Travel to South Africa

South Africa is one of the most geographically varied countries of the African continent, comprising territory that ranges from the rolling, fertile plains of the highveld and the wide open savanna of the Eastern Transvaal to the Kalahari desert and the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains.

While all of its diverse regions offer ample opportunities for adventure travel, the focus in South Africa--as in much of sub-Saharan Africa--is the safari. In addition to possessing two of the world's most renowned wildlife reserves, the Kruger and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks, the country contains over a dozen smaller regional parks and reserves. In addition, with its excellent road and rail systems, its abundance of top-rated accommodations, and its bountiful farmlands and vineyards, South Africa allows visitors ample opportunity for more luxurious comfort along with adventuresome excitement.

South Africa Location, Geography, & Climate
South Africa is located, as one might expect, on the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean on the south and east. Along its northern border, from west to east, lie Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, and to the northeast are Mozambique and Swaziland. Wholly-enclosed by South Africa, and situated in its eastern central plain, is the independent kingdom of Lesotho.

Almost all of South Africa's 472,000 square miles (1.2 million sq. km.) lie below the Tropic of Capricorn, and the country is geographically composed of three primary regions: an expansive central plateau, a nearly continuous escarpment of mountain ranges that ring the plateau on the west, south, and east, and a narrow strip of low-lying land along the coast. Most of the central plateau (and most of the country) consists of high (4,000-6,000 ft/1,220-1,830 m), rolling grassland known as highveld. The highest points of the mountainous escarpment are found in the stunning Drakensberg (dragon's back) Mountains, where the tips of dragon's back can exceed heights of 10,000 ft (3,050 m).

In the northwest, South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, one of the continent's largest game reserves, extends into the red sands and scrub grasslands of the great Kalahari Desert. In the northeast, the highveld plateau descends to the Bushveld and Limpopo River basins. The Bushveld comprises South Africa's extensive savanna, in which is found the country's marvelously rich and diverse game reserve, the world-renowned Kruger National Park.

Although South Africa's climate varies considerably across its various regions and environments, temperatures remain comfortable throughout the year. The best time to visit for safari is between May to August, when there is less rain and much less dense vegetation, making animal sightings far more frequent.

South Africa History & People
South Africa's population of forty million is three-quarters black (African) and about 15% white (European), with the remaining 10% comprised of people of mixed white, Malayan, and black descent and people of Asian (mostly Indian) descent. The African majority is composed of many different ethnic groups, the largest of which are Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Bapedi. Until very recently, the country's racial divisions were harshly enforced as part of the government's official policy of Apartheid, or apartness. Although the government began to dismantle apartheid in 1989 after prolonged resistance, protest, and international economic sanctions, racial inequality remains pronounced in South Africa.

Adventure Travel in South Africa
South Africa is a very large and extraordinarily varied land, offering almost unlimited opportunities for adventure travel of all sorts--from diving and whitewater rafting to mountain-climbing and trekking. For most visitors, however, adventure travel in South Africa means safari travel, and the best-known safari area in the country is Eastern Transvaal, a continuous stretch of savanna extending for 400 miles along South Africa's northeastern border.

The Eastern Transvaal is home to Kruger National Park, undoubtedly one of the finest game reserves in all of Africa. In addition to the Kruger--and its surrounding private game reserves--visitors interested in safari travel in South Africa are also frequently drawn to Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. A narrow tongue of land extending northward into the vast expanse of the Kalahari Desert, Kalahari Gemsbok is an area of rugged beauty, with shifting dunes, wide-open vistas, and great herds of springbok and gemsbok.

South Africa: Kruger National Park
Stretching over 350 miles from north to south, and teeming with wildlife, Kruger National Park is justly rated as one of the world's finest game reserves. Kruger is home to more species of wildlife than any other game sanctuary on the continent, and is one of Africa's few remaining havens for big cats. Well over a thousand lions, and large populations of leopard and cheetah, roam freely here, along with substantial numbers of elephant, zebra, rhino, giraffe, hippopotamus, impala, and kudu--more than enough to satisfy even the most shutter-happy photographer. Kruger is also--like South Africa as a whole--an outstanding destination for birdwatchers, offering a scarcely believable diversity and abundance of species.

Founded in 1898 by Paul Kruger, the park has over the last century been well tended and carefully developed. Unlike many reserves and sanctuaries, it is blessed with an outstanding road network, and in recent years its perimeter fencing has been substantially reduced, allowing greater migration ranges and increased wildlife populations. Stretching along the park's western border are a number of private reserves, supplementing the land available to Kruger's game and allowing greatly enhanced opportunities for safari visits. On the private reserves, visitors are permitted to travel on foot, in open vehicles, and to view wildlife at night, none of which activities are permitted within the park itself.

South Africa Kalahari Gemsbok National Park
More remote and rugged than Kruger, the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park is situated at the southern extremity of one of the world's great desert regions--the Kalahari. Despite the relative absence of lush vegetation, the park abounds in wildife, including impressively large herds of springbok, gemsbok, eland, and wildebeest. Unsurprisingly, these herds also attract another expected visitor: the Kalahari lion. Visitors to the Kalahari may have to make do without the luxurious accommodations of the Kruger's surrounding private reserves, but for the hardier traveller Kalahari Gemsbok can be a destination of unparalleled grandeur.

South Africa Canoeing the Orange River
The great Orange River originates in the Lesotho highlands, where it begins a long, meandering sweep westward across center of the country. By the time it reaches the Atlantic Ocean on the Namibian border, it has travelled 2,340 kilometers. Wide and gentle, with just enough rapids to get the heart beating, it is ideal for canoe safaris.

The most popular area for canoe safaris on the Orange River is the northwest, where the river wends through the sere realms of Bushmanland. The banks of the river, however, are typically lush --- an oases ideal for viewing birds and game. Just beyond the river's edge lurks a totally separate environment, a desert landscape with beautifully austere hills and mountains in the distance.

South Africa Camel Safaris
Though camel travel invariably brings to mind desert visions of Arabia, North Africa, and Asia, it is increasingly becoming a popular safari alternative in South Africa, which has more than its share of desert.

There are two unique desert environments ideal for camel safari's in South Africa: the Kalahari and Bushmanland. While the Kalahari offers a more duned landscape, Bushmanland is semi-arid and pierced by the Orange River. Both regions are abundant in game.

South Africa Smaller Parks and Reserves
South Africa's smaller parks and reserves are of undoubted interest, as many offeractivities and attractions unique to their particular region. In Natal in particular are a cluster of very fine smaller reserves, including Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park. Comprising a lovely territory of grassland, woodland, and forest, Hluhluwe Umfolozi possesses for its size a remarkable population of big game--including especially large numbers of rhino and nyala.

Also in Natal are the parks of the Drakensberg Mountains, which offer unparalleled attractions for trekkers, climbers, and birdwatchers. Among the best are the Royal Natal National Park and the Natal Drakensberg Park.