Our journey in South Africa begins in George on the Garden Route. From here you can organize some excursions.

Knysna is one of the best holiday destinations along the Southern Cape coast, situated between lush forests and the shores of the lagoon. The best attractions are two large sandstone cliffs guarding the mouth of the lagoon which connects the estuary with the sea. The Knysna Lagoon contains a breeding ground for oysters. Knysna oysters are supposedly among the tastiest in the world.

In Oudtshoorn you can see herds of ostriches. In this area farms began in 1870, Oudtshoorn soon became the world capital of the ostrich. During the visit you can watch the daily activities of the farms from the care of the eggs, see the stages of growth of ostriches and how final it is often possible to ride one of these animals.

In Wilderness is the Kaiman river bridge, perhaps one of the most photographed bridges in the world because it is often crossed by steam train and place just because of the river estuary. Our journey continues on the Garden Route to Cape Town at a time. We stop at Mossel Bay where there is a museum dedicated to Bartolomeo Diaz in this place, he decided to stop his mission because he found that Africa had a finish. ... In fact, Diaz was discovered in 1488 that Africa was not infinite as thought at the time but rather circumnavigable. So the cape placed in South Africa called "Cape of Good Hope" because it was open the hope of arriving in India came around Africa.

Cape Town

Before arriving in Cape Town is worth visiting the Winelands region ... The wines from this area are truly exceptional. My favorite Meerlust (http://www.meerlust.com). This is a blessed land to those who want to make wine, the vineyards are near the sea, the winter never freezes and hail never affects these places.

The journey allows us to see how years of apartheid have deeply affected this country ... there are beautiful villas enclosed between high walls with barbed wire, beyond which the wealthy settlers living there are often close to home plate piled in the middle of dirt and poor. In the morning you can see lines of men on the street waiting for someone to arrive with a van to collect them and make them work for that day. Before arriving in Cape Town takes you through one of these shanty towns that seems to never end where the dirt and dust covering everything ... then like magic you get in the city made of manicured gardens, beautiful house overlooking the 'prestigious hotels and ocean that make up one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The symbol of Cape Town is definitely the Table Mountain which is the background in each image. This flat mountain is often covered by a thick blanket of clouds that often comes suddenly and then rapidly thin out. From Cape Town we head towards Cape Point point further south-west of the African continent where you can make a photo ritual. Not far away are colonies of mischievous baboons jumping over cars and often a nuisance to tourists trying to steal their food ... Not far there is Boulders Beach, where penguins find a home in South Africa. This walk on this stretch of fine white sand careless of the presence of tourists. Returning to Cape Town we visit the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, known as one of the great botanical gardens in the world. E 'was established in 1913 to promote, preserve and display the extraordinarily rich and varied flora of South Africa, and was the first botanical garden in the world to be dedicated to the native flora of a country. Kirstenbosch exhibit a large variety of unique plants of the Cape flora, as well as plants from all different regions of South Africa. There are over 7000 species in cultivation, including many rare and endangered species. The garden covers 36 hectares on an estate of 528 hectares in the heart of the Cape Floral Region, also known as the Cape Floral Kingdom. In 2004, the Cape Floral Region including Kirstenbosch, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kirstenbosch, is the first botanical garden in the world to be included in a UNESCO Natural World

The Kruger Park and reserves

After an internal flight with South African airline at a time in Johannesburg we head east to the Kruger National Park on the road we have to admire a masterpiece of nature, the Blyde River Canyon. A differrent of the most famous American Canyon this is very green but very spectacular. At Kruger National Park make me first encounters with the legendary Big Five and beyond. In my opinion, however, paved roads through the park does not do justice to the natural beauty of the place. Ben else awaits us in the reserve Makalali (http://www.makalali.co.za/) where the roads are unpaved and are dealt with Land Rover and discoveries often happen to do well for off-piste. Here close encounters with animals are truly breathtaking: the herd of rhinos or lions were really only a few feet from our jeep. No one spoke following the directions of the ranger, but we were all out of breath, especially the day when we did the sighting of the male lion who was proud of them and impassive under the blows of our cameras. He deigned to look frugal as king then turned around and made it clear that that was his kingdom. The safari takes place at dawn and dusk when animals are most active, then the African heat makes them more sedentary. At night you sleep in huts with thatched roof surrounded by the savannah. The thrill of spending the night here is very strong, you can hear the sounds of Africa. Here, the night is black, really black like us in Europe we can not even imagine. Looking up at the sky appears to us the spectacle of the starry sky of the southern hemisphere, which is something indescribable. The stars visible from the southern hemisphere are many more than those that can be seen in the northern hemisphere, then the absence of interference of city lights make this unique vision. I think that this show alone is worth the trip to South Africa.