Southern Africa simply begs to be explored. It has a huge variety of landscapes, from green hills and mountains to dry plains. There are small towns and traditional villages but also modern, vibrant cities. To experience everything the region has to offer, it's best to rent a car, move away from the most popular tourist spots and hit the back roads.
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.
South Africa's eastern coast is a stunning area to explore too. The Wild Coast is dotted with little Xhosa villages and it's not unheard of to share the beach with herds of cattle. Further north you'll find the holiday towns of the KwaZulu-Natal province and the modern city of Durban with its Indian flavor. There's some great surfing to be had here and in the far north of the province there's also excellent diving.
After you've explored the coast, it's time for the mountains. The Drakensberg is Southern Africa's biggest mountain range. Part of the Drakensberg is the Maluti Mountains, which make up most of the country of Lesotho. From Lesotho, continue on into South Africa's Free State province. Here the sandstone cliffs are soon replaced by vast plains covered in cornfields and sunflowers.
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.
If you drive northwards from Johannesburg and Pretoria, you'll enter the Bushveld region with its baobab trees and plenty of game. Musina marks the main border crossing into Zimbabwe. From here, head northwestwards to Bulawayo, the Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls. Take a side trip to Lake Kariba, then cross over into Zambia.
After Zambia, go south again to Botswana. Go game-viewing in the lush northern parts of this pleasant country and spend some time in the Okavango Delta. Further south is the Kalahari Desert. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park covers a large part of the Kalahari in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. Namibia is also home to the Namib Desert with its high sand dunes and the country has a German flavor.
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.
South Africa's eastern coast is a stunning area to explore too. The Wild Coast is dotted with little Xhosa villages and it's not unheard of to share the beach with herds of cattle. Further north you'll find the holiday towns of the KwaZulu-Natal province and the modern city of Durban with its Indian flavor. There's some great surfing to be had here and in the far north of the province there's also excellent diving.
After you've explored the coast, it's time for the mountains. The Drakensberg is Southern Africa's biggest mountain range. Part of the Drakensberg is the Maluti Mountains, which make up most of the country of Lesotho. From Lesotho, continue on into South Africa's Free State province. Here the sandstone cliffs are soon replaced by vast plains covered in cornfields and sunflowers.
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.
If you drive northwards from Johannesburg and Pretoria, you'll enter the Bushveld region with its baobab trees and plenty of game. Musina marks the main border crossing into Zimbabwe. From here, head northwestwards to Bulawayo, the Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls. Take a side trip to Lake Kariba, then cross over into Zambia.
After Zambia, go south again to Botswana. Go game-viewing in the lush northern parts of this pleasant country and spend some time in the Okavango Delta. Further south is the Kalahari Desert. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park covers a large part of the Kalahari in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. Namibia is also home to the Namib Desert with its high sand dunes and the country has a German flavor.
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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