Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest
If you read the tourist ads on South Africa, they will tell you that it is a land of many contrasts, and so it is.
International flights land either in Johannesburg, the city of gold, or Cape Town, the mother city. Both can be used as a good portal to see the many sights of the country.
Johannesburg is a cosmopolitan city equal to any. To the south lies Soweto C South Western Township, the location where Africans made their compulsory homes during the apartheid years. At times Soweto can be a dangerous place and it is best avoided; at other times, it is vital with music and dance and the traveler who spends an evening there will not soon forget it.
Gold Reef City is a resort-like monument to the early gold mining days of Johannesburg. Shops and mines reflect the gold fever of the 19th century. Zulu dancing is staged for the visitor and the Gumboot dance is flamboyant and rhymic. Its difficult not to tap ones feet and feel the wild heart of Africa.
Rosebank flea market is worth a visit on Sunday and a purchase of African beadwork and a beautiful animal carving will be cherished for a long time afterwards.
To the north of Johannesburg lies the Kruger National Park and safari time. Here lions, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, rhino, monkeys, baboons, buck, hyenas, elephants and all the indigenous animals of Africa roam free. Early morning game drives and late evening game drives will take you to the watering holes where the animals come to quench their thirst.
Durban is south of Johannesburg on the east coast. It lies nestled in the Valley of a Thousand Hills in sub-tropical climate. Blossom fragrance lingers in the air at all times and it does not matter what time of the year you call. It is always hot. For a breathtaking experience, hire a car and to drive through the many hills.
Zululand, the home of the legendary Zulu people, lies on Durbans northern side. It, too, deserves a visit. However, caution must be taken. Like many places in South Africa, it is not always safe.
Next stop is Kimberley to the south west, in the heart of the perpetually flat farmland, the Free State. Here you will find the worlds biggest hand-dug hole where 2722 kg of diamonds were found here before it closed in 1914.
Traveling south east, back to the coast, through the Transkei, the home of the Xhosa peoples, (Nelson Mandela is a Xhosa) and down south, you will eventually come to Port Elizabeth. This is a quaint beach and harbor city with beautiful beaches, an Oceanarium with a unique dolphin show, a snake park with snakes and crocodiles, a tropical house which houses night creatures and free-flying birds plus a museum with models of the dinosaurs that roamed the area. Port Elizabeth is known as the friendly city or the windy city. Take your pick!
Sardinia Bay, a few miles from Port Elizabeth, has Sahara like desert sand dunes that flow down to a rolling sea with strong currents. In days gone by, many rode horses next to the sea. Perhaps, sometimes, they still do.
From Port Elizabeth, drive west and you will come to Jeffries Bay, home to international surfers. From here, you will travel through the Outeniqua mountain pass (fabulous beyond words) until you arrive in George. Now your journey through the Garden Route begins, a scenic route that is world famous. Along the way, you will visit Plettenberg Bay, Knysna and Sedgefield. Spend a night and a day in each town. If you have the time, spend more.
If you drive inland, you will hit the Karoo, dry and arid land, deadly cold at night, hot as hell in daylight. Theres even a place in the Northern Cape called Hotazhell.
Back to the coastal route. This will take you to Mossel Bay, through the many beach hamlets, until eventually you arrive in Cape Town.
Cape Town offers you Table Mountain, the Victoria and Albert Yachting basin, world famous bikini girl beach, Clifton, the southern most point of Africa, Cape Point, and Chapmans Peak Drive. Do at least one ferry trip, either to Robben Island or to Seal Island and catch the seals, the dolphins, the whales, the penguin colonies and the myriad wild birds.
To truly experience South Africa, set aside a month. Spend two or three days at each destination (and then you will only touch the surface). Give yourself at least a week to travel the Garden Route. Cape Town will never leave you even if you leave Cape Town, so allocate a week there as well.
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