by Alison Westwood

It took me a long time to get to Sun City. About twenty years, in fact. Growing up in Johannesburg, less than two hours away, I could never quite get the idea of this fantastic fairyland out of my mind. I could also never persuade my parents to take me there.

Sun City is entirely unnatural. It's an oasis of rainforests and swimming pools, golf courses and high rise hotels in a scrubby semi-desert in the middle of nowhere. It's also the product of the unnatural state of South African politics in the past.

A loophole that sprouted a legend

Sun City was built during the apartheid years as a place where wealthy South Africans could go to lose money legally. Gambling wasn't allowed in South Africa in the old days. Sun City was actually outside the country back then, in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana (a favourite word in spelling contests).

But gambling isn't Sun City's only attraction - not by a long way. And at last I was on my way there. Kaashifa and I picked up our car from the airport in Johannesburg and merrily started on what we were assured was at most a two hour drive.

Owing to a bad map and our even worse navigational skills, the Lost City threatened to remain just that, but after several interesting detours and a disappointing encounter with a chicken pie, we found the right road.

We knew this because even though there was only empty farmland as far as we could see, all the street lamps suddenly sprouted adverts for golfing magazines, and billboards lined the road. We reached the entrance to Sun City - with no less than eight lanes feeding into its huge maw - and drove straight past.

A walk in the park

This wasn't more spectacularly bad navigation. We were scheduled to stay in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve first. I don't know for sure if Sol Kerzner, the magnate behind Sun City, had a hand in arranging it, but it must be rather nice for him to have one of the best national parks in South Africa right on his doorstep.

About ten minutes down the road, we turned into the Pilanesberg Park gate and drove to Bakubung Lodge to catch a transfer to Tshukudu. This would be Kaashifa's very first safari and she was incredibly excited about seeing animals.

Kaashifa's excitement was infectious. Before our first game drive, we sat on the viewing deck of the lodge, with its incredible sweeping view over golden plains and humpy hills, and took turns peering through the telescope.

Who's who in the zoo

"Look! It's a rhino!" exclaimed Kaashifa when it was her turn. She pointed enthusiastically towards the waterhole below the lodge. Kaashifa's idea of a rhinoceros must have been a bit vague, to tell the truth. Instead of a two-ton monster with horns, what she was pointing at was a two foot high creature with tusks. In other words, a warthog.

You'll be happy to know that Kaashifa had the last laugh, however. During our very brief stay in the Pilanesberg, we saw no fewer than 42 rhinoceros, all of them very much of the monstrous kind, and two of them even of the rare black variety. We spotted only five warthogs.

Kaashifa was not disappointed in her desire to see the other animals either. Although some of the Pilanesberg's elephants were killed in a bad fire in 2005, we saw four different herds of elephants in only two game drives, all of them close by.

We saw two young male lions pouncing on one another at a giraffe carcass, ten very much alive giraffe strolling across the road in front of us, eight happy hippos, seven red hartebeest, four languid terrapins, three black-backed jackals, one leopard (in the distance), an ancient tortoise, half a buffalo (we thought it was a buffalo but our ranger didn't see it) and a slightly squashed puff adder.

After this healthy serving of wildlife, a memorable bath in Tshukudu's sunken tub, and rather too much food, we were finally ready for the City.

Bright Lights, Big City

The first thing we did when we got to Sun City was get lost. Granted, it's not quite the size of a real city and its road system is incredibly simple (there is only one road), but it's still bewilderingly big to a first-timer. When we found our hotel we decided to see if we could use our new map to find the Valley of the Waves.

Sun City is probably the one place in Africa where you can feel completely inconspicuous looking like a tourist: walking around with a map in one hand and a camera in another, wearing gaudy beach clothes and not-quite-rubbed-in sun tan lotion. It was a novel experience, and one that I shall remember fondly.

I also won't forget the Valley of the Waves in a hurry. This wasn't so much for the promised Waves, though, which weren't quite as big as the real ones we get in Cape Town. What really impressed me were the waterslides. We found five, each with spine-chilling names like the Tarantula, the Mamba and the Slide of Courage.

The Slide of Courage is so called because it's an almost vertical drop of at least 20 metres that you have to launch yourself off. You come to a skidding halt at the bottom three seconds later with a trail of spray, a hoarse throat, and a wedgie.

