The Mother City is an old soul. It is interesting to note that Cape Town is the oldest city in SA. As the oldest city, it would only be natural that it can claim “oldest” for a lot of spots:
- Oldest building – Castle of Good Hope built between 1666 and 1679. A cool fact is that it was built from granite obtained from Signal Hill.
- Oldest garden – The Company’s Garden was established in 1652 originally as a vegetable garden to feed hungry sailors.
- Oldest Wine Farm – Groot Constantia was established in 1685.
- Oldest Pub – It’s a bit of a toss-up. Some claim that Bathurst’s Pig and Whistle in the Eastern Cape is the oldest pub in SA, whereas others claim it’s Perseverance Tavern in Cape Town.
The oldest mountains in SA are the Makhonjwa Barberton Mountains in Barberton, Mpumalanga, aged more than 3.6 billion years old.
The big pineapple in Bathurst, Eastern Cape – Known as the Pineapple Capital of South Africa, Bathurst houses the largest artificial pineapple in the world standing at approximately 16.7 metres tall.
The Shoe House, 20km north of Ohrigstad in Mpumalanga, it houses a small museum that highlights the history of the Ohringstad Valley.
The Goat Tower at Fairview Cheese & Wine Farm, Paarl, Western Cape – a novel tower structure with shaggy goats making their way up.
The giant post box in Calvinia, Northern Cape – originally built as a water tower, it stands at just over 6 metres tall.
The giant red chair in Robertson, Western Cape – it’s approximately 9 metres tall and known to be the largest chair of its kind on the continent.
Adam’s Calendar in Kaapsche Hoop, Mpumalanga – Adam’s Calendar is believed to the oldest man-made structure on earth. It is a series of stones that remains an accurate monolithic calendar.