Featured Country: South Africa South Africa is intriguing, inspiring, exciting, frightening and awakening all at once. Its own personal history combines with a people that have both hearts of gold and enduring capabilities beyond wildest expectations. However, within such a world also exists some of the harshest history you will ever bear witness to. The most amazing thing about South Africa is its accessibility to its past and the people's persistence at freedom and equality. Those travelers interested in its past will find South Africans more than willing to talk about their feelings and experiences. Those who are simply there to see the sights cannot deny the underlying pain and intensity of emotions that are ever-present in this country. South Africa stands out from any other country in Africa as the one that fought through racism, violence and oppression to emerge as one land that can achieve freedom. Throughout the struggle to end apartheid (meaning both "apart" and "hate"), Nelson Mandela stood as an icon for what could be. Ultimately, he emerged from 26 years in prison to lead his people past the bounds of racial segregation and to a new era for South Africa. With the new era, and beauty of the land and its people, legions of travelers visit South Africa every year. What's in this issue? South Africa's Top Attractions Airfare Deals Featured Stories on South Africa South Africa Insiders Accommodations in South Africa Links & Resources Books on South Africa South Africa's Top Attractions Cape Town Four most Popular Attractions in Capetown Table Mountain: Overlooks the town from almost no matter where you are. Cable cars go up it for a few Rand and the view is spectacular on clear days. And don't forget – the weather changes up there rather quickly so be prepared for anything. Cape Point: About 1 hour drive from Capetown, it is the most Southwestern point of the African Continent. Baboons wander around the park and once on the point the views are tidy. Plenty of hiking to keep you busy for a day. Robben Island: Nelson Mandela spent 20 some years on this Alcatraz type island as a political prisoner, just a 20 minute boat ride from downtown Capetown. A tour is included as part of your ferry fare. The tour is phenomenal, as most of the tour guides were political prisoners on this island themselves. They share some of the torture that they endured. Those personal stories are the highlight. Do not miss this trip! Spier Winery: Surprisingly, a winery some 30 minutes out of town makes the top 4 list. Well worth the visit. Great food and a superb place to start your exploration of the Stellenbosch Wine Region. Garden Route The picturesque, heavily traveled, Garden Route stretches along the south Western Cape, and is a favorite haunt for travelers in search of relaxation on the white sand beaches. Known for fairly good weather year round, the Garden Route is perhaps one of South Africa's most beautiful regions, with more than 200 kilometers of native forest that hugs the coastline. Although one of the primary tourist destinations, the Garden Route is still home to an abundant number of animals, and private animals reserves are reintroducing a number of animals that were once indigenous to the region. Kruger National Park Known as the oldest wildlife park in Africa, Kruger National Park is now over 100 years old and consequently is perhaps one of the most famous parks in all of Africa. Bordering Mozambique, Kruger National Park is home to legions of animals, including some of those hard-to-find black rhinos, wild dogs and roan antelope. At the forefront of wildlife protection and conservation, Kruger National Park has been both criticized and commended for its decision to take down all fences around it, thus allowing wildlife to migrate more naturally, but also a chance to mingle with local farmers and their livestock, not always a pretty picture. Overberg Region, Western Cape Las Vegas in the Mountains: The Caledon Casino and Resort in Caledon is basically at the center of the Overberg region. This Casino gets your heart pumping and for out of towners, betting with Rand is fun. It feels like your bet is bigger than it would normally be with an exchange rate of 7 Rand or so to the dollar. Nice Casino and resort with all sorts of stuff to keep you occupied if you aren't into the gambling. Diving with Great White Sharks: Mandatory stop. Unreal – feels like Jaws is nibbling at your toes! Back to top BOOTSNALL AIRFARE DEALS Brought to you by the BootsnAll TripPlanner Plan and book your round-the-world or multi-continental trip! Both Johannesburg and Cape Town tend to be the major airport hubs from Europe, with flights also going into Durban. Usually, Johannesburg is the cheapest option. Here are some ticket prices we found: $1228 Los Angeles - Cape Town $1133 Los Angeles - Johannesburg $1194 New York - Cape Town $1288 Seattle - Cape Town Now, log on to the TripPlanner or International Airfares and put together an itinerary of the places you want to