7 Must See Places in South Africa.            

                I believe that traveling gives you an opportunity to see unique cultures, varied landscape and experience historic locations. While traveling does expose you to unique experiences outside of your normal life, it also helps to ground you in a way to humanity. I vaguely remember a line in the Christopher Nolan film Interstellar. It was talking about how our love and compassion reaches too our immediate family and maybe our neighbors, but it doesn’t extend to all of humanity. It only extends essentially to the people within our line of sight. In large part I think this is true with one caveat. I think that in most cases people live in smaller communities. Their empathy to people within their “line of sight” is their world. However, when people leave their normal circle, their experiences include interactions with a variety of people. They get to experience new stories and the history of others. Experience different climates and landscapes. Then, when this traveler returns home. They can’t help but to tell the others in their community the things that they saw and learned. I believe that traveling helps to expand our line of sight and expand our empathy towards the rest of humanity around the world.

One of the travels I went on was to South Africa. There several points of significance surrounding South Africa. A major point of significance is the location of South Africa. It is on the very bottom of Africa which is an extremely strategic location on the earth. When Europe wanted to trade with the rest of Asia, they would have to sail all the way down to the bottom of the African Content and then back up again to reach Asia. If that wasn’t bad enough the most dangerous part of the journey for these merchant ships was the bottom tip of South Africa known as the Cape of Good Hope. This area was extremely dangerous to navigate because the currents were so strong and varied in direction that the smallest wrong moves would send you crashing into the rocky cliffs at the edge of South Africa. This is due to the different currents from where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.

                South Africa has had a troubled past. South Africa had the apartheid system till relatively recently. During apartheid black and white people were not allowed to be together. People were categorized by their race. They were either black, Colored (meaning they were mixed race), Indian or White. Black people were required to always carry their identification with them on all times and could be stopped and checked at any time. Some jobs, usually the higher up jobs would be reserved for white people and several areas of work were not allowed to be held by black people. White and black people were not allowed to marry or have children together. Fortunately, the apartheid laws are no longer in effect. The laws for apartheid were repealed in early 1990 and by 1993 new laws had been put in place to return rights to black people in South Africa. With everyone now allowed to vote, the 1994 election led to Nelson Mandela being elected.

                The natural world within South Africa is extremely unique. South Africa is filled with coastal areas, some of the best mountains, huge plateaus and savannas as well. South Africa is also host to the “Big Five” game Animals. This includes lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards and buffalo. I’ll tell you where you can find all these animals as we continue.

Now If you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to South Africa I highly recommend that you do. These are the seven places you must go to in South Africa.

Part 1.

1.       Cape Town.

I highly recommend you begin your journey flying into Cape Town. There are several places of both geological and historical significance in cape town and in fact, the next two places you must visit are in Cape Town. Cape town is an extremely vibrant and iconic city, some would say the most so in all South Africa. Cape town is located at the bottom of South Africa along the southwest coast along the cape peninsula. Cape Town is the capital of the Western Cape Province. The climate in Cape Town has mild wet winters and warm dry summers. Some would compare it to a Mediterranean climate. One thing you have to remember is that if you’re in the northern hemisphere (i.e., United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe etc.) is that the summer months are the opposite. December – March is wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere but in the Southern Hemisphere it is summer. When I went to South Africa it was in February and it was very much their summertime.  I highly recommend you go to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. You should also visit the beach in Cape Town where you’ll meet the Jack Ass. No this is not a donkey. This is the name of the penguins that can be found at the beach in Cape Town. They’re referred to as Jack Ass penguins due to their calling sound resembling that of a donkey’s voice calling out.

2. Table Mountain.

Once you get to Cape Town it would be extremely difficult to miss our second must visit location. Large a looming over the city is Table Mountain. This large formation got its name because it is a tall expansive mountain but with a flat top, as though it was a table for some giants of long ago. Table Mountain is actually a national park as well. There are some people that hike the very steep face of Table Mountain, I don’t recommend this. I do recommend you take the Cable Car. There is one thing you do have to look out for though. The Table Mountain area is extremally windy and if it’s too windy the cable car will be closed. So, you should sort of plan multiple attempts to use the cable car to reach the top of Table Mountain. If the first day doesn’t work out the next day might. The views from the top of Table Mountain are worth the difficulty. You’ll be greeted with a view of the incredible city of Cape Town reaching all the way to the coast and beyond into the Ocean.

