There’s More than Cape Town. The South African Bucket List
Cape Town might be high on many a traveller’s bucket list but there are at least 9 other destinations in South Africa equally worth seeing, according to the US site Mashable. “For a medium-sized country,” Mashable says in a recent story, “South Africa has a lot going on.” (We choose an 11th at the end.) The list, which […]
Cape Town might be high on many a traveller’s bucket list but there are at least 9 other destinations in South Africa equally worth seeing, according to the US site Mashable. “For a medium-sized country,” Mashable says in a recent story, “South Africa has a lot going on.” (We choose an 11th at the end.)
The list, which includes some less-visited and less-publicised gems, from the Klein Karoo to iSimangaliso, was compiled by South African expat Mary Holland. The Bucket List 10 are:
Johannesburg
Johannesburg, “one of Africa’s greatest cities … thriving creative scene, with loads of restaurants, artisanal markets, galleries and museums.” From Maboneng district to Newtown, from Melville to Soweto, from the financial district of Sandton to the iconic Hillbrow Tower.
Kruger National Park
One of the few iconic game reserves in Africa you can self-safari: “Just rent a car, grab a map and get driving.”
The Winelands
From Cape Town to Stellebosch and further inland every year, the winelands are “staggeringly beautiful. Book an overnight stay on one of the farms, or spend the day bouncing from farm to farm, drinking fancy wine”. One of our favourites: the restaurant-rich, gorgeous Franschhoek valley.
The Garden Route
Take a long drive through “gorgeous scenery”, taking side roads down to places like the surfer haven Victoria Bay or the castle hideaway Knoetze, or stopping at game reserves and the much-oerlooked Addo Elephant Park. Sedgefield, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, they are all along this road. And beaches aplenty!
The Wild Coast
The Wild Coast is “wild … In every sense”. Hike along dramatic shores (the kind you see in the video below), eat seafood freshly caught and cooked in front of you. Coffee Bay and Port St. Johns for the wild (people) side.
West Coast National Park
Famous for its flowers that bloom in spring and turn the countryside into an Impressionist painting. Seafood lovers make the pilgrimage to places like Kraalbaai and Paternoster, and watch the turbulent sea while noshing crayfish.
iSimangaliso National Park
Wild animals, long empty beaches, coastal forests, swamps. That is the gorgeous national park in KwaZulu-Natal. “And some of the best tropical coral reefs in the world.”
The Klein Karoo
The Karoo is “hauntingly pretty … with semi-desert plains, mountain passes, open roads and starry skies”. Famous for its road Route 62 that goes through Uniondale, Robertson, Swellendam, and along passes that take your breath away till you reach Oudtshoorn.
The Drakensberg
“Dramatic” is an understatement. There are enough “winding mountain passes streams, local fauna and cave paintings” to keep a return visitor busy over and over again.
Cape Town
Okay, the Mother City has to be on any bucket list, for any traveller.
