The Soccer World Cup 2010 that will be held in South Africa between the 11th of June and 11th of July 2010 is fast approaching and there are 10 stadiums where the games will be held, namely:
• Green Point Stadium, Cape Town
• Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane
• Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
• Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
• Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Elizabeth
• Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
• Soccer City, Johannesburg
• Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
• Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
• Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
To enjoy the Soccer World Cup 2010 to its fullest, you have to find an accommodation near one of these stadiums or within any of the host cities.
You will find that there are plenty of luxurious and affordable accommodations in whatever host city you would prefer to stay in. There are still plenty of hotels and other types of accommodations available right now, but you have to be quick in making a reservation because the number grows slim daily.
It would be very expensive to go visit and check on the accommodation physically that you would wish to stay in, but if you have the budget to scout the best one, go for it. Checking online is your next best option. It will not only save you money, but also offer plenty of alternatives as well.
There are a number of accommodation sites for South Africa available online. But finding the best site is the difficult part. Many of the sites prices are too high and the accommodations are not that great. You should find a site that has a picture of the accommodation with reasonable prices and has information on the number of sleeps, rooms, description of the place, facilities, contact information, reservation information, etc.
Once you find the accommodation that suits your budget and standards, you will not only enjoy the Soccer World Cup 2010 games but you will also have the opportunity to explore the natural beauty of South Africa and many landmarks and stunning beaches that it has to offer.
Want to leave them somewhere so you can enjoy your holiday too?
We all love our kids but sometimes you have to find them something to do before they dive you crazy. If you answered yes to the above then we have a few things to do on your holiday to help your children busy.
1) Kirstenbosch Gardens
The gardens are setup against the side of Table Mountain. There are sweeping views of up the mountain and the forests that adorn it.
I’d recommend spending at least an afternoon here at the shortest. The entrance fee is relatively cheap.
It’s great spot to have a picnic or just to lie around. Very relaxing.
Simons Town is a 40 minute drive down the Cape Peninsular from Cape Town. It’s a quaint little seaside town with a harbour. This is a lovely spot to spend a day or half a day.
Honda CBR 600, the one I used to ride around the Cape Peninsular with
A Honda CBR 600 and the Cape Peninsular… an exhilarating experience!
There are two things that are great about a motorbike:
- It’s exciting - You get to walk around in public in a full length leather outfit.
I’m not sure which of the two I miss the most as I sold the bike end of last year, much to my mother’s delight. However the full length leather outfit is still in the cupboard.
The ride itself takes about an hour depending on how you take it. If you give it a bit of throttle you could do it in 45min. I’d usually do it in about 2 hrs as I’d stop a lot and check out the views.
The Route Start in Cape Town. Go over Kloof Neck into Camps Bay. From here you’ll be on Camps Bay Drive. Follow this to the bottom and then head left along the coast. You’ll be on Victoria Road.
From Camps Bay to Llandudno along Victoria Road is Amazing! There are big open bends and the ocean is on your right the whole way down. We’d sometimes finish the run and turn around and redo it a few times. Wonderful!
From here pop over into Hout Bay go through it and onto Chapmans Peak Drive (M6). Chapman’s Peak is chiseled out the side of the mountain and the entire road feels as if it’s threatening to fall into the ocean. Makes for some dramatic views and passes.
After Chapmans Peak head through Noordhoek into Sun Valley and then head right towards Kommetjie go through Kommetjie and along the M65 past the light house and on towards Misty Cliffs and into Scarborough. This bit is my favourite stretch, the ocean air fills your helmet it feels like you’re flying over the ocean.
I’d then go through Scarborough along the M65 for about about 1km and you get to a turn off to go left towards Red Hill. The road is called Red Hill Road (M66). You can continue to go along the M65 which will loop around and take you to Simon’s Town.
The view from the top of Red Hill onto Simon’s Town rivals some of the most dramatic views in Cape Town. The picture on the left does it not justice. The water’s of Simon’s Town are many shades of blue and it’s quite breath taking. From here you can also see across False Bay towards Gordons Bay and Somerset West.
From here go down Red Hill and turn left into Main Road (M4) and head on towards Fish Hoek. Go through Fish Hoek and get onto Kommetjie Road (M65) which will take you back to Noordhoek. Turn right into Ou Kaapse Road and keep on going. This will take you over Ou Kaapse Weg down to the M3 and back to Cape Town.
Time to Go Early Sunday morning or any time there is no traffic.
Clip on the Jack Ass Penguins at Boulders Beach, Simon’s Town
Just outside of Simon’s Town (Simonstown) on the Cape Peninsular in South Africa is home to the famous boulders beach. Whenever we have visitors new to the Cape it’s the first place we take them.
