CAPE TOWN

From iconic Table Mountain to dramatic coastal roads leading to the Cape of Good  Hope to the vineyards carpeting the Winelands, Cape Town offers something for  everyone. The proximity to nature is a constant source of wonder in Cape Town,  whether it is watching whales breach from a restaurant deck overlooking beautiful  False Bay, from July through October; or seeing a veritable sanctuary of penguins,  one of the few places in the world where you can get close to them at Boulders  Beach. Cape Town has the oldest wine industry outside of Europe, and off the  coast of Cape Town lies Robben Island, a prison to Nelson Mandela, the “Father of the Nation.” Today, it’s a museum, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

JOHANNESBURG

Johannesburg is South Africa’s largest city, with a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan vibe.  The city has been going through a major urban revival. Wonderful restaurants and  sidewalk cafés offer virtually every type of cuisine. Glitzy shopping and art galleries—

Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square are a shopper’s paradise. There are  many rewarding sites that pay homage to the great South African leader, Nelson  Mandela, including the Apartheid Museum, Liliesleaf Farm, Nelson Mandela Square  and the Mandela House in Soweto. Once a name synonymous with the oppression  and injustice of apartheid, people are now drawn to Soweto and to the vitality of  Vilakazi Street, home to Nelson Mandela and his family from 1946 to the 1990s.

In fact, this is the only street in the world to have housed two Nobel Peace Prize  winners, Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.

GREATER KRUGER  NATIONAL PARK

The mighty roar of the lion, the powerful call of the elephant, the thunderous clap of a  rhinoceros herd—the wild things are certain to be found within South Africa’s massive  Kruger National Park area. All “Big Five” are represented here: lions, leopards, rhinos,  elephants and buffaloes. You may also find cheetahs, spotted hyenas, wild dogs, kudu,  nyala, impala, wildebeests, zebras, waterbucks, warthogs, baboons, Nile crocodiles  (the world’s second largest reptile), water monitor lizards and puff adder snakes.

One of Africa’s largest reserves, Kruger stretches through 7,500 square miles in  northeastern South Africa, and borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Becoming South  Africa’s first National Park in 1926, Kruger has several private game reserves in which  to explore. With over 270 animal species, 517 types of birds, 90 varieties of fish and  amphibians, 2,000 kinds of plants and even bushman rock paintings, there is much  to see and experience.