Northwest Province

Northwest Province extends west from Gauteng to the Botswana border and the Kalahari desert. Along the province's eastern flank loom the Magaliesberg Mountains, one hundred times older than the Himalayas. If you're driving from Johannesburg to Cape Town and can afford a bit of meandering, try taking the N12 through Northwest via Kimberley (in the Northern Cape); the road follows the Vaal River for hundreds of miles, and once you're past Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp, a detour to the riverbanks provides a lovely breather, particularly to Bloemhof for its quiet nature reserve which teems with birdlife. The province also has a healthy number of safari lodges, where, depending on your budget, you can view game from a luxurious verandah, or camp in the bushveld under the stars.

Northwest Province is one of the country's most-visited regions - renowne for the Sun City resort and Pilanesberg Game Reserve.  Few people venture beyond these attractions to explore this area in greater depth; consequently, it can be curiously rewarding to do so. There's a myriad of "dorps" (towns) scattered throughout the region where few whites are fluent in English, and most blacks speak only Tswana. Outside the main cities, the old-fashioned hospitality you'll encounter, along with the stillness and tranquillity in the endless stretches of grassland and fields of mielies are heartening and refreshing.