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Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape

The Richtersveld is a desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains, situated in the north-western corner of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It is full of changing scenery from flat, sandy, coastal plains, to craggy sharp mountains of volcanic rock and the lushness of the Orange River, which forms the border with neighbouring Namibia. It is regarded as the only arid biodiversity hotspot on earth and the majority of the area is inscribed on Unesco’s World Heritage List due to its cultural values.

Robben Island

Unesco declared Robben Island in the Western Cape a World Heritage Site in 1999. Robben Island is located in Table Bay, some 6km west of Bloubergstrand, and stands some 30m above sea level. Robben Island has been used as a prison and a place where people were isolated, banished and exiled to for nearly 400 years Initially, the island was inhabited by a variety of wildlife, including birds, penguins, seals and tortoises. Its name “robben” is derived from the Dutch, meaning a seal. Bartolomeu Dias, the Portuguese explorer, ‘discovered’ the island in 1488 when he anchored his ship in Table Bay.

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

The scenic ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park in Kwazulu-natal is a rich wildlife sanctuary. A diverse range of habitats protects high levels of rare and endangered animals and plants. A significant concentration of San rock art can be seen in hundreds of caves and rock-shelters at this Drakensberg nature reserve in Kwazulu-natal – the largest group of Bushmen paintings south of the Sahara.

Cape Floral Region

South Africa’s Cape Floral Region is a biodiversity hotspot comprising 13 protected areas in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces. It includes the city of Cape Town’s Table Mountain National Park, known for its flat-top mountain, Boulders Beach penguins and the Cape of Good Hope at the Cape Peninsula’s tip. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, at the foot of Table Mountain, is rich in local fynbos plants.

Cradle of Humankind

About 90 minutes’ drive from the Johannesburg city centre, offers visitors the opportunity to learn about stones and bones, wine and dine in tranquil surroundings, try out a range of adrenalinepumping activities, have a beautiful wedding, discover a range of wonderful wildlife and experience culture and craft. The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is one of eight in the country. It’s the world’s richest hominin site, home to around 40% of the world’s human ancestor fossils. The area is also home to a diversity of birds, animals and plants, some of which are rare or endangered.

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape

The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape was inscribed in 2003 as a cultural heritage site. Located in Limpopo province, Mapungubwe is set hard against the northern border of South Africa, joining Zimbabwe and Botswana. It is an open, expansive savannah landscape at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers. Mapungubwe – “place of the stone wisdom” – was South Africa’s first kingdom, and developed into the subcontinent’s largest realm, lasting for 400 years before it was abandoned in the 14th century.

The Castle of Good Hope

Known locally as the Castle or Cape Town Castle, it’s a bastion fort built in the 17th century in Cape Town. Originally located on the coastline of Table Bay, following land reclamation the fort is now located inland. In 1936 the Castle was declared a historical monument (now a provincial heritage site) and following restorations in the 1980s it is considered the best-preserved example of a Dutch East India Company fort.

Vredefort Dome

The Vredefort crater is the largest verified impact crater on Earth, more than 300 kilometres across when it was formed. What remains of it is located in the present-day Free State province of South Africa and named after the town of Vredefort, which is situated near its centre.

Khomani Cultural Landscape

Located at the border with Botswana and Namibia, coinciding with the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (KGNP). The large expanse of sand contains evidence of human occupation from the Stone Age to the present and is associated with the culture of the formerly nomadic Khomani San people and the strategies that allowed them to adapt to harsh desert conditions. They developed a specific ethnobotanical knowledge, cultural practices and a worldview related to the geographical features of their environment.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

A very special slice of Africa, the isimangaliso Wetland Park in Kwazulu-natal offers eco-tourists some of the most diverse African wildlife and outdoor experiences imaginable. The variety of fauna and flora is unique. Four wetland sites within the park are Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance). isimangaliso Wetlands Park in Kwazulunatal protects rare swamp forests, Africa’s largest estuary and some of the world’s highest coastal vegetated dunes, which are 25 000 years old.

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – SENECA