CAPETOWN
"...where we dare to climb the highest peak of the mountain top"
Following a peace agreement between Britain and France, the Dutch were given "the cape" for settlement in 1802. Approximately 3 years later the British overthrew the Dutch and began development and transformed the city to "Cape town". As in the rest of the British empire, slaves - estimated to be around 39,000 in number - were emancipated in 1834. This led to the establishment of the Bo-kaap by a Muslim community after being freed. In 1948, the National party formed its policy for racial segregation, later known as apartheid. Hours after Nelson Mandela was released from prison in February 1990, he made his first public speech from the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall, heralding the beginning of a new South Africa.
johannesburg
"...a city of gold known as the world's largest man-made forest"
During the gold rush in 1882, Johannesburg was founded and nick named, "city of gold". As the capital of Gauteng Province in South Africa. It is known as the second biggest city in Africa. From 1893 until today, Johannesburg has been the power of the South African stock exchange and the country's financial heartland. After the discovery of gold, colonials joined Indians trekking from the sugar fields of Natal in search of a bigger life. Cape coloreds, Chinese, Jews and Artisans from the Americas all flocked into South Africa, taking up higher echelon positions in the city of Johannesburg. Today, Johannesburg is the world's largest man-made forest to promote the greenhouse effect and reduce noise in the city's "urban jungle".
the garden route
"...a breath-taking drive of the most beautiful combination of scenic mountains and the Indian ocean"