There’s so much to see in southern Africa! Choosing only a few places can be overwhelming. It’s a vast land, filled with landscapes, animals, and wonder. Hopefully, our bucket lists will help.
- The Pilanesberg National Park – South Africa
In 1977, within one of the largest circular volcanic complexes in the world, Operation Genesis began, and long-vanished wildlife was reintroduced. It was the largest game resettlement in the world. Now, ecologically rich and malaria-free, and only 3 hours from Johannesburg, the Pilanesberg is home to over 10 000 animals, including the Big 5, Sable antelope, giraffe, and zebra, and over 360 species of bird. Here game drives and concealed hides take you into Africa’s untamed heart.
- Canoeing the Zambezi – Zimbabwe
If adventure is what thrills your soul, then canoeing the great Zambezi may be the perfect holiday. Drift with the current through pods of hippo, passing lone crocodiles sunbathing on sandy islands, watching herds of elephant navigate across the wide stretch of water to climb the steep, thorn-tree shaded banks. Camp in tents on the river edges and drift to sleep with the sound of the river floating by, the roar of lions, or the laughing cough of hyenas – this is the soul of Africa.
- Creepy Creatures Desert Tour – Namibia
Stay in luxury lodges or just as luxurious tented camps in Namibia, home to the oldest desert in the world. Here are shipwrecks stranded miles from the ocean, and over a thousand endemic species of insects, frogs, fish and reptiles. Expert guides can introduce you to some of the weirdest and most memorable sand critters in Africa. Meet the Dancing White Lady spider as she cartwheels 44 times per second racing down a sand dune! How about the Toktokkies who stick their butts in the air to catch fog? Then there’s the pretty eyeball licking gecko – theirs, not yours, and its fellow sand-dweller, the shovel-snouted sand diving lizard holding two feet in the air, at the same time, to cool down when the sand gets too hot.
- The Garden Route – South Africa
Are you a road trip junkie? The Garden Route in South Africa may be the most beautiful road trip you ever drive. With so much beauty at each turn, you may want to take it slow. Whether you travel for 3 days or 2 weeks, the Garden Route is bound to leave you breathless. From Mossel Bay to Stormsriver, the Indian Ocean on your right, families of whales frolicking in the waves, the towering and rugged Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountain ranges through which you pass, the fields of lavender or fynbos, quaint coastal towns, and the Otter Trail, all await those with an adventurous soul. You’ll pass through Wilderness, Sedgefield, George, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Nature’s Valley and finally end at one of the most dramatic locations in South Africa, Storms River. Here, the river’s power can be seen in all its wild splendour, cutting its way through the precipitous cliffs thick with tall trees in the Tsitsikamma National Park, roiling under the suspension bridge and crashing into the Indian Ocean. Storms River mouth alone is worth the drive.
