General Information on Cape Town & South Africa

• Population: ±40 million


• Language: 11 official languages. The most common home-language is Zulu, but English is widely spoken and is the language of commerce.


• Religion: Christianity is the former state religion. Also prominent in certain areas is Islam, Hinduism and traditional African religions.


• Banks: Banks and ATM's are situated in all areas of the city and are easily accessible. There is also a bureau de change in every major shopping centre.


• Transport: Public transport is easily accessible across the city. This consists of trains, busses and minibus taxis. This is best taken during the day for safety reasons, and not after dark. Private taxis or shuttle services are the best option for transport at night.

Cape Town Weather

Cape Town often experiences cool and pleasant winter days. Such conditions are ideal for travellers who choose to visit the Cape during the generally less crowded 'off' season in Spring and from April when transport and accommodation is cheaper, and general expenses less. The winter months June - August provide Cape Town with weather conditions that are generally wet and cold. However recent weather patterns have changed and Cape Town has seen less rain than usual. Temperatures generally range from 2 - 20°c and Capetonians experience short days with late sunrises and early sunsets.

Our Cape Town summer season officially runs from October to March but sometimes extends into a warm April as Autumn approaches. During these months Cape Town weather is pleasant to hot 25 - 40°c. Unpleasantly hot days are often cooled down by the ' Cape Doctor ' South Easterly wind which gusts strongly in from the sea. Beaches are packed as the sea waters are always cool and refreshing. The Cape summer evenings are long and pleasant, ideal for the traditional South African braaivleis (barbecue) or pastimes such as sport and entertainment.

A Short History of Cape Town

San hunter-gatherers, South Africa 's first human inhabitants, moved freely through the Cape Peninsula for tens of millennia. Portuguese mariners, in search of a stop-off point en route to East Africa and the East Indies, first rounded the Cape in the 1480s, and named it Cabo de Boa Esperanza (Cape of Good Hope). No Europeans seriously attempted to create a permanent stopping-off point until the Dutch East India Company (VOC) cruised into Table Bay in 1652. Their small landing party, led by Jan van Riebeeck , built a mud fort where the Grand Parade now stands and established vegetable gardens . Van Riebeeck began to import s laves in 1658.

German and French religious refugees swelled the European population, and slavery became the economic backbone of the colony, which was now a minor colonial village of canals and low, whitewashed, flat-roofed houses. By 1750, Cape Town had become a town of over 1000 buildings, with 2500 inhabitants.

In 1795 Britain ordered the abolition of slavery . The British also allowed freedom of religion . By the turn of the nineteenth century, Cape Town had become one of the most cosmopolitan places anywhere and a sea port of major significance. Since slavery had been abolished, Victorian Cape Town had to be built with convict labour and that of prisoners of war transported from the colonial frontier in Eastern Cape .

In 1910, Cape Town was drawn into the political centre of the newly federated South Africa when it became the legislative capital of the Union .
Increasing industrialization brought an influx of black workers, who were housed in the locations of Guguletu and Nyanga , built in 1945.

Cape Town Today

Today Cape Town is a highly cosmopolitan city, known for being relaxed and friendly to all visitors. The townships and their poverty still exist, but today volunteers and government are helping to build housing and provide facilities. Cape Town is a city of two faces, as it also boasts a thriving tourist industry, excellent infrastructure, shopping malls, restaurants, theatres and museums.

JOIN US AND EXPERIENCE CAPE TOWN FOR YOURSELF!