CAPE TOWN

Cape Town is one of the world's most beautifully situated cities, and South Africa's oldest metropolis (dating back to the mid-seventeenth century). Not surprisingly it has seen the growth of a considerable local film industry since the end of apartheid. The oldest part of Cape Town lies on Table Bay -- beneath an amphitheatre formed by Table Mountain, Signal Hill and Devil's Peak -- and at the head of a mountainous peninsula that ends in the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. The winelands of the Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek areas are an easy drive. The conference programme will allow for both organised and informal excursions to local places of interest such as Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela spent many years in prison).

Cape Town and its environs offers the visitor a wealth of fascinating expeditions both scenic and cultural.

The city's history is evident in the variety of cultural sites in and around the city. The Castle, representative of Cape Town's earliest colonialists, the Dutch, is today surrounded by built structures reflecting the Victorian, and Edwardian eras, as well as the modem influences of Art Deco and the revival of the Waterfront area.

Two sites are synonymous with Cape Town's recent political past: District Six - the touchstone of forced removals during the apartheid era (District Six Museum www.districtsix.co.za) and Robben Island - the island in Table Bay where political prisoners were incarcerated, most famously Nelson Mandela (www.robben-island.org.za)

There are many other museums, galleries and cultural sites in Cape Town (www.museums.org.za/iziko) which are within easy walking distance of the city centre: The South African Jewish Museum and Holocaust Memorial (www.sajewishmuseum.co.za); The South African National Gallery; The Planetarium, as well as many other privately owned galleries.

Closer to the University, there are also several places of interest. The memorial to Cecil John Rhodes stands imperiously on the slopes of Table Mountain, a brisk uphill walk from the University; South Africa' s oldest research facility, the South African Astronomical Observatory, is a five-minute drive from UCT (www.saao.ac.za); and the Irma Stem Museum is close to middle campus (www.museums.org.za/irmastern/irmastern.htm).

The world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens display the remarkable variety of flora and fauna of the Table Mountain region. You can take a walk around the gardens or, if you're feeling energetic and the weather is clear, you can climb up Table Mountain through the ravines leading up from the gardens (www.nbi.ac.za or www.kirstenbosch.org.za).

Cape Town is also one of the world's most important wine-growing regions and there are hundreds of estates within easy driving distance of Cape Town. Paarl, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Helderberg and even Cape Town itself have wine routes which are easily navigable.