Sydafrika

A coming-together of cultures, cuisines and landscapes, there's nowhere quite like Cape Town, a singularly beautiful city crowned by the magnificent Table Mountain National Park.

Nelspruit (now officially called Mbombela, though locals rarely use the new moniker) is Mpumalanga’s functional provincial capital. It's more a place to get things done than a worthwhile destination for tourists, but it's not unpleasant and has the facilities to make it a practical stopover on the way elsewhere. Well connected to Jo'burg, it's a good place to organise a trip to Kruger National Park, the Blyde River Canyon, Swaziland or Mozambique.

Venturing inland and upwards from Cape Town you’ll find the Boland, meaning ‘upland’. It’s a superb wine-producing area, and indeed the best known in South Africa. The magnificent mountain ranges around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek provide ideal microclimates for the vines.

South Africa’s administrative centre is a handsome city with some gracious old architecture, significant historical sites, prosperous leafy suburbs, and wide streets lined with jacarandas that burst into a beautiful purple haze in October and November. It’s always been more more conservative than Jo’burg – this was the centre of the apartheid regime and its very name a symbol of oppression. However, as the inner city undergoes something of a renaissance, and Pretoria becomes more cosmopolitan, there's a sense that the city is beginning to look to the future.

Embracing an exquisitely beautiful lagoon and surrounded by ancient forests, Knysna (pronounced ny-znah) is probably the most famous town on the Garden Route. Formerly the centre of the timber industry, supplying yellowwood and stinkwood for railway lines, shipping and house-building, it still has several shops specialising in woodwork and traditional furniture. The lagoon is popular with sailing enthusiasts, and there are plenty of boat trips on offer.

Stor som två Skåne och med ett fantastiskt djurliv. Det är inte konstigt att Kruger blivit en av Sydafrikas största sevärdheter, men här pågår även kampen mot den brutala tjuvjakten.

Kruger is one of the world's greatest wildlife-watching destinations. All of Africa's iconic safari species – elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, rhino, buffalo, giraffe, hippo and zebra – share the bushveld with a supporting cast of 137 other mammals and over 500 varieties of bird.

A string of charming and historic coastal communities, including Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town (plus the penguins living at Boulders Beach), line the False Bay side of the peninsula. More wildlife and incredible landscapes are protected within the nature reserve at Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. On the Atlantic coast side, Kommetjie is beloved by experienced surfers, and the broad beach at Noordhoek by horse riders.

A place of big skies and open pastureland, the Free State is ideal for a road trip. Broad horizons are interrupted only briefly by a smattering of towns and villages and, apart from Bloemfontein, the urban centres are small and manageable.

With the feel of a small country village, despite its double-capital status – it’s the Free State’s capital and the judicial capital of the country – Bloemfontein is one of South Africa’s most relaxed and welcoming cities. Although it doesn’t possess the type of big-name attractions that make it worth a visit in its own right, you’ll likely pass through 'Bloem' at some point on your way across South Africa’s heartland, and there are some small-scale sights and good restaurants to keep you occupied for a day or two.