Overview of South Africa

With no less than 8 World Heritage Sites, South Africa is etched with the uniqueness of an African culture and the unravelled beauty of its natural allure. The county is world renowned for conservation effort, most famed for iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Kruger National Park. Nestled within iSimangaliso Westland Park is St. Lucia estuarine system, which is the largest of its kind in Africa. Kruger National Park is South Africa’s conservation flagship, and with its untamed and unfenced landscape, the park is home to the largest concentration of free roaming mammals on the continent.

As the country is big on wildlife, nature and African safaris; so are South Africa’s cities big on magnificent and interesting tourist sites too. Kimberly is synonymous with the Big Hole, one of the largest, most astonishing manmade, hand-dug holes in the world; its magnitude runs 215 meters deep and cuts into Kimberley like a crater.

Once known as the ‘Gold Capital of the World,’ Johannesburg is visited by many and is still being referred to as Egoli, thriving as The Place of Gold. As the driving force behind South Africa’s growing economy, the city bursts with an ever busy atmosphere and buzzes with the fast paced lifestyles of its locals.

In stark contrast to Johannesburg, Cape Town glitters as South Africa’s laidback, relaxed cosmopolitan capital. Voted as the Best Travel Destination, Cape Town has everything to keep anyone entertained; from magnificent flashy beaches lined with the glamour of fine dining venues, to fabulous chic boutiques and even an array of sophisticated bars and sassy clubs to help awaken the night.

Infrastructure

South Africa has a well established infrastructure. All major cities are equipped with first world facilities, banking and communications; from international conference centres to boutique hotels and luxury safari lodges. The country also has a good transport network, including railway and national road systems.

Geography

As diverse as its people, South Africa consists of a myriad of topographies and is often referred to as “A World within One Country”. The Indian and Atlantic Ocean stretches along South Africa’s coast for more than 2500km. The highest mountain range is the Drakensberg.

Access Details

South Africa has major airports located in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. International flights from Atlanta, New York, Sao Paulo, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Zurich, Dubai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney are all scheduled daily, mostly into Johannesburg.

Suggested Stay Details

A world in one country, you will need more than two weeks to see a small part of South Africa. The longer you stay the more you discover that you need to stay even longer.

Season Travel Details

The south-western regions of South Africa has a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters between May and September and warm, dry summers during November to February.

The south-western regions are known to have a subtropical or oceanic climate. Light rain is consistent throughout the year with mildly cool winters and summers are moderately warm. Spring blooms into colour round about the end of August into September, with temperatures rising in October.

South Africa’s north western areas transition from subtropical into tropical climates with hot humid rainy summers and moderately warm temperatures in winter. The tropical climate causes rain year round. Heavy rain is expected during summer months from October to March with temperatures reaching up to 35º C (95ºF). Winter is between April and September with pleasant warm days reaching temperatures of up to 23º C (73ºF).