Sun City glitz - Easter 2007
Sun City is decadence in the desert... the Las Vegas of the African continent and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who's in the area. It is beautifully made and is a cross between Disney Land and Vegas. It has a huge water theme park and a magnificient palace: The Lost City.
They have tried to make it look like an ancient palace where Nomads would have settled... they've surrounded it by lush trees and waterfalls (a true oasis of green in the middle of the desert) which attracts monkeys and birds... and have built the most elegant building at the heart of it. Pure indulgence and excess. Gold leaves in the lift... etc. The suites there have had renowned guests from the world over, from celebrities to presidents... It is just a 'must see' and a great entertainment place for kids and adults alike. It being Easter, it was packed with people.
They even have a 'bridge of time' with stone elephants on each side and leopard heads carved in the rocks nearby too and the bridge moves on the hour, with smoke coming out on each side, to make it look / feel like an earthquake. VERY Indianna Jones feel too ! NOT as grand as what Disney can do, but a tiny bit of a thrill, especially on the unsuspecting who have been known to truly panic thinking they were experiencing a real earthquake!
To escape the hussle and bustle(?) of the place is easy: just hop in the Sky Train or get on a shuttle bus and get off at the golf course. I did, and it was SO tranquil and so beautiful... I just sat on the patio, watching the people play and the birds sing all around me... rollers, ibises, and many I had not seen before (or not seen in several years). I could even see people hang-gliding in the distance... pretty neat and relaxing.
I also had to do the 'compulsory' tour of the Lost City Palace - if you don't, you really miss the best the place has to offer in terms of visual thrill. It really is The jewel of Africa, as they call it. Grand entrance with gold statues of cheetahs chasing impalas, followed by more fountains in the shade of kudus' heads... then the roof inside is a huge dome, painted in the same way as the Cistine Chapel but with all African animals.. lavish decorated carpets everywhere too... 5 tons chandeliers on the ceiling (that they dropped twice when trying to fix it!). An elephant fountain in the middle of the main dining area... and these amazing high towers on each side (the King Towers) that give you a bird's eye view of the whole resort, including beautiful pools with Sun designs ceramics and Nomah tent styles for people to have shade... much lovelier than standard parasols !
You could tell that a lot of thoughts had gone into its design... and several thousands people had worked on it, and managed to complete it in just 28 months. It opened in 1992. It is almost always fully booked if one wants to stay at the Lost City Palace itself. Even though it can cost several thousands per night to stay in the suite (that's several thousands of whatever currency you are used to !!!). If you have never heard of it, it's worth looking it up on line to check it out. I tried to take some pictures (the ceilings inside the entertainement centre alone were staggeringly beautiful) but they may not come out as well as I'd like. So I bought a small souvenir book to show my pals in London... I mean, pictures always speak a thousand words and I could never do the place justice myself, just trying to describe what cannot be described. The sheer scale of it for a start is amazing.
I'm definitely glad I went and would go back next time I'm in the area. It just would have been more fun with a friend or two. My driver got lucky TWICE there. 3 weeks ago he put 10cents in one of fruit machines and got 55,000 R !!! (that's about US$7,000 equivalent), and last week he bought a lottery ticket and won the top price: a brand new car. Lucky man !!!
When he picked me up later that day, at 4pm, he assured me that, just like Vegas, this place is alive 24/7 and that to experiencing it by night is a completely different feeling again. He even managed to convince me to go back with him and his wife to see a rock show. He had a 'Most Valued Gest' card after winning the car and was able to take up to 5 people in for free (he'd also managed to get me free entrance earlier with that scheme).
I was debating as to whether I should catch up on my sleep (which was badly needed !!) OR live it up... and I chose the latter. I mean, when was I next going to get the chance to experience Sun City by night with a local ? I told him I'd be mad and agree. He took me to his place so I could meet his (lovely) wife and children and we all agreed to leave at 8:00pm latest as the show started at 8:30pm. I'm not a rock fan, but it was the experience I was after.
I was told, when I got back to my lodge, that the internet was now back on, but by then I felt I needed to sleep far more than to email... So I managed to sleep for 2 hours, had another yummy dinner, and off we went.
We arrived a bit late and missed the first 20mns but we still thoroughly enjoyed the show. It wasn't 'hard rock' at all, asI had feared, but more rock ballads. His wife, Hildah was only 22 so she didn't know most of the songs, but as I was 42 ('you are older than my mother' she exclaimed, eeek) I knew all of them. They had done a medley of the best songs of the 70's and 80's and I'd been brought up hearing all these tunes. The dancers and singers were all immensely talented (and virtual unknowns) and she said that the fact that they had been contracted to sing at Sun City for 6 months showed that the management had recognised their talents as it's quite something to get a contract to sing there. Same as Vegas, again, I guess.
We had such a good time that I came back feeling as high as a kite. It made me realise how much DOES go on in the world when we sleep ! :) I was even worried I might not get to sleep for ages (when I had to be up at 5:00am the next day for my 6:00am safari) but no... thankfully, I managed to grab 5 hours before I had to get up again !
