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Dwesa Nature Reserve
One of South Africas most remote and beautiful reserves, Dwesa Nature Reserve blends lush forests, winding rivers, open grassland and rugged coastline, with walking trails and wildlife including buffaloes, zebras, antelope, warthogs, and crocodiles in the rivers. Some 290 bird spec
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Vergelegen
Simon van der Stel’s son Willem first planted vines here in 1700. The buildings and elegant grounds have ravishing mountain views and a ‘stately home’ feel to them. You can take a tour of the gardens (R20), a cellar tour (R20) or just enjoy a tasting of four of the estates wines. T
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Groote Schuur
Advance booking is necessary for the tour around the grandest of Cecil Rhodes former residences. It was also home to a succession of prime ministers, culminating with FW de Klerk. The beautifully restored interior, all teak panels and heavy colonial furniture, and with antiques and
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Amakhala Game Reserve
A group of local landowners, descendants of the 1820 Settlers, combined their properties to create Amakhala, 75 sq km of rolling hills, bushveld and savannah. Named after the Xhosa for aloes, Amakhala, roughly 70km from PE and east of Addo, offers a morning wildlife drive (R750 inc
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Maropeng
Maropeng is well worth a visit. Housed in a building that looks like a giant grassy mound on one side and shiny modern steel on the other, it’s an all-in-one information centre, visitor attraction and entertainment complex. The exhibits here show how the human race has progressed s
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Liphofung Cave Cultural & Historical Site
Just beyond the village of Muela is the signposted turn-off for this small Lesotho Northern Parks–administered site, which includes a cave with some San paintings and Stone Age artefacts. King Moshoeshoe the Great is rumoured to have stopped here on his travels around Lesotho.There
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Silaka Nature Reserve
This small reserve, 6km south of Port St Johns, runs from Second Beach past Third Beach to Sugarloaf Rock, near the estuary where the Gxwaleni River flows into the sea and aloes grow down almost to the water. Clawless otters are often seen on the beach, white-breasted cormorants cl
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Cullinan Diamond Mine
After visiting Sammy Marks’ Museum, head north to historic Cullinan, a pretty 100-year-old village full of quaint Herbert Baker architecture. It is best explored on a sluggish, Sunday afternoon stroll. The village is home to Cullinan Diamond Mine, one of the biggest and most produc
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Observatory Museum
In this house dating to 1850 are: several rooms of Victorian furniture and memorabilia; the refurbished Meridian Room (which shows that Grahamstown is 14 minutes behind South African standard time, because standard time is set in Durban); and the wonderful camera obscura. Sadly, th
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Mgungundlovu
The military settlement of Mgungundlovu (Ungungundhlovu), Dingaan’s capital from 1829 to 1838, is southwest of Ulundi on Rte 34 (the road linking Vryheid and Melmoth). It was here that Pieter Retief and the other Voortrekkers were killed by their host in 1838, the event that precip
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Cape Town Stadium
Shaped like a giant, traditional African hat and wrapped with a Teflon-mesh membrane designed to catch and reflect natural light, this R4.5 billion stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup, is Cape Town’s most striking piece of contemporary architecture. The hour-long tours will take
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Sehlabathebe National Park
Lesotho’s most under-visited national park is remote, rugged and beautiful. The rolling grasslands, wildflowers and silence provide complete isolation, with only the prolific bird life (including the bearded vulture) and the odd rhebok for company. Hiking (and horse riding from San
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Spioenkop Nature Reserve
The 60-sq-km Spioenkop Nature Reserve is based on the Spioenkop Dam on the Tugela River. The reserve is handy for most of the area’s battlefield sites and not too far from Drakensberg for day trips into the range. Animals include zebras, white rhinos, giraffes, various antelope spe
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Bontebok National Park
Some 6km south of Swellendam is this national park, proclaimed in 1931 to save the remaining 30 bontebok. The project was successful, and bontebok as well as other antelopes and mountain zebras can be found in this smallest of South Africa’s national parks. The fynbos that flowers
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Songimvelo Game Reserve
This beautiful 560-sq-km reserve sits in lowveld country south of Barberton, with high-altitude grassland areas on its eastern edge along the mountainous Swaziland border. There are no lions, but there are numerous other introduced species, including elephants, zebras, giraffes and
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Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve
Proclaimed in 1988 as South Africas first Unesco Biosphere Reserve, the Kogelberg biosphere lies 60km east of Cape Town and encompasses 1000 sq km.The reserve has incredibly complex biodiversity, including more than 1880 plant species. Birdlife is prolific, wild horses live in the
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Mlawula Nature Reserve
This low-key reserve, where the lowveld plains meet the Lubombo Mountains, boasts antelope species and a few spotted hyenas, among others, plus rewarding birdwatching. The best wildlife-spotting area is the Sisipho Valley. Keep your expectations in check, though; wildlife is more e
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Western Shores
The region northwest of St Lucia Estuary is called the Western Shores, and comprises two stunning lakeside spots, known as Fani’s Island (closed to visitors at the time of research) and Charters Creek (entrance is off the N2, 18km north of Mtubatuba and 32km south of Hluhluwe), an
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Transvaal Museum
Opposite City Hall, this grand museum is a good place to go if you’re interested in natural history. Outside the building are the museum’s most impressive exhibits – giant replica skeletons of an enormous whale and a dinosaur. Inside you’ll find a series of fascinating exhibits inc
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Kamberg Nature Reserve
Southeast of Giant’s Castle and a little away from the main escarpment area, Kamberg Nature Reserve has a number of antelope species and guided rock-art walks.The reserve’s new rock art centre is well worth visiting, if only to support the local community, the Tandela, who run it.
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