Best Places to Visit in South Africa: Things to do

Durban

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I think that anyone with a serious love of wildlife has Africa on their bucket list. It is the mecca, one of the last places on earth to witness species of that magnitude in their natural setting. I was extremely fortunate to have visited South Africa, specifically Durban, as a graduate student. One of my conferences was being held in that magical country. Southern Africa is made up of several amazing cities, from the largest city, Johannesburg, to the famous Cape Town, which is a very popular destination.

Durban isn’t known as a big tourist hub, necessarily, and can be quite dangerous but it is the perfect place to visit some of the major attractions nearby. We were instructed that if you are going to leave your hotel, drive only to your destination and back, no strolling the streets, wandering around the city center, no detours. I had heard horror stories of people smashing into people’s car’s while they were stopped at a stop light to snatch their purse on the back seat.

I didn’t have any of these encounters, however, even when we visited one famous place, the large multicultural city market. Not once did I feel unsafe.

The best time to visit is during their winter, when it is a bit cooler and the nearest airport is actually in Durban. There’s lots to explore around Durban, taking a road trip to some of the national parks to taking a tour of the city, these are the best places to visit while in South Africa.

Historical Sites city bus tour

Durban is a really interesting city with a cool Afro-Indian vibe and beautiful white sandy beaches. It is the third most populous city in South Africa and the second biggest manufacturing hub next to Johannesburg. To learn more about this beautiful city, I did a city bus tour, which was the best way to dive deeper into the history and cultural heritage of the area.

Bus tour

Not only did you get the history, they also stopped at the Durban Botanical Gardens and the beach. The Botanical Gardens is Durban’s oldest public institution and Africa’s oldest surviving botanical gardens. The gardens, not only had an abundance of plant life, it also had several bird species in the area. It was a beautiful place to walk around and we even stumbled upon a wedding in progress while we were there.

Birds

Flowers

I am not typically into these types of tours, but the stop at the beach, with waters known to have some of the highest populations of great white sharks in the world, and the trip to the botanical gardens was a nice touch.

Kruger National Park

The largest national park in South Africa and a major tourist attraction. And for good reason. It has some of the best wildlife viewing anywhere. You can take numerous game drives or a self-drive safari and do some bird watching and look for the big 5 species. It makes sense why it is one of the main attractions that bring people to the area.

Thula Thula

Thula Thula

The Thula Thula tour, started at their lodge, where we were offered drinks for a fee and some lovely views from the patio. You can stay at this lodge and they also have some camping options for a true Africa experience.

While I was there the rangers had found a dead rhino that poachers had killed for it’s horn. With the ever dwindling and critically endangered status of this magnificent animal it is somewhat disheartening to see that even a game reserve can’t keep these criminals out.

We took a safari jeep around the 55 square kilometres of the reserve and were lucky enough to see giraffe, wildebeest, zebras, nyala, elephants and so much more. There is a huge variety of wildlife here and absolutely spectacular scenery. The most impressive and possibly most intimidating were the elephants. We found a pack of female’s and their young and stopped to watch them, while being mindful of several bull elephants watching close by.

Zebras

As we sat there in awe of the pack I turned around just in time to see the biggest of the males coming straight for us. I yelled to the driver, who had stopped the jeep and he turned around. As soon as he saw the bull I could see the urgency in his eyes as he started the jeep.

Elephant

All I could think in that moment was that the jeep was never going to start and we would be stomped to death by this mammoth of an elephant. But it started right away and we moved along, the bull giving up as he saw us leaving. Talk about close encounters with the locals!

Landscape

The reserve was spectacular and definitely a must-see if you are in Durban. The landscape and the animals living there are awe inspiring. The natural beauty breathtaking. And even though it was winter in South Africa the weather was perfect. This was by far one of my top places to visit and an absolute must see.

Hippo and Crocodile Boat Tour

Hippo tour

The second tour was a hippo and croc boat tour in St. Lucia, South Africa. On this tour you take a pontoon boat up one of the largest Estuarine systems in Africa, which is South Africa’s first World Heritage Site.

This was a fantastic tour. You get onto a pontoon boat when you arrive and from there the guides takes you on a two-hour tour of the area, where you will see some 800 hippos, around 1000 crocodiles as well as a plethora of bird species.

Hippos

The boat travels lazily down the river, while the guide tells you about the native plants and animal species and the might of the hippo bite. It is another world and a fantastic compliment to the safari, seeing wildlife from another perspective. And let me tell you, there were so many hippos! It was fantastic.

