Travel Regions in South Africa
South Africa is a vast country with considerable distances between places. One should keep in mind that Cape Point is 2,000 km from the country's northern border at the Limpopo River. If time is limited, it would be advisable to confine tours to one or two of the six travel areas. Each area offers many attractive features and is worth spending a good amount of time in each part.
Travel
Area 1
Gauteng,
Mpumalanga, Limpopo and
North-West Province
The north-east features the capital of Pretoria and
the metropolis of Johannesburg, (with its international airport). Also to be
found in this area
is the Kruger National Park, the beginning of the Drakensberg mountain range
in Mpumalanga with the spectacular Blyde River Canyon, the gambler’s paradise
of Sun City, Pilanesberg National Park, the Magoebaskloof mountain area or the
Marakele National Park. Swaziland is also included in this area.
Travel
Area 2
KwaZulu-Natal
This area consists of the province of KwaZulu Natal with the metropolis
Durban on the Indian Ocean, where you will find wonderful swimming
beaches as well as the game parks of Mkuzi, Umfolozi and Hluhluwe,
Ndumo, Tembe and Ithala and the Greater St.Lucia Wetlands Park. Of
interest are the Zulu Cultural Show Villages, the Midlands Meander
trails and the highland region of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park.
In this area you will find the Garden Route (with
its capital George) and its numerous seaside resorts of Mossel Bay, Wilderness,
Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Also featuring the Tsitsikamma National Park,
the Eastern Cape Province with its capital Port Elizabeth, the Addo Elephant
Park, Grahamstown and East London. The southern part of the Karoo has attractions
like the Cango Caves, the ostrich farms of Oudtshoorn, the quaint town
of Graaff-Reinet and the Valley of Desolation or the Mountain Zebra National
Park. The former Transkei, today part of the Eastern Cape Province, and
its Wild Coast also lie in this area.
The Western Cape Province, a geographically small area,
offers many interesting tourist destinations. Here lies Cape Town, the
Cape Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope. Other attractions are the Winelands
around Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, the ruggedly romantic West
Coast with the picturesque Lambert's Bay and the beautiful Cedarberg
Mountains, the peaceful Breede River Valley and the little known Overberg
region.
This comprises the northwestern part of South Africa with endless open
expanses and fascinating landscapes. Here you will find the remote Richtersveld
National Park, the fishing villages of Hondeklip Bay and Port Nolloth,
and the amazing Namaqualand, which is covered in wildflowers in spring.
Interesting towns to visit are the capital Springbok and the Karoo pearl,
Calvinia.
Featuring the northern Karoo and the Kalahari; the highlights of this area
include: the spectacular Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the thundering Augrabies
Falls, Upington on the Orange River, the diamond town of Kimberley, the
Free State with its capital Bloemfontein and attractions like the Golden
Gate National Park with its yellow sandstone formations or the Sterkfontein
Dam and its electricity scheme.
Click here to see each tour in detail