3.       Cape Point

This next location is a good place for a short hike. Cape Point is part of Table Mountain National Park. While on your way to Cape Point there is a good chance, you’ll see some of the unique wildlife South Africa has. While I was on my way, I saw several ostriches and took their photos. While ostriches are quite comical birds you still must be careful and keep your distance. Ostriches have a history of killing people by stomping them to death. Once you get to Cape Point there’s a trail that will take you up to the Cape Point Lighthouse. I highly recommend you take this trail. It’ mostly paved but the views along the way are great. While the name Cape Point leads you to believe that it is the bottom tip of South Africa, it actually isn’t. The Cape of Good Hope Is the most southern part of Africa. It’s a very short distance from Cape Point and a must stop place. I really must warn you however, the winds at both Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope are strong and fierce. I went in the summer months and although the weather was hot, the wind from the ocean can freeze you. These winds will also help illustrate how dangerous it was to sail to the tip of Africa. You’ll notice that the winds are strong, but they’ll change direction fast. For the sailors of long ago, they could be on the correct course and all of a sudden the wind could change direction and send them strait into the rocky cliffs.

Part 2

4.       Bourkes' Luck Potholes

If you are a landscape lover like I am, you will love Bourke’s' Luck Potholes. This an incredible land formation a hundred of years in the making. Water from the Treur and Blyde River brought water and sand that carved out the sandstone and shale rocks. This carving out however did not occur in a straight line. Instead, it created these swirling pools that over years carved cylindrical potholes. These potholes got their name from a gold prospector named Tom Bourke. The name was kind of a joke because Bourke didn’t find any gold it was just his luck he found potholes. There Is also the Blyde River Canyon waterfall which is very close by. I do have to warn you that if there is any amount of rain to be careful. The sandstone and shale rocks are extreamly flat/smooth and beyond slippery when wet. While I was there a tourist slipped and fell and the rocks did not cushion his fall.

5.       Gods Window

Gods Window is a lookout point you don’t want to miss. Once you arrive it’s a short walk to the lookout point and you will not be disappointed. God’s Window is found within the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, it will give you a view of the incredible landscape below. You’ll see huge amounts of forested areas, Cliffs, rock formations and mountains. If you’re lucky you can see all the way to Kruger National Park. When I went the visibility was low. Even so, it was still an incredible view, and the light fog added a layer of depth that helped show the scale of the landscape bellow.

6.       Kruger National Park

If I was forced to choose only one place to visit in South Africa, I would choose Kruger National Park. When I went there, I went on two guided safari tours. The park has plenty of roads that are well maintained, you can even drive your own car through the park. There is a huge variety of landscapes which also leads to a large of variety of wildlife you will encounter here. Kruger National Park has the Big Five Game animals: Lion, leopards, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros. Now I can’t guaranty what you’ll see if you go on a safari either self or guided. However, you would have to work pretty hard to not see one of the big five Game animals. On my first safari there I saw Lions, elephants, buffalo and a baby rhino. This was pretty much right out of the gate. Throughout the two safari’s I went on I also saw hippos, warthogs, monkeys, hyenas, gazelles and even several giraffes. There are several habitats within Kruger National Park. Grasslands, savannas, woodlands and riverine forests, this national park really has it all.

Part 3

7.       Durban Botanical Garden

All the locations in part 1 are relatively close to each other and the locations in part 2 are clustered to each other as well. But this Durban Botanical Garden is on its own. The city of Durban is the largest cities in South Africa. It also has some incredible beaches, wonderful markets and incredible cuisine. With all this said I loved the Durban Botanic Gardens. The Durban Botanical gardens is the oldest surviving botanical gardens in South Africa. It’s original purpose in 1849 was to study how to grow crops that could be used for tea as well as sugarcane in an economical manner.  Today the Gardens help to educate on environmentally responsible gardening and well as hosting both indigenous and exotic flowers as well. You’ll also find that these gardens host outdoor concerts, guided tours and educational programs. I should also note that there is wide range of bird species that make their home in these gardens. In addition to finding incredible plant life, you can also use this location to find interesting birds.

I want to thank you for your time in viewing the 7 best places to visit in south Africa in the video edition there will be an extended photations (animated photography starting now with more photography from South Africa with these locations listed. Photography is provided from photations visit our blog at https://photations.com/ . We also sell fine art prints and wall art of our photographs from these journeys at www.photationstore.com.  Links in the description.