South Africa Hotel

Places & Activities

Activities
Adventure Sports   |   General Sports   |   Shopping Trips and Rides and Trails   |   Water Activities   |   Wildlife Activities
Attractions
Cultural / Historic / Religious   |   Educational Entertainment Leisure   |   Nature Attractions

Shopping

South Africa evokes images of sea, sun, mountains, African culture and game parks, but not everyone realises that it’s also a prime shopping destination.

Local industries in all sectors are thriving, and the country produces an array of unique artefacts, textiles, jewellery, leather goods and crafts. Stock up on delicious local beverages, cheeses, dried fruits, sweetmeats and honey, which comes infused with delicate fragrances from orange blossom to eucalyptus.

There is no shortage of covetable goods to take home as a reminder of an unforgettable holiday. (Not to mention the reasonable prices and tourist-friendly exchange rate).

Art, crafts and curios
South Africa is a rich source of beauty and has inspired artists in all mediums, as well as empowering local craftspeople to produce beautiful goods.

Regional art galleries display the best of local talent and will offer advice on buying South African art as an aesthetic and financial investment. The National Arts Trust helps communities to develop their unique traditional skills, using local materials and labour to create objects that add interest and appeal to homes all over the world.

Local craftspeople are frequently in attendance in craft markets where you can spend hours choosing rotund polished hippos, intricate beadwork, stately wooden giraffes and a plethora of other sculpted objets d’art made from colourful beads, gemstones, wood, leather, grasses, fabric and metal.

In Cape Town visit Greenmarket Square, an open market in a cobbled city square selling just about everything. At the V&A Waterfront the Red Shed Craft Workshop is a vast indoor craft market where items are designed and made to order. On Sundays there is a weekly market on the green in scenic Hout Bay.

In Durban artful creations can be found in the old station building, where the African Art Centre promotes the work of local artists. At the innovative harbour Bat Centre, artists and crafters work on-site in studios and sell high-quality decorative items. In the city centre, a wander along Grey Street and the adjoining Victoria Street Market transports the visitor to an exotic place redolent with incense and spices.

In Johannesburg local culture abounds at the African Craft Market in Rosebank, where traders from all parts of the continent compete with each other to charm shoppers with their exquisitely fashioned goods. On Sundays and public holidays the roof of the adjoining shopping centre becomes the popular Rosebank Rooftop Market, selling arts, crafts, consumer goods and foodstuffs. The pick of local wares are also sold by their makers at the roadside, in the central areas of cities and on the scenic routes leading to the country’s many game parks.

Clothing
South Africa’s national fashion schools have begun producing designers of exceptional talent. Look for items by Hip-Hop, Stoned Cherrie, Black Coffee, India Jane, Gideon, Julian, The Boys, Errol Arendz, Jenni Button, Marianne Fassler, Gert van der Merwe, Sun Godd’ess, Juanita Pacheco. You’ll be the toast of any society event back home.

Textiles are also of superb quality, so if you have space, wedge a bolt or two of fine fabric into your luggage allowance – delicate sari material glittering with gold thread, perhaps, or a few lengths of printed cotton bearing, among other quirky African designs, Nelson Mandela’s portrait.

Décor
The last decade or so has seen an explosion in the home accessory and interior design trade, and South Africa’s design industry competes with the very best in the world. From traditional to contemporary, from furniture to crockery and cutlery, a few touches of South African style make any home stand out from the rest. Look for leather furniture and home accessories, pewter implements, paper mache bowls, woven place settings, carved wooden lamps and receptacles, ceramics of all shapes, hues and sizes, embroidered linen, eclectic picture frames and stained-glass light fixtures.

Jewellery
South Africa produces some of the world’s best-quality precious metals and gemstones and has some of the world’s most skilled stonecutters, polishers and jewellery designers. There is a wide choice of finely crafted jewellery to buy as gifts and mementoes. If you’re after glittering diamonds, gold, silver or platinum, this is the place for you. Learn more about these treasures by visiting the diamond mines in Kimberley or Cullinan, the gold mine at Gold Reef City or the charming town of Pilgrim’s Rest, rich in mineral wealth.

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