Hippo tooth

Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve

My final tour was of Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve. This iconic park boasts 96,000 hectares of land housing the African big 5, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Nyala, Giraffe and more. The park is best known, however, for its rhino conservation. This reserve has the option of taking a guided jeep safari or driving yourself through the park. The roads are well kept and there is a ton of wildlife to see. I managed to see everything except the big cats, which tend to be seen more during the sunset tours or early dawn tours.

Giraffe

Wildebeast

This park has a lot to offer, however, if you find an animal of interest close to the roadway it can get rather crowded with jeeps and personal vehicles as everyone tries to get that perfect photo. Overall, though it was an incredibly memorable experience.

Too close

Close up

All the tours I did in total cost me around $400 CAD, some included lunch and drinks and all the shuttles to and from the location. It was worth every penny and I think that Durban is a totally underrated city, with wildlife in their backyard, a booming metropolis with plenty of things to do, and fantastic beaches if you are into surfing.

Concluding Thoughts

Durban is a great place to stay when you plan to take day tours to the numerous nearby parks. It is surrounded by some of the most beautiful places on the planet and South Africans are incredibly friendly and welcoming people, who have a lot of knowledge of their home.

There is so much scenic beauty here and plenty of famous tourist attractions to visit, you could take a month and not see it all. Heading to the African continent and looking for other bucket list adventures? Check out my post on gorilla trekking in Uganda for more inspiration.

Comments

  1. David

    Love the intro! The funny thing is when I landed in Ghana last year that song was sort of in the back of my head. Haha. And thanks for sharing the photos of your safari and time in Durban. At $400 CAD it seems really reasonably priced. How was the lunch on the tours that included food?

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  2. Carmen Baguio

    I have never been on a safari tours, but I would love to see the animals in their natural environment! That bull elephant would have given me a bit of a scare, but not enough to put down my camera!

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  3. Ana Rose Roads and Pages

    It is such an enjoyable post to read. I could feel your excitement while you were narrating what happened on your trip. I admire you for having the courageous heart to visit and see the animals up close. My boyfriend asked me if I wanted to see the Safari in the Indonesia, but I have been afraid of big animals since I was young. My unforgettable experience was when I was chased by a carabao. I was too young then to know that animals with horns hate red and that time, I was wearing red. If I were not alert enough to run as fast as I could, I guess I already died from that encounter.

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      Nicole

      Wow that certainly sounds like a scary experience! I am sorry that you had such an experience that it put you off from these beautiful animals but I totally understand why you would feel that way. I hope you have a wonderful animal encounter in the future that is more memorable than your previous experience.

  4. Bruce Schinkel

    This looks like such a great experience! I really appreciated how you included some of the behind the scenes pictures and descriptions as it really gave a feel for what your trip was like.

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  5. Chris DePauw

    Okay I was hooked from the Toto lyrics onward. It’s kind of mind-boggling you could do all this for $400 CAD.

    Also, in my experience traveling, a lot of places are not as dangerous as their reputations make it seem, but the once in a while offense outranks the stories of all the safe travels. It’s good to be cautious but not to a point of limiting your travels in such a way that you couldn’t go visit the market like you did.

    Love your photos by the way, “mecca” is right.

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      Nicole

      I completely agree, this was just one example of being told the place was dangerous. I read that about Barcelona too and had zero issues. I’m glad you enjoyed the post!

  6. Erica

    This sounds like an amazing adventure, and crazy that you were able to all of this for only $400! South Africa is definitely near the top of my bucket list.

    I can’t imagine how terrifying it would be to have an elephant charging towards you though!

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  7. Tarah Vongbouthdy

    Wow the safari and the game reserve look absolutely incredible. That is an incredible price for all those tours also! South Africa is definitely on our Bucketlist. We will look at these tours!

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  8. Marya

    i haven’t heard so many things about durban, but tanzania has been one of my bucket list because of their safari. and reading your post, especially about thula thula makes me want to go to south africa as well. it seems to be a really nice experience, especially if i get a chance to camp over there to enjoy the most of safari. i’m so excited even just by thinking about it! 😀

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  9. Cynthia

    What an exciting adventure! I would love to take a safari and/or series of tours like these to see the animals up close and in their own environment. (Although that must have been quite an adrenaline rush when the elephant came up behind you!!) But, as a ‘city gal’ myself, I appreciated hearing about the city too – that’s not as often written about on blogs about African trips.

