Southern Africa

Understand

The Drakensberg (mountains of the dragon) range stretches some 1000km through Southern Africa, from the Eastern Cape through Lesotho (most of this country is on a plateau of the mountain range), central KwaZulu-Natal (where one can find the Tugela Falls, the second highest waterfall in the world), divides Mpumalanga in half creating the Escarpment and the Blyde River Canyon (the third largest canyon in the world) from where it reaches up into the southern parts of Limpopo.

Getting there

By plane South Africa's O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB IATA) in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport (CPT IATA) are two of the easiest entry points into the region, with many direct international flight landing there from Amsterdam, Bangkok, Lisbon, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Athens, Dubai, Doha, New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Sydney, Perth and others. Connections to the rest of the Southern African region is easily made from here with flights to Blantyre, Cairo, Gaborone, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Lilongwe, Livingstone, Luanda, Lusaka, Kinshasa, Maputo, Manzini, Maun, Mauritius, Nairobi, Victoria Falls, Windhoek and more. You may also want to have a look at Discount airlines in Africa and Air travel in South Africa.

By sea Numerous ocean liners stop in multiple ports throughout Southern Africa, and can make a great way to explore the sub-continent. Europe or South America are the most frequent location to find a boat heading to Southern Africa. For the truly adventurous, there are infrequent ships coming up from Antarctica. Southern Africa is easily reachable by yacht, but be sure your route avoids the pirate-infested waters of North Africa.

By car Entering Southern Africa by car is an amazing way to see all the region's beauty as well as to get to places off the normal tourist routes. This can be done in a normal car with careful planning but a 4x4 is highly advised and many locations are only accessible with a high wheel base 4x4. Keep in mind while planning that although Southern Africa is stable not all neighboring countries are. Please research all countries before entering them. Visa requirements and costs vary from nation to nation and are affected by the country you come from. Each country also has unique laws requiring what emergency items need to be in the car. It is well worth looking into getting a 'Carnet de Passage' as it can save you small fortune i

Getting around

By air Southern Africa has limited airline options, and varies from country to country. Most countries have a national airline that will fly at least to Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo International) and other neighboring countries. There are several carriers in the region, such as South African Airways, Namib Air, Air Zimbabwe, etc.. Local countries have smaller airlines and include most of the national airlines, but prices can be excessively high. there are a few small regional airlines such as Airlink, FlySafair, Lift and Cemair, and these are usually the best options.

By car

Cars can be hired in all Southern African countries but South Africa is the cheapest country to hire in. Rates start from $20 a day or $300 a month for a cheap get around car (e.g. old VW Beetle), to $130 per day or $330 per month for an entry level 4x4. Depending on who you hire from there most likely will be a fee to cross borders but this should include a tow fee back to South Africa if you break down in elsewhere in the region. This can easily be arranged on line and there are plenty of forums giving advice on the best options available. Buying a car is also easiest to do in South Africa as they are most amenable to non-citizens owning vehicles. A second hand entry level car can be purchased for less than $200 (e.g. Classic VW Beetle) to a 4x4 costing less than $5100. If you do purchase a second hand vehicle it's best to personally inspect it, as well as have mechanic inspect it before purchase. Be careful of where you go to buy the car as many areas in South Africa are not tourist safe, so make sure to meet at a mall or some other convenient location. Driving your own car or hired car through Southern Africa will require that you have a fully road worthy car and all the legal accessories in your car. These accessories are country dependent and you should check each country you plan to enter before leaving, the items may include red triangles, fire extinguisher, spare wheel, etc. Corrupt

Do

Safari One of the most popular holiday activities in Southern Africa is wildlife safaris where travelers try to spot the Big Five (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhino). There are game reserves within South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. They all have lodges ranging from basic camping to five-star luxury.

Beaches South Africa has beautiful beaches stretching all the way from Cape Town around the coast up to Durban, which is a surfing mecca. Further north, Mozambique - known for its excellent diving and warm, clear waters - takes over. Freshwater beaches also exist in the landlocked states, notably at Lake Malawi National Park in Malawi and Lake Kariba-Lower Zambezi in Zimbabwe.

Adventure activities Southern Africa is an adventure heaven. The region has some of the highest bungee jumping spots in the world; fantastic hiking and biking trails, great rivers for white-water river rafting and canoeing and excellent surf for surfing and kite-boarding.

Wine The province of the Western Cape at the southwest corner of Southern Africa (which encompasses Cape Town) is by far the regions premier wine producing area and produces countless award-winning wines at a fraction of the cost of similar wines in France or Italy. Most wine farms are open for public tastings. Some of the places to visit on the Wine Route include Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Paarl, Walker Bay, Hermanus and Robertson.

Eat

Southern Africa was is home to a great variety of peoples and experienced notable immigration, beginning with the arrival of the Portuguese and the Dutch, lending a surprising amount of diversity to its cuisine. Many large cities (such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, Harare, and Maputo) have a broad array of dining options to offer tourists. These cities host fine dining restaurants (albeit not quite as cutting edge as the latest from Paris and London), as well as enclaves of various ethnic groups offering inexpensive cuisines from their homelands. In addition, a visit to the region is an excellent opportunity to try indigenous fare that is generally unavailable in Europe and North America such as Cape Malay or Mozambiquean cuisine. You will want to experience the foods of the region you are visiting: seafood in Beira, fresh fish in Malawi, boerwors in the Free State, curry in Durban, braai (barbecue) throughout South Africa and to a lesser extent Zimbabwe, with each region having its unique meats, sauces and preparations. If you can get invited to one of those... be sure to go! Sou