SOUTH AFRICAN DESTINATIONS
MPUMALANGA
Dullstroom
Dullstroom, is a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, and along with Underberg, it is one of South Africa's premier fly fishing destinations. The town features the highest railway station in South Africa at 2,077 metres (6,814 feet) above sea level as well as at the foot of De Berg, the highest point in the province at 2,332 metres (7,651 feet). The town lies 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of Belfast and some 53 kilometres (33 miles) south-west of Lydenburg. One of the coldest towns in South Africa, Dullstroom is the only place in the country where beech and elm trees grow; they were planted by Dutch colonists
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dullstroom
Limpopo
Klein Drakensberg Mountains
Near the Kruger National Park and the Molatse Canyon (or 'Blyde River Canyon') the mountain starts at 1011m ASL, then drops down the Drakensberg escarpment to the Olifants River at 508m ASL. It can be found between the towns of Orighstad (40 km to the South) and Tzaneen (95km to the North East) and incorporates the Strijdom Tunnel.
Extracted from: http://www.mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/find-a-pass/limpopo.html
Blue Canyon Conservancy
The Blue Canyon Game Conservancy is located between the Greater Kruger National Park and the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve in the Hoedspruit area. All animals of the great African wilderness can be seen here, from lions to elephants, hyenas to rhinos, not to mention Giraffes, Zebra, Wildebeest, Warthog, impala, kudu, eland and Nyala. The Blue Canyon Conservancy's landmark is the magnificent silhouette of the Drakensberg mountains - spectacular, especially at sunset, occasionally accompanied by packs of wild dogs.
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Thornybush Game Reserve
Thornybush Game Reserve, is a private game reserve, near Hoedspruit and borders the Kruger National Park, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Private bush retreat areas such as the Thornybush Reserve are a fantastic example of the advantages of a smaller reserve size when considering a romantic or intimate getaway in the park - at roughly 11.000 hectares large, with only five lodges of which to speak, this bush venue is tailor made for unique bush weddings or business indabas, veld-side retreats where personalised attention and intimacy outstrips size and business.
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Kwazulu natal
iSimangaliso Wetland Park
iSimangaliso Wetland Park (previously known as the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) is situated on the east coast ofKwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about 275 kilometres north of Durban. It is South Africa's third-largest protected area, spanning 280 km of coastline, from the Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the Lake St. Lucia estuary, and made up of around 3,280 km2 of natural ecosystems. The park is due to be integrated into a transfrontier park, the Ponta do Ouro-Kosi Bay Transfrontier Conservation Area, straddling South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland. This is in turn planned to become a part of the greater Greater Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area.
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISimangaliso_Wetland_Park
free state
Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State, South Africa, near the Lesotho border. It covers an area of 340 km2 (130 sq mi). The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued deeply eroded sandstonecliffs and outcrops, especially the Brandwag rock. Another feature of the area is the numerous caves and shelters displaying San rock paintings. Wildlife featured at the park includes mongooses, eland, zebras, and over 100 bird species. It is the Free State's only national park, and is more famous for the beauty of its landscape than for its wildlife. Numerous paleontology finds have been made in the park including dinosaur eggs and skeletons.
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Highlands_National_Park
GAUTENG
Tswaing crater
Tswaing is an impact crater in South Africa that is accompanied by a museum. It is situated 40 km to the north-west of Pretoria. This astrobleme is 1.13 km in diameter and 100 m deep and the age is estimated to be 220,000 ± 52,000 years (Pleistocene). The impactor is believed to have been a chondrite or stony meteorite some 30 to 50 m in diameter that was vaporized during the impact event. Stone tools from the Middle Stone Age show that the crater was regularly visited by people from as far back as 100,000 years ago in order to hunt and collect salt. Water in the crater comes from surface springs, ground water and rain water and is rich in dissolved carbonates and sodium chlorides. Tswana and Sotho people harvested the salt by filtering and decoction between 1200 and 1800. Between 1912 and 1956 brine was pumped from the floor of the crater by the company SA Alkali Ltd. in order to extract soda and salt.
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tswaing_crater
NORTH WEST
Madikwe Game Reserve
Madikwe Game Reserve is currently the fifth largest game reserve and is also one of the lesser- known parks in South Africa. This makes it a hidden- gem as it is regarded as one of the best conservation areas in Africa and offers the Big 5 in a 680 km2 park (750 km2 including newly incorporated privately owned land). The park offers a number of luxurious lodges as well as community lodges in a malaria- free zone.
Extracted from: http://www.madikwegamereserve.co.za/
NORTHERN CAPE
Augrabies Falls National Park
Augrabies Falls National Park is a national park located around the Augrabies Falls, about 120 km west of Upington in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It was established in 1966. The Augrabies Falls National Park covers an area of 820 km² and stretches along the Orange River. The area is very arid. The waterfall is about 60 metres high[4] and is awe-inspiring when the river is in flood. The gorge below the falls averages about 240 m deep and runs for 18 kilometres. The gorge provides an impressive example of erosion into a graniticbasement. The original Khoikhoi people named the waterfall Ankoerebis, meaning the "place of big noises". The Trekboers who later settled in the area derived the name Augrabies. The name is sometimes spelt Aughrabies. There are many deposits of alluvial diamonds along the Orange River and legend has it that the biggest cache of diamonds in the world lies in the swirl-hole eroded into the granite at the foot of the waterfall by the thundering waters.
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augrabies_Falls_National_Park
EASTERN CAPE
Tsitsikamma National Park
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was amalgamated with the Wilderness National Park and various other areas of land to form the Garden Route National Park. The park covers an 80 kilometres (50 miles) long stretch of coastline. Nature's Valleyis at the western end of the park, and the main accommodation is at Storms River Mouth. Near the park is the Bloukrans Bridge, the world's highest bungee jump at 216 metres (709 ft).
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsitsikamma_National_Park
WESTERN CAPE
Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the Flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. Table Mountain is at the northern end of a sandstone mountain range that forms the spine of the Cape Peninsula. To the south of the main plateau is a lower part of the range called the Back Table. On the Atlantic coast of the peninsula, the range is known as the Twelve Apostles. The range continues southwards to Cape Point.
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Mountain
West Coast National Park
The West Coast National Park lies 120 km north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is 27,500 hectares (106 sq mi) in size. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the R27 coastal road, and runs from the town of Yzerfontein in the south up to the Langebaan lagoon. The park is particularly well known for its bird life and for the spring flowers which occur in the months from August to October, especially in the Postberg flower reserve section of the park. The park, with the islands in Saldanha Bay, has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.
Wildlife in the park includes large antelope such as eland, red hartebeest, bontebok, kudu, gemsbok, steenbok, mountain zebra, duiker and ostriches in the Postberg section. Other smaller animals include the bat-eared fox, caracal, and Cape gray mongoose. A flamingo population lives in the salt marshes of the Langebaan lagoon. Many species of sea birds, such as the African penguin, African oystercatcher and the endangered Cape gannet, breed on Jutten and Malgas islands in the West Coast National Park.
Extracted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_National_Park
