The best places to visit and things to do in Pretoria, South Africa

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This was published 6 years ago

The best places to visit and things to do in Pretoria, South Africa

By Michael Gebicki
Balule Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Balule Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. Credit: Alamy

OUR FAMILY OF THREE IS VISITING PRETORIA NEXT JUNE/JULY. WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR VISIT AND ARE CONSIDERING CAPE TOWN, KRUGER AND VICTORIA FALLS. ANY OTHER MUST-SEES OR ANY SAFETY AND HEALTH CONCERNS? J. HOWARD, MITCHAM VIC

From Johannesburg, you could fly to Victoria Falls from where you have a great choice of game parks nearby that offer an alternative to Kruger National Park. One is Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, another is the Okavango Delta in Botswana. June/July is the dry season throughout the region, which is prime time for game viewing since the vegetation dies back, making the animals easier to spot. Also, the wildlife tends to concentrate around the remaining water sources. The Okavango Delta is slightly different in that it floods in mid-year, coursing down from the highlands of Angola and forming a vast delta that dies before it reaches the sands of the Kalahari. Kruger has more visitors but it offers the possibility of self-drive game viewing at a lower cost. Another highlight in South Africa is the Route 62 touring route, which begins just outside Cape Town and wanders through some of the country's loveliest valleys and most dramatic scenery. The route goes all the way to Port Elizabeth, 750 kilometres to the east, with several places where you can leave Route 62 and return to Cape Town via the faster N2. You could book air travel now to take advantage of earlybird fares, and you might take a look at tours with Bench Africa (benchafrica.com). For safety advice, see the Australian Government's Smartraveller site (smartraveller.gov.au) on South Africa, for health advice speak to your GP.

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