Johannesburg is one of Africa’s largest and most vibrant cities. It is an economic powerhouse in Africa and the gateway to Southern Africa. This bustling city offers a wide range of activities, attractions and plenty to do in and around the city including nearby Pretoria. Downtown is a multi-cultural mixture of traditional medicine shops, Chinese restaurants, taxi ranks and ultra-modern skyscrapers. There are excellent museums, art galleries and organised tours of historical and political interest. The shopping is Southern Africa’s best and the many restaurants cater for all tastes. Soweto, a township steeped in history and a significant part of the Greater Johannesburg metropolitan area, is a popular tourist destination.
Situated along the southern border of the world-famous Kruger National Park, on the banks of the Crocodile River, Marloth Park is a tranquil holiday town and wildlife sanctuary in the beautiful province of Mpumalanga. This 3000-hectare park is inhabited by abundant wildlife and is home to four of the Big Five. The rhino, lion, and buffalo are kept in Marloth Park’s Lionspruit Game Reserve, while the kudu, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, ostrich, impala, and warthog roam freely between holiday houses, lodges and hotels. Visitors can watch elephants play in the river, catch a glimpse of some magnificent wildlife from the lookout points and watch the spectacular sunset over the African bushveld. This park offers a string of wonderful activities including: guided game walks, game drives, night safaris, mountain biking, fishing, quad biking, horse riding, bird watching and even golfing inside the Kruger Park at Skukuza.
The southern area of South Africa’s most famous game reserve, the Kruger National Pak, is separated from lush farmland by the Crocodile River, a popular area to spot crocodiles, playful hippos and thirsty wildlife. The game viewing area is known as the ‘Southern Circle’ and is renowned for its rhinos and lions, with different prides boasting an array of different hunting techniques and behaviours to observe. Near the Hippo Pool, visitors can view ancient San rock paintings. The Southern Kruger offers incredible game-viewing opportunities and magnificent landscapes covered in African bushveld and savannah.
Set at the heart of South Africa’s largest and most famous game reserve, Central Kruger is home to large numbers of lions, hyenas, cheetah, leopards, buffalo, wildebeest, elephants, zebra, and birds of prey. The Olifants River flows through the region, a popular bathing and drinking site for hippos, elephants, and other mammals. Visitors can explore the area by way of guided game drives, bush walks, bird walks, and night drives. The area is also conveniently close to the Masorini archaeological site, an excavated ruin that dates back to the late Iron Age known to be a trading post for iron products by the Ba-Phalaborwa people. Other popular attractions easily accessible from the region include the spectacular Mac Mac Falls and the quaint historic town, Pilgrim’s Rest.
Resting at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg, in the beautiful Limpopo Province, the town of Hoedspruit is surrounded by the largest privately-owned conservation area in the world. It is sandwiched between the world-famous Kruger National Park and the breathtaking Blyde River Canyon. Hoedspruit serves as a great base from which to explore the surrounding game reserves and natural attractions. This spectacular landscape features towering cliffs shadowing over enormous stretches of bushveld that give way to marula, acacia and mopane woodlands. Within this wilderness paradise, some of Africa’s most captivating wildlife can be spotted. Visitors can enjoy a number of activities including: Big Five game drives, whitewater rafting, horse riding safaris, visiting the Khamai Reptile Park as well as the Daktari Wildlife Orphanage.
The Manyeleti Private Game Reserve shares its borders with Kruger National Park, Timbavati Game Reserve and Sabi Sands Game Reserve, forming part of a huge area of land in which wildlife roams free. It is managed by the Mnisi people, who have lived on this land for many generations. In Shangaan, the language of the most dominant tribe in the area, Manyeleti means ‘Place of Stars’ and in the evenings, when the sun’s light is replaced by that of the moon and countless bright stars, one can understand why. A dry area for most of the year, Manyeleti offers spectacular scenes of wildlife as they gather at water holes. Aside from the spectacular game viewing opportunities, the reserve also offers insight into the culture and traditions of the Mnisi people.
