CLIMATE
Nestled between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, Cape Town enjoys mild winters and pleasant summers.
Summer temperatures in December to February range from around 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit), whilst in the winter months of June to August average temperatures are between 7 to 20 degrees Celsius (45 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit).
Rainfall is moderate throughout the year and there are refreshing sea breezes.
HISTORY
Cape Town is a unique city ,a blend of Asia and Europe in Africa. It is dominated by, and owes its existence to, the steep and gnarled slopes of Table Mountain that tower 1000m above the sea, surrounding it on three sides. A sandstone soil and small mountain streams gave life to prehistoric people and animals living on its slopes. The City also attracted sailors and farmers of the trading nations and today the city has a population of 3 million people descended from every corner of the world.
The first people in Cape Town were the Bushmen (San)and the Hottentot, the former being nomadic hunter-gatherers and the later cattle farmers. Both suffered from the European settlements and have all but disappeared in modern times. The first Europeans to land in the Cape, were the Portuguese in 1488. Bartholomew Diaz first named it Cabo Tormentosa (Bay of Storms) due to the ferocious storms that would mean the end of many a ship in future times.
Several years later, Sir Francis Drake saw it in much better light; "This Cape is a most stately thing, and the fairest Cape in the whole circumference of the earth." This gave rise to another name - the Fairest Cape, one that has stuck.
The first Dutch settlers arrived in 1652 to establish a port for ships travelling from the East back to Europe. Jan van Riebeeck's fort can still be seen today, though it is called the Castle of Good Hope. The French Huguenots, who had been driven from France because of their religious convictions, arrived in the Cape in the 17th Century. They settled in the Cape Province and towns like Franschoek with historic vineyards and estates reflect their valuable contribution to the Cape.
In the twentieth century, Cape Town's harbour became busier than ever. Simon's Town was transformed into a naval base. The politically dark years of Apartheid and ensuing economic sanctions hit Cape Town's shipping industry hard, but following the 1994 elections, business has been picking up and cruise liners are regularly seen docking in the harbour. With the waterfront development, Cape Town's harbour has become not only known for shipping, but also for its entertainment and shopping value.
The highly successful development of complexes such as the V&A Waterfront, followed, many new hotels and the refurbishment of traditional attractions, such as the Cable Car, Kirstenbosch Gardens and Cape Point, have positioned the city as one of the world's prime tourist destinations and an important growth point in Southern Africa.
Cape Town / Pinelands area
The "garden city" suburb of Pinelands is located on the edge of the southern suburbs of Cape Town in South Africa and is known for its large thatched houses. The suburb is primarily residential and is often praised for its peacefulness and abundance of trees. The main road is called Forest Drive and the suburb contains two small shopping centres, namely Howard Centre and Central Square. Pinelands is served by two railway stations: Pinelands Station on the western edge of the suburb and Mutual Station on the northern edge. The suburb is bisected from the north east to the south west by the Elsieskraal River.
The layout of Pinelands is based on the revolutionary town planning ideas of Sir Ebenezer Howard, and was the first attempt at a town-planned area in South Africa. Pinelands was originally a Victorian era farm named Uitvlugt that had thousands of pine trees planted in it.
Pinelands is a mainly English-speaking white community, with smaller numbers of white Afrikaans people living there.
Many of the road names in Pinelands have originated from local history or from places in England. One road is named Uitvlugt after the farm of the same name that covered what is now Pinelands and there are roads are named Letchworth and Welwyn after the first two garden cities in England. There are also roads in Pinelands named after places in the Lake District in England, as well as the names of birds, trees and flowers.