Gold of Africa Museum and Gold Restaurant
The address 96 Strand Street, Cape Town, is better known as the Gold of Africa Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the ancient art of African goldsmithing while simultaneously inspiring contemporary design. Temporary exhibitions from India, Brazil, Mali and Egypt and other places around the world examine the common design elements of this art form, which transcends geographical borders and cultural divides.
The museum is located in Martin Melck House, which was constructed in 1783 as the parsonage for the adjacent Evangelical Lutheran Church and named after wealthy businessman and church benefactor Martin Melck of Elsenburg. The building was restored in 2000 and is now admired by many as one of the finest remaining examples of old Cape Town domestic architecture. Its beginnings coincided with the rise of the Akan kingdoms, from which many of the artefacts now housed in the museum originated.
The Gold of Africa Museum showcases the ancient relationship that exists between gold and the African continent in the form of 350 West African gold artefacts and objects from ancient gold-based civilisations.
The museum is open from 09h30 to 17h00 daily except Sundays, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Good Friday. Entrance costs R25 for adults, R15 for children (under 10) and R20 for pensioners and students. R40 pays for a lion walking tour, on which you’ll discover historic Cape Town by following the paw prints of the Cape mountain lion, or the pangolin night tour (18h00-20h00, but times are flexible). Private tours can be arranged and, on request, may include interactive goldsmith demonstrations, wine tasting and snacks.
The appropriately named Gold Restaurant is a new eatery and live entertainment venue tucked away in the covered leafy courtyards of the Gold of Africa Museum. It serves a fusion of African and Cape Malay cuisine delivered in baskets borne on the heads of staff. Pre-dinner interactive drumming and Gold of Africa Museum tours are available nightly at this venue, which is ideal for tour groups. Various seating arrangements can cater for up to 200 diners in Gold’s courtyards, deck, dining room, private dining room and wine cellar.
If you are looking for a place where you can taste the Cape’s finest wines, dine in one of two modern restaurants and still have a plethora of things to do, then the Steenberg Vineyards are for you.
Diamonds were formed three billion years ago by molecular-changing heat of around 1 300 °C, deep within the Earth’s crust. If you didn’t know that, then you have not been to the Cape Town Diamond Museum.
Cape Town sport enthusiasts are lucky enough to live in the city that is home to the South African Rugby Museum. Located just a drop kick away from the Newlands Rugby Stadium in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, home of the Stormers, the South African Rugby Museum is a full of tokens, collector’s items, memorabilia and history of one of the country’s most watched sports.
As the oldest city in South Africa, Cape Town boasts a number of historical buildings, many of which are still in use today and open to visitors. The city’s architecture is a testament to the many varying influences in South Africa’s unique history.
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