Let’s head SOUTH

As David Wickers discovers, there are many reasons why South Africa should be on your holiday wish list, including big game safaris, stunning scenery and an actual wonder of the world – your adventure starts here

Jaw-dropping scenery, world-class beaches, amazing wildlife, excellent food and wine, layers of history, a mishmash of cultures… the Rainbow Nation covers a broad spectrum of pleasures. And with a current rate of exchange of around 22 rand to the pound, South Africa also offers great value for money. Getting there takes almost 12 hours, but there’s no jet lag. You can leave home on a dark and chilly winter’s eve and step off the plane in Cape Town early next morning, right in the middle of a blue sky and sunshine summer.

CAPE TOWN

Only a handful of cities in the world – Rio, Sydney,

Hong Kong, Vancouver – come anywhere near to challenging Cape Town’s location. With mountains out the back door, a national park right in the middle, gorgeous beaches at the end of every other road and internationally acclaimed vineyards just a 15-minute drive from downtown, Cape Town provides an inspiring start to a holiday.

Wearing its familiar fluffy wig of cloud, and officially ranked as one of the seven wonders of the natural world, Table Mountain is as essential to the stage as Vesuvius is to the Bay of Naples or Sugar Loaf peering down on Rio. Wait for the toupee to lift before riding the cable car to the summit, designated a World Heritage Site on account of the 2,000 species of plants that thrive on its ‘table’ plateau.

A trip to Robben Island, South Africa’s Alcatraz, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 of his 27 years in prison, is also compelling. Tours leave from the lively Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the city’s tourist hub that’s full of restaurants, bars, boats and lots of shops (best buys including jewellery, paintings, wood carvings, textiles, tableware and those baggy, kaleidoscopic shirts that Mandela used to wear).

WINELANDS

The Cape is not just about wines and vines – the squinting white and gable-ended Cape Dutch architecture and the stunning mountain scenery should also be on your must-see list. The Constantia Valley, just a 15-minute drive from town, is home to the oldest estates, its wines being served by Sun King Louis XIV at Versailles. You’ll also be close to Kirstenbosch Gardens, one of the top 10 botanic gardens in the world.

THE GARDEN ROUTE

This has to be one of the most iconic road trips. From Mossel Bay, your ports of call should include Knysna, famed for its oysters that even appear on the menu at the Oyster Bar at New York’s Grand Central Terminal, and Plettenberg Bay, South Africa’s Côte d’azur; a tutti-frutti confection of a resort that sits on an escarpment above a long, white curling beach and an azure sea where whales the size of submarines can often be seen frolicking in the breakers.

A GAME PLAN

Nowhere in the world offers guaranteed sightings of the big five – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo – but in South Africa, you’re in with the highest possible odds. It’s easy to add a safari to your itinerary; after all, South Africa has more than 20 national parks!

GETTING THERE

Audley Travel has a 15-day Discover South Africa itinerary, which costs from £3,695pp and includes three days in Cape Town, a day in Swellendam, two in Oudtshoorn, three on the Garden Route and three on safari, plus flights, transfers, hire car, some meals and excursions; audleytravel.com/southafrica.