Southern Africa

Southern Africa offers an wide variety of attractions and landscapes from the enormous dunes of the Kalahari to the quasi-Siberian highlands of Lesotho where you can even go skiing in winter. There is also Wildlife viewing, and beautiful sandy beaches.

Southern Africa’s national parks and reserves rival those of East Africa and are also considered relatively cheaper. Among the most famous of these are Kruger National Park, Botswana’s Chobe National Park and the Okavango delta and Namibia’s Etosha Pan.

Namibia’s Namib desert is home to the worlds tallest dunes and the bizarre two leafed aloe also known as Welwitschia mirabilis, which can live for up to 2000 years.

For those thinking of canoeing then the Zambezi river is a great place to see animals from your canoe. It is this river that is responsible for the majestic Victoria falls. Victoria falls is accessible from both Zimbabwe and Zambia, and here you can participate in a wide variety of adventure sports, from bungee jumping and white-water rafting to helicopter rides.

For those looking for beach vacation spots, the Indian Ocean is the place, especially in Mozambique, teh island of Madagascar and the Comoros.

The island of Madagascar is best know for its biodiversity with new species being discovered all the time and the island is also popular with eco tourists.

For those interested in history there are remains of the slave trade that took part centuries ago as well as those of the first missionaries in the region.

Culturally southern Africa most emblematic people are the Zulu whose militaristic nineteenth century empire under the leadership of Shaka Zulu spread across this vast region and causing havoc. Southern Africa’s Bushmen or San are the original inhabitants of this region and survived on hunting game and gathering wild fruits and plants.