The top 28 wonders of Nature from around the world have been announced by the New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland. The finalists include renowned sites such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Amazon rain forests and Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Only one other African site – Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro – made finals, which include some of the world's most beautiful attractions. Not surprisingly for we who live and love the mother City, Table Mountain has made it through to become one of 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition, in which the world's top natural sites will be narrowed down to a final 7 in an exercise in global outreach which is expected to be supported by hundreds of millions of voters. In 2007, the New7Wonders Foundation, a Zurich-based non-profit organisation, announced the New 7 Man-made Wonders of the World after more than 100-million votes were cast via the internet in "the first-ever worldwide election". Now its follow-up campaign, to choose the "Big Seven" of the natural world, has entered its final stage, after a panel of experts led by former Unesco director-general Federico Mayor announced the 28 finalists in Zurich, Switzerland on 21 July. The panel made its selection from a list of 77 nominees that were chosen, from a list of 261 national and cross-national representative sites, by people around the world in internet voting. The final, two-year round of voting to choose the New 7 Wonders of Nature, running through 2010 and into 2011, is now open. Table Mountain will compete for a final place among the top 7 wonders to be announced in 2011. To cast your vote visit www.new7wonders.com South Africans can also cast their votes at http://www.votefortablemountain.com Some reasons to vote for Table Mountain 1. Table Mountain is simply stunningly beautiful. Just take a look at the 20 000-plus photos on Flickr: Table Mountain. 2. Table Mountain forms part of Table Mountain National Park, one of few conservation areas in the world that is entirely surrounded by a city, and offers hundreds of recreation opportunities for residents and visitors alike. 3. Table Mountain forms part of the Cape Floral Region, a Unesco World Heritage Site that is one of the richest areas for plants in the world. Table Mountain National Park has more plant species within its 25 000 hectares than the whole British Isles or New Zealand. 4. The trip up the Table Mountain Cableway to the plateau one kilometre above Cape Town is not to be missed; enjoy breath taking views of the City, Table Bay and Robben Island. 5. It is an ever-present part of the lives of all of us who live in Cape Town Acknowledgments to www.southafrica.info Do remember that if you are looking for affordable self catering Cape Town accommodation it is just a click away.
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