This vast country is undoubtedly one of the most culturally and geographically diverse places on earth. Fondly known by locals as the 'Rainbow Nation', South Africa has 11 official languages and its multicultural inhabitants are influenced by a fascinating mix of African, Asian, and European cultures.
Spend your days: discovering the gourmet restaurants, impressive art and nightlife scenes and fine beaches of Cape Town; enjoying a typical local braai (barbecue) in the Soweto township; browsing the bustling Indian markets in Durban; or sampling some of the world’s finest wines at the myriad wine estates dotted around the picturesque Cape Winelands.
Due to its rich and turbulent history there are plenty of historical attractions to explore including the Zululand battlefields of KwaZulu-Natal, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and Robben Island, just off the coast of Cape Town.
Above all else, South Africa’s attraction lies in its remarkably untamed wilderness with its astonishing range of wildlife roaming freely across massive game reserves such as the world famous Kruger National Park.
With all of this variety on offer, it is little wonder that South Africa has fast become Africa’s most popular tourist destination.
The Drakensberg range or Dragon Mountains, also known in Zulu as uKhahlamba or barrier of spears, is a voluminous stretch of mountains that covers over 1 000 kilometres from south-west to north-east, lying mostly in KwaZulu-Natal.
The central Drakensberg features a number of famous peaks that include Champagne Castle, Cathedral Peak, Monk's Cowl and Giants Castle. Collectively they make up one of the highest hiking places in the country and have the most incredible views, enviable skies, open spaces, sheer rock faces, caves and waterfalls, enough to make up for lives overindulged in indoor, work-focused lifestyles.
The central Drakensberg is regarded as the most attractive part of the range of mountains, certainly there is more Drakensberg accommodation and more action in these parts, and it is usually the first to feel the effects of winter, with gleaming white peaks after an icy chill.
The Central Drakensberg region is known for its numerous golf courses, art galleries, small home craft shops and is a popular weekend destination for local South Africans wanting to escape the city. It is also one of the areas richest in Bushmen cave paintings, boasting between 35 000 and 40 000 works that date to at least 40 000 years ago, the largest collection of such work in the world. Most of the Drakensberg is protected as a National Park and it is a major attraction for the lover of the outdoors. (ITT)
