Southern Africa is a fascinating region to explore. Here you'll find vast open landscapes that range from lush green to dry desert, from mountains to plains that seem to stretch on forever. You'll also find friendly and welcoming people and modern cities. Many visitors stick to popular tourist destinations but to experience the real Africa, you need to venture beyond the safari lodge. Unfortunately the public transport system isn't the best or most reliable, so rent a car and go on a road trip you'll never forget.
Cape Town in South Africa's Western Cape province is one of the best places to start out from. Around Cape Town you'll find the scenic Cape Winelands and the West Coast. From Cape Town, take the road eastwards. You can either follow the inland route through the dry Little Karoo region or take the green, coastal Garden Route with its great beaches and natural forests.
The Wild Coast region is located in the Eastern Cape province. Here the landscape is rugged and the lifestyle is very much rural and traditional. The beaches are quiet but if you prefer more developed holiday resorts, continue northwards to the KwaZulu-Natal province and the Hibiscus Coast. This province offers great surfing and diving and Durban, the largest city, has a uniquely Indian atmosphere.
Turn westwards and drive inland for beautiful mountain scenery. The Drakensberg range is the largest in the country. Travel along the mountain roads into Lesotho, a landlocked country known as the Mountain Kingdom. From Lesotho, head into South Africa again to explore the Free State province.
Johannesburg is about 4 hours north of Bloemfontein, the Free State capital. It's one of Africa's largest cities and home to its busiest airport. The South African capital Pretoria is close by and from these two cities, you can do wonderful road trips eastwards to the subtropical Lowveld region with the Kruger National Park as well as to Swaziland and Mozambique.
You can also head northwards instead. Drive through the wooded Bushveld region where you'll find plenty of game farms and will start seeing boabab trees. At Musina, cross the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe. Then explore Bulawayo and the Hwange National Park before spending some time at the Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba. Afterwards, continue on into Zambia.
Once you've explored Zambia, head south to Botswana. Soon after you've entered this country you'll reach the Okavango Delta and plenty of game reserves. This part of Botswana is a popular safari destination. Further south the landscape turns into the dry Kalahari. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a good point to cross over into Namibia with its desert landscapes, or back into South Africa.
Most roads in the Southern African region are easily traveled by normal car, even if many of them are gravel roads. There are many car-rental companies to choose from in the cities and rates are usually quite reasonable. When driving in the region, stop regularly during your trip so that you'll be rested. This is especially important since distances between destinations are often quite big and in Southern Africa, people drive on the left, which may take some getting used to.
Cape Town in South Africa's Western Cape province is one of the best places to start out from. Around Cape Town you'll find the scenic Cape Winelands and the West Coast. From Cape Town, take the road eastwards. You can either follow the inland route through the dry Little Karoo region or take the green, coastal Garden Route with its great beaches and natural forests.
The Wild Coast region is located in the Eastern Cape province. Here the landscape is rugged and the lifestyle is very much rural and traditional. The beaches are quiet but if you prefer more developed holiday resorts, continue northwards to the KwaZulu-Natal province and the Hibiscus Coast. This province offers great surfing and diving and Durban, the largest city, has a uniquely Indian atmosphere.
Turn westwards and drive inland for beautiful mountain scenery. The Drakensberg range is the largest in the country. Travel along the mountain roads into Lesotho, a landlocked country known as the Mountain Kingdom. From Lesotho, head into South Africa again to explore the Free State province.
Johannesburg is about 4 hours north of Bloemfontein, the Free State capital. It's one of Africa's largest cities and home to its busiest airport. The South African capital Pretoria is close by and from these two cities, you can do wonderful road trips eastwards to the subtropical Lowveld region with the Kruger National Park as well as to Swaziland and Mozambique.
You can also head northwards instead. Drive through the wooded Bushveld region where you'll find plenty of game farms and will start seeing boabab trees. At Musina, cross the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe. Then explore Bulawayo and the Hwange National Park before spending some time at the Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba. Afterwards, continue on into Zambia.
Once you've explored Zambia, head south to Botswana. Soon after you've entered this country you'll reach the Okavango Delta and plenty of game reserves. This part of Botswana is a popular safari destination. Further south the landscape turns into the dry Kalahari. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a good point to cross over into Namibia with its desert landscapes, or back into South Africa.
Most roads in the Southern African region are easily traveled by normal car, even if many of them are gravel roads. There are many car-rental companies to choose from in the cities and rates are usually quite reasonable. When driving in the region, stop regularly during your trip so that you'll be rested. This is especially important since distances between destinations are often quite big and in Southern Africa, people drive on the left, which may take some getting used to.
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