Africa

Western Cape – South Africa

The Western Cape is one of South Africa’s premier tourist attractions, and for good reason. It is home to the famous Table Mountain, vast winelands, magnificent beaches, world-class restaurants and cosmopolitan entertainment haunts. The Cape boasts exquisite scenery and a myriad of cultures and tourist treasures that are just waiting to be discovered, so get going to the fairest Cape…

Overview
Situated on the south-western tip of Africa, the Western Cape is the meeting point of the cold Atlantic and the warm Indian Oceans. Its capital city Cape Town, is dominated by the flat-topped bulk of Table Mountain. The province has South Africa’s fifth largest population, numbering in the region of 4.5 million inhabitants. The story of the Republic of South Africa began in the Western Cape, some 350 years ago, when it was inhabited by the Khoi, San and other Bantu-speaking groups. In the late 15th century European seafarers arrived here in search of a halfway stop on trade routes to the East and thereby changed the face of South African history forever.
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Northern Cape – South Africa

Home to the ancient San people, the Northern Cape is about wide-open spaces, an utterly beautiful coastline and a number of unique national parks offering the tourist a very different experience of the South African landscape. This province boasts a colourful history and a variety of cultural tourist attractions and is particularly well known for its incredible annual floral display that takes place in Namaqualand.

Overview
The Northern Cape lies to the south of the mighty Orange River and comprises mostly desert and semi-desert. The landscape is characterised by vast arid plains with outcroppings of haphazard rock piles. The cold Atlantic Ocean forms the western boundary. This region covers the largest area of all the provinces yet has the smallest population. The last remaining true San (Bushman) people live in the Kalahari area of the Northern Cape. The whole area, especially along the Orange and Vaal rivers, is rich in San rock engravings. The province is also rich in fossils.

The first people of the Northern Cape were the San, who were gradually pushed out of the area by the arrival of Europeans, and other African tribes. The Dutch came to the area to mine for copper under the famous Cape governor Simon van der Stel. Mining has always defined the history in this part of the world and, when diamonds were discovered in Kimberley, unprecedented growth took place in the province under the leadership of men such as Barney Barnato and Cecil John Rhodes. In 1899, the Northern province was the scene of the Anglo-Boer War, where Kimberley was one of the first towns to be besieged by the Boers.
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North West – South Africa

Known as the “Heritage Province”, the North West is a rewarding holiday destination that offers exciting wildlife and adventure encounters as well as the opportunity to participate in a rich cultural and historical heritage.

Home to the fantastic Pilanesberg and Madikwe game reserves, North West has the big five, fantastic bird-life and wide-open African skies. The area boasts archaeological discoveries that go back to the beginnings of humankind, as well as the world-famous Sun City hotel complex, creatively dedicated to ancient lost civilizations and modern-day pleasures.

This is also the land of the author Herman Charles Bosman and his tales of Oom Schalk and the Groot Marico where mampoer (a very potent home-distilled peach brandy) and local legend were born and where time stands still. This is where the Bakgatla tribe believe in totem animals and that their wellbeing is dictated by the stars…

Overview
The province extends all the way from Gauteng to the Botswana border. The area is flanked by the Magaliesberg and the Kalahari Desert. North West has a population of just over three million people.

Climate
Summer brings hot, sunny days (temperatures in the region of around 22 to 34 degrees centigrade); winters are relatively warm during daylight hours, however the evenings can get somewhat chilly (temperatures range from 15 to 22 degrees centigrade).

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Mpumalanga – South Africa

If you’d like to visit the world’s most famous game reserve, climb the world’s third-highest canyon, explore the world’s oldest cave and spend the night in the world’s best private game lodges, Mpumalanga’s the place to come to!

Mpumalanga, which means ‘place where the sun rises’ in the local languages of Siswati and Zulu is one of South Africa’s tourism hotspots, loved by both local and international visitors for its beauty and diversity. This province is home to The Kruger National Park (big five country), exquisite panoramic views, mountains, rivers, caves, trout fishing and birding opportunities, eco-tourism, adventure holidays and the rich offerings of the local Ndebele and Swazi cultures.

