A large, diverse and incredibly beautiful country, South Africa has much to offer the traveller. South Africa is often called the 'Rainbow Nation', a term which was coined by the former Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, and neatly describes the country's multicultural diversity. The country offers the picturesque Garden Route of the Western Cape to the sub-tropical coast of northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, the vast Karoo semi-desert across the centre of the country, and one of Africa’s premier safari destinations, the Kruger National Park in the north east. In the south west there is the outstanding attraction of Cape Town. The importance of the Cape Dutch architecture is evident in the historic towns and vineyard-covered mountains throughout the Winelands of the Western Cape.
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Where to Visit:
We, at Eight Points Africa are personally familiar with the below regions.
There are many incredible areas that we may not mention here as we are yet to explore them ourselves. If you wish to visit somewhere not mentioned, we will use our resources and connections to assist you putting together the perfect trip.
Kruger National Park and the Greater Kruger Park region
The Kruger National Park, operated by the South African National Parks Board, is arguably the emblem of South African tourism. A narrow, 65 kms, strip of land adjoining the Mozambique border, Kruger stretches across the Provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. From the entry point of Pafuri Gate in the north to Malelane Gate in the south is 414 kms. all of it along tar roads. There is also an abundance of alternative gravel roads offering a wilder route.
The Park is where visitors to South Africa may expect to see African wildlife in abundance. It is the place to look for the Big Five – elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard, as well as a plethora of other animal species (giraffe, wildebeest, impala, kudu, waterbuck, zebra etc.) and close to 500 species of birds.
The Greater Kruger National Park refers to the Kruger National Park itself as well as the Private Game Reserves on its Western border. In 1993 fences between these private reserves and Kruger National Park were removed to encourage wildlife integration and migration, and the GKNP was born. This added approximately 250,000 hectares to the already vast area of approximately 2,136,380 hectares.
Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula
Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s south west coast on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. It is considered to be South Africa’s most beautiful, most romantic and most visited city. Its physical setting is extraordinary. The area’s pre-colonial inhabitants first acknowledged this when they referred Table Mountain as Hoerikwaggo – the mountain in the sea. The Table Mountain National Park, covering 22,000 hectares, extends over much of the peninsula and boasts more plant species than the United Kingdom or New Zealand, many of them unique to this small area.
There is a diverse variety of activities and places to visit. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is a hive of activity. It was Cape Town’s original Victorian harbour and now incorporates the city’s most popular central shopping area – a busy complex of shops, restaurants, cinemas, waterside walkways and a working harbour.
Visitors can take the revolving cable car to explore Table Mountain, and enjoy the breath-taking views of the city below and the surrounding area. The alternative mode to the 1085m summit is to walk the well beaten paths.
To make it easy for the visitor to Cape Town there are ‘hop on, hop off’ tourist buses running a circular route allowing access to all the city attractions and some of its more outlying attractions, including Table Mountain cable car, Hout Bay and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. There are also many private excursions including those to see the penguins at Boulders Beach and to Cape Point. Visitors can also take a ferry to the infamous island prison - Robben Island – where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for nearly two decades.
The Winelands
Wine tasting is one of the best, and most popular, ways to spend a day in Cape Town. There are many estates that are open to the public and offer tastings, some within 20 or 30 minutes drive of the city.
The Garden Route
On the South Western coastline of South Africa lays a 300km stretch known as the Garden Route. The Garden Route runs from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape up to Storms River in the Eastern Cape.
The route is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and picturesque regions in Southern Africa. Ten nature reserves along the route showcase the diverse eco-systems and vegetation, lush Indigenous forests, the breath taking coastlines and valleys.
The region has much to offer visitors with an array of interests from hiking trails, birding and surfing to name a few.
The unique marine reserves are also home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. For lucky visitors they may also see the endangered Southern Right Whale who use various bays to calve yearly between July and December.
For the more adrenaline seeking visitor the route is also home to the World Highest commercial bungee.
There are many incredible areas that we may not mention here as we are yet to explore them ourselves. If you wish to visit somewhere not mentioned, we will use our resources and connections to assist you putting together the perfect trip.
Kruger National Park and the Greater Kruger Park region
The Kruger National Park, operated by the South African National Parks Board, is arguably the emblem of South African tourism. A narrow, 65 kms, strip of land adjoining the Mozambique border, Kruger stretches across the Provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. From the entry point of Pafuri Gate in the north to Malelane Gate in the south is 414 kms. all of it along tar roads. There is also an abundance of alternative gravel roads offering a wilder route.
The Park is where visitors to South Africa may expect to see African wildlife in abundance. It is the place to look for the Big Five – elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard, as well as a plethora of other animal species (giraffe, wildebeest, impala, kudu, waterbuck, zebra etc.) and close to 500 species of birds.
The Greater Kruger National Park refers to the Kruger National Park itself as well as the Private Game Reserves on its Western border. In 1993 fences between these private reserves and Kruger National Park were removed to encourage wildlife integration and migration, and the GKNP was born. This added approximately 250,000 hectares to the already vast area of approximately 2,136,380 hectares.
Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula
Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s south west coast on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. It is considered to be South Africa’s most beautiful, most romantic and most visited city. Its physical setting is extraordinary. The area’s pre-colonial inhabitants first acknowledged this when they referred Table Mountain as Hoerikwaggo – the mountain in the sea. The Table Mountain National Park, covering 22,000 hectares, extends over much of the peninsula and boasts more plant species than the United Kingdom or New Zealand, many of them unique to this small area.
There is a diverse variety of activities and places to visit. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is a hive of activity. It was Cape Town’s original Victorian harbour and now incorporates the city’s most popular central shopping area – a busy complex of shops, restaurants, cinemas, waterside walkways and a working harbour.
Visitors can take the revolving cable car to explore Table Mountain, and enjoy the breath-taking views of the city below and the surrounding area. The alternative mode to the 1085m summit is to walk the well beaten paths.
To make it easy for the visitor to Cape Town there are ‘hop on, hop off’ tourist buses running a circular route allowing access to all the city attractions and some of its more outlying attractions, including Table Mountain cable car, Hout Bay and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. There are also many private excursions including those to see the penguins at Boulders Beach and to Cape Point. Visitors can also take a ferry to the infamous island prison - Robben Island – where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for nearly two decades.
The Winelands
Wine tasting is one of the best, and most popular, ways to spend a day in Cape Town. There are many estates that are open to the public and offer tastings, some within 20 or 30 minutes drive of the city.
- Constantia is famous for its dessert wine and also produces Sauvignon Blancs and red wines of distinction.
- The Durbanville estates offers spectacular views across the ocean to Table Mountain and produces intense, fruit driven fine wines.
- The Stellenbosch region was the first to establish a formal route, and now boasts 148 farms scattered across the vine covered landscape, many of which incorporate Cape Dutch architecture
- The Helderberg Wine Route in and around Somerset West has a mix of old and new estates producing a wide variety of wine types.
The Garden Route
On the South Western coastline of South Africa lays a 300km stretch known as the Garden Route. The Garden Route runs from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape up to Storms River in the Eastern Cape.
The route is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and picturesque regions in Southern Africa. Ten nature reserves along the route showcase the diverse eco-systems and vegetation, lush Indigenous forests, the breath taking coastlines and valleys.
The region has much to offer visitors with an array of interests from hiking trails, birding and surfing to name a few.
The unique marine reserves are also home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. For lucky visitors they may also see the endangered Southern Right Whale who use various bays to calve yearly between July and December.
For the more adrenaline seeking visitor the route is also home to the World Highest commercial bungee.
Sample Itineraries
