Wikitravel - Changes related to "Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/MV Rockeater" [en]

South Africa

2013-05-21T19:40:29Z

‎Do:

South Africa

2013-05-20T10:29:01Z

‎History:

South Africa

2013-05-17T18:32:59Z

‎Money:

Cape Town

2013-05-17T17:58:08Z

‎By car:

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:40, 21 May 2013
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	* '''River Rafting:''' The Orange River on the border to Namibia is a popular destination for rafting tours. Several tour operators launch 4-6 day trips in blow-up boats from Vioolsdrif with camping under the stars.		* '''River Rafting:''' The Orange River on the border to Namibia is a popular destination for rafting tours. Several tour operators launch 4-6 day trips in blow-up boats from Vioolsdrif with camping under the stars.
		+	*<do name="GoVertical Mountaineering Adventures" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="+27(0)82 731 4696" url="http://www.govertical.co.za" hours="" price="" lat="" long="">Guided Drakensberg Trekking</do>

	==Buy==		==Buy==

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 The tip of [[Africa]] has been home to the Khoisan (''collective name for Hottentot (Koi) and Bushmen (San)'') people for thousands of years. Their rock art can still be found in many places throughout [[South Africa]]. It is estimated that Bantu tribes may have started to slowly expand into the northernmost areas of what is today [[Southern Africa]] at around 2,500 years ago and by around 500 AD the different cultural groups as we know them today had been established in the lush areas to the north and east of the what is today known as Eastern South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The desert and semi-desert areas of the Western and Northern Cape provinces, as well as the western parts of the Eastern Cape province remained unsettled by the Bantu as the arid climate, limited seasonal rainfall, sparse vegetation and scarcity of natural sources of water could not sustain large migrations of people and herds of cattle, cattle being the primary livestock reared by the Bantu and fulfilling numerous cultural and economic functions within the tribal society (cattle served as a rudimentary currency and basic unit of exchange with a mutually agreeable value between bartering parties, thus fulfilling the function of money). The "Khoisan" existed in these areas as nomadic hunters, unable to permanently settle as the movement of desert game in search of dwindling water supplies during winter months determined their own migration. Not until the "Boers" (see next paragraph) moved into these areas and established boreholes and containment ponds could any permanent settlements be established in these areas. Today, with more reliable sources of water and modern methods of water conservancy the agricultural activity remains limited mainly to sheep and ostrich ranching as these animals are better suited to the sparse feed and limited water.
-The first permanent European settlement was built at Cape Town after the Dutch East India Company reached the Cape of Good Hope in April 1652. In the late 1700s, the ''Boers'' (''the settling farmers'') slowly started expanding first westward along the coastline and later upwards into the interior. By 1795, [[Britain]] first took control of the Cape, as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars on the Dutch, and in 1820, a large group of British settlers arrived in the region. In 1835, large numbers of ''Boers'' started out on the ''Groot Trek'' (the great migration) into the interior after becoming dissatisfied with the British rule. In the interior, they established their own internationally recognized republics.
+The first Europeans to reach South Africa were the Portuguese, who named the tipping end of the country "Cape of Good Hope" in 1488, when they managed to sail around it to reach India. But permanent European settlement was only built at Cape Town after the Dutch East India Company reached the Cape of Good Hope in April 1652. In the late 1700s, the ''Boers'' (''the settling farmers'') slowly started expanding first westward along the coastline and later upwards into the interior. By 1795, [[Britain]] first took control of the Cape, as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars on the Dutch, and in 1820, a large group of British settlers arrived in the region. In 1835, large numbers of ''Boers'' started out on the ''Groot Trek'' (the great migration) into the interior after becoming dissatisfied with the British rule. In the interior, they established their own internationally recognized republics.
 Two wars for control over the region were fought between the ''Boers'' and the British in 1880 and 1899.  The second war occurred after British settlers flooded into the area surrounding Johannesburg known as the "Witwatersrand" (white water escarpment) in response to the discovery of gold in 1886. The Second Boer War (Afrikaans: 'Die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog' or 'Second War of Independace') was particularly unpleasant, as the British administration contained the Boer civilian population in concentration camps resulting in one of the earliest recorded genocides. Boer farms, livestock, crops and homesteads were also largely destroyed.

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 Coins are in denominations of R5, R2, R1, 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c. Production of 2c and 1c coins was suspended in April 2002, but those still in circulation remain legal tender. All transactions are rounded down to the nearest lower 5c, so as not to require the use of 2c and 1c coins.
-[http://www.xe.com/ict/table.cgi?currency=ZAR&historical=false&template=ict-en Conversion rates] vary wildly depending on politics. It's best to import or carry US$, € or GB£, as conversion between any of them and the Rand can be done at any bank without trouble. South Africa is part of the ''Southern African Common Monetary Area'' and the Rand can be used in Namibia (''where it is an official currency along with the Namibian Dollar'') as well as [[Lesotho]] and [[Swaziland]] (''where it is widely accepted, but not an official currency'')
+[http://www.xe.com/ict/table.cgi?currency=ZAR&historical=false&template=ict-en Conversion rates] vary wildly depending on politics. It's best to import or carry US$, € or GB£, as conversion between any of them and the Rand can be done at any bank without trouble. South Africa is part of the ''Southern African Common Monetary Area'' and the Rand can be used in Namibia (''where it is an official currency along with the Namibian Dollar'') as well as [[Lesotho]],[[Swaziland]] and [[Mozambique]] (''where it is widely accepted, but not an official currency'')
 '''Traveller's Cheques''' are a safe way of carrying money around. You can exchange them at all banks (which are found throughout the country even in rural areas) and you will get a refund if they are stolen. The disadvantage is that you cannot pay with them and you will need change when exchanging them into Rand. Use ATMs instead if possible.

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 '''Car Rental companies in Cape Town:'''
-'''Drive South Africa'''[http://www.drivesouthafrica.co.za/car-hire/cape-town/]
+* <listing name="First Car Rental" alt="Car Hire" directions="" address="" phone="+27 11 230 9999" email="reservations@cmh.co.za" url="http://www.firstcarrental.co.za" hours="" price="">Car rentals in Cape Town.</listing>
-Tel: 021 423 6957
-'''Reeds Car Rental'''[http://www.reedscarrental.co.za/]
+* <listing name="Drive South Africa" alt="Car Hire" directions="" address="" phone="+27 21 423 6957" email="" url="http://www.drivesouthafrica.co.za/car-hire/cape-town/" hours="" price="">Car rentals in Cape Town.</listing>
-Tel: 021 443 5250
-'''Wise Wheels'''[http://www.wisewheels.co.za/]
+* <listing name="Reeds Car Rental" alt="Car Hire" directions="" address="" phone="+27 21 443 5250" email="" url="http://www.reedscarrental.co.za/" hours="" price="">Car rentals in Cape Town.</listing>
-Tel:021 551 9515
-'''Value Car Hire'''
+* <listing name="Wise Wheels" alt="Car Hire" directions="" address="" phone="+27 21 551 9515" email="" url="http://www.wisewheels.co.za/" hours="" price="">Car rentals in Cape Town.</listing>
-Tel: 021 386 7699
-'''CapeXplore'''[http://www.findit.co.za/wpbdm-directory/car-hire-cape-town-capexplore/]
+* <listing name="Value Car Hire" alt="Car Hire" directions="" address="" phone="+27 21 386 7699" email="" url="" hours="" price="">Car rentals in Cape Town.</listing>
-Tel: 021 997 4544
 ===By bus===