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      Nicole

      I never really thought about how other African posts don’t include the cities but your right, it’s usually all about the safari. There is more to Africa than just safari (even though it was incredible, especially being a veterinarian I was completely in my element). I am glad you pointed that out, thank you!

  10. Delisa Zak | Destination: Overlooked

    You did so many things that I want to do!! I’m one of the wildlife lovers with Africa on their bucket list. I would love to see all those animals in their natural habitat. The poachers make me so, so mad though! Even still, I am jealous and wish I could have gone with you. Thanks for the post!

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  11. Varsha

    wow, beautiful photos. You got to see the wildlife from up close. The hippo and crocodile boat tour is quite interesting but I am afraid of crocodiles. 🙁 Thanks for this post

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  12. Lara Dunning

    So sad that the poaches got a rhino. So frustrating that still goes on. On a happier note, I would love to go on a safari tour and a boat tour to see hippos. South Africa is on my list! BTW-I saw Toto in concert a couple of years ago, great concert. 🙂

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  13. Emma | The Gap Life Diaries

    South Africa was 100% my favourite ever trip – such a beautiful country with so many things to do. My best friend is from Durban and I have to say she is one of those people who talks about the horror stories of how dangerous it is, but I’m pleased to see you didn’t experience any of that. The safaris look great too – it’s definitely scary at times (especially when angry ellies are involved!), but is such an incredible once in a lifetime experience. Loved reading this 🙂

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      Nicole

      I had also heard the horror stories but I really tried not to put myself into the position to become a statistic. I really enjoyed Durban and it really was one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.

  14. Mei and Kerstin

    We’ve never had a safari trip but are looking forward to it. And South Africa would definitely be the perfect place! Adding it to our bucket list now! Thanks for sharing this! 🙂

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  15. Food and Footprints

    Interesting to see the city life of Durban. Looks like some nice scenery there. Those elephants look so majestic. Sad to hear about that rhino, though.

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  16. Tara

    I have never been to Africa, but I love reading about the parks, reserves, and safaris. I hope that the tourist dollars are being used for conservation, as I’m sure it’s getting harder and harder for the animals to peacefully coexist with humans. I hope someday I’ll get to Durban – I’m especially interested in seeing the hippos up close.

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  17. Andra

    I had no idea that you can do so many exciting safaris from Durban. I have only been in safaris in Asia, but it really is an amazing experience to get to observe the animals in their natural environment. And I think the price is quite reasonable. These are the type of activities that are worth every penny

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  18. Carrie

    I love stories about places, like Durban, that are just a little bit farther off the beaten trail and have so much to offer travelers. What a fantastic opportunity to see such magnificent animals. You’ve got me adding this to my list of places to see.

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  19. Susanne

    Wow, a safari tour and a tour to the crocodiles and hippos I find super exciting. Especially hippos I like ..
    I think I would like to do these tours as well.
    Susanne

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  20. Josh

    The afro-Indian vibe in Durban sounds like something I’d definitely like to experience. I’ve heard some good things about wildlife travel in Durban, hopefully I can check it out when I’m in that neck of the woods 🙂

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  21. Rosie Fluskey

    I had no idea Durban was close to such gorgeous wildlife. I guess I just associate it with sharks. I am incredibly jealous of your hippo boat cruise, I think I have a soft spot for hippos (even though they are actually a little scary. I guess none of them made at you like the elephant lol.

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  22. Sumit Surai

    Planning to visit South Africa in July. I have also heard most places in the country is not safe. But your post gave me some much needed confidence 🙂 The wildlife tours look very good. Nice pictures too.

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      Nicole

      You just need to take precautions, don’t wander around by yourself just get in your car and go where you are going and come back. The tours take care of you and makes the experience so much better! I hope you have a wonderful time!

  23. Mel Butler

    I have always wanted to go to South Africa and it sounds and looks like you had an amazing time. I would love to do the Hippo and Crocodile Boat Tour that sounds like so much fun and to see Hippo’s in the wild would be a great experience.

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  24. Meagan

    I love stuff like this! Going on a legitimate safari has always been on my bucket list, and it looks like you had amazing luck with all the animals you saw on these tours. It’s always so much better seeing animals in their natural habitat than locked up in a zoo 🙂 thank you for letting me live vicariously!

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