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Transition...
Only 13 odd years ago, South Africa appeared on
the world stage on a daily basis, unfortunately it
was all negative publicity and rightly so.
South Africa was in the process of major changes
from the old "Apartheid Regime" to the new
democratically elected government, the government
that is still in power today.
South Africa has transformed into a stable and
secure country and is now reaping the benefits of
this, this is especially evident in the case of the
tourism industry.
For years people world-wide have wanted to tour
South Africa, they are now doing so, and why not,
when you see what the country has to offer. Although
the whole of South Africa has plenty to offer
visitors, there are a couple of very popular areas
that one should tour.
Cape Town & Cape Peninsula
In the south we have the
Cape of Good Hope and the mother city of Cape
Town, a beautiful and vibrant city nestled around
the slopes of the impressive landmark of
Table Mountain.
One can visit interesting sights such as the
Castle of Good Hope, Parade Ground, City Hall,
Houses of Parliament & Tuinhuis, the Dutch East
India Company Gardens, Hout Bay and the Cape Fur
Seal colony on Duiker Island, Cape of Good Hope
Nature Reserve, Cape Point, Boulders - Penguins,
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, weather
permitting - take the cableway up Table Mountain,
Robben Island, the V&A Waterfront and various wine
routes, situated only a short drive from Cape Town.
Garden Route
A couple of hours drive from Cape Town,
stretching about 250km along the north east coast of
the Western Cape Province, one will find the "Garden
Route" of South Africa.
This picturesque area of South Africa offers
plenty of tour options, one can visit the Diaz
museum and complex in Mossel Bay, travel via the
Outeniqua Pass to Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, a
60km drive that reflects the great diversities of
nature South Africa has to offer, here one can visit
Cango Caves, Cango Wildlife Ranch and various
ostrich farms. Knysna, the oyster capital of South
Africa offers a variety of great restaurants,
cruises on the lagoon and to Featherbed Nature
Reserve, one could also take a ride on the Outeniqua
Choe-Tjoe steam train.
Down the road from Knysna is the
Tsitsikamma
National Park, a must visit for all, for the
adventurer there are loads of hair raising
activities available, such as bungee jumping, bridge
swinging, tree top tours, abseiling, mountain
biking, river rafting, tubing, hiking, scuba diving
and snorkelling.
KwaZulu
Natal is becoming the tourism mecca of South
Africa. There are so many great places to visit in
this province, which are all in close proximity of
each other.
Unfortunately, Durban is not the most tourist
friendly city in South Africa, but within a three
hour radius one could visit numerous attractions,
such as the Hluhluwe / Umfolozi Game Reserve, in
by-gone years this reserve was the hunting grounds
of Zulu Kings, the Greater St Lucia Wetlands world
heritage site, various Zulu cultural villages,
battlefields such as the "Battle of Blood River",
the Anglo-Zulu war battlefields of
Isandlwana
and
Rorke's Drift.
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Related pages
Cape Town; Knysna
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The Natal Drakensberg Mountains,
which is another one of South Africa's world
heritage sites, also known as the "barrier of
spears". This is a place where Bushmen left their
life stories in the form of paintings and drawings
on the rocks and in the caves.
South Africa's largest attractions are
the national parks and most of all the
world-renowned
Kruger
National Park. The Kruger National Park
is home to the "Big 5" and a host of other
animals, it is the most diverse park in the
world with 140 mammals, 119 reptiles, ± 506
bird, 55 amphibians and ± 1980 plant
species.
A visit to the park should be combined
with a tour of the "Panorama Route" of the
majestic Transvaal Drakensberg Mountains.
Here one can admire the natural beauty of
the Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window and
the Blyde River Canyon - third deepest
canyon in the world.
On this route there are a number of
interesting little towns, such as Sabie,
Graskop and Pilgrim's Rest, originally these
towns developed around the discovery of
alluvial gold in the 1870`s.
You will also find in this area, two of
my favourite cultural villages namely
Shangana and Matsumo.
Johannesburg & Pretoria
Johannesburg is the main entry point for
tourists visiting South Africa, here there
are a number of attractions that one can
visit, places that are relatively close to
the city, such as the old "Boer" republic
capital city of
Pretoria with sites that include the
Voortrekker Monument,
Paul Kruger House,
Church Square,
Union Buildings and Cullinan Diamond
mine.
You could also visit the Sterkfontein
Caves - "Cradle of Mankind" just west of
Johannesburg or take a tour to Soweto, a
tour that would include a visit to Hector
Pieterson Museum, Regina Mundi Catholic
Church, Vilakazi Street - the only street in
the world where two Nobel Peace prize
recipients lived -
Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
Sun City & North West Province
One could also include into a tour of
this area a visit to Sun City the "place
where the sun never sets" and the
Pilanesberg National Park another "Big 5"
game reserve, both places are about a two
hour drive from Johannesburg.
And something else...
I also recommend a couple of other
really good areas one could tour:
The private game & nature reserves such
as Sabi Sands, Timbavati, Madikwe, Korangwa
and Bushmanskloof.
Mapungubwe and
Marekele National Parks, Soutpansberg
and Waterberg Mountain regions,
Magoebaskloof Valley and Venda, the "Land of
Legends" in the
province
of Limpopo.
All in all, no matter where you choose
to tour in South Africa, you will have an
"Unforgettable African Experience".
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