SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARI

Nightlife incorporates the cocktail, cabaret, and restaurant circuit, as well as film festivals and the classical performing arts. The sightseeing is magnificent, the climate sunny and mild, and the country's friendly hospitality is legendary.
So whether you want to relax and soak up the sunshine, enjoy the social whirl, or follow a quest for adventure, South Africa has everything you are looking for and more. With its landscapes, history, people and wildlife, this so-called "World in One Country" is sure to provide a holiday to remember. 
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KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

Roughly the same size as the state of Massachusetts, Kruger National Park is located in the subtropical eastern Mpumalanga region. Established by President Kruger in 1926, this sanctuary is inhabited by more species of wildlife than any other game reserve in Africa. Cape buffalo, leopard, lion, elephant and giraffe can be found along with over 460 species of bird. This world-renowned game reserve offers a wilderness experience you will never forget. View the "Big Five" by four-wheel drive vehicle or on foot in the company of a well-trained game ranger. The wilderness region surrounding Kruger National Park is made up of smaller, private game reserves. These safeguard a large proportion of the country's wildlife resources. Luxurious game lodges and tented camps are located within these reserves and offer both day and night game viewing along with walking safaris. A large variety of animals and birds are showcased in these conservation minded reserves.

NAMAQUALAND

Fifty kilometers inland from the cold Atlantic Ocean and south of the Orange River, is the remote region of Namaqualand. This area is world renowned for its spectacular wild flowers, making this region unique among South Africa's natural attractions. Namaqualand becomes a paradise of flowering plants during spring (August and September) when millions of brightly colored flowers carpet the landscape and is one of South Africa's natural wonders.

KWAZULU NATAL

Located in eastern South Africa along the Indian Ocean, Natal is the home of the Zulu and a large variety of wildlife concentrated in several small reserves. A land of towering mountains, scenic hills and valleys, this region also encompasses marine reserves, which offer important breeding grounds to several species of turtle, including the endangered leatherback turtle. The riverine floodplains are renowned as the "birding mecca" of South Africa. The park offers eco-tourists some of the most diverse wildlife and outdoor experiences imaginable. Lakes, islands, estuaries, grasslands, forests, wetlands, mangroves, beaches and coral reefs all form part of this magnificent area. Wildlife include rhino, elephant, crocodile, hippo, buffalo, giraffe, waterbuck, kudu, nyala and a host of other species.

LAKE ST. LUCIA

The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park with its rich birdlife has been declared a World Heritage Site. Lake St Lucia is part of the St Lucia estuarine system - the largest in Africa - and was designated a Wetland of International Importance in terms of the Ramsar Convention in 1986. It is also one of five lakes worldwide protected by the Living Lakes coalition. Covering some 250,000 hectares, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park incorporates the entire Lake St Lucia, the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves, the Coastal Forest Reserve and Kosi Bay Nature Reserve. It encompasses a great variety of habitats, including coral reefs and beaches, coastal forests, salt- and freshwater marshes, coastal plains and woodland areas. The protected area is home to the largest, southernmost population of hippos as well as prolific bird life and a wealth of other animal and plant species.

SUN CITY

Sun City, a Kingdom of Pleasure in an ancient African bushveld setting just north of Johannesburg, is a uniquely exciting casino leisure resort with sparkle, sophistication and 24 hour sizzle. It offers four choices of accommodation from the opulence of The Palace of the Lost City to the elegance of the Cascades, to the Sun City Hotel, forming the heart of the resort, as well as the more family oriented Cabanas. While surfers ride to a beach of white sand in the Valley of Waves, and golfers are challenged by the two world-renowned courses, there is also a superb range of other water and land based sports. Add superstar entertainment, a plenitude of restaurants, extensive casino gaming and a neighboring game park which boasts the Big Five, and you have the sensation that is Sun City. Game viewing is also available at several excellent safari lodges in nearby Pilanesberg Nature Reserve.

