Further south lies the tip of the African continent, the Cape of Good Hope, a national park where southern right whales bask in the harbour amid awesome views of towering cliffs and crashing waves. Cape Town, despite its renown as one of the world's most beautiful cities, is also home to sprawling squatter encampments where entire families live in squalid, dirt-floored shacks no bigger than a Canadian bathroom. Signs of a more sobering side to travel on the Dark Continent. While touring Khayelitsha, Soweto and other black townships has traditionally meant driving past in a bus, there's been a grassroots push in recent years to curtail this type of fishbowl tourism. Because of the altitude of Johannesburg, the return flight requires a refuelling stop at Cape Verde and takes about 16 hours.
Daily flights are also operated non-stop from Atlanta to Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Rovos Rail's 48-hour Cape Town to Pretoria run includes touring stops in Kimberley, the world's diamond capital, as well as the desert outpost of Matjiesfontein. Other tours are also available. We welcome your feedback. All rights reserved.