Gay And Lesbian Travellers - South Africa tours,travel vacations,tourist information,trips,hotels

South Africa has the world's first and only gay- and lesbian-friendly constitution, and Africa's most developed and diverse gay and lesbian scene. Not only is homosexuality legal between consenting adults of 18 or over, but the constitution outlaws any discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. This means that, for once, you have the law on your side.

Outside the big cities, however, South Africa is a pretty conservative place where open displays of public affection by gays and lesbians are unlikely to go down well; many whites will find it un-Christian, while blacks will think it un-African. South African Tourism (the official tourism organization), on the other hand, has recently woken up to the potential of pink spending power and is actively wooing gay travellers - an effort that is evidently paying off with the Spartacus gay guide ranking Cape Town among the world's top five gay destinations. And although there are gay scenes in all the major cities, Cape Town is the one that is most developed.

There are a number of gay print publications , including Exit newspaper ( ) and Rush magazine ( ) both of which are available at newsagents in larger centres, and a substantial number of online publications. Cape Town and J'oburg have annual gay pride festivals ( ) and the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival ( ) is screened in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban every year in February and March.

Contacts for gay and lesbian travellers
IN SOUTH AFRICA

Gay and Lesbian Association of Cape Town Tourism . Gay listing of Cape Town businesses in the tourism industry; professionals, including dentists, doctors and lawyers; accommodation; clubs, restaurants; events and parties; and a gay chat room.

Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Helpline tel 021 422 2500. Helpline of the Cape Town-based Triangle Project (see below). Phone their paging service and someone will call you back. Daily 1-9pm.

Gay Net . Gay directory that covers the country.

Gay South Africa . A slick and well-organized portal with links covering all topics of gay interest, with a dedicated section of erotica.

Lesbian and Gay Equality Project 36 Grafton Rd, Yeoville, Johannesburg tel 011 487 3811, . Johannesburg organization devoted mainly to lobbying and legal advice, but which can also provide basic information to gay visitors.

Q . Excellent gay spin-off site of the Daily Mail & Guardian , with news and a variety of topics including a good travel section.

Triangle Project tel 021 448 3812, . The Cape Town-based Triangle Project is the longest-established and most effective gay organization in South Africa and is a good first port of call for all types of help from information on gay clubs and bars to advice on where to go for medical testing and counselling. Office Mon-Fri 1-4.30pm.

IN THE UK

Also check out adverts in the weekly papers Boyz and Pink Paper , handed out free in gay venues.

Dream Waves Redcot High St, Child Okeford, Blandford, DT22 8ET tel 01258/861149, Dreamwaves@aol.com . Specializes in exclusively gay holidays, including skiing trips and summer sun packages.

Online gay and lesbian travel agent, offering good deals on all types of holiday. Also lists gay- and lesbian-friendly hotels around the world.

Madison Travel 118 Western Rd, Hove, East Sussex NN3 1DB tel 01273/202532, . Established travel agent specializing in packages to gay- and lesbian-friendly mainstream destinations, and also to gay/lesbian destinations.

IN THE US AND CANADA

Damron Company PO Box 422458, San Francisco CA 94142 tel 1-800/462-6654 or tel 415/255-0404, . Publisher of the Men's Travel Guide , a pocket-sized yearbook full of listings of hotels, bars, clubs and resources for gay men; the Women's Traveler , which provides similar listings for lesbians; the Road Atlas , which shows lodging and entertainment in major US cities; and Damron Accommodations , which provides detailed listings of over 1000 accommodations for gays and lesbians worldwide. All of these titles are offered at a discount on the website. There are no specific city guides - everything is incorporated in the yearbooks.

Ferrari Publications PO Box 37887, Phoenix, AZ 85069 tel 1-800/962-2912 or 602/863-2408, . Publishes Ferrari Gay Travel A to Z , a worldwide gay and lesbian guide; Inn Places , a worldwide accommodation guide; the guides Men's Travel in Your Pocket and Women's Travel in Your Pocket , and the quarterly Ferrari Travel Report .

International Gay/Lesbian Travel Association , 4331 N Federal Hwy, Suite 304, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308 tel 1-800/448-8550, . Trade group that can provide a list of gay- and lesbian-owned or friendly travel agents, accommodation and other travel businesses.

IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Gay and Lesbian Travel . Directory and links for gay and lesbian travel in Australia and worldwide.

Gay Travel . The site for trip planning, bookings, and general information about international travel.

Parkside Travel 70 Glen Osmond Rd, Parkside, SA 5063 tel 08/8274 1222 or 1800/888 501, hwtravel@senet.com.au . A gay travel agent associated with local branch of Hervey World Travel; all aspects of gay and lesbian travel worldwide.

Pinkstay . Everything from visa information to finding accommodation and work around the world.

Silke's Travel 263 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 tel 02/9380 6244 or tel 1800/807 860, silba@magna.com.au . Long-established gay and lesbian specialist, with the emphasis on women's travel.

Tearaway Travel 52 Porter St, Prahan, VIC 3181 tel 03/9510 6344, tearaway@bigpond.com . A gay-specific business dealing with international and domestic travel.

Cape Town
Cape Town is South Africa's - and indeed, the African continent's - gay capital. Cape Town Tourism's visitor centre in downtown Cape Town has good information on gay-friendly establishments in the city with a view to turning the mother city into an African Sydney. Their website ( ) has a substantial gay section. For information on what's on check out the gay section of the Western Cape listings magazine Cape Review or the gay supplement published on the last Thursday of the month in The Cape Argus , Cape Town's daily afternoon newspaper, both widely available at newsagents - or look at the websites listed under "Gay South Africa Online".

The city has a growing number of gay-friendly businesses : B&Bs, guesthouses, pubs, clubs, doctors, dentists and other professionals as well as cruise bars, video shows, restaurants with cabaret, strip shows and steam baths. Cape Town's gay quarter is concentrated along the entertainment strips of Somerset Road and Main Road in the adjoining inner-city suburbs of Green Point and Sea Point adjacent to the centre, where a number of establishments flaunt their pink credentials by flying a distinctive multi-coloured gay flag. The Pink Map , published by A&C Maps (tel 021 685 4260, ) lists gay-friendly and gay-owned places in Cape Town and is distributed at the visitor centre in town, the one in the Clock Tower at the V&AWaterfront, as well as the airport and hotels; they'll also send a copy free anywhere in the world on request.

Cape Town also hosts an annual gay party , organized by Mother City Queer Projects ( ), a hugely popular event usually held in mid-December at the River Club (tel 021 448 6117) in Observatory. People dress as outrageously as possible according to a theme (past ones have included "on safari", "underwater" and "farm fresh") and the event seeks to rival Sydney's Mardi Gras.

While in town, be sure to tune into Bush Radio's (89.5FM) gay programme, called In the Pink , every Thursday 8-10pm. Like many things in the city, Cape Town's gay scene is white-dominated, though there are a few gay-friendly clubs starting to emerge in the surrounding townships.

The rest of the country
The gay scene is a lot more multiracial in Johannesburg , especially in the clubs. If you're near Johannesburg in September, make sure you check out the Pride Parade through the streets of the city. The Pretoria gay and lesbian scene has grown enormously over the past few years and now outdoes Johannesburg. There are also gay scenes in Port Elizabeth and Durban and you'll find a growing number of gay-run or gay-friendly establishments in small towns all over the country.