Rent A Car And See Southern Africa

Southern Africa is a fascinating region to explore. Here you'll find vast open landscapes that range from lush green to dry desert, from mountains to plains that seem to stretch on forever. You'll also find friendly and welcoming people and modern cities. Many visitors stick to popular tourist destinations but to experience the real Africa, you need to venture beyond the safari lodge. Unfortunately the public transport system isn't the best or most reliable, so rent a car and go on a road trip you'll never forget.

Cape Town in South Africa's Western Cape province is one of the best places to start out from. Around Cape Town you'll find the scenic Cape Winelands and the West Coast. From Cape Town, take the road eastwards. You can either follow the inland route through the dry Little Karoo region or take the green, coastal Garden Route with its great beaches and natural forests.

South Africa's eastern coast has a warmer, more humid climate and the ocean is pleasantly warm. The secluded beaches of the Wild Coast are often visited by herds of cattle. More to the north lies the Hibiscus Coast with its holiday resorts. After that you'll find laid-back Durban, where Indian and Zulu cultures meet and where the surfing is great.

After you've explored the coast, it's time for the mountains. The Drakensberg is Southern Africa's biggest mountain range. Part of the Drakensberg is the Maluti Mountains, which make up most of the country of Lesotho. From Lesotho, continue on into South Africa's Free State province. Here the sandstone cliffs are soon replaced by vast plains covered in cornfields and sunflowers.

It's only a couple of hours' drive northwards before you reach Johannesburg, the City of Gold. Pretoria is less than an hour from Johannesburg. These two cities make a great starting point for a trip to Mozambique's beaches and diving destinations, via the Kruger National Park, the subtropical region known as the Lowveld and the mountainous kingdom of Swaziland.

You can also head northwards instead. Drive through the wooded Bushveld region where you'll find plenty of game farms and will start seeing boabab trees. At Musina, cross the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe. Then explore Bulawayo and the Hwange National Park before spending some time at the Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba. Afterwards, continue on into Zambia.

From Zambia, turn south and cross into Botswana. The northern parts of the country are home to the breathtaking Okavango Delta and some of the region's best wildlife viewing. Most of Botswana is covered by the semi-arid Kalahari Desert and in the southwestern corner of Botswana you'll find the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which stretches into South Africa and Namibia. Namibia is a must too with its desolate desert landscapes and German colonial legacy.

Most roads in the Southern African region are easily traveled by normal car, even if many of them are gravel roads. There are many car-rental companies to choose from in the cities and rates are usually quite reasonable. When driving in the region, stop regularly during your trip so that you'll be rested. This is especially important since distances between destinations are often quite big and in Southern Africa, people drive on the left, which may take some getting used to.