Attractions

Cape Town

In this beautiful city even transient visitors can't help but devote a few million brain cells to storing images of its grandeur: its striking Table Mountain backdrop, its glorious beaches and enchanting vineyards, its rugged landscapes, its strange and wonderful plants and animals.

There are great walks and spectacular views from Tabletop Mountain as well as ocean swimming, boating activities, and plenty of ways to get out into the wilderness areas around Cape Town. Whether you're up for a heart-pumping abseil, sand-boarding or sky-diving, you won't have to look very far for an operator who'll be quick to take your money. Indoors, the city boasts a wealth of interesting museums.

Drakensberg

The awesome Drakensberg (Dragon Mountain) is a basalt escarpment forming the border with eastern Lesotho. Although people have lived here for thousands of years - there are many San rock painting sites - some of the peaks and rocks have only been tackled by Europeans in the last few decades.

Much of the range is taken up by national parks, perhaps the most spectacular of which is Royal Natal National Park. The southern boundary of the park is formed by the Amphitheatre, an 8km (5mi) stretch of cliff that is spectacular from below and even more so from the top.

Durban

Durban is a big subtropical city in the northeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal. It has been a major port since the 1850s and is home to the largest concentration of Indian-descended people in the country. Today the city is better known as a holiday-makers' fun parlour with a happening nightlife.

The weather (and the water) stays warm year-round drawing the crowds to Durban's surf beaches. Apart from the waves, 'Durbs' has much to offer. The city hall houses a gallery with a good collection of contemporary South African art and a natural science museum (check out the cockcroach display).

Garden Route

Heavily promoted and heavily scented, the Garden Route runs along a beautiful bit of coastline in southern Western Cape. The narrow coastal plain is well forested and is mostly bordered by extensive lagoons which run behind a barrier of sand dunes and superb white beaches.

The Garden Route has some of the most significant tracts of indigenous forest in the country - giant yellowwood trees and wildflowers - as well as commercial plantations of eucalypt and pine. The area is a favourite for all water sports and the weather is kind year-round.

Johannesburg

A city of astonishing contrasts, a huge metropolis where opulent wealth and desperate poverty live side by side: Johannesburg is the intriguing, dynamic heart of this turbulent country. If you want to see the real South Africa - and try to understand it - Jo'burg has to be on your itinerary.

A hop-on, hop-off bus will show you both rich and poor suburbs and make seeing Johannesburg that much easier. Although it's one of the most dangerous cities in the world, if you consult with the locals and follow their advice you'll find it a fascinating place.

Kruger National Park

As well as being one of the most famous wildlife parks in the world, Kruger National Park is among the biggest and oldest. You can see the 'big five' here (lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and rhinos) as well as cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, all sorts of antelope species and smaller animals.

Although most people will have seen African animals in zoos, it's hard to exaggerate how extraordinary and completely different it is to see these animals in their natural environment. That said, Kruger is not quite a wilderness experience: it's highly developed, organised, accessible and popular.