PORT ELIZABETH

The Eastern Cape is a land of rolling hills, endless sweeps of rocky coves and sandy beaches, towering mountain ranges and verdant forests, and is physically the second largest of the nine provinces. However, the main feature of the Eastern Cape is its astonishing coastline. With its wide-open sandy beaches, secluded lagoons and towering cliffs, the Indian Ocean coastline provides the province with a rich natural tourist attraction. The graceful curve of Algoa Bay provides an ideal setting for the Port of Port Elizabeth. It is South Africa's fifth largest city and is both known as the windy city and the friendly city. Its position on the Eastern Cape coast, makes Port Elizabeth an ideal place to start or end a trip down the Garden Route or to explore the Eastern Cape.

JOHANNESBURG

Most overseas visitors enter South Africa via Johannesburg International Airport at Kempton Park just outside Johannesburg, the capital of the province. Johannesburg, also nicknamed Egoli (place of gold), is a city of contrasts. Mine dumps and headgear stand proudly as symbols of its rich past, while modern architecture rubs shoulders with glorious examples of 19th century engineering prowess. The busy streets ring out with the call of fruit sellers and street vendors, and an exciting blend of ethnic and Western art and cultural activities is reflected in theatres and open-air arenas throughout the city. Gold Reef City is a popular tourist attraction featuring a reconstruction of Johannesburg during the gold rush era, built around a gold mine. Visit the Victorian fun fair, miners' houses, a brewery, pubs, a hotel, restaurants and the stock exchange. You can watch molten gold being poured, take a trip down an old mine shaft or watch the ever-entertaining traditional mine dancing. Soweto, a sprawling town outside Johannesburg, offers visitors a look into how many South Africans live. Eat mealiepap, drink locally brewed beer and visit one of the township's nightclubs. A short distance from Johannesberg lies Sterkfontein, a World Heritage Site. The Cradle, which centers round the Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Kromdraai cave formations north west of Krugersdorp, has for many years fascinated archaeologists and palaeo-anthropologists in the search for fossils, particularly those relating to the origins of mankind.

PRETORIA

Some 35 miles north of Johannesburg lies Pretoria. As administrative capital of the Republic, the city is dominated by government services and the diplomatic corps of foreign representatives in South Africa. The pace of the city is relaxed and pervaded by a sense of history. Church Square, around which Pretoria developed, was the main venue for trade, recreation and religious gatherings in the early days, and many buildings of historic and architectural importance have been retained. Pretoria is also known as the Jacaranda City, as many of its streets are lined with jacaranda trees, which in summer cover the city in hues of purple and pink. Pretoria has more than 100 parks, including bird sanctuaries and nature reserves.

MPUMALANGA

Mpumalanga - "the place where the sun rises" - epitomizes every traveler's dream of Africa in the true sense. The province is situated in the northeastern part of the country and borders both Mozambique and Swaziland. It is mainly situated on the high plateau grasslands of the Middleveld, which roll eastwards for hundreds of miles. In the northeast, it rises towards mountain peaks and then terminates in an immense and breathtaking escarpment. In some places, this escarpment plunges hundreds of feet down to the low-lying area known as the Lowveld. Long sweeps of undulating grasslands abruptly change to the thickly forested ravines and thundering waterfalls of the Escarpment, only to change again to present the subtropical wildlife splendor of the Lowveld. Mpumalanga is an area of immense natural beauty and diversity - a land of mountain splendor and wide horizons, of forests and plains, rock formations and caves, waterfalls and majestic mountain scenery.

DURBAN

Durban is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the world. It boasts the busiest harbor in South Africa, which is also one of the 10 largest in the world. Durban's beachfront is also known as the "Golden Mile". This stretch of golden sand is Durban's main attraction. Indulge in swimming, sunbathing and other water sports. Luxury hotels, markets and amusement parks are found along the beachfront and there are a variety of cultural and sightseeing tours available.