The Amphitheatre

The rocky south-western tip of the peninsula inside Table Mountain National Park, with cliff paths, baboons and the old Cape Point lighthouse.

The prison island where Nelson Mandela was held for eighteen years, visited by ferry with tours led by former political prisoners.

A sheltered beach at Simon's Town with a breeding colony of African penguins viewed from boardwalks.

Kruger covers about 19,500 square kilometres along the Mozambique border and is one of the few major African parks you can drive yourself, with tarred roads, rest camps and shops. All of the big five live here, and sightings depend on season, water and patience. Private reserves on the western boundary offer off-road guided drives at higher cost.

The Drakensberg escarpment rises above KwaZulu-Natal in basalt walls and amphitheatres, protected as the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park and listed by UNESCO for both nature and its San rock art. Trails range from valley walks to the chain ladders up the Amphitheatre and the Tugela falls. Weather turns quickly, and summer afternoons bring lightning.

The Garden Route follows the southern coast for about 300 kilometres between Mossel Bay and Storms River, with lagoons, indigenous forest, cliffs and long beaches. Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are the main bases, and Tsitsikamma National Park holds the forest and suspension bridges at the eastern end. It is usually driven over four to six days.