South Africa
South Africa has so many highlights and destinations which are must visits. From the cosmopolitan cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg, the safari mecca that is the Kruger National Park or the delights of The Winelands and the infamous Garden Route.
Our Africa specialists, Felix and Matt have created a guide to the regions of South Africa and what types of experiences you can expect to find.
An unbeatable balance of exquisite natural beauty and year-round activities make Cape Town an easy city to fall in love with. Awash with variety, from sandy beaches to mountain hiking trails, national parks to vibrant shopping areas.
Visitors who head north from Cape Town for a few days will be able to explore the wonderfully quaint Cape West Coast – think Cornwall but without the crowds. Charming fishing villages such as Paternoester, Langebaan and Yzerfontein sit on gently rolling beaches and are home to some great places to stay.
When visiting the Western Cape, exploring the Winelands is an absolute must. South Africa’s wine industry is one of the largest in the world dating back to the 17th century and the wineries are incredibly picturesque welcoming visitors for tasting with open arms.
250kms to the north of Cape Town, the rugged Cederberg Mountains region is one of the most scenic areas in all of South Africa, but much undervisited – a real bonus for those who make the trip up here to spend a few days exploring.The area is characterised by craggy mountain ranges, vast open plains and is dotted with caves and shelters which are full of ancient rock art sites – known as petroglyphs.
Drakensberg is made up of a variety of majestic mountains, from towering peaks to gentle rolling foothills. It is a region of great scenic beauty, offering an abundance of flora and fauna, and is a bird lover’s paradise.
The Eastern Cape is a delightful and much undervisited part of South Africa, offering some of the country’s most beautiful beaches, a number of diverse safari options and some hugely interesting historical sites.The beaches are on the Indian Ocean, so offer warm water for swimming or surfing and whilst there aren’t any beach resorts as you have on the Indian Ocean islands, it is a lovely spot for a few days R&R.
South Africa’s fabled Garden Route stretches some 204 kilometres from Mossel Bay in the west to Stormsriver in the east, belying its relatively small size by offering one of the most varied tourism experiences anywhere in the country. The focus here is on outdoor adventures, with beautiful beaches to relax on, forested national parks to explore, ocean safaris to enjoy and some of the finest golf courses in all of South Africa.
To the south-east of Cape Town lies the coastal town of Hermanus, which is situated overlooking Walker Bay. The unique geology of the sea floor means that the bay is very deep close to the shoreline, with the natural shelter it offers attracting Southern Right Whales to the bay to calve between July and November each year.
Johannesburg is a vibrant and exciting city with some of the best art, shopping and restaurants on offer. With a diverse cultural and entertainment scene, Johannesburg has a number of great natural and heritage attractions that are well worth visiting; the Cradle of Humankind and Apartheid Museum are just two highlights.
The largest game reserve in South Africa, the Kruger National Park is larger than Israel. Nearly 2 million hectares of land that stretch for 352 kilometres (20 000 square kilometres) from north to south along the Mozambique border, is given over to an almost indescribable wildlife experience.
KwaZulu-Natal, a coastal South African province, offers a diverse range of attractions from its beaches and mountains to its savannah populated by big game. It can be action packed, with visits to the towns, central streets, teeming with life, markets and noise, or it can be laid-back, relaxing on some of the country’s most beautiful beaches.
Madikwe Game Reserve is an increasingly popular malaria free safari destination in South Africa. With it’s huge variety of top class accommodation and large numbers of Big Five game, this Reserve has grown in popularity in the past five years with domestic and international travellers alike.
Stretching from The Atlantic Coast in the west to almost the centre of the country and from the deserts of the Great Karoo in the south to the borders with Namibia and Botswana in the north, South Africa’s Northern Cape is the largest of its 9 provinces by size, although by far the smallest in terms of population.Although it is relatively undeveloped in terms of tourism, it does boast a number of unique attractions, including the collaborative Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which crosses in to Botswana, the mighty Augrabies Falls and some charming frontier towns where the pace of life is altogether much slower.
A semi-desert region which stretches from the Cape Winelands on its western end to the Garden Route at its eastern extreme, the Overberg & Klein Karoo is one of the least-explored parts of South Africa but well worth a few days visit. Many travellers will simply pass through on self-drive trips, possibly stopping in the principal towns of Swellendam or Oudtshoorn for a night to break the journey.
The colloquial name given to the area to the west of the Greater Kruger National Park, the Panorama Route is a stunningly scenic area on the northernmost spur of the mighty Drakensberg Mountains. Visitors here can be active, explore beautiful scenic driving routes and get an insight in to some of South Africa’s unique history.
The Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is the largest private game reserve in South Africa, covering 111,000 hectares of the wild but beautiful Kalahari Desert in the north of the country. With a maximum of 28 guests visiting at any one time, those who do make the journey up here will be assured of a truly incredible personalised and private safari experience in a truly remarkable landscape.
The Waterberg region of Limpopo is a true natural wonder. It features ancient mountains, a rich tapestry of biodiversity, thousands-year-old rock art and a site of critical archaeological and palaeontological importance.
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