Western Cape: Limietberg Nature Reserve closed until further notice! [update]

update (29 February 2024): CapeNature has announced that Limietberg Nature Reserve will be closed till 04 March 2024 due to fires.

CapeNature, the public institution with the responsibility for biodiversity conservation in South Africa's Western Cape has announced that the Limietberg Nature Reserve is closed due to a fire until further notice. The Nature Reserve is located in the Du Toitskloof Mountains, near Paarl. It stretches from Franschhoek in the south towards Groot Drakenstein in the east and northwards as far as the Voëlvlei dam, covering an area of some 117 000 hectares.
Limietberg Nature Reserve is home to small antelope, baboon, caracal, leopard, endemic birds such as the Cape sugarbird and the protea canary, as well as the majestic black eagle. The reserve offers some great hiking trails. Visitors can also visit the many historical sites along the trails, including ancient rock art, a disused manganese mine and the graves of convicts who helped build the Bainskloof Pass.

Rugby: South Africa to host next two World Rugby U20 Championships!

World Rugby and South African Rugby (SA Rugby) have confirmed that South Africa will host the next two editions of the World Rugby U20 Championship, in 2023 and 2024, while Kenya is set to host the U20 Trophy in 2023.
The World Rugby U20 Championship 2023 will take place from 24 Jun 2023 to 14 July 2023 and will be played over five match days in Stellenbosch, Paarl and Wellington, with the world’s best 12 U20 teams staying in Cape Town. The participating teams are: France, Wales, New Zealand, Japan (Pool A), Australia, England, Ireland, Fiji (Pool B), South Africa, Argentina, Italy and Georgia (Pool C).

Pool matches:

• Match day 1: Saturday 24 June 2023
• Match day 2: Thursday 29 June 2023
• Match day 3: Tuesday 4 July 2023

Knock-out matches:

• Match day 4: Sunday 9 July 2023
• Match day 5 (final): Friday 14 July 2023

Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

The U20 Trophy, which will be contested by eight teams, will be hosted at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 July 2023 to 30 July 2023. The participating teams are: Scotland (relegated from the U20 Championship in 2019), Kenya (hosts), Hong Kong (Asia), Samoa (Oceania), Spain (Europe), Uruguay (South America) and two teams still to qualify through regional competition from North America and Africa.

Western Cape: Limietberg Nature Reserve temporarily closed due to adverse weather conditions!

CapeNature, the public institution with the statutory responsibility for biodiversity conservation in South Africa's Western Cape, just announced that due to adverse weather expected over the next few days the Limietberg Nature Reserve, including all hiking trails, has been closed to the public from this afternoon (23 July 2019) until 24 July 2019 and will re-open on 25 July 2019.
Limietberg Nature Reserve is located in the Du Toitskloof Mountains near Paarl. The World Heritage Site stretches from Franschhoek in the south, eastwards towards Groot Drakenstein, and northwards as far as Voëlvlei Dam. Limietberg Nature Reserve is known for its beautiful hikes through steep kloofs and deep valleys.

The basics of wine in South Africa (video)

South Africa's winelands, the oldest in the so-called new world, are among the most popular tourist destinations in the whole country. The heart of the winelands in South Africa is the Western Cape, particularly the southwest corner of the province near its coastal region. The area, known for towns like Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, with its long, sun-drenched summers and mild, wet winters, has ideal conditions for a wine industry combining the classicism of the Old World with the contemporary fruit-driven styles of the New World. But it is not only the climate of the winelands, it is also the soil and the unique geography which includes several inland mountain chains and valleys, that is making South African wine so outstandingly good and popular worldwide.
Travellers who are planning to visit the winelands and its historic towns will find the following videos, produced by South African Tourism, quite helpful and interesting as they provide a very good introduction to the wines of South Africa. Enjoy!