South Africa

Welcome to the southern tip of Africa. Here, two great oceans meet, warm weather lasts most of the year, and big game roams just beyond the city lights. This is where humanity began: our ancestors' traces are still evident in fossilized footprints 80 000 years old, and in the world's oldest rock paintings. Today, South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa, the most advanced, broad-based economy on the continent, with infrastructure to match any first-world country.

Up until 1994, South Africa was known for apartheid, or white-minority rule. The country's remarkable ability to put centuries of racial hatred behind it in favour of reconciliation was widely considered a social miracle, inspiring similar peace efforts in places such as Northern Ireland and Rwanda. Post-apartheid South Africa has a government comprising all races, and is often referred to as the rainbow nation, a phrase coined by Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu.

Touch the wild

You won't have to go far to do so. An hour's drive from such urban jungles as Pretoria and Johannesburg, you can see lions, elephants, buffalo and hundreds more species in their natural environments. One of the world's first wildlife conservation areas was South Africa's Kruger Park, more than a century old. Today it is part of a single broad conservation area that spans private and public game parks and stretches across national borders into neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

There are other reasons for visiting South Africa too: golden beaches, some of the world's best surf, spectacular scenery ranging from mountains to deserts, eco-systems found nowhere else in the world, an opportunity to experience African culture first-hand - and one of the least expensive holiday destinations you'll find. There is nothing quite like the African bush and you can experience it in so many ways. Take a drive through one of the many provincial or national parks, or stay in a luxury private lodge where you will be pampered like a princess. Or join an overland excursion, sit back and concentrate on spotting the game while someone else does the driving.

For an absolutely typical game experience, you'll need to visit the lowveld of Limpopo Province in the north, Mpumalanga in the east or KwaZulu-Natal in the south east, where elephants lumber gracefully through the bush, and lions rest in the heat of the day after a long night's hunting. Birds chatter, flitting about from tree to tree, while vervet monkeys groom each other among the leafy branches. Dung beetles roll their heavy loads along the roads, clumsily and steadfastly overcoming every obstacle.

And, unseen, leopards rest deep in the bush camouflaged in the dappled light while zebras graze out in the open, their stripes mingling with the shadows of the grass. Bushbuck skulk in the shadows and kudu elegantly curl their top lips around the tiny, thorn-bedecked leaves of an acacia.

Big cities with modern amenities

There's more to Africa than lions. Johannesburg, a city of skyscrapers, sprawls wider than London or New York. The lights work, the water flows, there are multi-lane highways and - unfortunately - traffic jams. You can book into a Hilton or a Hyatt or a Holiday Inn and eat at cosmopolitan restaurants serving anything from sushi to burgers to crocodile steaks. Or you can lie back on a couch and choose from five analogue and over 50 digital TV channels. That, and more. With a network that is 99% digital and includes the latest in fixed-line, wireless and satellite communication, South Africa has the most developed telecommunications network in Africa. The country's three cellular operators provide telephony to over 20-million subscribers, covering nearly half the population. The number of South Africans enjoying competitively priced access to the internet, uninterrupted connections and broadband access is growing steadily.

Weather

In Johannesburg, the country's commercial capital, the weather is mild all year round, but can get cool at night. Durban, the biggest port, is hot and sometimes humid, a beach paradise. And in Cape Town, where travelers flock to admire one of the world's most spectacular settings, the weather is usually warm, though temperamental. If you're visiting from the northern hemisphere, just remember: when it's winter over there, it's summer over here. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen; leave the mackintosh at home.