CREATING COMMUNITY!: for sale

A very good day to all of you - our supporters in 65 countries - and counting - around the world! It is yet another lovely winter's day in Cape Town, certainly the fairest Cape in all the world...

Today, I am so pleased and proud to inform you all that we have received instructions to sell a lovely, excellently located hostel/backpacker lodge in the Gardens of Cape Town! Anyone who knows Cape Town will also know the significance and rarity of acquiring hospitality properties in the city of Cape Town...So, don't delay, contact me today (in confidence)!

Further details will be provided to qualified parties when an NDA/NCA has been signed.

To acquire hospitality property in Cape Town is the dream of many hoteliers and hospitality operators! Below are some general details about the Gardens of Cape Town:

Gardens (or The Gardens)

Gardens (or The Gardens) is an inner-city suburb of Cape Town located just to the south of the city centre located in the higher elevations of the "City Bowl" and directly beneath Table Mountain and Lion's Head. It is an affluent neighbourhood populated mostly by young professionals and contains numerous chic restaurants, hotels, boutique shops and loft apartments. The suburb is also a hub for the Cape Town creative industry, hosting the home of e.tv at Longkloof Studios and contains many modelling agencies, production and publishing companies and associated industries. It is also home to the world-famous five-star Mount Nelson Hotel.

History

In the early years, the Cape was used as an anchorage for Portuguese, Dutch and British ships. No permanent settlement existed until the Dutch East India Company issued a mandate to Jan van Riebeeck, a ship's surgeon, to establish a settlement that could provide passing ships with fruit, vegetables and fresh meat (traded from the natives).

In 1652 the first garden was laid out by Hendrik Boom, the Company's master gardener, on a site close to the Fresh River (near to the Grand Parade). Later that year, the garden crossed the Fresh River (where Adderley Street is today), and included a medicine garden. Within a few years it was 18 hectares in size.

As more produce became available from the Company's gardens at Newlands and from the Free Burghers who had settled along the Liesbeeck River, the town garden was slowly converted into a botanical and ornamental garden, although the growing of vegetables did continue for a number of years.

The famous kilometre-long Government Avenue, which runs from the top of Adderley Street, also known as 'The Gardens', was originally planted with lemon trees and in 1700 with orange trees. During the time of Simon van der Stel, it was lined with oak trees, which remain today.

Places of interest

• The first statue erected in South Africa, that of Sir George Grey can be found in front of the Public Library.
• The South African Museum, the oldest in the country, was established in 1825.
• The small Jewish museum, housed in the original synagogue, known as 'The Gardens Shul', is the oldest in Southern Africa built in 1862. The twin-towered 'new' synagogue was built in 1905.
• At the top end of Government Avenue is Cape Town High School, built on the grounds of which once stood the Hope Mill, one of five water mills which operated along the banks of the Fresh River.

Also within the Gardens area can be found the Iziko South African Museum, The Planetarium, the Iziko National Gallery and the Michaelis School of Fine Art.

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg, and also the legislative capital of South Africa. Colloquially named the Mother City, it is the largest city of the Western Cape province and forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The Parliament of South Africa is situated in Cape Town. The other two capitals are located in Gauteng (Pretoria the executive capital where the Presidency is based) and in the Free State (Bloemfontein the judicial capital where the Supreme Court of Appeal is located). The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is home to 64% of the Western Cape's population. The city was named the World Design Capital for 2014 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.

In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by both The New York Times and The Daily Telegraph. Cape Town has also been a host city for both the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup, and annually hosts the Africa leg of the World Rugby 7s.

Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town, as the oldest urban area in South Africa, was developed by the United East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the VOC Cape Colony, the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa.