"Cape Town, South Africa" a Cape Town Travel Page by JohanIsWeg

CAPE Town means different things to me. South Africa's mother city was where my father studied - at famous Stellenbosch University - and ascended to the lofty post of SRC chairman. So, to me, it was the father city.

In honour of him, I rabidly supported the Maties at the annual Easter Club Rugby Championship in Durban; the Stellenbosch student rugby team – resplendent in maroon - seldom disappointed.

Conversely, Cape Town also represented the "enemy", in the form of the “Streeptruie” (banded jumper) - Western Province's rugby team. I supported the "black and white is dynamite" team from Natal.

The Western Province represented the south in the inevitable “north versus south” struggle. It was a British Colony, where the Northern provinces of Transvaal and Free State embodied the search for freedom and independence.

While this juvenile dichotomy may mean nothing to people who don't know me, it stands as perfect symbol for the natural beauty of this port city - set in one of the most dramatic geographic landscapes in the world!

You have the warm Indian Ocean rolling in from the east, brutally colliding with the cold Atlantic waters from the west. Escaping from the tempestuous union of these contrasting bodies of water, mountains rear from the foaming waves - reaching for the azure skies in celebration of their rugged beauty.

Fauna and flora further decorate the craggy canvas to produce an environment impenitently expressing the unadulterated joy of existence.

Cape Town is the story of Phoenician and Arab adventurers foundering in storms off the peninsula; of Khoesan beachcombers searching for seafood; of Europe's unquenchable hunger for eastern spices; of wars between powerful naval nations; of a young culture yearning for liberty.