Cape Town is one of the most popular tourist destination in the world. Table Mountain, the Waterfront, Robben Island, the Cape Winelands and many other destinations are very popular places in and arround Cape Town.

According to the South African National Census of 2001, the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people. Cape Town is noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch style buildings in the world. Cape Dutch style, which combines the architectural traditions of the Netherlands, Germany and France, is most visible in Constantia, the old government buildings in the Central Business District, and along Long Street

Cape Town International Airport serves both domestic and international flights. It is the second-largest airport in South Africa and serves as a major gateway for travellers to the Cape region.

Cape Town History

From research and looking at historical documents the San (Also called Bushmen) were the original inhabitants of the Cape Town and surrounding areas.  The San were a hunter-gatherer group of people that roamed and lived over large parts of Southern Africa.  Rock art from the San people can be seen all over South Africa.

According to one source the San were replaced by Khoi groups. (also called Khoikhoi or ‘real people’)  The Khoi are described as semi-nomadic and they settled in the Cape Town area with herds of cattle and sheep.  In the Cape Town area some of the Khoi also inter married with the San and the Khoi specifically farmed with Nguni cattle. 

Khoikhoi Man

In 1503 a Portuguese Admiral Antonio de Saldana after getting lost at sea landed at Table Bay.  After climbing Table Mountain they could get a view of the coastline.  They unsuccessfully tried to trade with the Khoi for livestock and it looks like the contact with the Khoi ended in bloodshed.

In 1510 seventy five Portuguese sailors were killed by Khoi after the sailors have taken children and cattle belonging to the Khoi.  One the Sailors killed Dom Francisco de Almeide was a well known Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. After this incident the Portuguese avoided Table Bay area in the future. 

Dom Francisco de Almeide

With the arrival of the Dutch and other Europeans the Khoi were exposed to smallpox that lower their numbers.  The Khoi were also driven of their lands and this ended the way of life for the Khoi.

Khoikhoi Painting

Some of the early Europeans inter married or had relations with the Khoi and they formed a people group called the Griqua. (Afrikaans Griekwa)  The Griqua like the Dutch Boers later on moved inland and formed Griqualand East in the area around Kokstad and Griqualand West in the area around Kimberley.

Adam Kok III Griqua Leader

The religious mythology of the Khoikhoi gives special significance to the Moon, which may have been viewed as the physical manifestation of a supreme being associated with heaven. Tsui'goab is also believed to be the creator and the guardian of health, while Gunab is primarily an evil being, who causes sickness or death.  "Utixo" or "Tiqua" is the name used by missionaries as a translation for the Abrahamic God.

The first Europeans settled in the Cape by the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck on 6 April 1652.  Jan van Riebeeck established a supply station that was established by the Dutch East India Company.  (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie also referred to as the VOC)  The Dutch were followed by a group of 200 French Protestant Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France.  The French were settled in the area’s that are today known as Paarl, Wellington, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.  These French settlers inter married and mixed with the Dutch to form the foundation for today’s Afrikaner.  The French were prohibited by law to use French in church and schooling and within 100 years the French language was almost completely extinct.

Jan van Riebeeck

The Dutch started with the process to imported slaves from West Africa, Madagascar, India, Ceylon, Malaya and Indonesia.

Simon van der Stel arrived in 1679 to replace Van Riebeeck as governor. Van der Stel founded the Cape wine industry by bringing grape vines and an industry which would quickly grow to be important for the region. He also promoted territorial expansion in the Colony.

After the Battle of Muizenberg on 7 August 1795 the Bristish took control of the Cape Colony.  Under the terms of the peace agreement between England and France, the Cape was returned to the Dutch in 1802.  The Afrikaans saying ‘die Kaap is weer Hollands’ come from this handing back of the Cape to the Dutch by the British. 

With the end of the War between France and England in 1814 the British payed a large some of money to retake the Cape as it was deemed as strategic for trade with India.  In 1834 the British freed all of the slaves in the Cape.

In 1836 the Great Trek (Groot Trek in Afrikaans) happened when for various reasons about 10 000 moved North to discover new land.  In 1840 the Cape Town population stood at around 20 000 with about 10 000 being white.

The discovery of Diamonds and Gold in South Africa changed the history of Cape Town and South Africa and people from all over the world came to South Africa.  Cape Town over time became the second biggest city as peopled flock inland and the city of Johannesburg was established. 

Nelson Mandela

During the Apartheid years Nelson Mandel was imprisoned on Robben Island and with his release in Cape Town he was seen for the first time by most South Africans.

