We may be getting banned and being put on red lists after the Omicron announcement, but there is no need to worry about travel plans, as South Africa itself is a top tourist destination to visit in Africa! We have it all, history, wildlife, natural beauty and great food! Let’s get local this holiday season! #SupportLocal. Here are just some of our personal recommendations on places to visit in South Africa (there are many many more out there!)
Margate
Margate is ‘the holiday capital’ of the Southside. Margate together with Ramsgate is a vibrant and colourful area, famous for its nightlife and beaches. This area has something for everyone! This includes exciting water sport activities such as canoeing, boardsailing, boating and skiing, and scuba diving.
Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve
A photographer’s paradise, Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve encompasses forests, rivers, rapids and ravines. What’s more, it’s only 25 kilometres inland from the coastal holiday hotspot of Port Shepstone, which is home to awesome surfing and swimming beaches and is known for its consistent sunshine.
High sandstone cliffs dominate this 24 kilometre-long gorge, which has been meticulously carved out by the Umzimkulwana River. Leopards, troops of baboons, various small antelope and a prolific birdlife inhabit the reserve. In fact, more than 250 different bird species have been identified here, including five species of kingfisher and seven species of eagle. Wildlife in the Oribi Gorge consists of many antelope, although the graceful oribi (after which the gorge is named) is rarely seen.
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is located along the south-western shore of South Africa, on the Cape Peninsula. If you are travelling to Cape Town then you have to visit this beautiful place! This Peninsula is in the Atlantic ocean, and although an extremely southerly point, is not the most southern part of South Africa, despite many misconceptions to the contrary.
You can expect to see unpredictable weather, baboons, penguins playing in the ocean and a lighthouse with spectacular views!
Boulders Beach Penguin Colony
The sheltered inlet of Boulders Beach is located in the Cape peninsula near Simon’s Town. Here exists a protected colony of African penguins which can be viewed in their natural habitat via wooden walkways. There is also an excellent beach for swimming nearby.
Sabie Waterfalls Route
The Sabie Waterfalls route in Mpumalanga is one of the best kept secrets in South Africa! Visitors are often so captivated by the Blyde river canyon nature reserve, with its magnificent cliffs and stunning views, not to mention dazzling flora and fauna, that this superb cluster of waterfalls is often overlooked, but it’s all mostly on the way. There are more waterfalls here than anywhere else in southern Africa! Nowhere else in the country is it possible to combine such views, and picnic spots, with so many waterfalls.
Cape Agulhas
Officially Cape Agulhas is the place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, and not the “two oceans” as believed at the Cape Point, near Cape Town (for publicity reasons). Cape Agulhas is the southernmost tip of Africa, only 2.5 hours from Cape Town. The cape and its surroundings are part of Agulhas National Park, a small, quaint park that encompasses the historic Cape Agulhas lighthouse, a number of shipwrecks, wine farms, and country towns, a whites and beach and lagoon, and a collection of hiking trails through the scraggly, scrawny bush.
Lake Eland Zip Lines in Oribi Gorge
Lake Eland Zip Line is the longest zip line tour in Africa! The 4.5km tour consists of 14 zip line slides starting at the top of the Oribi Gorge. The longest zip line is No.6, called Hell’s Gate, which soars 680m and 300m high above the Gorge!