Month 1
South Africa | Although Johannesburg is the main entrance to the country and most will have to start there, it’s only a short and cheap flight to the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. This city makes for a fine entrance to the Eastern Cape and has surrounding beaches and nearby museums that are worthy of a few days exploration before pressing west to Plettenberg Bay. You could either base yourself at this small surfer-friendly town or in nearby Knysna, which has plenty of outdoor activities and pleasant dining experiences to keep you busy. It’s also a good little town to base yourself in if you’re thinking of taking things slowly as it’s quite well facilitated for its size. Otherwise, it’s a 6-hour bus journey inland to the Langeberg mountain range at Swellendam where you’ll find historical architecture and some superb hiking and decent national parks. Once content there though, you’ll want to continue west for another 6-hour bus to Cape Town – the last stop. You’d be hard pressed not to agree that the mixture of world-class beaches, stunning mountain hikes and gorgeous wineries make for one award-winning city that’s quite honestly hard to leave. |
