South Africa is as huge as it is beautiful. It is five times the size of the UK, but with a population of just 57 million people, and between them they speak eleven official languages. Here we show some of the best places to visit in South Africa.
Travelling between its nine provinces shows the immense diversity of its landscapes, rugged coastlines, marvellous white sand beaches, verdant green mountains and semi-arid lands and even desert.
The ever-changing landscape makes South Africa a fascinating place to visit. In Roggeveld Mountains in the Northern Cape province you can ski in winter while all around South Africa’s extensive coastline you will find brilliant beaches.
The vibrant city of Cape Town has so much to offer from its historic past, to the chance to explore Table Mountain, the V&A Waterfront and not forgetting Robben Island. Just seven kilometres off Cape Town’s coast, it was here that former president Nelson Mandela spent many years as a prisoner.
Johannesburg is home to the Apartheid Museum, which while challenging, is vital to visit if you want to understand the history of this country. The dark story of apartheid is laid bare here starting at the entrance where you can choose to walk in through the white person or the non-white person doors.
But to get to grips with the fascinating story of South Africa, is to understand its past, and that of mankind itself. After all, it is here, in the middle of Gauteng, at the Cradle of Humankind that man’s story is said to have come to have begun.
There is also a thriving food scene in South Africa. That, coupled with the country’s delicious home-grown wines, ensures that food connoisseurs will be very well fed.
No visit to South Africa would be complete without taking a safari. Seeing so many magnificent creatures in their natural environment is a truly unforgettable experience.
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