South Africa Travel and
Accommodation with Stayinsa.co.za
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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