Lying at the mouth of the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape, Hamburg has morphed from a settlement for British-hired German legionnaires into a not-so-secret fishing spot. A tour of the South African fishing blogosphere will tell you almost everyone with a rod has caught a 'monster kob' at Hamburg. more

At the heart of the Eastern Cape’s Sunshine Coast, Jeffreys Bay is rated one of the top ten surfing spots, attracting the world’s best surfers each July for the local leg of the Billabong Pro, a World Championship Tour event. But that’s not all this beautiful town has to offer. more

Jagersfontein in the southern Free State was once world-famous for its high-quality diamonds. After a 40-year slump, the little village looks to have a bright future again, as a new mining company begins to work the dump tailings and a local craft project produces world-class Afro-French wire and glass keepsakes. more

A tiny village set in the great southern Free State landscape of big horizons and massive skies, Philippolis is a welcome weekend destination and popular overland stop for travellers wanting to escape the traffic and rush of the highways of South Africa. You can catch your breath in Philippolis. more

A stroll through the Eastern Cape village of Burgersdorp will surprise and delight you with its array of coffee shops, museums and memorials to both Boer and Brit alike. And once you hit the hiking trails of the area, you will find superb San (Bushman) rock art from long ago. more

Harrismith in the eastern Free State was once a major British operations base during the South African War (also known as the Anglo-Boer War). Today it’s a bustling agricultural town that serves the needs of the N3 Johannesburg – Durban highway traffic yet maintains its pastoral identity. more

Every little South African town has its quirks and special features, and Fauresmith in the southern Free State is no exception. With its old loco as an historic reminder of the days when steam trains chugged along its main street, Fauresmith has retained its other specialty: breeding superb endurance horses. more

If you’re looking for a legendary pub with true country style, a monster pineapple that looms over the countryside, and a community of academics, artists, folk musicians and hardy eccentrics who will welcome you in their midst, then you need go no further than the Eastern Cape village of Bathurst. more

Okiep, in Namaqualand in the Northern Cape, was once at the heart of the biggest copper mining operation in the world. It also achieved some measure of fame after General Jan Smuts laid siege to the little village in the dying months of the South African War. more

The tallest church steeple in South Africa, a post office that should have been a magistrate’s court elsewhere, and at 1 time the site of the biggest privately owned zoo in the country – that’s the Karoo village of Aberdeen, where it is said nothing ever goes on but the passage of time ... more

Although Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town on the Vaal River with steel still forming the backbone of the town’s economy, it has also become the riverside playground for a cosmopolitan mix of permanent and weekend residents. The Vaal river is the focal point of the town’s leisure and entertainment activities. more

Named after the 3 distant ridges of the Amathole range of mountains that resemble the back-outlines of running wild pigs, the little town of Hogsback has become an arts and crafts colony, a photographer’s preferred location, a nature lover’s haunt and a honeymoon couple’s 1st choice of romantic hideaway in the Eastern Cape. more