There are two things most notable about the beach.
The scenic big round boulders, like huge white pebbles dropped into the crystal clear water. And the Jack Ass Penguins.
The area is a reserve and there is an entrance charge to the beach but it’s not a lot (R15/$2 at the time of writing). Next to the penguin colony is a beach where people and penguins are allowed to mingle. This is the fun part…
If are lucky then you’ll get a chance to swim with the penguins. This is an incredible experience!
I recommend taking a snorkel and fins along. The beach is beautiful and well worth making a day of. It’s also on the ‘warmer’ side of the Cape Peninsular so you can swim here comfortably. The penguins are quite tame and move around happily with all the people on the beach.
Despite waddling about on land penguins are very graceful once in the water.
If you’re looking for something to do with the family and children then a day here is one well spent.
Days to go: Go on a sunny windless day. If you go here on a windy day it can be unpleasant.
Other animals that feature: Whales, Dolphins, Seals
Things to do around the Boulders Beach area: Sea Kayaking Penguin Watching Snorkelling Swimming Sun Tanning
Since I grew up in the Durban area I’m proud to see that Durbanite’s do more than sit around on their Golden Beaches eating Bananas. It turns out that getting stadiums built is something that also falls into the citie’s list of “Things To Do”.
We’ve thrown in a few pics here to show how beautiful it is. Apparently you can walk over the arch of the stadium which ought to be a big draw card for tourists to visit the stadium.
I think the stadium is a great asset to Durban as it adds to the cities already impressive sporting assets. All in the same area one can find a Golf Course, a Rugby Stadium, and an Olympic Sized Swimming pool.
Durban also boasts a Warm Ocean. This too is within walking distance of the Stadium.
The stadium is named after “Moses Mabhida” who was prominent figure in the African National Congress (ANC). It will seat 69 000 people and will host 7 of the 2010 Soccer World Cup matches. Including one of the semi-finals.
View of the Durban Soccer World 2010 Cup Stadium.
View of the Durban World Cup Stadium 2010 at Night
General Information Addo Elephant National Park is located in an area that is free of malaria and just a one hour drive from Port Elizabeth city, which is located along the Garden Route. The Park as a whole is well known for its outstanding diversity – with a major variance of game viewing, adventures in the great outdoors, tourist accommodation and wonderful experiences of culture. A visit to the park gives the discerning visitor a unique insight into the wonderful flora and fauna of South Africa.
The Addo Park was originally set up in 1931 through the efforts of renowned naturalist Sydney Skaife, in response to the urgent need to provide sanctuary for the few remaining elephants in the Eastern Cape area here. Nowadays, there are over 450 elephants in the park, plus a large collection of wonderful native South African animals, from Cape Buffalo, Black Rhino, Antelopes such as the Springbok, and the unique flightless Dung Beetle that is to be found almost solely in the Addo National Park.
In recent years the original Addo Park has been expanded to include the Woody Cape Nature Reserve, which runs from the mouth of the Sundays River to Alexandria and a water reserve, which encompasses St Croix Island and Bird Island. The latter is an important breeding home to gannets and penguins. The planned expansion is part of the planning process to enlarge the present 1,640 km² Addo National Elephant Park into a 3,600 km² Greater Addo Elephant National Park.
This expansion will mean that the park will contain 5 of the 7 main vegetation zones of South Africa. More importantly, the park will probably be the only park in the world to contain the “Big Seven” of animal species: Elephants, Rhinos, Lion, Buffalo, Leopard, Whale and Great White Shark in their natural habitats.
The park also has a rich heritage of sites of that are important in the archaeolgy world.
Animals at Addo In total, the park is home to over 450 Elephants, nearly 50 Black Rhinos, and some wonderful species of Antelopes such as Red Hartebeest, Eland, Buschbuck, Gemsbok, Springbok, Buffalo and Black Wildebeest. Game species include Cape Mountain Sebras, Hyenas, Reedbucks, Baboons, Aardwolf and Red Rock Rabbits.
Very hot days at waterholes are best for viewing the elephants.
The early evening is the best time to see Black Rhino. Lions and Hyena are best spotted early morning or early evening.
Pets are not allowed into the park, and you are not allowed to feed the animals.
Accommodation at Addo It is possible to book accommodation at Park, similar to other National Parks around South Africa. There are two restcamps that are located within the park: • Addo Main Camp – close to the entrance gate, and offering over 60 units of accommodation to reserve. • Camp Matyholweni – located near the Eastern Cape town of Colchester, which is located along the N2, approximately under an hour’s drive from Main Camp.
