Visit Cape Town

Visit Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. See the Union Buildings (official seat of government with terraced gardens and statue of Nelson Mandela), explore the Voortrekker Monument (granite structure commemorating 19th-century pioneers with panoramic views), and stroll through the Pretoria National Botanical Garden (featuring indigenous plants and a cycad collection).

A diver visits the same octopus every day for a year in a South African kelp forest.

Flat-topped mountain over Cape Town.

The rocky headland where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, with baboons, ostriches and the Cape Point lighthouse.

A Cape Town professor loses his job and moves to his daughter's farm; Coetzee's second Booker.

Visit Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city and economic hub. Explore the Apartheid Museum (powerful exhibits on South Africa's history of racial segregation), see the Cradle of Humankind (UNESCO World Heritage site with ancient hominid fossils), visit Constitution Hill (former prison complex now home to the Constitutional Court), and take in views from the Top of Africa at the Carlton Centre (Africa's tallest building).

Visit Durban, a coastal city in South Africa. Explore the Golden Mile (a long beachfront promenade with swimming pools and markets), see marine life at uShaka Marine World (one of the largest aquariums in Africa with shipwreck-themed exhibits), and sample bunny chow (a local dish of curry in a hollowed-out bread loaf) at the Victoria Street Market (a bustling Indian-influenced bazaar).

Cape Dutch gables under oak trees and the oldest wine estates in the country.