Kaashifa and I tried every slide, running up the stairs like hyperactive children. It struck me that if I ever did have hyperactive children, this would be the first place I would bring them on holiday. I could lounge around on the beach nearby and let them wear themselves out quite happily. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to miss out on the fun.

Our first day at Sun City ended with dinner at a restaurant next to a huge, blue swimming pool, which could only be reached by crossing little arched bridges. Despite the temptations of bars and nightclubs and (gasp!) gambling, Kaashifa and I opted for an early night. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

Living large

A big day calls for a big breakfast and there are few places anywhere that offer one of the kind you find at Sun City. I never dreamt that some of the things I saw on the buffet even qualified as breakfast. Fortunately, everything I ever did think of as breakfast was there too, including custom-made smoothies and the most delicious little chocolate croissants.

Dragging our bellies away from the breakfast table, Kaashifa and I went to meet the only creatures that weighed more than we now did.

Pilanesberg Elephant Back Safaris have been in operation since 2002, but the group has pioneered Elephant Back safaris since the 70s, and they really know their elephants. Our guide described each of the six elephant's life stories, accomplishments and personalities with the affection of a parent. Unfortunately, I was somewhat distracted by the fact that a baby elephant was trying to climb up the staircase and into the lapa where we were standing.

"No! No! Naughty Lesego!" chided the guide, going over and shoving the baby elly back down the stairs (no mean feat when you realize that even a tiny elephant weighs at least 220 pounds). Then he gave the naughty elephant a paddy whack - just like my dad used to give me - and it retorted with a rude trumpeting sound.

Now we were ready to feed the elephants, or at least, our guide told us we were. Looking at these massive animals towering over us, we didn't feel that ready... especially when we were told that the best way to feed them would be to put the food right into their mouths.

I can highly recommend an elephant's tea party. Once we had overcome our initial shyness, we couldn't shovel food into their mouths fast enough. All too soon, their lunch was over and they slowly plodded away into the bush.

Swept off my feet

Our next adventure was innocuously billed as the Zip Slide. I knew nothing about this ride at all, and assumed it would be something mildly scary involving a reasonable amount of heights. So I was in no way mentally prepared for The Platform.

I'm going to spare you the same error by telling you what to expect. Billed as the highest, longest and fastest Zip Line in the world, the Pronutro Zip 2000 at Sun City involves being hooked to a pulley 280 metres up a steep hill and sent down two kilometres of steel cable, usually reaching speeds of 120 km/hour. Most (presumably insane) people go down in pairs to increase their speed. From The Platform, you can barely see the landing point. All you can see is a very thin wire disappearing down, down, down into the distance and a very big, very empty space.

"So tell me... what's your safety record like?" I said when my desire to gibber had almost passed. "Nobody's ever died doing this," one of the crew told me, blithely tying straps and clipping clasps. I glared at him. "Nobody's been injured at all," he assured me hurriedly, sensing my mood. "The only incident we ever had was when someone got a splinter from that railing you're leaning on - but that was before we varnished it."

Slightly reassured by this and shamed into bravery by the fact that the person who went before me was only seven and had managed just fine, I allowed myself to be hung up like a human missile next to Kaashifa and have a fin strapped to my feet.

"Five, four, three, two, one..." I prepared myself to scream, but instead found myself whooping with joy. I was flying! Really flying! Just like Supergirl... I stuck my arm out and glided. I think I even flapped a bit.

The Zip Line wasn't scary at all. It was magical, easy and much more fun than I had expected - just like everything about Sun City. I know I'll be back for more.

Experience this for yourself

As usual, I zipped through the Pilanesberg and Sun City far too fast to enjoy all they had to offer. I'd recommend you spend at least three or four days at Sun City (although you could easily spend a week there without running out of things to do) and a minimum of two nights in the Pilanesberg.

If you're travelling with the kids or working to a budget, stay at The Cabanas in Sun City and Kwa Maritane in the Pilanesberg, as they are both incredibly family-friendly and good value for money. If you're looking for a more grown up, luxurious experience, The Cascades or The Palace of the Lost City are your best options at Sun City, and Tshukudu or Ivory Tree Lodge will suit you best in the Pilanesberg.

Our travel experts specialise in creating Sun City Holidays and can combine them with almost any other destination in Africa, so you can have a quick and easy Sun City holiday no matter where else you plan to go.

Article © Copyright 2007 Go2Africa.

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