What is the Best Area’s to Live in Cape Town

For people who live in Cape Town normally the closer you live to work the less travel to work and back you have to do.  The Northern Suburbs are the further away from the sea but perhaps you can find something more affordable in the Northern Suburbs.  Parow and Bellville in the Northern Suburbs form part of the older area’s but also has lots of busy traffic but  are closer to the city centre.  Some Bellville area’s north of the N1 highway are more popular and quieter.  Durbanville to the north of the N1 is also a popular area and lots of new complexes and houses have been build and are still developed in this area.  But of cause these areas are further away from the beaches.  Some of the bigger shopping centres in these Northern Area’s are Tygervalley, Century City and N1 City shopping centre.  Kuilsrivier lies left of the R300 highway and are further away from the city centre but are closer to Stellenbosch and the Helderberg area.

Milnerton is very close to the city centre and just above Milnerton you get the West Coast areas of Table View, Bloubergstrand and Melkbosstrand.  These West Coast areas are also served by the MyCiti bus route that gives you an easy access to the city centre.  For swimming the area’s on the West Coast the water are colder than the beaches on the False Bay side of Cape Town. So every area has it advantages and disadvantages.  Parklands is also a popular area with lots of new houses and complexes been build over the last couple of years.

Closer to the city centre you have the suburb called Woodstock that area very busy and more unsafe.  In the Green Point and Sea Point area’s you find lots of high-rise flats but you are very close to the beach.  Green Point and Sea Point are also very close to the city centre.  Not far from here down the coast you will find some of the wealthiest areas of Cape Town Clifton, Camps Bay and Fresnay.  This area’s are called the Atlantic Seaboard and are very close to the Waterfront Shopping Centre that are one of the most visit area’s in Cape Town.  The Waterfront area is always busy with lots of tourist visiting and is close to the Cape Town harbour.  Some of the best properties can also be found in the Waterfront area with some of the best Hotels.

Other exclusive and very expensive places to stay in Cape Town are Noordhoek, Llandudno, Hout Bay and Kommetjie.

The Southern Suburbs include some of the best areas in Cape Town like Constantia, Tokai, Bishopscourt and between the M5 and M3 you get the areas like Newlands, Rondebosch, Rosebank, Claremont, Wynberg and Kenilworth. 

Muizenberg and Muizenberg beach is well known for surfing and if you go down the coast from Muizenberg you get St James, Kalkbaai, Fish Hoek, Glencairn and Simon’s Town.  In these area’s you get lots of house against the mounting overlooking the sea.  The culture is also very different from the rest of Cape Town.  A railway line also runs from the city centre past Newlands, Claremont, Kenilworth and Retreat down to Muizenburg.  From Muizenberg the railway line runs next to the coast past St James, Kalkbaai, Fish Hoek and ends at Simon’s Town.  This is a popular trip by train that every tourist should consider.  These areas from a living perspective are further away from centre of Cape Town but you will experience a more small town laid back way of life.

The Cape Flats tend to be the poorer area’s with lots of shacks in some of these certain areas.  These Cape Flats include areas like Mitchell’s Plain, Nyanga, Gugelethu and Khayelitsha.  Although people live in shacks many of these families also have a good quality of life and many shacks with satellite dishes can be seen.  Many of the shack dwellers made the best of their situation and inside the shacks it looks like real homes.  The South African government has been work hard at providing better housing for shack dwellers in the whole of South Africa.

On eastern area of Cape Town you get Stellenbosch that are a well known University Town and large parts of the town host the University of Stellenbosch.  If you drive from Stellenbosch to the coast on the R44 you get the Helderberg area behind the Hottentots Holland Mountains.  The Helderberg area lies on the border of Cape Town and consist of Somerset, Strand and Gordon’s Bay.  Somerset West lies at the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains and is well known for some of the wealthiest people living in massive houses against the mountain.  Strand and Gordon’s Bay lies next to the coast.  People choose to life in the Helderberg area but sometimes still work in Cape Town by taking the N2 highway that can be at times very busy or taking the R300 highway to access the N1 and Northern Suburbs part of Cape Town.  The Strand beach is safe to walk at night and people can be seen strolling on the beach early mornings and till late at night.  Strand and Gordon’s Bay offer some of the less expensive rentals and houses in the Cape Town area but you need to be willing to commute further to get to the Cape Town economy.

Articles

Great Swimming Beaches of Cape Town
The following is a list of just some of the swimming beaches in the Cape Town area. There are most probably more beaches that might be even be better.  But the following are a few that we chose to highlight. (Read more)

Wolraad Woltemade
Wolraad Woltemade worked for the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) at the Cape and during a shipwreck saved 14 sailors from drowning. (Read more)

History of the South African Huguenots at the Cape of Good Hope.
Although the group of French Huguenots that came to South Africa were relative small many South Africans descend from this group. According to one source about 279 French Huguenots lived in the Cape by 1729. (Read more)

Cape Town Population
According to information published by the Western Cape Government in 2011 the population of Cape Town stood at 3.74 million. (Read more)

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