Overseas travel is a horizon expanding must-do. Border hopping’s a blast. But when it comes to South Africa, there really is no place like home. Here’s why you should consider rubbing shoulders with the throngs of international tourists paying top dollar to see your backyard these summer holidays.
(Top image © Alan van Gysen)
If you’re after wild, tropical sands a-la Survivor or trendy seascapes to enjoy a sundowner on, South Africa has got it all rolled into one. Our 2 800kms of coastline is packed with incredible beaches and is easily accessible for the most part. It also holds many lesser-known gems far from the madding crowd.
Stroll along the wild jungle shores of Mabibi in northern Zululand, pitch your tent a stone’s throw from the ocean at Tietiesbaai on the West Coast, book a night at the coast-hugging Tintswalo Atlantic Lodge in Cape Town, or discover one of the Cape’s best kept secrets, Kraalbaai lagoon in the West Coast National Park, with its floating houseboats for hire.
No matter how you choose to get some sand between your toes, holidays in SA are made for beach getaways. So go on, pack up the family and find your favourite stretch of sand.
When it comes to wildlife, South Africa goes big in every sense of the word. Besides the perennial Big Five favourites, we’re also home to the largest bird (the ostrich), the largest reptile (leatherback turtle), the largest fish (whale shark) and the largest antelope (eland).
But if you prefer your critters tiny, SA’s got that covered too. The least dwarf shrew is one of the smallest known mammals and endemic to southern Africa. Full-grown adults measure a mere eight centimetres on average, three of which are tail, and weigh in at about 3,5 grams.
South African game reserves also come in all shapes and sizes. The Kruger National Park covers a mega 19 485 km², while the Bontebok National Park on the banks of the Breede River packs an astounding amount of birdlife into its 28km² and is renowned as a bird watcher’s paradise.
Tourists fly in from all over the world to enjoy the wild open spaces we have on our doorstep. So should you.
If you haven’t road tripped the national highways and byways, you haven’t seen South Africa at its finest. From the parched Karoo desert to the luscious Wild Coast, the landscapes are as varied as the routes. It’s simply a matter of packing the car and then setting your own pace. But why drive when you can return to the golden age of travel with a choice of two exclusive trains that easily rank among the world’s top 10?
The Blue Train gets its name from its beginnings, in the early 1940s when it was the Union Limited-Union Express line sporting distinctive sapphire blue carriages. It may be in its third reincarnation today, but the Blue Train still embodies old-school luxury standards: Irish linen, quality silver in the dining car, marble floors, plush white towels and fluffy eiderdown duvets.
Equally big on old-world luxury and style is Rovos Rail, the private rail company started by Rohan Vos in 1986. Aside from offering journeys between Durban and Cape Town, Rovos has pioneered the art of African rail travel beyond our borders, to Victoria Falls, Namibia, Cairo and Dar es Salaam. The rail company also offers guests the opportunity to combine a safari or golf experience, or to tag on a stay at one of their plush guesthouses in Cape Town.
And if both of these are beyond your budget, ask your Sure Travel agent about the mid-range Shonogolo Express, which has been wonderfully upgraded since being taken over by Rovos Rail.
Beaches, rivers, canyons, mountains, the bush…South Africa is a paradise for nature-loving families escaping the rush of everyday life for priceless quality time.
Take the kids to: African Pride Irene Country Lodge (Pretoria), Protea Hotel Knysna Quays (Garden Route), Tanamera Lodge (Sabie River Valley, Mpumalanga); BON Hotel Riviera on Vaal (Vereeniging). And of course your Sure Travel agent will have a range of other nature based local trips to choose from.
Mzansi is a giant roller coaster stretching from mountain to sea and you can ride it any way you like. There’s world-class downhill biking, hiking, rock climbing, bouldering and flying across tree canopies for those who like getting their kicks inland.
“Rush” is an understatement for what you’ll feel when you jump off the Bloukrans Bridge, the third highest commercial bungee jump in the world, and free-fall for more than 200 metres (make the Storms River Mouth Rest Camp your base with this great offer). Or how about jumping off a mountain? On Table Mountain, an official New Wonder of Nature, you’ll find The Long Drop — the highest commercial abseil in the world.
For the serious — and deep-pocketed —adrenalin junkies, head out to Thunder City near Cape Town International Airport. It’s home to the world's largest private jet squadron and one of only a handful of places in the world to offer civilians supersonic flights in former military jets. Here you can strap yourself into a supersonic fighter jet and climb to 60 000 feet at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound). Richard Branson did it and narrowly missed setting a new speed record — by two seconds. He says it was one of the most incredible things he’s ever done, and the entrepreneur’s done his fair share. “To go straight up and take the controls at 1 000 miles an hour, to actually be flying faster than the speed of sound, upside down looking at Table Mountain below. What a rush,” he reckons.
SA’s blessed with two coastlines, so if you prefer your action salty choose from the myriad of excellent surfing (learn at Muizenberg in Cape Town, voted one of the 20 Best Surf Towns in the world by National Geographic) and diving spots that dot the coast, from Elands Bay to Sodwana. Cage dive with Carcharodon carcharias (the great white shark) in Gansbaai, or swim with sharks at Aliwal Shoal, sans the metal bars. Did we mention Cape Town has the Ocean’s Big 5? And they’re all found in False Bay: the great white, Cape fur seals, dolphins, African penguins and orcas.
Go all-out hippie with Ayurveda and mediation retreats, detox till you drop (a couple of kilos) or just pop in for some serious R&R and a mani/pedi. Whatever way you like to exfoliate, de-stress or preen yourself, you’ll find it on offer at the hundreds of excellent spas dotted across the country. Many of SA’s top spas are of world standards and recognised globally. Like the spa at the ultra luxury Oyster Box hotel in Umhlanga, Durban, voted Best Luxury Hotel Spa in Africa in the 2014 World Luxury Spa Awards, and the Fairlawns Boutique Hotel & Spa in Sandton, Johannesburg, voted Best Luxury Wellness Spa in the same awards.
It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day for you to find a romantic getaway; there are options 365 days of the year in what many consider to be the most romantic destination on the planet. From secluded mountain escapes in the Drakensberg, Magaliesberg and Cederberg, to beach hideaways in tropical KZN and Cape Town’s wild west coast and forested love nests along the Garden Route, the options are relentless.
Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse in the Mooi River, Drakensberg is globally renowned as a romantic gourmet getaway and you’re practically guarantee to fall in (or back in) love at Tsala Treetop Lodge, nestled between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.
