South Africa Tourism & Travel Guide - South Africa Hotels

South Africa Tour & Travel Guide - Things to do in South Africa

Stand at God’s Window in Blyde River Canyon Nature Park

For those who come here, it’s easy to see why God’s Window was believed to be the end of the world in the film “The Gods Must Be Crazy”. Situated at the southern extremity of the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, the Escarpment is a two hundred and fifty long rampart of sheer cliffs that plunge over seven hundred metres to the veldt. The view includes an ancient forest often described as Eden as well as Kruger Park and on a clear day, even Mozambique. With vistas like this, you can fall off the map without anyone noticing.

Visit Soweto and Robben Island

Part of South Africa’s history and heritage, Soweto is not the gloomy shanty town one would imagine. Undoubtedly shanties and poverty exist but there is no better place to start your understanding of the dark era of the Apartheid days and the consequent struggle to leave it behind. Visit Nelson Mandela’s house, the Hector Pieterson Museum and the famous Regina Mundi church, the gathering place as well as the tragic arena for the 1976 uprising and its crushing. There are organised tours available to Soweto, alternatively you can hire a private taxi. Prison Cell No 7, with its famous former inhabitant is the key highlight of Robben Island but there are other more cheerful things to see including a small penguin sanctuary. Robben Island is best done as a day trip from Cape Town and ferries leave at regular intervals throughout the day from the Clock Tower precinct at the V&A Waterfront.

Travel along the Garden Route

What more can we say? It’s up to you to choose from the wildly varied activities on offer along this most stunning of routes. Alternatively, just drive along and soak up the sheer beauty of the landscape. One thing’s certain - God was feeling good when He designed the Route. La vita è bella.

Take the Blue Train

Agatha Christie did it, so why can’t you? Pricey yes, but definitely on that list of lifetime things to do. The Blue Train travels between Pretoria and Cape Town and is one of the most opulent trains in the world. Boasting of a butler service, lounge cars, carriages with gold-tinted picture windows and compartments with en-suite bathtubs, this one is for the luxury buffs. The views are no less opulent ranging from the scenic wine lands to the stark beauty of the Karoo and Victorian Matjiesfontein.

Discover the silences of the Kalahari Desert

It isn’t the end of the earth but its close. Experience endless horizons, fiery sunsets, skies that burn with the night stars and the silences that only a desert can provide. A good starting point to explore the Kalahari or the Land of Thirst would be to visit Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, one of the world’s last great, unspoiled ecosystems and home to the famous black-maned Kalahari lions (think Lion King and Uncle Max) as well as cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. Herds of wildebeest, springbok, eland, and red hartebeest can also be seen here. Want to get further out? Buried deep in the desert sands of the Kalahari, lies an inexhaustible spring called the Eye of Kuruman. From Kuruman, you can make a day trip to the Wonderwerk Cave, about forty kilometres away. The cave has been occupied for hundreds of thousands of years and there is a small museum there. Kuruman is a 6-hour drive from Johannesburg and Kgalagadi is approximately 904 km from Johannesburg. There are both luxury lodges as well as wilderness camps within the Park for staying options.

Visit the winelands

Route 62, better known as the Wine Route is a wonderful ride that combines some of the best wineries of earth along with some of her most beautiful landscapes. Irresistible, wouldn’t you say. The route spans Wellington, Tulbagh, Worcester, Robertson as well as the Klein Karoo and is one of the longest wine routes in the world. While, of course, you could do wine tours, other options include safari drives, cultural tours, hiking, mountain climbing, canoeing, and camping. The Winelands are easily accessible from Cape Town via car and tour bus. Most of the major vineyards are centred around Paarl (on the N1) and Stellenbosch (on the N2) but many other smaller vineyards exist slightly off the beaten track. Almost all of them are clearly marked by wine route markers. Wine tastings are offered as well as cheese at some cellars. If you don’t fancy driving yourself, there are many organised bus tours through the major wine routes.

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