I recently visited Cape Town for the second time during my 2024 African Travel Campaign, as I absolutely love this place. It has exotic beaches, vibrant nightlife, excellent cuisines and a diverse population with native African, European and Asian influences: https://www.capetown.travel/
The history of South Africa is complicated, which involves the arrival of different European colonists and their clashes with the native African populations: http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext...
South Africa is rich in mineral resources; including gold, platinum, titanium and diamonds, among others. South Africa is the world's 5th-largest producer of diamonds. These rich mineral resources were one of the major draws of the white settlers to take over the region:
The country's history includes that of Apartheid, a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa and present-day Namibia (formerly a part of South Africa), from 1948 to the early 1990s. Nelson Mandela, the country's first Black President was elected in 1994 and led the country until 1999. He led a nation that was deeply divided by race, culture and politics and made great strides to unite the people. One key move he made was promoting the Springboks, the national rugby team, in an effort to bring people together and encourage national pride with sport: https://www.sarugby.co.za/
Shortly after Mandela became President, the Springboks won their first World Cup. The Springboks most recently won the World Cup last year, after defeating New Zealand, to earn their 4th World Cup title, more than any other country. The success of the Springboks and the unity that the team has helped to encourage by bringing South Africans together, can widely be attributed to Mandela's early efforts to build and promote the team. A film adaptation was created with the Hollywood movie, Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, which elaborates on this:
Dubbed the "Rainbow Nation," South Africa is now a member of the major economic bloc, BRICS, and has the 3rd-largest economy in Africa. South Africa's GDP in 2023 was $405.71 billion. The country has about 16 million people: https://businessday.ng/.../africas-powerhouses-10.../
Not to sound racist or ethnocentric, but it's fair to give some credit to the British and Dutch influences that have helped to make South Africa the developed and respected nation that it is today. This fact, along with the other influences from Africa, Asia and elsewhere, help the country live up to its "Rainbow Nation" name and makes it a welcome place that everyone can enjoy.
Cape Town has many attractions; including Camps Bay, V&A Waterfront, Lion's Head & Table View mountains, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Two Oceans Aquarium and many others. I recommend both Big Bus routes:
I enjoyed revisiting Cape Town, catching up with my friend, Leslie, and recovering my drone from him that I lost back in 2018. Fortunately, I had put one of my stickers on the drone with my website, so someone was able to contact me about it after they found it. During my revisit, I explored Camps Bay, Mouille Point and I went back to Seaside Village and spent some time at the Blue Peter Hotel & Restaurant, same place I welcomed the New Year in 2019 after I lost my drone.
I highly recommend Cape Town, it is a wonderful place.⛯