South Africa: Here Comes the Sun

It is a time warp Disney World for adults and children alike. Sun City, a two-hour drive from Johannesburg, rises like a glittering oasis on the treeless steppes of northern South Africa. So what if it is at times referred to as Sin City… you don’t have to be a high roller to appreciate the special energy that throbs in what is probably one of the world’s most luxurious resorts which offers more than mere gambling.

You will pick up its throbbing beat as soon as you sweep into the Palace of the Lost City at Sun City. Even before you reach this magical arena, 10 imposing towers loom into view. Their cupolas are decorated with elephant tusk replicas and palm fronds; leopards crouched menacingly on vaulting stone columns; the spiralling horns of antelopes etched against a blue African sky and terrified bronze bucks rearing up to escape the lethal claws of a cheetah. The make-believe jungle around the Palace, complete with fibreglass rocks and boulders, is the product of an architect’s fertile imagination.

Crushed by the sheer weight of luxury and ostentation and the jaw-dropping scale of things, you may find yourself rubbing your eyes in disbelief. Little wonder then that your bus is only one of the many that sweep into Sun City daily, bearing loads of tourists, day trippers and high rollers fired by a single objective – to have fun – in this high voltage resort that has shades of Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with lashings of Kipling’s Jungle Book.

            Sun City is a one-stop destination offering the most sophisticated resort experience on the doorstep of Africa. Surrounded by a man-made oasis of lakes, gushing streams, tangled forests and flowering gardens, not far from the Palace is the Valley of Waves with a fake beach of imported sand and waves that can be triggered to a 1.8m high at the flick of a switch, perfect for surfing.

After dinner guests head for the Entertainment Centre with slot machines, video games, cinemas and restaurants. The centre snuggles in a cavern hewn out of rock and is linked to the Palace by the Bridge of Time. The bridge is flanked by life-sized carved elephants and leads to a craggy rock carved in homage to wild animals. Every 15 minutes, the bridge quakes terrifyingly, thanks to a simulated earthquake. Smoke billows out mysteriously from the eyes of the elephants and of a huge carved leopard crouched on a rock. A 20 ft flame erupts from an enormous carved basin and there is a final volcanic eruption before the tremors ease.

The Entertainment Centre offers drama of a different kind – the eternal midnight of the gambling floor. The mirrored and chandeliered centre has a night sky arching over it with a fibre optic re-creation of the Milky Way. Risk a few rand at the slot machines, take in a Las Vegas style revue with girls in tinsel and taffeta throwing up their legs and skirts with artistic precision. Here there are four cinemas, the 6,000- seat Super Bowl (where Miss World and other super star functions are held), bingo, shopping arcades and eateries.

Outside, the African jungle beckons in the artificial moonlight – kilometres of fibre-optic lighting which bathes the entire city in an ethereal glow.

At Sun City, a world of startlingly dramatic man-made landscapes helps one to forget and escape from grey skies and grey lives, and transports one away from gloomy newspaper headlines to a realm of mysterious splendour, and even colossal kitsch! 

Fact File

            The closest airport to Sun City is Johannesburg, a two-hour drive away.

            One can reach Sun City by private taxis or shuttle bus services.

            Sun City has four hotels (including the Palace of the Lost City) from three star to five star within the complex. 

            And since there is a large Indian population in South Africa, getting authentic Indian food (Jain vegetarian included) is not a problem.

           A sample package of South Africa would include Cape Town in the south west, a drive down the Garden Route that runs along the southern coastal continent, a wildlife safari at a private game reserve within the Kruga National Park to the north east of the country and of course a visit to Sun City. For more information on Indian holidays and holiday package bookings contact www.paryatansthal.com