Things to Do in Noordwyk

One of Africa’s largest conference, event and exhibition venues, Gallagher Convention Centre (GCC) is conveniently positioned in the rapidly developing investment hub of Gauteng. The dedication to a five star experience is evident from GCC’s facilities through to the service delivered by all levels. GCC security conforms to stringent international security standards and has experience in providing a location for secure events such as the Pan-African Parliament meetings. With five purpose-built single level exhibition venues offering 27 000 square meters of exhibition space, nineteen multipurpose venues and state of the art facilities, GCC also offers conveniently located parking facilities for 10 000 vehicles. Other features include 12 versatile conference and boardrooms, the Gallagher Grill which includes foyers and cocktail bars, a ballroom, an auditorium seating 414 and various tranquil venues for intimate celebrations. An internationally acclaimed team of chefs caters to every taste or cultural requirement, and the kitchens have also been certified by the National Independent Halaal Trust. Technical support services, on-site office requirements, state of the art equipment, video conferencing, satellite and interpretation facilities are available. Together with floral and décor services, GCC is equipped with the experience and expertise to ensure the success of any conference, exhibition or event. +27 (0)11 266 3000

The Irene Trading Post is more than just a shop – it's an experience! The store specializes in antiques, novelties, art, gifts and various pieces of locally made furniture. The owners only support small entrepreneurs, artists and crafters – offering visitors and the artists an opportunity to connect. Their unusual tea garden aims to inspire and revitalize everyone’s own creative juices. Delicious cakes and light lunches, all home cooked, are on offer. In winter the wood burning stoves are fired up and soups and homemade bread is available. Kids are welcome – the bunnies love being fed. Open 7 days a week from 09:00 – 17:00. www.irenetradingpost.co.za

You'll find more than awesome cocktails at this buzzy, trendy spot in Rivonia. The News Café is a high street café and cocktail bar offering a unique, relaxed and entertaining dining experience. It's also very popular as an Internet venue.

Gauteng's premier entertainment destination, Monte Casino, is a distinctive complex with casino, shops, movies, fun arcades, restaurants, outdoor bird garden, Boogaloos New Generation Skate Park, Pieter Toerien theatre, Parker's Comedy & Jive venue and lots more. Styled just like a Tuscan village, the casino is in the centre with all the shops, restaurants, cinemas and theatres surrounding it.

Shop till you drop, get a bite or catch a show. Be spoilt for choice at Fourways Mall, a large retail shopping centre with cinema complex, supermarket, restaurants offering a unique and exciting shopping experience to the community and tourists alike. Fourways is conveniently situated in the heart of one of Jozi's most prestigious suburbs with easy access to the N1 freeway connecting Johannesburg and Pretoria as well as excellent link ups to Johannesburg International Airport.

Friendship, good food, wine and brilliant entertainment – the Barnyard Theatre in Broadacres is where it all comes together. The first Barnyard Theatre started as a homely, rustic farm theatre in Plettenberg Bay where friends and family could be entertained and eat, drink and talk into the small hours of the morning. It proved to be such a winner that more Barnyard Theatres started popping up all over the country. There are currently 12 Barnyard Theatres in South Africa. While each theatre is a product of its individual setting, they all retain the quaint rustic charm of the original farm theatre’s humble beginning.

Sandton City is regarded as the most glamorous international standard shopping mall in southern Africa. Here you can be sure to find an ubundance of sophisticated, Afro-cosmopolitan experiences from one-of-a-kind South African artworks to the latest shoes from Milan. There's also a plethora of restaurants, bars and even a hotel. Sandton City is a gourmet melting pot of cultures and countries,hosting international and local shoppers alike. Located in Sandton'sprestigious Central Business District, Sandton City offers an excitingshopping and leisure experience in stunning surroundings.The famous Sandton Square with its statue of Nelson Mandela is adjacent to Sandton City.

Jozi's best live music and entertainment venue, restaurant and bar is smack in the middle of Bryanston. Kick back to cool tunes and tuck into traditional Argentinean, Italian or homestyle fare. Besides their a la carte menu, they have a variety of set, buffet, and snack menu's. They are fairly flexible with regards to the content of the menu, giving you the freedom to create your own meal. There's so much happening at this vibey spot and the programme changes almost daily. Live performances are mostly from local musicians and stand up comedians. Tanz Café have over 12 years experience in booking all the top South African bands, DJs and stand up comics so you are assured of receiving top quality entertainment from South Africa’s best talent. The Buzz Shopping Centre, corner of Witkoppen and Nerine Roads, Fourways.

