Make your trip to the coast better by taking a few turn-offs along the way
CLIMB
Clarens
Stretch your legs while abseiling down the Swartland, a sheer, 50m sandstone rockface outside Clarens. clarensxtreme.co.za
FUEL UP
Springfontein
Make a turn at Kuilfontein Farmstall and eat a homemade venison pie. Wash it down with one of their legendary cappuccinos. kuilfontein.co.za
GO NATURAL
Oviston
Skip the B&Bs in Colesburg and stay in the lodges of Oviston Nature Reserve on the banks of the Gariep Dam. Game-viewing and watersports aplenty. ecparks.co.za
EAT LIKE A LOCAL
Richmond
The Richmond Supper Club serves Karoo cuisine to travellers and Richmonders alike. Drop in for light meals, lunches and dinners. richmondnc.co.za
GET OFF-ROAD
Beaufort West
Ditch the tar and take on the riverbeds and rocks as you traverse the 4×4 eco-trails in the Karoo National Park. sanparks.org
CHOW DOWN
Matjiesfontein
Stop at The Laird Arms, a Victorian country pub, for a pint and order their legendary Karoo lamb curry. matjiesfontein.com
CATCH THE BIG ONE
Rawsonville
Cast a line in the six dams and trout-infested river that runs through Du Kloof Lodge. Rainbow trout up to 20 inches are waiting. duklooklodge.co.za
GAME ON!
Make game watching a sure thing without going to a zoo or a fenced enclosure. See plenty of Africa’s finest without ever being an hour away from the local bush pub
Lion
Take one of the predator park tours at Pilanesberg National Park that patrols the bush looking for big cats, hyenas and wild dog. Master archery and clay pigeon shooting in your downtime. pilanesbergnationalpark.org
Elephant
Explore Addo Elephant National Park at your pace in your own car, just 72 km from Port Elizabeth. There’s also plenty of Cape Buffalo. sanparks.org/parks/addo
Hippopotamus
After round of golf at the Sabi River Sun at Hazyview, grab a beer and watch the hippos’ evening antics in the hippo pool. tsogosunhotels.com/resorts/sabi-river-sun
Zebras
There’s around 300 Cape Mountain Zebra to be seen at the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in the Karoo. Keep an eye out for cheetah, too. sanparks.org/parks/mountain_zebra
Rhinos
See both black and white rhinos at the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park – the home of Operation Rhino, a programme launched in the 1960s that brought the white rhino back from extinction. kznparks.com
