Where
to Travel in South Africa:
While you could travel around the
whole of South Africa in a matter of weeks,
a more satisfying approach is to focus your attention on one section
of the
country.
Every one of the nine provinces (plus
Lesotho and Swaziland) holds at least a couple of compelling reasons
to visit, although, depending on the time of year
and your interests, you'd be wise to concentrate on either the
west or the east
by using Stayinsa.co.za for your accommodation needs..
The South African west coast, best
visited in the warmer months (Nov-April),
has the outstanding attraction of Cape
Town , worth experiencing for its
matchless setting beneath Table Mountain, at the foot of the continent.
Half a day's drive from here can take you to any other destination
in the
Western Cape , a province which owes its distinctive character
to the fact
that it has the longest-established colonial heritage in the country.
You'll find gabled Cape Dutch architecture, historic towns and
vineyard-covered
mountains in the Winelands ; forested coast along the Garden Route
; and a
dry interior punctuated by Afrikaner dorps in the Little Karoo.
If the west sounds a bit too pretty
and you're after a more "African"
experience, head for the eastern side of South Africa, it is best
visited in the
cooler months (May-Oct). Johannesburg is more likely to be your
point of
entry to this area: its frenetic street life, soaring office blocks
and lively mix of people make it quite unlike anywhere else in
South Africa. Half a day away
by car lie the Northern Province and Mpumalanga, which share the
mighty
Kruger National Park . Of South Africa's roughly two dozen major
parks, the Kruger Park attracts the largest number of first-time
visitors, and is unrivalled
on the continent for its cross-section of mammal species.
A visit to Kruger
National Park combines perfectly with the KwaZulu-Natal which
lies to the south.
An excellent short cut is to drive through tiny, landlocked Swaziland
, which
has attractions all of its own: a unique Swazi culture and a number
of well-managed game parks. KwaZulu-Natal offers superb game and
bird life; Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park is the best place in the world
to see endangered
rhinos and there are several other outstanding small game reserves
nearby,
such as Ithala, Mkhuze and Ndumo. For hiking and nature, nothing
rivals the soaring Drakensberg range. After Cape Town, Durban
remains the only city in South Africa worth visiting in its own
right: a busy cultural melting pot with a bustling Indian district
and lively beachfront. The long stretch of beaches north
and south of Durban is the most developed in the country, but
north towards
the Mozambique border lies the wildest stretch of coast in South
Africa.
Long sandy beaches , developed only
in pockets, are characteristic of much
of the 2500km of shoreline that curves from the cool Atlantic
along the
Northern Cape round to the subtropical Indian Ocean that foams
onto
KwaZulu-Natal's shores. Jeffrey's Bay on the Eastern Cape coast
is reputed
to be one of the world's top surfing spots. Much of the Eastern
Cape coast is equally appealing, whether you just want to stroll,
sunbathe or take in
backdrops of mountains and hulking sand dunes. Scuba diving ,
especially in KwaZulu-Natal, opens up a world of coral reefs rich
with colourful fish, and southeast of the Western Cape winelands,
along the Whale Coast , is one of South Africa's unsung attractions
- some of the best shore-based
whale-watching in the world.
With time in hand, you might want
to drive through the sparse but exhilarating interior of South
Africa, with its open horizons, switchback mountain passes, rocks,
scrubby vegetation and isolated dorps . The Northern Cape and
Northwest Province can reveal surprises. Visit the western section
of the
Northern Cape in August or September, and you'll be treated to
a riot of
colourful wild flowers . From the staunchly Afrikaner heartland
of Free State , you're well poised to visit the undeveloped kingdom
of Lesotho , set in the mountains between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
Lesotho has few
vestiges of royalty left today, but it does offer plenty of spectacular
highland scenery, best explored on a sturdy, sure-footed Lesotho
pony. |
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