South African Adventures

(50 Reviews)
100% Recommended

Kim Johnston

Tacoma, WA
European and Africa Travel Specialist

Having been in the travel business for over 30 years, I still love my job selling travel.  Of course, along with selling travel is the opportunity to travel, which is why most of us got into this business.   I've traveled extensively across the wo...

CITY LIFESTYLE


Meet the Rainbow Nation in buzzing cities bursting with color and life


While the frenetic energy of a big city always commands attention, an African city like Johannesburg does more than that – it takes you by the hand and leads you into the heart of a place that constantly surprises, invigorates and charms, where the unexpected becomes the reality. South Africa’s City of Gold is where you’ll feel true urban energy packed with local color, flavor and soul. Hang out with the trendiest locals at street-side cafes, overlooked by contemporary apartment blocks, or get the taste buds revved up and ready to try everything you can see or smell at weekend food markets, aroma-filled coffee shops or some of the finest restaurants on the continent that are dotted throughout the city.


There’s always something happening on the streets, among Jozi’s high-rise buildings. Join genuinely fun and friendly urban South Africans for a cocktail on packed rooftop bars or meet them at art galleries and spaces brimming with culture and expression. This is a place like no other, where you can create some of your most vivid memories while making a whole lot of new friends.


Just a short flight away, there’s Cape Town, one of the world’s favorite cities, a place so beautiful, one picture is enough to sell it to anyone. In this stunning city, the locals almost outshine the sights and their famous mountain, with a reputation to keep you smiling, chatting and dancing throughout your stay. Don’t miss the chance to take in some jazz at the city’s acclaimed international festivals and prepare to be mesmerized by local musicians and the rhythms that define this city. Then sneak away for a picnic, or an unforgettable open-air concert at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, the most peaceful setting imaginable, hidden against the slopes of Table Mountain. And city life doesn’t stop there; this country has plenty more remarkable cities to explore, like Durban on the semi-tropical east coast, where beach life lives in perfect harmony with an energetic modern city or feel perfectly at home in the historic coastal city of Port Elizabeth, known as the “Friendly City” to us. Every South African city has its own unique story to tell, and the best people to tell those stories are the locals themselves. So, let them be your guide to all the hot spots, dance spots, taste experiences and best-kept secrets around the cities they call home.


CULTURAL ROOTS


Take a journey of discovery from the roots of all humanity to a human story that inspired the world.


It was here that the world’s human story first began, a staggering four million years ago. Today a World Heritage Site, South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind stands as humbling evidence of the earliest origin of modern humans, who lived and evolved here at the tip of the continent before spreading to the rest of the world. This is where it all started, and we can’t wait to welcome you home. The spirit of ancient Africa can still be seen today at the site of the lost Iron Age Kingdom of Mapungubwe, an advanced civilization famous for its gold, which was traded as far as Asia hundreds of years ago. That spirit lives on in culture, tradition and myths, none more fascinating than the Limpopo province’s Rain Queen Modjadji who still rules today.


Journey back to a time of war in KwaZulu-Natal and walk the haunting battlefields where the mighty Zulu Kingdom fought under the reign of the warrior King Shaka Zulu. Then meet the proud Zulu culture of today at one of many cultural villages, and be charmed by their famous animal prints, art, food and traditions passed down over centuries. Of course, you can’t leave South Africa without immersing yourself in the inspiring story of Nelson Mandela. Follow his footsteps from humble beginnings at Mvezo in the Eastern Cape to his former home in Soweto and on to the tiny prison cell on Robben Island where he spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.


While South Africa embodies our most ancient roots, we have evolved into an amazing mix of modern cultures. Share in the truly South African urban and rural settings that celebrate our diversity and way of life, like buzzing urban markets, famous townships like Soweto, cosmopolitan bars filled with contemporary beats and good times, theatres, jazz clubs and traditional restaurants to mention a few. Diversity is South Africa’s proud legacy, and you are invited to become part of the celebration of all nations and cultures by meeting and sharing a South African style handshake and more than a few memories with those who call this place home. To be in South Africa is to feel part of a story that goes back to the start of our shared humanity, the first chapter of our story and everyone else’s, and to be welcomed back “home” not as a traveler, but as a friend.

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