Overview
Mpumalanga is bordered by Mozambique and Swaziland in the east, and Gauteng in the west. It is situated mainly on the high plateau grasslands of the Middleveld, which roll eastwards for hundreds of kilometres. In the northeast, the land rises towards mountain peaks and then terminates in an immense escarpment. In some places, this escarpment plunges hundreds of metres down to the low-lying area known as the Lowveld. Even though it is one of the smaller provinces (79 490 km2 in surface area), Mpumalanga is home to some three million people.

Climate
Mpumalanga is a summer rainfall area with hot summers, especially in the lowveld regions. Mild in winter, it can become very cold in the highveld areas.
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Limpopo – South Africa

Named after the great Limpopo River that flows along its northern border, this province is rich in wildlife, spectacular scenery and a wealth of historical and cultural treasures.

Known as the Great North, Limpopo province is home to ancient lands and pre-historic secrets. This is home to Modjadji, the fabled Rain Queen; The Stone Age and Iron age relics of Makapansgat Valley and the treasures of Mapungubwe that date back to time immemorial.

Straddling the northern Kruger Park, Limpopo province boasts wildlife safaris, nature trails untamed Africa at its finest. This is the land of wideopen bushveld, big-sky country, the ever-present thorn tree and the mystical baobab tree.

The Limpopo province also offers up Africa’s wild Edens – from highveld grassland savannahs to subtropical forests to formidable mountain ranges.

Overview
South Africa’s northernmost province, Limpopo, borders onto Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana thus making it the ideal entrance to Africa. The Limpopo province celebrates a rich cultural heritage and at many archaeological sites the mysteries of the past and ancient peoples are still being unearthed. Historians reveal that the first black Africans moved across the Limpopo (into what became known as South Africa) before 300 AD. The Voortrekkers arrived in the early nineteenth century and this part of the world changed forever. Numerous battles between indigenous African people and the Voortrekkers ensued. During apartheid, portions of land were divided into homeland areas. However, today the Limpopo province is united in its aim to offer the best possible welcome for its visitors.

Climate
Limpopo is renowned for its hot yet pleasant summers and dry winters.
Its weather is characterised by almost year-round sunshine. It can get very hot in summer (October – March), with temperatures rising to 27ºC (80,6 ºF) and, sometimes, even touching the mid-30s Celsius (mid-90s Fahrenheit).
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KwaZulu-Natal – South Africa

Washed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with its subtropical coastline, sweeping savannah in the east and magnificent Drakensberg mountain range in the west, generously caters for just about every taste imaginable.

Known as the Kingdom of the Zulu, KwaZulu-Natal is a melting pot of African, European and Indian cultures. This province boasts two World Heritage Sites – the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park and the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. KZN offers fantastic beaches, sunny weather, game parks, rolling green hills, numerous sugar cane plantations and relics of the great battles in South African history.

Traditionally, a popular holiday destination for holiday-makers from other provinces flocking to its sandy shores and wonderful surf, KwaZulu-Natal is South Africa’s busiest local holiday destination.

Overview
KwaZulu-Natal forms South Africa’s east coast, stretching from Port Edward in the south, to the Mozambique boundary, in the north.From its early days, the province has been the scene of many fierce battles – being the bone of contention between the Zulus and the Voortrekkers; the British Empire and Boer settlers (Anglo-Boer War); the Zulus and the British Empire. KwaZulu-Natal has the largest population in the country with some nine million people living on 92 100 km2 of land. Seventy-five per cent of its inhabitants are black, mainly Zulu-speakers. Some 15 per cent of the population are Indian, while white people make up the remainder.
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Gauteng – South Africa

Although it is the smallest of the country’s nine provinces, Gauteng (a Sotho word for the Place of Gold), is the commercial and industrial powerhouse of southern Africa.

