RATANGA JUNCTIONCovering 20 ha, Ratanga Junction is Africa’s first entertainment theme park. While some of the more than 30 rides are suitable for families with children, the most heart-stopping ones are not for the faint-hearted. The Cobra 5 speeds along at 100 km an hour on a suspended looping coaster, while Monkey Falls is one of the highest log flumes in the world. Other rides for the wild at heart include the Diamond Devil Run (a runaway train), the Congo Queen (a swinging boat ride) and a wild white-water raft ride down Crocodile Gorge.
There is a variety of theme restaurants, as well as live entertainment. Adjoining Ratanga Junction is Canal Walk 3, a giant shopping mall featuring cinemas, restaurants, live entertainment and the MTN Science Centre, and which together with Ratanga Junction, forms part of the Century City complex. |
DURBANVILLE WINE ROUTESituated in one of the coolest wine-growing areas in South Africa, the Durbanville Wine Route enjoys one of the best climates for the production of wine in South Africa. Although wines have been produced by farms in the Durbanville area since the days of the Dutch East India Company, it was not until 1990 that the Durbanville Wine Trust was established to promote the region and its wines.
Nestling on the slopes of the Tygerberg Hills, Durbanville is one of South Africa’s smallest wine routes. It consists of seven estates and 11 farms producing high-quality grapes for other wineries and cellars. |
ALTYDGEDACHTOriginally named De Tygerbergen, this farm on the slopes of the Tygerberg Hills was granted in 1689 to Elsie van Suurwaarde, the wife of an official of the Dutch East India Company. It was renamed Altydgedacht in 1826. One of the oldest wine farms in the Cape, the estate has been producing wine under its own label since 1985. A variety of excellent red and white wines are produced, among them merlot, shiraz, pinotage and sauvignon blanc. |
BLOEMENDAL...lies between Kanonkop and the Tygerberg Hills and enjoys superb views over the Peninsula and Table Mountain 1. The south-facing slopes of Kanonkop are planted mainly under white grape varieties, while the north-facing slopes of the Tygerberg Hills are ideally suited to reds 2. The estate has been producing wines under its own label since 1987, and is renowned for its bottle-fermented dry sparkling wine and port. Wines bottled under the estate’s label include sauvignon blanc, semillon, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. |
NITIDA CELLARS...is named after waboom trees (Protea nitida) which once grew in profusion on the slopes of Kanonkop. The cellar lies on the farm Maasspruit, bought in 1990 by Bernhard and Peta Veller, and produced its first wine, a sauvignon blanc, in 1995. The range includes pinotage, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. |
DURBANVILLE...is a popular northern suburbs residential area with a country atmosphere. Originally named Pampoenkraal (Pumpkin Corral), the settlement was later renamed D’Urban after the Cape governor, Sir Benjamin D’Urban. To avoid confusion with Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, the name was later changed to Durbanville.
Attractions include the Durbanville Rose Garden and Onze Molen, one of only two existing windmills in Cape Town. The Oude Meester art collection and ceramics by South African artists are displayed in Rust-en-Vrede, a beautiful Cape Dutch mansion dating back to 1850. |
DIEMERSDAL...dates back to 1698 when it was granted to Hendrik Sneewind, and owes its name to a Captain Diemer, who married Sneewind’s widow. In the 1920s, the farm switched from wheat to wine, and the estate has a long-standing reputation for its excellent red wines. However, until 1986 the farm sold all its production in bulk to the KWV, and the first wine to be bottled under the Diemersdal label was a 1987 vintage dry red. Wines bottled under the Diemersdal label include cabernet sauvignon, pinotage, shiraz and sauvignon blanc. |
MEERENDAL...was granted to Jan Meerland in 1702, and 14 years later vineyards were already established. The focal point of the estate is its gracious Cape Dutch manor house. When the estate was acquired by the Starke family in 1929 it was a wheat farm, but in the 1940s the focus changed to wine farming and a range of red wine varietals was planted. The first wines bottled under Meerendal’s own name were the 1969 pinotage and shiraz, and now include cabernet sauvignon, merlot, a red blend and some whites. The wines are matured and bottled on the estate. |
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