Situated in the heart of Sandton, The Blues Room is an upmarket nightclub and restaurant delivering up live blues, jazz, fusion, comedy, and sometimes even rock 'n' roll.

Sandton Convention Centre is one of southern Africa’s most technologically advanced, multi-purpose convention venues.The twelve-storey building is designed to provide a range of convention, exhibition, meeting and special event space.Conveniently situated in the hub of Sandton's business, hotel and entertainment district, the centre offers easy access to over 5 000 hotel rooms.It also lies in Gauteng's top shopping and entertainment regions. Parking is never a problem with over 11 000 secure parking bays.

This incredibly popular square with its impressive statue of Nelson Mandela is an awesome place to chill between frenetic bouts of shopping. Relax at one of the many surrounding restaurants, enjoy the sunshine, and watch open air performances and the passing traffic of people. The square incorporates a theatre, a library and is attached to the well-known Sandton City Shopping Mall. A must on your trip to Jozi!

One of the largest indoor venues in Pretoria, the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria is host to a number of big live music concerts and exhibitions. The Main Arena has hosted popular events such as the Metro FM Awards Show, Godly Revolution Music Concert, Baba Indaba Expo and advert productions for Coke and Nestlé. A range of facilities offer versatility and seating for 80 to 4 500 people. Large events are supported by the VIP areas, holding rooms, theatre, board rooms, media room, rehearsal studio and other facilities. Well situated between Centurion and Pretoria, access to Heartfelt is convenient and there is ample on-site parking. +27 (0) 12 651 2251.

Wanderers Cricket Stadium, recently renamed BIDVest Wanderers Stadium, is the premier cricketing stadium in South Africa. Topnotch facilities and a seating capacity of 34 000 made it an ideal choice to host the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup Final. In addition, it hosted the ICC World T20 Final, the IPL Final and is one of two venues for the ICC Champions Trophy. Pavilion spectators are permitted to bring cooler boxes – these must be stored below the seats. Spectators on the grass embankment are free to bring in their own food, cold drinks in plastic containers and chairs.

Much of South Africa’s architectural heritage goes far beyond broekie-lace and gables. The austere Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria pays homage to the gritty trekkers who deserted the Cape Colony in the mid 1800s. The entire 62-metre high structure is loaded with symbolism, from the assegai motif entrance, to the rippling patterns and friezes of the ‘Hall of Heroes’ and the 64 laager wagons surrounding the building. There’s even an opening in the dome roof that allows the sun’s rays to light up the cenotaph every year at 12 noon, 16 December. In essence, the monument functions as a giant sundial. Situated on top of Skanskop and within a nature reserve, the monument boasts lovely views of Pretoria. Shops, a restaurant, art gallery and various activities including horse rides are on offer.

Undulating golden grassy hills, vleis and a brilliant blue dam characterise the Rietvlei Nature Reserve. Situated 18 kilometres from the centre of Pretoria, the reserve is an idyllic home to 1 600 head of game – and you can spot them easily from your vehicle.Blesbuck, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, eland, Burchell's zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck, springbuck, mountain reedbuck, steenbuck and grey duiker all roam the open plains.Don’t forget to pack a picnic basket – the Marais Dam is a great place to take a break from driving. There’s a fabulous bird hide, shady spots where you can braai and ablutions. While you munch your boerewors roll you can watch the antics of the hippos and waterbirds. Twitchers are usually delighted by some new bird to tick off at Rietvlei Nature Reserve.And that’s not all – brown hyena, black-backed jackal, ant-bear, aardwolf, porcupine, springhare and bush pig can often be seen on guided night drives. These trips end at the popular Rietvlei Nature Reserve Lapa for a memorable braai under African stars.You can also have amazing encounters with white rhino, cheetah, leopard and buffalo on guided hiking trails and horse riding trails. Day and weekend trails are on offer. Booking is essential for all activities.

