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Upcoming events
For a weekend experience with a difference in the
Western Cape, take yourself, friends and family out
to the Whoosh Grape Treading Festival at Worcester
from 5-6 March. A hundred teams of four members each
will be give the task of extracting as much juice
as possible from 50 kgs of grapes in a given time.
Besides plenty of other grape-related activities (such
as a pip-splitting competition) a fun walk/run of
5km, a half-marathon, and a boule competition, there
will be lots of good wines, food, arts and crafts
to savour from the bounteous Breede River Valley.
For more information, tel 023 342 7891
South Africa's biggest dance festival, the FNB Dance
Umbrella, will continue until March 20th at four Gauteng
venues - the Wits Theatre, Dance Factory, Johannesburg
Art Gallery and Gallery Momo. The 2004 Dance Umbrella
features no fewer than twenty programmes, including
new works commissioned from ten of South Africa's
top choreographers, among them Robyn Orlin, Boyzie
Cekwana and Vincent Mantsoe. There are also works
by international choreographers and dance companies
from Switzerland, Israel, Senegal and the Congo.
For more information contact the FNB Dance Umbrella
at 011 482 4140 or go to www.artslink.co.za/arts
If cycling's your interest, then the Cape Peninsula
is the place to be in March for the events leading
up to the annual "Argus" cycle race on Sunday
14th March.
- On Saturday 7th March, the Cape Argus Pick 'n
Pay Mountain Bike Challenge will again be held at
the beautiful Boschendal wine estate, near Groot
Drakenstein. Entries are limited to 1500 riders,
who will be seeded for the first time in order to
reduce congestion on the route. The 55 km event
caters for the entire mountain bike community, advanced
and social, and there will be plenty for the whole
family to see and do in lovely surroundings. (To
enter go to www.dirtopia.co.za)
- The Giro del Capo is an international 5-day stage
race open to teams of experienced cyclists and held
over five different routes around Cape Town from
9th-13th March. The teams who contest the Giro,
together with select individuals, will also race
in the "Argus" in an invitation event
and at the head of the huge field.
- The Life Cycle Expo, the country's largest cycling,
health and fitness exhibition, will be held in the
Good Hope Centre from 12th-15th March. More than
250 exhibitors will display the latest in cycling
equipment, lifestyle programmes, nutrition and energy
drinks - and offer lots to eat and drink as well
- 35 000 competitors will take to the road on Sunday
14th March for the 2004 Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle
Tour which reverts to its former, more scenic route
via Chapman's Peak for the first time in five years.
Entries have now closed, but for more information
on how to watch the race and take part in the fun,
phone the hotline on 021 685 6551 or go to www.cycletour.co.za.
The fifth Cape Town Festival, to be held at various
venues across the city from March 14th-21st, will
have its theme 'Ten Years of Democracy'. The festival
will offer a wide variety of local and international
performances of dance, music, film, photography, theatre
and art, and will open up the inner city to the people
of Cape Town (and no doubt to thousands of visiting
cyclists too)
Some of the highlights will include:
- African Summer Stage, a two-day multi-cultural
musical extravaganza set against the backdrop of
Table Mountain
- Art in the Gardens, an exhibition of arts and
crafts in the historic Company Gardens, and
- Night Vision, a nocturnal celebration of the
CBD involving galleries, clubs, bars and public
spaces.
For further information, tel 021 465 1166 or 072
242 2685
The annual SA Navy Festival, to be held at the Simon's
Town Dockyard from 26th- 28th March, will give visitors
the opportunity of looking over South Africa's biggest
naval base. Activities will include boat rides, dog
displays, fire-fighting, gun fun, mast displays and
special performances by the ever popular SA Navy Band.
For more information, tel 021 787 3725
News & Trends
- The Commons
also offers adventure golf, ten-pin bowling a laser
game, a carousel for kids, movies, restaurants and
a flea market. The intention is to create the 'feel'
of an outdoor village, where people may participate
actively (e.g. by kite-flying) or passively by picnicking
on the well-tended lawns.
For more information, tel 011 7898 5052
- The refurbishment
of one of Cape Town's tourist landmarks is part of
a long-term plan to upgrade Cape Town's CBD. The Garden
was established in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck and has
been run by the City Council since 1892.
- Food and drink, arts and crafts and dress of
ethnic cultures including the Tswana, Venda, Ndebele,
Xhosa and Shangaan.
The village, which extends over three hectares near
the crocodile farm has been named The Village People@SunCity
and is a joint venture with Legend Lodges.
- La Traviata
will follow in April and Handel's baroque opera Alcina
in May.
- Sophiatown
was the home of many black musicians, artists and
writers in the 1940s and 50s, before the apartheid
government declared the area 'white' and moved more
than 65 000 residents to Meadowlands in Soweto. The
plan is to develop a cultural museum, an interpretive
centre and a walking trail that will revive memories
of one of old Johannesburg's most vibrant suburbs.
| Did
You Know - South Africa has the third-highest
level of biodiversity in the world, and is the only
country to contain an entire floral system within
its borders. The 22 000 hectare Cape Peninsula National
Park has more plant species than the whole of the
British Isles or New Zealand. |
Hidden Gems
Richard Steyn continues his occasional series of special
places to stay In South Africa
If you're intent on exploring the Greater St Lucia
Wetland Reserve, South Africa's newest but one World
Heritage Site, Sibaya Lake Lodge provides an excellent
base from which to operate. Situated on the northern
shores of the country's largest freshwater-lake, the
lodge offers a warm reception and comfortable accommodation
in sixteen spacious chalets, most with a panoramic
view of the spectacularly beautiful 70 square km lake.
The Lake Sibaya area is as much a paradise for the
outdoor enthusiast - offering swimming, snorkelling,
scuba-diving and spear-fishing - as it is for the
nature lover, particularly birdwatchers and those
wishing to view the egg-laying activities of the giant
leatherback turtle. The warm waters and good winter
weather make the Sibaya Lake Lodge an all-year-round
holiday destination.
Access to the shore side lodge, situated approx 110
km north of Hluhluwe by road, is via a long and sandy
track through the Coastal Forest Reserve. For those
without a 4x4, the lodge will pick you up from a safe
parking area on the premises of a company selling
delicious cashew nuts to the public, on the tarred
main road.
The peaceful remoteness of the lodge, its good food
and attentive service make this a perfect place to
relax and unwind for a few days. For the less active,
there is a large sundeck overlooking the lake and
a rock pool beside which to recline with book and
beer. A special attraction, provided the wind is blowing
gently, is a sunset cruise in South Africa's only
Arab dhow, from which one may view hippo, crocodile
and the abundant bird life while watching the sun
go down over one of Africa's most beautiful landscapes.
The current managers of the lodge are experienced
hoteliers Klaas and Yvonne Booysen, recently returned
from several years of managing a top resort in Malaysia.
They and their friendly staff, some of whom helped
build the lodge, will go out of their way to make
you feel welcome.
Rates are R1225.00 ppn sharing fully inclusive of
all meals and activities. However depending on the
time of the year, a variety of specials are offered,
including packages on extended stays and honeymoons.
For further information about Sibaya Lake Lodge,
telephone 011 616 9950;
e mail: sibayi@iafrica.com
or go to the website at www.lakesibaya.co.za
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Kind regards
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