Small town charm

Water scarcity does not mean you should delay or cancel your trip – South Africa is ready to welcome you on a once in a lifetime adventure while encouraging visitors to use water responsibly when travelling through our beautiful country.

The route leads explorers to the well-known Owl House, a museum in the town of Nieu Bethesda that features the interesting artworks of Helen Martins and Koos Malgas.

Settle in to a genuine South African experience in Groot Marico. It's no wonder that so many of Herman Charles Bosman's tales featured this part of the country.

Inland from the Cape’s famous Garden Route, over breathtakingly beautiful mountain passes, magnificent red rocks and the wide open spaces of the Klein Karoo, you’ll find Oudtshoorn – once known internationally as the ostrich capital of the world

Stellenbosch owes its existence and name to the former governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel, who established this settlement on the banks of the Eerste River in 1679, making it the second-oldest formal settlement in South Africa.

The village of Pilgrim’s Rest is a settlement lost in time. Here you can walk in the footsteps of early gold prospectors and relive the heady days of pioneers, garter-snapping barmaids and highway robbers.

South Africans of Indian origin have retained the core culinary traits of their Asian motherland but they have also incorporated African ingredients and hospitality traditions from their nearest neighbours.

Knysna is located along South Africa’s beautiful and famed Garden Route in the Western Cape province. This small town boasts an incredible annual oyster festival, friendly people, magical forests.

Set in a curl of the Sundays River, the Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet is the fourth oldest settlement in South Africa and has seen more than two centuries of travellers, adventurers and prospectors pass through its streets.

In the Free State province, near a little town called Clarens, you can do exactly this. Whether it’s feeling the rush of the rapids with some white-river rafting or hiking up incredible mountains, there are plenty of adventures.

Are you a creative soul? Does the great outdoors fuel your artistic spirit? Visit the charming town of Clarens in the Free State and you’ll discover why we call it an artist's hideout.

For visitors driving through South Africa's arid Karoo, a delightful new tourism route running around the Gariep Dam reveals more than 'big water': historical sites, eccentric country types, a plush hotel, waterside herds of antelope and wide-angle landscapes to thrill the eye.