Africa

A hidden Jewell South Africa is situated at the southern tip of Africa forming part of the Southern Africa region and is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is situated within South Africa’s borders.

There are nine provinces – Gauteng, Western Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State and the North West. Pretoria is the executive capital and Cape Town the legislative capital. Other major cities include Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and East London.

Africa is home to nearly 600 national parks and reserves, which provides plenty of opportunities for the visitors trouping in for Africa’s first World Cup. In fact, three of the World Cup host cities, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg, are close to Pilanesburg, which is the fourth largest park in South Africa. This 55,000 hectare game reserve boasts of a spectacular landscape with rocky outcrops, vast grasslands, and a large central lake, the Mankwe Dam too.

South Africa’s most popular game reserve, the Kruger National Park is a huge draw too. The best safari holiday experiences in the Kruger are the private reserves of Sabi Sand and Timbavati, which is close to Nelspruit and Polokwane. There are regular flights from Johannesburg too. Apart from the day tour options, spending two to three nights in the wildlife reserves of South Africa is bound to be a remarkable experience.