Cape Town
Cape Town has to be my favourite city and I hope some of my photos show why. We were fortunate to have stayed in a lovely self-contained unit in Fish Hoek with magnificent views across False Bay, called “Lalapanzi”. Our delightful hosts, Val and Abe made our stay even more enjoyable.
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom and includes such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain which we climbed and Cape Point that we visited at least 3 times during our stay.
Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg took place.
In 2007 the city had an estimated population of 3.5 million. Little is known of the history of the region's first residents, since there is no written history from the area before it was first mentioned by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias in 1486. Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. In the late 16th century, Portuguese, French, Danish, Dutch and English ships regularly stopped over in Table Bay en route to the Indies. They traded tobacco, copper and iron with the indigenous Khoikhoi tribes in exchange for fresh meat. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie, VOC) were sent to the Cape to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies, and the Fort de Goede Hoop (later replaced by the Castle of Good Hope). The settlement grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour which prompted the authorities to import slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar.
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom and includes such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain which we climbed and Cape Point that we visited at least 3 times during our stay.
Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg took place.
In 2007 the city had an estimated population of 3.5 million. Little is known of the history of the region's first residents, since there is no written history from the area before it was first mentioned by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias in 1486. Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. In the late 16th century, Portuguese, French, Danish, Dutch and English ships regularly stopped over in Table Bay en route to the Indies. They traded tobacco, copper and iron with the indigenous Khoikhoi tribes in exchange for fresh meat. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie, VOC) were sent to the Cape to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies, and the Fort de Goede Hoop (later replaced by the Castle of Good Hope). The settlement grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour which prompted the authorities to import slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar.