Cape Town to feature in prominent UK travel show

The light in Cape Town blew Rajan Datar's mind! As a presenter for The Travel Show on BBC World News he has travelled to over fifty countries, but he still shook his head in awe at our magnificent light.

He was also astonished at how incredibly friendly, relaxed and open South Africans are, and by how lucky he was to meet a huge Nile crocodile, literally nose to snout.

Post democracy and Nelson Mandela, South Africa was high up on Rajan's destination wish list so he was delighted to finally make it here to film a new episode of The Travel Show, airing on BBC World News as part of their South Africa Direct season in April.

Rajan chooses to travel by engaging with local people, hoping that his show will give a flavour to what it's like to be in South Africa, to be a South African, and to get to the essence of our country and its people.

Instead of focusing on the main sightseeing attractions, although he does climb Table Mountain, he goes off the beaten track, using public transport, eating in local restaurants and joining in local activities, rather than just observing.

He uses a combination of taxis, buses and his own feet to explore the inner city by day, and the townships by night. Townships are an integral part of Cape Town, and while most visitors choose to laze on the beach, sip wine at the vineyards (I would do this ), see the penguins and admire the flowers (I would do this too!), Rajan gets down to the core of the Cape.

The exciting. The interesting. The diverse.

I had to ask the question about safety, especially when he talks about the Night City Bus.

Never a moment of fear, he says.

Of course, he is a seasoned traveler and has been to some of the most dangerous places in the world, but he is clear that in Cape Town he had no reason to feel anxious.

What he finds on his journey are people who are incredibly articulate, a city that is finding its identity in a largely positive way, and people who are living without the fears of the past.

He finds people who are making a tremendous effort to make things work.

A highlight of his trip was a visit to the Afrikaans town of Belville, where he meets up and plays with a heavy metal band, playing Zef Music.

Zef is a modern kind of Afrikaans rock music, one where the musicians have no issue with expressing their generation's identity.

Die Antwoord play Zef Music, and we all know Die Antwoord, even if we don't all know Zef Music.

We should. It's different. It's worth listening to. It's worth joining in with, if we can.

Rajan and his crew also travel from Cape Town, on the local Baz Bus, to Knysna, chatting to fellow travelers, stopping in small towns along the way, taking in the beauty.

They may not have done a traditional safari where they could see lion and elephant, but they did go cage diving with Nile Crocodiles in Oudtshoorn, and met the Baboon Whisperer in Knysna. A great way to see our wildlife!

When I asked Rajan what his favourite part of the country was, he replied My interactions.

Yes, we have beautiful landscapes and architecture, magnificent beach and forest, but also people with unique life stories.

How nice to listen to such stories, with magnificent mountains as a backdrop! As he says It's often the journey, not the sights, where you get the best experiences.

Travellers today can find all the information they need on a city on the Internet. The top ten places of beauty, the best beaches, the best restaurants.

It's easy.

What they can't find on the net is the holistic experience.

The Travel Show hopes to give this to its viewers - a real flavor of what life is like in South Africa. Watch it.

See the South African edition of The Travel Show on BBC World News (DStv channel 400) on Saturday 26th April at 15.30 & 20.30 and Sunday 27th April at 08.30

http://www.news24.com

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