Sun City is decadence in the desert... the Las Vegas of the African continent and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who's in the area. It is beautifully made and is a cross between Disney Land and Vegas. It has a huge water theme park and a magnificient palace: The Lost City.
They have tried to make it look like an ancient palace where Nomads would have settled... they've surrounded it by lush trees and waterfalls (a true oasis of green in the middle of the desert) which attracts monkeys and birds... and have built the most elegant building at the heart of it. Pure indulgence and excess. Gold leaves in the lift... etc. The suites there have had renowned guests from the world over, from celebrities to presidents... It is just a 'must see' and a great entertainment place for kids and adults alike. It being Easter, it was packed with people.
They even have a 'bridge of time' with stone elephants on each side and leopard heads carved in the rocks nearby too and the bridge moves on the hour, with smoke coming out on each side, to make it look / feel like an earthquake. VERY Indianna Jones feel too ! NOT as grand as what Disney can do, but a tiny bit of a thrill, especially on the unsuspecting who have been known to truly panic thinking they were experiencing a real earthquake!
To escape the hussle and bustle(?) of the place is easy: just hop in the Sky Train or get on a shuttle bus and get off at the golf course. I did, and it was SO tranquil and so beautiful... I just sat on the patio, watching the people play and the birds sing all around me... rollers, ibises, and many I had not seen before (or not seen in several years). I could even see people hang-gliding in the distance... pretty neat and relaxing.
I also had to do the 'compulsory' tour of the Lost City Palace - if you don't, you really miss the best the place has to offer in terms of visual thrill. It really is The jewel of Africa, as they call it. Grand entrance with gold statues of cheetahs chasing impalas, followed by more fountains in the shade of kudus' heads... then the roof inside is a huge dome, painted in the same way as the Cistine Chapel but with all African animals.. lavish decorated carpets everywhere too... 5 tons chandeliers on the ceiling (that they dropped twice when trying to fix it!). An elephant fountain in the middle of the main dining area... and these amazing high towers on each side (the King Towers) that give you a bird's eye view of the whole resort, including beautiful pools with Sun designs ceramics and Nomah tent styles for people to have shade... much lovelier than standard parasols !
You could tell that a lot of thoughts had gone into its design... and several thousands people had worked on it, and managed to complete it in just 28 months. It opened in 1992. It is almost always fully booked if one wants to stay at the Lost City Palace itself. Even though it can cost several thousands per night to stay in the suite (that's several thousands of whatever currency you are used to !!!). If you have never heard of it, it's worth looking it up on line to check it out. I tried to take some pictures (the ceilings inside the entertainement centre alone were staggeringly beautiful) but they may not come out as well as I'd like. So I bought a small souvenir book to show my pals in London... I mean, pictures always speak a thousand words and I could never do the place justice myself, just trying to describe what cannot be described. The sheer scale of it for a start is amazing.
I'm definitely glad I went and would go back next time I'm in the area. It just would have been more fun with a friend or two. My driver got lucky TWICE there. 3 weeks ago he put 10cents in one of fruit machines and got 55,000 R !!! (that's about US$7,000 equivalent), and last week he bought a lottery ticket and won the top price: a brand new car. Lucky man !!!
When he picked me up later that day, at 4pm, he assured me that, just like Vegas, this place is alive 24/7 and that to experiencing it by night is a completely different feeling again. He even managed to convince me to go back with him and his wife to see a rock show. He had a 'Most Valued Gest' card after winning the car and was able to take up to 5 people in for free (he'd also managed to get me free entrance earlier with that scheme).
I was debating as to whether I should catch up on my sleep (which was badly needed !!) OR live it up... and I chose the latter. I mean, when was I next going to get the chance to experience Sun City by night with a local ? I told him I'd be mad and agree. He took me to his place so I could meet his (lovely) wife and children and we all agreed to leave at 8:00pm latest as the show started at 8:30pm. I'm not a rock fan, but it was the experience I was after.
I was told, when I got back to my lodge, that the internet was now back on, but by then I felt I needed to sleep far more than to email... So I managed to sleep for 2 hours, had another yummy dinner, and off we went.
We arrived a bit late and missed the first 20mns but we still thoroughly enjoyed the show. It wasn't 'hard rock' at all, asI had feared, but more rock ballads. His wife, Hildah was only 22 so she didn't know most of the songs, but as I was 42 ('you are older than my mother' she exclaimed, eeek) I knew all of them. They had done a medley of the best songs of the 70's and 80's and I'd been brought up hearing all these tunes. The dancers and singers were all immensely talented (and virtual unknowns) and she said that the fact that they had been contracted to sing at Sun City for 6 months showed that the management had recognised their talents as it's quite something to get a contract to sing there. Same as Vegas, again, I guess.
We had such a good time that I came back feeling as high as a kite. It made me realise how much DOES go on in the world when we sleep ! :) I was even worried I might not get to sleep for ages (when I had to be up at 5:00am the next day for my 6:00am safari) but no... thankfully, I managed to grab 5 hours before I had to get up again !
posted by Sylvie at 1:09 PM
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