It is also possible to reserve private Game Lodges at Addo National Park: • The Gorah Elephant Camp located within the park and containing luxurious tent camps. • Darlington Lake Lodge – positioned in the Darlington Dam area of the park. • River Bend Lodge – this is locatred in the Nyathi area of the park, with 8 rooms. • Nguni River Lodge – 8 luxurious suites with great views of the Zuurberg Mountains
There are other accommodation options available in the Great Addo Area, such as Private Game Reserves, B&Bs and Guesthouses.
Activities at the Park It is possible to organize hiking, horse trails, and arrange organized bird watching at the park. The main game area of the park has nearly 200 bird species. You can also partake in Discovery Trails of the area. If you take the trail between Kabouga and Darlington, you will learn all about the major battles that happened in the area between the British and Boer forces during the Anglo-Boer War in the early 20th Century.
Camp Facilities You can avail of the following facilities at the main rest camp: • Fuel refilling station which is open between 7am and 5pm • Restaurant and Shop • Picnic area for visitors • Public telephone and post box facilities • Post office and banking facilities located at Addo town, which is around 15km from the park. • Further facilities available at the town of Kirkwood (35km away) and Port Elizabeth (75km from the Park)
Opening and Closing Times of the Park • The park entrance gate is open from 7am to 7pm and is manned by security from 7pm to 7am. • Wildlife viewing area opens between 6am to 6pm in the summer and 7am to 5.30 in winter. • Climate is very hot in summer at Addo National Park and has been known to reach over 40 degrees celsius. • Winter days are generally mild but can be cold at night with some frost. Annual rainfalls is around 500mm.
Rainfall peaks are in March/April and September/October.
Directions to the National Park There are 3 ways you can reach Addo from Port Elizabeth:
• Take the N2 Highway to Grahamstown. Take the left turn that is signposted for the park. Go through Motherwell and this route is around 72km long and takes around an hour. • Take the N2 again to Grahamstown and continue forth until the N2 splits off to the left from the N10 road. Take the N10 then to Cookhouse. Then take the R342 to the left and follow the signs to the National Park. • Start off on the N2 to Grahamstown; pass by Coega Harbour on the right. Cross the Sunday River Bridge. Take a left at the signpost for “Camp Matyholweni” and follow for around 3km. At Camp Matyholweni follow the southern access road in the Park until you will get to the Main Camp. You will be travelling over a gravel public road, and it is around 40km from Port Elizabeth.
About the author:
John writes for Novacarhire.com – an independent car hire reservation website where you can book low cost car hire at over 5,000 locations worldwide.
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South Africa offers a medley of tourist attractions, with its sun kissed beaches, picturesque mountain ranges, and exciting wild life safaris. The top line attractions are many including the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town which is a place of entertainment as well as a historical site all rolled in one.
The Government Avenue in Cape Town has a line of heritage buildings, the South African Museum and the planetarium. The Boulders Beach is an abode of penguins, and they can be watched and enjoyed by tourists from a boardwalk. Kristenbosch National Botanical garden is another not-to-be-missed tourist spot with its collection of unique species of flowers and plants.
South Africa is home to numerous wildlife reserves and parks.
Addo Elephant National Park, Kruger National Park and Simangaliso Wetland Park are a few that can be mentioned. The Kwazulu natal battlefields bears testimony to the wars fought between the Zulus, Afrikaans, and the British. The Apartheid Museums in Johannesburg give the historical details of South Africa before 1994. Robben Island is one important places of historical importance, where Nelson Mandela and other fighters suffered imprisonment during their fight against apartheid.
South Africa is a land of multifarious activities for travelers.
The activities can range from surfing at Jeffry’s Bay near Port Elizabeth, bungee jumping from Bloukrans Bridge, to scuba diving at KwaZulu-Natal Coast. South Africa’s climate is generally moderate. However, there is wide variation between the northwestern part as well as the southern part. Light, loose cotton clothing is worn during most of the summer months. You should keep in mind that winters can be pretty cold.
Accommodation can be arranged in villas, private apartments, budget as well as luxurious hotels and guest houses. The national parks as well as towns do have facilities for camping and caravanning. South Africa is generally a peaceful country for tourists and travelers coming from other countries. You can be assured of a comprehensive holiday abundant with beautiful experiences in the lap of nature, enthralling glimpses of wildlife and exotic cuisine.
Internet has a storehouse of information on South African travel and tourism. An avid traveler would definitely find it entertaining as well as educative to gather as much information as possible from these resources. An informative travel website not only provides important tourist guidelines, but also helps the traveler in taking important decisions with regard to his travel planning and execution.
About the author:
AfricaPoint.com is your online Africa travel specialist, offering one stop travel booking service to a number of different African cities at affordable prices.
