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Travel across South Africa

On a first trip to Africa, starting by South Africa is not a bad choice: the infrastructure is constantly improving, the weather is nice and it is the perfect setting to see African wildlife.

Best time to go to South Africa

Even if spring is the ideal season to see wildflowers in the provinces of Western and Northern Cape, winters are also mild everywhere except in the areas of higher altitude, where there are frosts and occasional snow.

Travellers leave the main cities from mid-December to late January, when the resorts and national parks are often crowded and the prices on the coast come to increase more than doubled. School holidays in April, July and September can fill the beaches and national parks.

Best way to travel

South Africa is a country mainly oriented to travel by private vehicle, with magnificent highways but limited and expensive public transport. Anyone who wants to travel the nation in a short time may need to rent a car. If you do not have the money needed for a long time trip but can go hitchhiking, although it is not recommended.

If you do not mind traveling a bit uncomfortable, you need to know that there is an extensive network of minibus taxis, buses and trains. The local taxi drivers are not on the street, you must phone them.

There are also some good bus companies operating all over the country.

Some advices to drive in South Africa

First of all, they drive on the left, like brittish people. A clear theme to understand but difficult at times to put into practice.
To enter a route arriving at an intersection, to turn at a major intersection, they usually pay attention to the right side that has right of way. For the countries where they drive on the left (UK, Japan or South Africa and its neighbors, for example), they are used to looking good on both sides before proceeding with the car.

Food tours through South Africa

Food tours

South African food is full of colour, tastes and spieces. There are several restaurantes in this country, that offer excellent food and traditional dishes. Each dish is a reflect of different cultural influences along the country.
Maize, meat and milk products are the main food in South Africa, with all kind of mixes among them and rich vegetables.

Zulu cuisine

This cuisine offers the traveller a traditional cultural mix of tastes, seasoned with history, and it's full of fine flavours.
This cooking culture features milk products and meat becoming from their traditional menu. Zulu people were a powerful nation and they had high level meat and milk products.
They usually eat the meat with a spicy vegetable named "chakalaka". A tipical drink in zulu cuisine is "amahewu", a non-alcoholic grain beer, and "utywala", a high alcohol made drink.
You can taste this marvelous food on its best in the province of Durban. Rural areas are the best areas to taste zulu cuisine.

Xhosa cuisine

Maize is a basic food in most of Africa, and Xhosa cuisine, in the Eastern Cape, has refined its culinary use to an artistic expresion.
The most famous maize made dish is "umngqusho". It consists of a mix of dried maize and bean, that has been compared with the risotto on Italy, a delicious meal which is traditionnally served with a meaty stew.
Vegetable dishes are very common in Xhosa cuisine, and you can taste at his best in the rural Eastern Cape, although travellers can find it at some eaters in Johannesburg or in Gugulethu.
You can enjoy traditional african food during your visit to South Africa, just ask and reserve a food tour.