Southern Africa Travel Guide

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An astonishingly diverse region fused by its prolific wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and remnants of ancient culture, Southern Africa will etch itself onto your heart.

Okavango Delta, Botswana
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The many and diverse faces of Southern Africa make it the continents most accessible destination. Its perfect for the intrepid think Zambian wilderness, remote Mozambican archipelagoes and Namibian deserts; and its ideal for visitors wanting to slide a toe onto the continent for the first time think sophisticated South Africa, compact Swaziland and friendly Malawi. From Okavango Delta luxury lodges to Cape Town budget digs, this is truly Africa.

Southern Africa has some of Africas great safari destinations: Kruger, Etosha, South Luangwa and Hwange National Parks, and the Okavango Delta. The sheer number of elephants, lions, leopards, hyenas, rhinos, buffaloes, antelope and myriad other species will quickly overwhelm your camera. Spot them on self-drives, guided wildlife drives or charter flights...and if thats not up close and personal enough, what about the chance to track the highly endangered black rhino...on foot?

Theres famous Table Mountain, the mighty Fish River Canyon, and the desertscapes of the Kalahari, but the lonely rural tracks that expose visitors to a wandering wilderness are just as memorable. In Namibia, huge slabs of flat-topped granite rise from mists of wind-blown sand dust. And Zambian flood plains are dotted with acacia trees and flanked by escarpments of dense woodland. Want to see all the landscapes the region has to offer? Put aside a lifetime.

For insight into extraordinary rock art left by ancestors of the San, an ancient people with direct links to the Stone Age, visit Tsodilo Hills in Botswana and the extensive rock art galleries in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Step back through the centuries in the cultural melting pot of Mozambique Island; stay in a mud hut in Zimbabwe and watch Shona sculptors at work; prop up the bar at a shebeen in Soweto; or mingle with Basotho people in highland villages in Lesotho.

Namibia is Southern Africas headquarters for adrenaline-pumping fun, but theres adventure to be had all over the region. Sail by dhow past remote islands off Mozambiques jagged coastline, abseil Livingstonia in Malawi, tackle the ferocious rapids down the Zambezi River or bungee from a bridge at Victoria Falls. In South Africa, the Garden Route with its old-growth forests offers shark-cage diving, surfing, skydiving, canoeing and kloofing (canyoning). And thats just scratching the surface.

Victoria Falls

The largest, most beautiful and simply the greatest waterfall in the world. As iconic to Africa as Dr Livingstone, I presume, thunderous Victoria Falls ( )will blow your mind and soak your shirt. Its the sheer scale of the falls that is its most impressive feature. A million litres of water per second are funnelled over the 108m drop, creating a plume of spray that can be seen for kilometres. This really is a sight that, when youre in Southern Africa, you should move heaven and earth to see.

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Etosha National Park

There are few places in Southern Africa that can compete with the wildlife prospects of extraordinary Etosha National Park ( ), Namibia. A network of waterholes dispersed among the bush and grasslands surrounding the pan a blindingly white, flat, saline desert that stretches into the horizon attracts enormous congregations of animals. A single waterhole can render thousands of sightings over the course of a day. Etosha is simply one of the best places on the planet for wildlife viewing

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Fish River Canyon

The enormous gash in the surface of the planet in the south of Namibia is an almost implausible landscape. Seen most clearly in the morning, Fish River Canyon ( ) is desolate, immense and seemingly carved into the earth by a master builder. The exposed rock and lack of plantlife is quite startling, and any attempt to take pictures is soon replaced with thoughtful reflection and a quiet sense of awe. The canyons rounded edges and sharp corners create a symphony in stone of gigantic and imposing proportions.

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Sossusvlei

The towering red dunes of Sossusvlei ( ) consist of incredibly fine sand that feels soft when it falls through your fingers and changes hue with the light. Its astounding, especially given that the sands originated in the Kalahari millions of years ago. The valley is dotted by hulking dunes, and interspersed with unearthly, dry vleis (low, open landscapes). Clambering up the face of these constantly moving giants is a uniquely Namibian experience. Survey the seemingly endless swath of nothingness that surrounds you, and feel as though time itself has slowed.

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Okavango Delta

The Okavango ( ) in Botswana is an astonishing, beautiful and wild place. Home to wildlife spectacles of rare power and drama, the delta changes with the seasons as flood waters ebb and flow, creating islands, river channels and pathways for animals that move this way and that at the waters behest. No visit to the delta is complete without drifting in a traditional mokoro (dugout canoe). Exclusive and remote lodges are an Okavango speciality, and self-drivers can find outstanding campsites in the heart of the Okavangos Moremi Game Reserve.

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Chobe National Park

Botswanas Chobe National Park ( ) ranks among the elite of African safari destinations. For a start, there are more elephants here than anywhere else on earth, numbering in the tens of thousands. And theyre big really big. Then you have the iconic landscapes of Savuti with its elephant-eating lions. Theres Linyanti, one of the best places on the continent to see the highly endangered African wild dog. And finally the Chobe Riverfront, where most of Africas charismatic megafauna come to drink.