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Discover the "Big Five" as part of your South African trek
Day Trips from Cape Town: Vineyards and More
Three days in the city seems about right before heading out on the first of two day trips: Cape Wine Country and the Cape Peninsula. Though you can certainly rent your own car and go at your own pace, it's often best to go with an established tour company, especially if you decide to taste your way through a bunch of vineyards; Go 2 Africa is the best outfit for both trips.
Cape Wine Country
The Cape's striking wine country, just 45 minutes northeast of Cape Town, is the seventh-largest wine-producing region in the world, comprising some 417 square miles of vineyards. In addition to world-class wineries such as the Bergkelder, famous for its subterranean "cellar in the mountain," you can indulge your palate at world-class restaurants like Bosmans at the Grand Roche Hotel, in Paarl. You may end up wanting to extend your trip once you've seen how much territory there is to cover in this region! Go 2 Africa's day trip into the heart of the area (prices vary by season) takes in craggy mountain ranges, lush vineyards, and Cape Dutch homesteads, plus includes a brief visit to the historic town of Stellenbosch, the second-oldest European settlement in South Africa.
Cape Peninsula
The arresting Cape Peninsula (aka The Cape of Good Hope) is a thin finger of land with an extraordinarily diverse selection of flora and fauna extending 45 miles south of Cape Town. Go 2 Africa's day tour (prices vary from season to season) travels down the Atlantic seaboard with stops at Cape Point, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet; Boulder's Beach, where you can sun on the sand before visiting the home of a colony of thriving African "jackass penguins" (so named for their donkey-like braying sounds); and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a showcase of South Africa's diverse indigenous plant life and part of the much larger Cape Floral Kingdom, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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