South Africa things to see and do

The popular Garden Route is a casual road tripper’s dream, winding along the sunny, scenic and perennially verdant southeast coast between Mossel Bay and the mouth of Storms River. Along the way, pass languid lakes and lagoons, dense indigenous forests and pretty towns including Wilderness, Knysna, Oudtshoorn and Plettenberg Bay.

Johannesburg's excellently curated and profoundly moving Apartheid Museum recounts the still-recent history of racially segregated South Africa. Your entrance ticket comes in ‘white’ and ‘non-white’ versions, determining which entrance you're allowed to use. A particularly poignant and painful chapter of South Africa’s history is revealed through photographs, artefacts, newspaper clippings and film footage.

Adrenalin junkies can get up close and personal with the ocean’s apex predator. Seal Island in the Western Cape is a favourite hunting ground for great white sharks, with a veritable buffet of penguins, seals and game fish to feast on. From the (relative) safety of a metal cage, you can observe these formidable fish in their natural habitat.

Got golf clubs and some money to burn? South Africa is brilliant for golfing, and the swanky Fancourt Estate on the south coast has three courses designed by Gary Player, South Africa’s most famous golfer, including The Links, described as his greatest design feat. There are hundreds of golf resorts and courses across the country, many in scenic coastal locations.

The picturesque coastline and warm waters of KwaZulu-Natal offer superb conditions for underwater exploration. Sodwana Bay near Durban is a particularly popular base for reef dives among turtles and tropical fish, while Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks further south are favourites for sharks and wrecks. Courses are available for the newbies.

If you’ve come this far, you have to go all the way. As the land runs out, you’ll reach sheer cliffs and a historic lighthouse towering above the sea. The surrounding conservation area is populated with buck, baboons, zebra, ostrich and indigenous flora. Winding your way back towards town, duck off the main drag to find a number of secluded white sandy beaches.

A large colony of entertaining African penguins live on a protected part of Boulders Beach in Simonstown, near Cape Town. A modest entrance fee lets you approach the penguins via various walkways and gives you access to the idyllic beach itself, where you can swim with the penguins between the great granite boulders from which the beach takes its name.

More than a dozen wine routes and a bevy of wine estates tempt you with delectable tastings and equally excellent cuisine. The views are unfailingly splendid, with whitewashed Cape-Dutch mansions sitting prettily amongst rolling hills and rugged mountains. The wine price tags are equally easy on the eyes. Organised trips from Cape Town let you avoid drunk driving.

In the Eastern Cape, the peaceful rural idyll and rustic Xhosa villages of the old Transkei still seem to belong to a different time, and belie a turbulent history from which emerged many of South Africa’s most iconic freedom fighters, including Nelson Mandela. Head south to the aptly named Wild Coast and you’ll find some of South Africa’s best-kept coastal secrets.