Travel South African Holidays ONE of the minor reactions to
European unrest this year has nide itself apparent in the attitude of the travelling public. Most people who in more normal times would have taken their holidays in Europe have been turned aside in search- of countries where holidays are not shadowed by the menace of political disturbance. The present situation in Central Europe is certain to drive many travellers as far from the scenes of conflict as their time and their money will permit. Surely, then,this is a time for holidays within the Empire. And since-the chief reason for a winter holiday is to escape the gloom; the _rain, and the fogs which undoubtedly await us during the coming months, a country such as South Africa offers an answer to this problem of the winter holiday. South 4jrica provides sunshine, recreation, and a variety of interests alinost withOrd equal ; it can be reached in 14 days by steani- flxiP, or in 5 days by air ; geographically it ib so happily situated that warm sea-bathing is popular all the year round:- Best of all, perhaps, although the sunshine is almost continii-. oui, it lacks the intense heat which is so enervating to Euro: pearl's ; and apart from such considerations as these there is much to be said for a country that 'possesses so much which is unique. The Victoria Falls, he Premier Diamond Mine, the goldfields of the- Rand, the Zambabwe Ruins, and the Cango Caves, not to mention a wild game reserve "as large as Belgium, or the Bushmen, ethnologically the oldest of all surviving races of mankind.
The voyage to Capetown is in itself a holiday, and the first,sight of this city—a patch of white spread beneath Table Mountain—is something not easily forgotten.. South Africa is a country of many surprises to - the British visitor, and Capetown is South Africa in miniature. It is astonishingly cosmopolitan ; one sees in its streets a mingling of races which is amazing ; in the shops and hotels is a variety of strange fruits no less - astonishing ; and always one is aware of Table Mountain. The summit of the mountain may be reached by aerial cableway if one does not feel sufficiently energetic to reach it on foot, but whichever way one chooses the view from the summit and of the wealth of wild flowers on the slopes should not be missed. In Capetown they will tell you that you must drive one hundred miles around, the Peninsula ; and the advice is good, for the Marine Drive is justly famous, not only for the beauty of the Scenery but because of the extraordinary engineering feat which it repre- sents.
A very pleasant holiday might well be spent in and around Capetown, even if one went` no fiirther, but few British travellers are likely to be content to leave South Africa without seeing more of its natural wonders than Capetown and the Cape Peninsula. It is much more probable that these will produce an appetite for more. Most people will have fairly definite ideas of what they want to see, and to these I recommend the exCellent series of Tours which have been organised by the South African Government, particulars of which can be obtained, before starting, from the Publicity and Travel Bureau, South Africa House, London, W.C. 2. The tours range from twelve to twenty-six dap it inclusive prices, and motor tours are available from Capetown by private car with a chatiffeur. The independent traveller will find plenty of temptation to explore further afield ; the people of South Africa are justly proud of their country ; the visitor will be advised to go to Port Elizabeth, the second city of the Cape Province, and it is well worth a visit. Many go to Port Elizabeth to see the Snake Park near the centre of the city. Johannes, the most photographed native in Africa, is always prepared to exhibit his deadly charges to-visitors. He handles them with so little concern that they might be as harmless as old ropes. This- native, who has been bitten by many of the poisonous snakes bred in the Park, is living testimony that the anti-toxins here prepared from snake-poison, are, when administered in time, proof against the most deadly of African serpents, not that these are to be encountered except in the -desolate regions.
The Garden Route to Port Elizabeth includes country of great beauty, but beauty and grandeur await the traveller on every hand. Beyond Paarl on the journey northwards one passes through orchards set amidst great ranges of mountains, and a wonderful journey this is. From the summit of the Hex River Pass one looks down across the Great Karoo, a sheep country rather like the deserts of Arizona ; and so to Kimberley, where the famous Star of South Africa was ex- changed by a witch-doctor for a few cattle, and ultimately valued at £25,000. The Porter-Rhodes stone, valued at £6o,00o, was found in the Kimberley Mine near the centre of the city. Permission to visit the mines can be obtained from the various mining interests. A very real thrill will be found in watching those grease-covered tables over which water flows so continuously, for the diamonds adhere to the grease when the refuse has been washed -away. One should not leave Kimberley without seeing- the " Big Hole," the deepest man-made excavation in existence. From Kimberley one can travel comfortably to Johannesburg, where, in fifty years, gold to the value of £r,soo,coo,000 has been mined from the surrounding countryside.: From Johannesburg to Pretoria, the Administrative Capital of the Union, is a journey of an hour by car. The Mint,- a branch, by the way, Of the Royal Mint, began activity in 1923 and produces coins of silver and bronze. Twenty miles froth :Pretoria is the Premier Mine, from which, in _rno5, the Cullinin, the largest- known diamond was taken. The Victoria •Falls can be reathed via Mafeking and Bulawayo,- and a visit should be made to the lonely grave of Cecil Rhodes, in the 'Matopo Hills. The motor run is 27 miles and passes the Matopo Dam. Froni Bulawayo to Victoria Falls is 28o miles, but the roar of the Falls is heard long before reaching them. The sight of the Zambesi River plunging into one of the most majestic chasms imaginable can scarcely be exaggerated and never forgotten. Neither fences nor barriers exist : those viewing the Falls today see them as Livingstone saw them.
Lest the visitor should be alarmed at the long distances between some of these, places of interest, it may be mentioned in passing that railway travel in south Africa is both com- fortable and cheap : for instance, a first-class return ticket from Capetown to Johannesburg costs only LI2 17s., and a day's meals but 7s. 6d. Hotels in the larger towns offer good accommodation from its. 6d. to 35s. a day. Golf enthusiasts will find no lack of good and inexpensive golfing. The Royal Johannesburg, the Royal Durban Golf Club, the Royal Cape, and hundreds of others provide excellent courses and welcome visitors. Fishermen have so wide a choice that no holiday will be long enough : they can enjoy big-game fishing at Durban and elsewhere, or river and lake fishing in more inland waters. Special mention may here be made of the Natal trout streams in the Drakensburg Range and the brown and rainbow trout to be found in the Cape Province ; but visitors will find plenty of strange fish, both large and small to provide sport for their rods. The largest of the game reserves is, of course, the Kruger National Park, a huge area containing practically all species of South African fauna in their natural conditions, from elephants in the section north of Olifants River, to lions, giraffes, and countless antelopes in 'the southern section, while hippopotami -and crocodiles arc to be seen in the rivers. There are 800 miles of good motor roads within the park and well equipped rest camps for the convenience of •visitors. South Africa is not the primitive country of fifty years ago ; comfortable living conditions are no longer a novelty within the Union ; nor is it to be regarded as a country which requires a heavy purse and unlimited leisure. If you would- escape the worry of -war and the November fogs of London, remember that South African sunshine is only. four and a- half days distant. - - G. B.
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