On eastern slopes of Table Mountain lie well known Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens largest of its kind in South Africa, and home to thousands of varieties of indigenous plants. The oldest wine farm in country, Groot Constantia, established in 17th century is situated on lower slopes of "Back Table" Its modernised winery is in full production.

The rugged Cape coast is dotted with upmarket suburbs, quaint fishing villages and stretches of sandy beaches separated by massive rocky outcrops - remnants of original geological formations from which Table Mountain developed. The well known extensive Winelands and historic Cape towns such as Stellenbosch and Paarl, interspersed with rugged mountain ranges are situated an hour or two away, inland.

Cape Town is known for its historic and unique architecture which is still apparent in city and many of surrounding communities. It has developed from a number of diverse influences such as Cape Dutch, British and Muslim.

The original stone fort, oldest building in South Africa, now significantly upgraded and known as Castle, was built on early shoreline by Dutch in about 1670 to repel invaders. Another well known city landmark is Groote Kerk (big church) built around 1700.

Cape Town's location at juncture of Atlantic and Indian oceans, and influence of nearby mountain ranges on prevailing air currents means that Cape experiences a Mediterranean type climate with dry warm to hot summers cooled by south easterly winds, and cool wet winters. The Atlantic sea temperature off west coast is generally a few degrees colder than that of Indian Ocean.

The commercial centre in city bowl comprises modern high rise office blocks and hotels often sandwiching smaller historic buildings built in original Cape Dutch style. The new Cape Town Convention Centre on Foreshore is a popular venue for trade exhibitions and music festivals.

The thriving upmarket Cape Town Waterfront is a major attraction for tourists and locals alike. It has developed into one of most popular venues in country with its combination of modern retail outlets, artistic markets and laid back entertainment, and is crowded throughout year

One thing that was very noticeable in Iqaluit was large numbers of children everywhere. Nunavut has a very young population with 56% under age of 25. I saw many Inuit mothers wearing traditional Inuit parkas with large hoods in back where their babies are carried. The Inuit youth is one of Canadian Arctic's untapped resources and its future. They have access to satellite television and dress just like their counterparts in south. However, at present only about 25% of high school students graduate so a big challenge for Nunavut government is to encourage Inuit kids to stay in school. During my second trip, there was darkness for only a few hours each day so it was very strange to be walking around town at 10 pm in evening with daylight still present. Even at this hour, there were still quite a few young Inuit children playing outside. The locals, Inuit and non-Inuit alike were very friendly. I got impression of a tight community perhaps because of isolation of Canadian Arctic. However, local Inuit were also very open to visitors and willing to share a bit of their lives. During daytime, I went up to a few Inuit art carvers who were working outside their houses. Each turned off their power saws when I approached them and seemed happy to talk to me. I met most of them later during evenings when they showed me their finished works of Inuit art.

I had opportunity to walk about 30 minutes to outskirts of town past airport one day. I climbed up a hilltop with a satellite dish facility overlooking an expansive valley. There was nobody else around and it was incredible how silent area was. It was like a vacuum where I could hear only my own breathing. It was a very peaceful and even spiritual moment there. While sitting on this Arctic hilltop, I was suddenly startled at one point by a noise and it turned out to be flapping wings of a large raven flying by. There are tours offered by local outfitters to see northern wildlife and experience some of Arctic tundra further out. I hope to take one of these tours on a future visit. A trip to Nunavut is not cheap since everything, including flights are so expensive. However, I will definitely return not only for more Inuit art, but also to experience more of local Inuit culture and Arctic land.