Best of South Africa

Find a new meaning for the term "gold rush" as you descend 500 feet below ground. Johannesburg grew up as a gold-mining city in the 1880s, and this past is recreated at Gold Reef City in everything from the period-perfect streets to the ragtime soundtrack to an actual quarter-mile-deep gold mine.

The magnificent Panorama Route is best known for its cultural heritage and its dramatic landscapes. Running along the spectacular Blyde River Canyon—the 3rd largest canyon in the world—the Panorama Route offers dazzling views of some of nature’s finest creations, including Bourke’s Luck Potholes, God’s Window and the Three Rondawels.

“The Lion King,” up close and personal (and a bit less animated). Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest wildlife refuge, is unbeatable for sighting “The Big Five”: lions, rhinos, buffalos, leopards, and elephants. See giraffes stretching up to grab the last leaf from an acacia tree and antelope leaping toward the horizon, or photograph zebras contemplating their striped reflections as they drink from pools of water. A licensed ranger will help you spot these magnificent animals, as well as a few lesser-known creatures. Watch out for the roadrunner-like kori bustard—at over forty pounds, it’s the heaviest flying bird in the world, and it looks ready to fall out of the sky at any minute.

“The Lion King,” up close and personal (and a bit less animated). Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest wildlife refuge, is unbeatable for sighting “The Big Five”: lions, rhinos, buffalos, leopards, and elephants. See giraffes stretching up to grab the last leaf from an acacia tree and antelope leaping toward the horizon, or photograph zebras contemplating their striped reflections as they drink from pools of water. A licensed ranger will help you spot these magnificent animals, as well as a few lesser-known creatures. Watch out for the roadrunner-like kori bustard—at over forty pounds, it’s the heaviest flying bird in the world, and it looks ready to fall out of the sky at any minute.

Crackling with energy, dynamic Johannesburg embodies much of the hope -- and some of the growing pains -- of the new South Africa. Street vendors hawking herbal medicine and African crafts have moved in among the towering skyscrapers and traditional Dutch buildings of the Central Business District, and down the street the once-feared Rand Supreme Court continues to uphold and expand the country’s new constitution, one of the most liberal in the world. Get a sense of the spirit of “Jo’burg” with a local licensed guide.

See the hotspot of South Africa's freedom movement. Soweto (originally short for "Southwestern Townships") grew up as a ghetto for Johannesburg's poor black workers, but it became the central point of resistance to the segregationist policies of apartheid. On June 16, 1976, thirty thousand students took to Soweto's streets in a protest that spread throughout the country, eventually leading to the abolition of apartheid. Soweto has been home to Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, and the Mandela House is now a museum dedicated to Nelson's life and works. Freedom Square commemorates the Freedom Charter, promising equal justice for all, which became the guiding principle for the African National Congress. You'll also see Baragwanath Hospital, the largest hospital in the world, where more than 2,000 patients check in each day.

It's impossible not to fall in love with Cape Town. South Africa’s most beautiful city (and frequently called the most beautiful city in the world), Cape Town mixes stunning scenery and unique architecture with a laidback vibe and fun-loving attitude. Experience its delights with a licensed local guide as you roam from the brightly colored houses of the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, where descendents of slaves and dissidents brought here by the Dutch form the city's largest Muslim community, to the Castle of Good Hope, once the center of the colony's administration. At the South African Museum, exhibits cover the traditional arts of the country's native populations, the constellations of the southern hemisphere, and more.

Robben Island, the former prison island where Nelson Mandela was held from 1964 to 1982, stands in Cape Town’s harbor. The island was first used as a dumping ground for prisoners in the 1600s, with the Dutch and then the British rulers indiscriminately sending criminals, protestors, racial minorities, lepers, and the insane to its shores. When Mandela arrived it had become a maximum-security prison, and the all-black prison population was forced into tiny cells with no more than a mat on the floor and only shorts and t-shirts to protect them from the cold winds blowing up from the South Pole. Through protest, lawsuits, and perseverance the prisoners slowly improved their conditions. The last prisoner was released in 1996, and the island is now a museum.

Rising above Cape Town is the distinctive Table Mountain, whose flat top often serves as a base for the city’s hang-gliding and abseiling residents. Keep an eye out for the squirrel-like rock dassies basking in the sun -- despite their fur and small size, their foot structure and dental configuration mark them as the closest living relative to the African elephant. Just off the coast is Duiker, or Seal, Island, home to about 7,000 fuzzy cape fur seals. Watch them pose for pictures and laze about in the sunshine before you head farther south to Cape Point, where a funicular whisks you to the top of dramatic cliff-top promontory where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are said to meet. Shipwrecks along the coast remind visitors of the treacherous navigation despite the lighthouses beaming into the ocean.

There may be no stranger spectacle than an ostrich race, and you’ll have front-row seats. Watch “cowboys” balance on the gangly birds by gripping their stumpy wings and urging them on, full speed ahead. The ostriches, once farmed for their now-unfashionable feathers, stand over six feet tall yet have brains no larger than those of chickens.