Get up close and personal with rare white lions The Lion Park offers terrific close encounters with lions, other predators and large herbivores indigenous to Africa. You can also expect some superb filming and photographic opportunities.The Lion Park is home to over 80 lions including the rare white lions and many other carnivores such as cheetah, wild dog, brown hyena, striped hyena, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, side-striped jackal, and a wide variety of antelope which roam freely in the antelope area.Visitors have an opportunity to interact with some of the animals in the Cub World area. A giraffe feeding platform puts you at eye level with the tame resident giraffe creating a fun experience for all ages. The hugely popular cub interaction allows guests to touch the cubs and take photographs.Need to know? The Lion Park is open every day of the year. Opening hours: weekdays 8:30am to 5pm;Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 1 September to 30 April 8:30am to 6pm; 1 May to 31 August 8:30am to 5pm

Cafe Barcelona is a dynamic live music and entertainment venue offering restaurant and pub facilities. For over 10 years Cafe Barcelona has supported the music scene embracing famous names as well as unknown bands. Some well-known perfomers include The Parlotones, Karen Zoid, Arno Carstens, Albert Frost, Valiant Swart, Fokofpolisiekar, 16 Stitch, Watershed, Louise Carver, Koos Kombuis, Jan Blohm, Jackhammer and many more.

Firehouse, Exclusive Gift and Accessories DestinationFirehouse is an exclusive retail destination store for gifts and décor accessories stocking a selection of local and some imported products with a preference for locally produced and organic wares. Bringing to consumers and corporations unique products produced in South Africa. “We adore the talent of our local designers and support the up-liftment and sustainability of previously disadvantaged communities,” says co-owners Roberta Caon and Simona Panayiotou.Caon and Panayiotou have created a space of refined understated elegance filled with home essentials, luxuries, gifts and exclusive art pieces. The atmosphere instils serenity through colour, visual display and warm notes of world music. The visitor feels enticed to meander through the store thrilled by the discovery of each new item and pervaded by the feeling of “must have it, can’t leave without it”.Caon and Panayiotou aim to have fun while doing something that they are passionate about in an honest and fair way.“We believe in building long term relationships with suppliers and clients. We support local enterprise because we love the creativity that is on offer and we believe and encourage self employment and sustainability with respect for our people and our environment. We want to distinguish ourselves as a gift and decor store by offering products of design beauty created with love in our land, through suppliers that cultivate a philosophy of sustainable living and fair trade,” say Caon and Panayiotou.Firehouse offers an experience that the client will remember and share by offering beautiful and exclusive products with incredible customer service, during and after sales. The store is set apart through unique and gorgeous gift wrapping and presentation.The Firehouse team has put together a range of exclusive products and met with most of the product owners in person to establish a relationship and have established the history and culture of the companies with which they are doing business.

The University of South Africa, or UNISA as it is commonly known, is a distance education university with the main campus and headquarters in Pretoria. You cannot miss the gigantic, mind-blowingly ugly buildings.With over 200 000 students enrolled, it is highly regarded and is one of the largest universities on the planet.Founded in 1873, UNISA was initially an examining agency for Oxford and Cambridge universities as well as something of a ‘mother ship’ to other establishing universities in South Africa. In 1946 it became a distance education university, offering certificate, diploma and degree courses up to doctoral level. It was able to remain interracial during the years of apartheid largely because it was a distance education university. Famous students and professors include:Nelson Mandela, former President of South AfricaDesmond Tutu, South African cleric and political activistRobert Mugabe, current president of ZimbabweAhmed Kathrada, South African politician and anti-apartheid activistTokyo Sexwale, South African businessman and former politician, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisonerWalter Battiss, South African abstract painter and creator of the quirky 'Fook Island' concept, UNISA Professor of Fine Art.

The Coca Cola Dome is one of South Africa's most versatile venues with features that are suitable for both large and small scale events. The ground level 12 500m² floor space can be adapted to present an amazing variety of exhibitions. It is also a popular live concerts venue with space for 18 000 people standing or 12 000 people seated. Up to 4 000 people can be seated for banquets. The 2 500m² mezzanine level boasts five hospitality suites ideal for conference breakaway rooms, media offices, cocktail functions, VIP dinners or board meetings.