital. |
| Day 8: | Paarl. Walk around the slopes of great granite rocks that loom above the town of Paarl to understand the symbolic significance of a monument which chronicles the development of one of the world’s youngest language and delve into Afrikaans and the history behind the rise and fall of Afrikaners. Take a leisurely drive through the town’s miles-long stretch of well preserved buildings, visiting some to gain an understanding of prevailing culture and customs. Return to Cape Town via back roads and settle into your hotel on the cosmopolitan Atlantic seaboard for the first of three nights, with the evening at your leisure. |
| Day 9: | The gateway. The V&A Waterfront holds a range of historical, cultural and maritime landmarks along its working harbour’s edge such as the military ruins of the Chavonnes battery, a menacing treadmill in the former Breakwater prison and Nobel Square that commemorates South Africa’s four Nobel Peace Prize winners. From The Gateway to Africa embark on a trip to Robben Island - for a tangible reminder of the past. Since the regeneration of Cape Town harbour, the city has reclaimed its connection with the sea - only now the focus of resources has changed. |
| Day 10: | District Six. The District Six museum tells the story of apartheid through stories of forced removals of a former bustling cosmopolitan community and captures its spirit in an inspiring way. Since being razed in late 1960’s the land has remained a vacant scar on the city landscape, but there is hope that by returning the land to the original families the damage done to the national psyches might be reversed. Celebrate your last night with a splendid Cape Malay banquet in the gracious Constantia valley, beginning with a wine tasting in the property’s boutique vineyard. |
| Day 11: | Heart of the city. The city is an exotic blend of influences and historical interactions - part of Africa, and not apart from it. Look anew at the images that contrast and complement each other from the Old Town House, onto Greenmarket Square, across the distinctively Pan African flea market where people still socialise on centuries-old cobbles. Wander along Church Street crammed with galleries and cafes, towards Heritage Square with authentically restored 200 years old buildings, an apt lunch setting, to review what has changed and what remains the same, before your return flight. |
small group cultural tours
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.how this holiday makes a difference
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Our belief is that each step we take matters, and that door opening journeys are about travelling with a curious mind, an open heart, and light steps. Our aim is to share South Africa’s cultural richness, diversity and natural beauty in such a way as to beneficiate all involved.
Environment We uphold the philosophy of giving back, making a voluntary donation to Food and Trees for Africa, calculated on the carbon footprint accumulated by each visitor's journey to, from and within South Africa. We are linked to Friends of Conservation for alternative ways to participate in projects that either extract CO2 from the atmosphere, reduce harmful emissions, or protect wildlife and bring benefit to communities. We endorse the South Africa Sustainability Seafood Initiative (SASSI), abiding by their approved seafood guidelines when making selections on clients’ behalf. We support The Biodiversity and Wine Initiative, which applies diversity guidelines to the wine industry by choosing its members when selecting wine estates to showcase. We believe in leaving only our footprints and provide all visitors with Golden rules which in the natural environment include not picking flowers or removing any items, feeding the animals, littering, or deviating from paths – and in the built environment not wasting water, being ostentatious with possessions, handing out randomly or behaving respectfully among other cultures. We undertake to lighten our impact wherever possible, such as using the internet as our primary communication medium, limiting the size of groups, consciously selecting low impact options, biodegradable materials, recycling paper, and implementing turn it off policies with equipment. To mitigate the impact of the long haul travel, we offer several add-on options to our fixed tours. Community We are a member of the Open Africa network of Afrikatourism, a collaborative movement linking the splendours of Africa in a network of tourism routes from Cape to Cairo, with the aim of creating jobs in synergy with conservation, under the patronage of Nelson Mandela. We support Fair Trade in Tourism in South Africa (FTTSA) which is based on fair share, democracy, respect, reliability, transparency and sustainability, and its members wherever possible. We seek out initiatives such as !Khwa ttu San Cultural and Educational Centre that highlights issues facing minority cultures, Solms Delta museum for its oral history focus, Grootbos private nature reserve for its dedication to the Cape Floral Kingdom and eco tourism benchmarking, and Bushmans Kloof wilderness retreat for highlighting San culture. We support only local initiatives: family run hotels chosen for their warmth of welcome and charm, and owner managed restaurants that offer seasonal produce and regional wines. We select preferred service providers that are local and owner managed, such as for our transport and in our links we seek similarly-minded associates who share our vision such as Mogalakwena Artist’s Retreat. Believing in the principles of abundance and co-operation, we offer our web based hub for the beneficiation of all involved with us, while supporting others who subscribe to our principles. We provide our clients with a comprehensive pre trip information briefing and we select useful additional nuggets to inform free time choices. Operationally, we subscribe to an ethical code of conduct. We practise fair trade policies. We passionately advocate raising the tourism industry bar and take responsibility for the upliftment and awareness this challenge requires. Economically the tourism industry is the biggest generator of jobs in the Western Cape, and unemployment is the biggest threat to social stability in the land. Taking the opportunity to showcase what is unique to the Cape, telling our stories informatively - and having them 'witnessed' - substantiates our sense of self, our pride of place and our purpose of being. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |