SOUTHERN AFRICA
Mzansi Magic… for sure !
South Africa has been billed as ‘a world in one country’, and any visitor who has experienced its delights, from the jumble of the gold mining city of Johannesburg in the north, to the sophistication of Cape Town in the south, to the sunny laid back beaches of Durban in the east, and all the mountains, game reserves and picturesque coastlines in between, is bound to agree. Throughout the second half of the 20th century South Africa was regarded by most of the world as a pariah state where the ruling white minority passed a range of draconian laws to subdue and enslave the black majority. All this changed in 1994 with the release from prison of world-renowned freedom fighter and icon of the oppressed, Nelson Mandela. A new age of democracy was ushered in, and South Africa was suddenly revealed to the world in her beautiful true colours: a rainbow nation with a kaleidoscope of cultures and a host of attractions to enthral and entrance visitors. More than a decade later tourists are flocking to sunny South Africa in droves, particularly to the Western Cape with its magnificent scenery, beautiful beaches, majestic mountains and green winelands.
The Republic, comprising the southern tip of Africa and surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, offers a taste of the African experience with the chance to visit traditional tribal villages, game reserves and sprawling townships. At the same time, it also offers all the pleasures of a first-world holiday experience, with luxury hotels, sophisticated shopping, exciting theme parks and clean beaches. Have breakfast in a New York-style deli; lunch in an African shebeen; cocktails on a sunset cruise; and dinner in a fine British colonial restaurant. This is all possible in a South African city.
It is not only cultural diversity that makes South Africa magical. The country has a wealth of animal and plant life scattered across its varied climactic zones from desert to snow-covered mountains, forests to grasslands and mangrove swamps. Historically, too, there is plenty to discover, from the fossils of ancient hominids, to the pioneering spirit of the Dutch ‘voortrekkers’ and the settlement of the Eastern Cape frontier by the British colonialists. Although the country will be healing the wounds of Apartheid for many decades to come, South Africa welcomes travellers with open arms and truly has a whole world to offer them.
What to see and do in South Africa
- Get up close with the Big Five and other wildlife in the Kruger National Park.
- See Nelson Mandela’s former cell at Robben Island Prison.
- Take a guided tour of the Cradle of Humankind, home to richest and oldest human fossils.
- Take a township tour through Soweto and Alexandra.
- Drink in the sunshine on Durban’s Golden Mile.
- Go scuba diving in Sodwana Bay.
- Explore the magnificent Garden Route, with its stunning natural beauty.
- Visit Oudtshoorn, with its famous Ostrich farms and the Cango Caves.
- Do not miss the Namaqualand daisies, that carpets the entire landscape, when in season.
- Enjoy the many magnificent and clean beaches from Umhlanga to Clifton.
- Ride a cable car to the top of Table Mountain for spectacular views of Cape Town.
- Go wine tasting in the vineyards of Stellenbosch and the Cape Winelands.
- Go shark cage diving in Gansbaai.