Chrissiesmeer, in the heart of Mpumalanga's’s lake district, is surrounded by 270 lakes and pans brimming with birds, butterflies and frogs. There’s even an annual frogging festival which keeps everyone on their toes. It’s full of history too, from Anglo-Boer War battles to poignant graves of lost lovers. more

Barberton is a geological mecca, luring international geologists and biologists to probe the earth’s beginnings and some of its earliest life forms. It also has a colourful gold-rush history, creative young artisans fashioning jewellery from the oldest gold in the world, and plenty of exhilarating outdoor activities. more

As you move from display room to display room, you'll find things about the Eastern Cape you never knew: discoveries of the prehistoric coelacanth fish, collections of Xhosa cultural artifacts, stone bones from the ancient Karoo and a living beehive that has been in the East London Museum since 1959. more

Transforming a street of dilapidated old houses to their former Victorian glory wasn’t easy – and maintaining them even more of a challenge. Sandra Antrobus and her tuishuise ('town houses') in Cradock have become national treasures – and a prime stop-over in the Eastern Cape's Karoo. more

Art museums in South Africa preserve and share the country’s rich social and cultural history, as documented through its art. They are home to collections of work that range from San rock art, to early colonial art, struggle art and contemporary art from around the country. more

A day-long heritage tour of Soweto taking in all the anti-Apartheid Struggle sites will possibly leave you a little shaken. But don’t stop there in your search for Soweto – try the after-dark venues. The vast city next to Johannesburg has a vibrance and spirit that never rests. more

Our TV soapies are home-grown, we cook with Malay, African and Indian ingredients. We win all the top world awards for acting, film directing, writing, craftwork and making music. Our comedians are regular guests on talk shows in the USA. South Africa finds itself in a truly creative hot zone. more

Hout Bay is one of the Cape Peninsula’s most beautiful seaside assets, a traditional playground for the rich and the retired. Now there’s a new, exciting group of people living there, staking their claim to a piece of paradise. They’re the residents of the Mandela Park in Imizamo Yethu. more

The Rastafarian Township Tour takes you on a journey into the spiritual lifestyle of South Africa's largest Rasta community, a proudly eco-friendly group whose nature rehabilitation efforts have beautified their location and contributed to the reintroduction of indigenous flora and fauna to the area. Share in their history and pride. more

Experience the day-to-day life of Mdantsane, taste home-brewed beer in a tavern, visit a sangoma and some local Apartheid memorials, or walk in Steve Biko's footsteps. This Eastern Cape township is rich in history, but also has a rhythmic heart which you can experience in the rousing live music venues. more

Images of rhinos, eland, elephant, wildebeest, people and abstract geometric shapes are to be found on sun-baked dolerite rock outcrops throughout the Karoo, where the ancient San engravers left their last mark. Today, researchers are trying to put the historical puzzle together – but the original artists have gone forever. more

The white-washed thatch cottages, the ‘seasons of mists and fruitfulness’, the healing centres, the long hikes around the valleys, the weekend lure of doing nothing in a quaint mountain village and the special nature of its people all combine to make McGregor an attractive destination. more

Durban’s oldest township, Kwa Mashu, was created during the apartheid era to accommodate the mass resettlement of Africans from the Indian township of Cato Manor in 1958. It is the largest of 3 townships in the area, and home to well over 500 000 people. It also has a robust arts scene. more

Kamberg Rock Art Centre is where the first South African rock art was found, then introduced to the world and featured in the Scientific American in 1915. Ukhalamba-Drakensberg Park is now a world heritage site for its ethnological importance and beauty, while the San paintings are national monuments protected by law. more