see! Back to top Featured Stories of South Africa Kruger National Park Kruger National Park is teeming with wildlife and Leanne Currie-McGhee saw a good deal of it during her short stay. Unexpected Encounters Paul Cook experiences Cape Town from a local's perspective, including firing a handgun, and getting up close and personal with the wildlife, human and animal. Table Mountain Some of South Africa's finest scenery is around Cape Town and from the top of Table Mountain. It's a hard way but well worth the views! If you would like to submit an article on your travel experiences, check out our Writer's Guidelines, then send it along. Back to top South Africa Insiders BootsnAll Insiders are a great source of information, and they can tell you what the guidebooks can't. We asked some of our Insiders for their take on South Africa, and here's what they had to say: Jason Milliski,Top Attractions in South Africa Here are the 3 things in South Africa that you must do. Go to the top of Table Mountain. Take the lift up, it provides a great time and those who want to do some climbing can still trek around up top to the highest peak, which is cool, but not a must. Go to Cape Point. Allow yourself a good amount of time. The park there has a number of trails that you can drive around and look for animals but, if your itinerary calls for Kruger, then just go see the point and spend time there, but watch out for any food around you -- as the baboons are very aggressive. Finally, go to Robben Island. This is the first thing I did there and it was one of the best memories. They provide a great tour and it is emotional and educational. Other things to do in Cape Town are take a tour of district 6 which shows the effect of apartheid. Another suggestion is to take a day or so and drive an hour out to the Stellenbosh region where they produce great wine. The wineries offer tours and wine tastings and the wine is for sale at very cheap prices to take home. Nearby also is False Bay where they have boat tours out to Seal Island which can be fun, especially with the possibility of encoutering a great white shark. Kruger Park is a great experience. We spent about 4 days there. I would suggest driving up outside the park to a top enterance and then work your way down staying at different camps each night. I stayed at 3 and they are all very similar. Suggestions for Kruger are to wake up early and leave as soon as the gates open to catch the animals waking up, that is when they are most active. Another suggestion is to sign up for a night drive, where you get in a open air SUV that a ranger will drive around the bush and you get to see the animals in another perspective. Back to top Accommodations in South Africa All of South Africa's Hostels Cape Town Durban Johannesburg Back to top Links & Resources Use the following sites to learn more about South Africa, the attractions for travelers, and what to consider on your next trip. Baz Bus The Baz Bus offers independent travellers and backpackers the opportunity to explore the most beautiful towns and cities in South Africa. Cape Town Travel Adviser A comprehensive online travel guide that gives you everything from top attractions to adventure tours to airfare links. Robbin Island Museum Robben Island, 12 kilometers from Cape Town, was a place of banishment for political troublemakers, like former president Nelson Mandela, social outcasts and the of society. See where Nelson Mandela spent a great portion of his life, before becoming South Africa's first President. Cape Town Tours More than 34 tours in Cape Town, the Garden Route, and the Cape winelands. Drakensberg Tourism A guide for tourism in Drakensberg and the Natal Midlands. Information on hiking, adventure trips, and other types of tourism in the region. Back to top Books on South Africa Traditional Guide Books South Africa (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Michael Brett Frommer's South Africa by Pippa de Bruy Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland (3rd Ed) by Jon Murray Non-Traditional/Literary Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela A History of South Africa, Third Edition by Leonard Monteath Thompson Culture Shock!: South Africa by Dee Rissik Back to top WRITE AN ARTICLE If you have a story of your own that you would like to submit on South Africa, have a look at BootsnAll's Writer's Guidelines: http://writers.BootsnAll.com And then send it along. We're always looking for new content and new perspectives, and we hope to get yours soon. Back to top TELL A FRIEND If you feel that BootsnAll.com is a valuable resource, or that others might think so, please tell your friends about us. As many of you know, we respond personally to every email we receive in an ongoing effort to build a true traveller's community. Many have responded positively. If you have comments both positive and constructive, we would love to hear them. Tell us what we have done well and how we can improve. We would appreciate it greatly. Back to top