South Africa has the world's richest floral kingdom - 23 200 different plants - and a variety of endemic and migratory birds. It is home to one-sixth of the world's marine species and has more species of wild animals than North and South America, or Europe and Asia - together!

South Africa is home to the world's largest land mammal (the African elephant), smallest mammal (a shrew), tallest mammal (giraffe), fastest mammal (cheetah), heaviest reptile (Leatherback turtle), largest antelope (eland), largest bird (ostrich) and heaviest flying bird (the Kori bustard).

The Rainbow Nation's cuisine is also a culinary drawcard, with everything from fiery Indian curries, fragrant Cape Malay dishes to traditional African cooking. Enjoy local meat and venison (springbok, kudu and impala), as well as ostrich and seafood (particularly crayfish, abalone and oysters) accompanied by award-winning wines to tantalise the taste buds.
 
South Africa is one of the world's drier countries with annual rainfall being approximately half the global average. Weather patterns, dictated by ocean currents, altitude, prevailing winds and the ever-changing nature of the land, vary dramatically from place to place.

Cape Town, near the bottom of the African continent, enjoys warm pleasant summers and a winter rainfall. Gateway to the Cape Peninsula, Cape Winelands, Garden Route, Whale Coast, Cedarberg and Overberg, the cosmopolitan city is an absolute Mecca for holidaymakers with a plethora of activities, pastimes, restaurants, shopping and nightlife to please all tastes.
 
Positioned inland and further north is the city of Johannesburg, a huge business district and gateway to South Africa’s neighbouring countries as well as to visitors flying in for an African luxury.

Eastwards from the modern metropolis of Johannesburg lies the rugged Escarpment which falls rapidly away to the humid, subtropical Limpopo and Lowveld and its world-famous Kruger National Park.
Close by lies the Nkomazi Wilderness in Mpumalanga, whose rocks contain evidence of the earliest life to appear on this planet some 3.5 billion years ago. The Sterkfontein Caves, a World Heritage Site, is thought to be the birthplace of early man. South Africa also contains traces of man in fossilised footprints dating back 80 000 years and the world's oldest rock art.
 
Along South Africa's southern shore lies the Garden Route, a place of gentle beauty, seaside towns, forests and lakes against the backdrop of the Outeniqua Mountain range. Westward, the rich Western Cape Winelands and farming districts culminate in the Cape Peninsula and the city of Cape Town, cradled in the lap of Table Mountain.