South Africa the economic powerhouse of Africa is the southern most country on the African continent. South Africa, which has much of the world’s mineral wealth, came into being with the discovery of diamonds in Hope Town and gold on the Witwatersrand.  South Africa is a country of vast contrasts, high mountains, deserts, forests, oceans and open grassland.

South Africa has a well-developed infrastructure and tourist industry with many national game parks including the world famous Kruger National Park established in 1899 by the president of the Transvaal Boer Republic, Paul Kruger. A recent agreement between the governments of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to create a Trans-frontier park that will include the Kruger National Park was signed. A large variety of animals, birds and plants are to be seen in the Kruger National Park including lion, hippo, eland, rhino, giraffe and cheetah. The Kruger National Park has for a number of years exported elephants in an attempt to reintroduce elephants into areas in which hunting or poaching has eradicated the original elephant population.

The area the Kruger National Park, known as the ‘lowveld’, is rich in natural splendour; the Blyde River Canyon the third largest in the world, God’s Window which overlooks the lowveld and many others. Another attraction in the area is Pilgrims Rest, a historical mining town, which has been preserved and Dullstroom the centre of trout fishing of the area.

South Africa is culturally diverse with many indigenous people including the Zulu nation. Shaka Zulu, who revolutionised the art of war in Sub-Saharan Africa with the development of the assegai, conquered the surrounding tribes to forge the Zulu nation. He is also responsible for the creation of the Matabele in Zimbabwe; the founders of the Matabele were Zulu warriors fleeing the wrath of Shaka after his mother’s death. DumaZulu a traditional Zulu village is a must see for everyone, the village is situated near the Hluhluwe-Umfaolozi, Mkuzu and St Lucia national parks.

KwaZulu-Natal the home of the Zulu nation is on the east coast of the country on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Sodwana on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal is one of the premier diving destinations in the country and a good place from which to go game fishing. The Natal midlands is one of the hidden gems for the tourist and includes many of the battlefields from the Zulu War (War between Britain and the Zulu Nation).

South Africa has also been influenced by it’s immigrates, the Indians in KwaZulu Natal who maintain a market in Durban where jewellery and spices are sold side by side and haggling over prices is expected. The Malays in Cape Town who have influenced the cuisine of the area and the country as a whole. It is the French Huguenots who’s influence in the Western Cape is most clearly seen.

The Huguenots, who were refugees from religious persecution in France, brought with them a tradition of wine making which still persists. Many of the wine estates in the region, remain within the original immigrant families, 300 years and more after they first arrived in the Cape. A number of estates have opened there doors to visitors, both new and old wine estates are part of the organised wine routes. The wine routes were originally organised by the winemakers association to introduce the general public to high quality wines. South African wines have long been exported to Europe, the dessert wines of the Constantia estate was very popular during the eighteenth century. The wine tour allows the visitor to relax and sample some of the best wines in the world (this is of course a subjective statement).

To the east of the wine growing region is the Garden Route where forests and lakes abound. From Hermanus, the best place to see whales, Knysna where you can take a cruise on the lagoon and enjoy a platter of oysters or if you are very lucky catch sight of the elusive Knysna elephant, to Jeffries Bay, one of the best surfing spots in the world. The Garden Route offers relaxation for the visitor in lush green surroundings.

Outshoorn, which lies north of the mountains, which separate the Garden Route from the interior, is the ostrich capital of the world. A visit to see these large flightless birds should be on everyone’s itinerary, watch ostrich races or try to ride an ostrich yourself. If all this sounds a little warm, Outshoorn is in the hot dry Karoo after all, you can cool down with a visit to the magnificent Cango Caves where stalactites and stalagmites create strange shapes within the depths of the caves.

We have lightly touched on a few places to visit but barely scratched the surface. No mention has been made of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent many years as a prisoner, Sun City where you can go viewing in the morning and play a round of golf on one of the Gary Player designed courses, Kimberly where diamond mining established some of the great mining houses, Cape Agulhas where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean, Gold Reef City where the visitor can visit a gold mine or  . . . .  .

Enough!

We could spend days describing things to see and do but even that would not be enough because no one can explain an African sunset, the quiet of the veldt, or the feel of the air after a Highveld thunderstorm. These things cannot be explained but must be experienced. Thus we extend to you an invitation, to visit us, to experience what we have failed to describe with mere words.