South Africa: Sun City
It is said that this is the most luxurious destination for a holiday in all of Africa. The place is indeed arranged to impress, you definitely get the feeling that somebody worked hard to make it so.
Behind the entrance gate is a large parking for the one day visitors, only residents of the hotels are allowed to enter the whole complex by a car. From the outside parking you can choose either a bus drive to the complex, or get onto a small train that has a nice view of the place. Both rides get you past the big Sun City hotel, and embark in the Entertainment Centre.
Entertainment Centre is actually a big casino, but has a lot of other stuff like a cinema, small theater, many bars and restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. It is rather dark inside, but the walls have been nicely painted with African motives and illuminated by soft spotlights. There are also sections on different levels connected by escalators, and sections arranged like a cave or a secret old temple passage.
Once outside the Entertainment Centre, you cross the bridge that leads to the Lost City. Each of the elephant stands on the bridge has a powerful loudspeaker inside, so you can listen to the realistic surround sound of the jungle, or something similar that the host decides to play to enhance the ambient of the place. But that's not all - roughly around every hour, a special hydraulic system starts to shake the bridge like an earthquake, and a concealed smoke system starts giving off white mist all over it. The surround system plays a powerful rumbling sound, making you feel like you are in the Indiana Jones movie when that large boulder starts rolling towards you.
Lost City has been built to look like a ruin of some ancient civilization, and looks quite realistic. Its biggest attraction is the Valley of the Waves, an artificial lake that has a beach, pools and water channels all around under the palm trees. A large water tank behind the wall above the lake is constantly being filled by water, and every 15 minutes this water is released to create a large wave rushing towards the beach.
Above the Lost City is the Palace, a luxurious hotel hidden among the jungle-like garden around it. Only towers of the Palace and some parts of it can be seen from around, as only residents and participants of the guided tours are allowed inside.
All in all this place is not so huge but definitely has a lot to be seen, as I have previously sad - somebody worked really hard to make it so.
Sun City Palace
This luxurious hotel is nicely tucked in its jungle-like surrounding, which is actually a garden with dense vegetation. Water cascades run between small lakes, and you have to jump from stone to stone if you want to explore around.
Sun City Palace
This is a resting place for the Palace residents. Other parts of it are hidden between the palm trees all around, and it seems as it was ment to be that way - so that you can enjoy the surprise when you discover it on your own.
Sun City Palace
Although the garden is very dense, it has a lot of nicely arranged trails that you can follow and see parts of the Palace aswell. The good thing is that not all of these trails are easy and booring, you can find places here that look wild and natural.