Gauteng is where the creative spirit of a nation converges in a dense, cultural heartland. It is the intersection of African and global trade – incorporating Johannesburg, Pretoria and Soweto. Gauteng is a cosmopolitan, multicultural mix of people from all walks of life, from all corners of the world.

Gauteng’s primary attraction is big business, but there is so much more to this province. There is a wealth of culture to be mined in the museums, galleries, art routes and historical battlefields. Gauteng is also an entertainment playground, offering a plethora of world-class restaurants, shebeens, shopping malls and music venues.

Overview
Where else on earth can you find a mini-Big Apple existing alongside the remains of the first hominids? Gauteng has a legacy of larger-than-life heroes and villains, ancient civilisations, as well as turbulent political history.
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Free State – South Africa

The plains of South Africa’s interior plateau between the Vaal and Orange Rivers form the Free State Province.

This tranquil land of the ever-present windmill is the geographic and agricultural centre of South Africa. Of all the provinces, this one presents the classic scene of the sunny veld, the high-lying, spacious grass-covered prairie land with deep-blue African skies, majestic cloud formations in summer and a skyline broken by the occasional flat-topped koppie (hill-like mountain).

The Free State is fast becoming a tourist destination in its own right. Famous for its warm South African hospitality, `boerekos (traditional Afrikaner farm-style cuisine) and decidedly slower-paced lifestyle, this province has become a mecca for holiday-makers intent on exploring small-town South Africa.

Known, locally, as South Africa’s ‘bread basket’, the Free State is cultivated by more than 30 000 farms to produce over 70% of South Africa’s grain consumption. It is also home to the most productive gold and diamond mines in the world.

Overview
The Free State lies in the heart of South Africa, with the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho nestling in the hollow of its bean-like shape. Between the Vaal River, in the north, and the Orange River, in the south, this immense rolling prairie stretches as far as the eye can see. Formerly known as the Orange Free State, this province has had its share of battles most importantly, perhaps, the Anglo Boer War. This was the last full-scale war to be fought on South African soil and was not only a turning point in the history of the modern wars of our time, but also the last of the gentlemens wars.
The Free State is the third-largest province in South Africa. However, it has the second-smallest population and the second-lowest population density, housing some 2,8 million people on about 129 480 km2 of land. Many of the towns display a mix of culture clearly evident in street names, public buildings, monuments and museums. Dressed sandstone buildings abound on the Eastern Highlands, while beautifully decorated Sotho houses dot the grasslands. Some of South Africa’s most valued San (Bushman) rock art is found in the Free State.
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Eastern Cape – South Africa

Where else can you surf the worlds biggest waves, ski down the only snow slopes in Africa, go on a `big seven safari, visit the birthplace of Nelson Mandela and bungee the highest bridge in the southern hemisphere? The Eastern Cape, of course!

The second largest of South Africas nine provinces, the diverse Eastern Cape landscape ranges from the dry desolate Great Karoo to the steamy forests of the Wild Coast and the Keiskamma Valley. The area also embraces the fertile Langkloof, renowned for its rich apple harvests, and is cradled by the mountainous southern Drakensberg.

Here, widespread hills are juxtaposed with sandy beaches; here small-town South Africa comes to greet you gently offering hospitality and friendship and asking for nothing in return. This is where the `big seven roam, and where the tropical forests share their space with abundant birdlife and nature at its most generous.

Overview – Eastern Cape
The shoreline of this province extends from the Umtamvuna River in KwaZulu-Natal, to the Storms River mouth on the scenic Garden Route, in the west, and stretching inland, to the north, bordering on Lesotho. Today, the Eastern Cape incorporates the previously independent `homelands of the Ciskei and Transkei. Despite its colonial past, the Eastern Cape remains the home of the Xhosa-speaking people of South Africa.With its almost seven million people, the Eastern Cape has the third-largest provincial population, living on about 169 600 km2 of land.
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