Cape Town
Cape Town, the "Mother City", is the oldest city in South Aftica and has a cultural heritage spanning more than 300 years. It also has the top five national attractions in South Africa that should appear on every visitor's itinerary all year round.
Don't miss a visit up Table Mountain; the V&A Waterfront, a unique shopping and holiday experience on a scenic working harbour; Robben Island, the former home of Nelson Mandela; the Cape Town Wine Routes, where some of the world's best wines are produced and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, internationally acclaimed as one of the great botanical gardens of the world.
The unique topography of the region makes it easy to orientate oneself as long as you remember that with Table Mountain behind you and Robben Island before you, you are facing north, looking across Table Bay and up the west coast of Africa.
To help you find your way around the Cape Town region, the area is divided into four tourism areas - Cape Town Central, Cape Town North, Cape Town South and the Cape Town East. These areas are defined by their geographical location and within each area there are a number suburbs.
Garden Route
Where ever you are, you've most probably heard about the Garden Route, and rightly so, for this is one of the most magnificent, awe-inspiring stretches of land in South Africa, if not the world, with majestic mountains, breathtaking views, a natural garden of rich, colourful vistas, with valleys and lakes, rivers and forests, a paradise for bird-lovers and nature lovers, an eco-destination like few others in the world, with miles upon miles of beautiful, white sandy beaches and a zillion things to do and explore.
It is situated about 280km from Cape Town and is one of South Africa's richest botanical treasures, where you can lose yourself in nature amid the grandeur of giant Yellowwood or Milkwood trees in one of the indigenous forests. And between July and December each year, the scenic and tranquil areas of the region form a spectacular backdrop for a multitude of blooms, such as the Proteas, Ericas, Vygies, Bluebells, Pin-Cushions, Aloes, Tubers and various other species of Fynbos, as it is a matter of record that the floral kingdom of this area is the most varied in the world.
Wilderness, with its renowned vast stretches of beach, enclosed by mountains, lakes, valleys, nature reserves and the sea, an eco-destination par excellence.
As is Sedgefield and the lakes-areas, and the world-renowned Knysna, a world in one. On to Plettenberg Bay, a holidaymaker's mecca, catering just as well for the nature lover and the closest to the Tsitsikamma National Park.
Sun City
Sun City, unique in the context of world resorts, with a combination of features unmatched anywhere, draws thousands of visitors each year to its four top-quality hotels, a Vacation Club plus magnificent sporting and recreational facilities including 2 world class golf courses, and the magical Lost City water-park, The Valley of Waves. Only 187 km from Johannesburg, the resort, situated in the bushveld of South Africa's North West Province, is surrounded by the imposing mountains of the Pilanesberg.
The malaria-free Pilanesberg National Game Park is home to South Africa's Big 5 - Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard and Buffalo.
Johannesburg
Jo'burg, or 'Jozi' as it's more commonly known, is without a doubt the great big beating heart of South Africa, and has long played a Jekyll-and-Hyde role in the global consciousness. Often the stage on which the epic of this extraordinary nation has been played out, the colossus of Jo'burg - with all its thrills and foibles - is today a fascinating, multitudinous city, where all the ups and downs of 21st-century South Africa can be witnessed in three, multicolour dimensions.
