Eastern Cape - Must See Must Do
Valley of Desolation, Graaff-Reinet
Graaff-Reinet is best-known for its Valley of Desolation - a scenic National Monument situated in the 15 000-hectare Camdeboo National Park. Numerous dolerite columns rising 120 metres from the valley floor are offset by the sheer cliff face and the Karoo landscape stretching away into the distance.

The valley and the endless space spreading out in various directions has rendered many a tourist speechless - a just reward after the steep drive up the mountain. There is a circular 45-minute hiking trail that starts at the car park and leads to a wonderful view of Graaff-Reinet and the endless expanse of the surrounding Karoo.
Late afternoon is the best time to enjoy the scenery, when the tinted sun brings out the spectacular reds of the rock towers.

The Wild Coast, north-east of East London
The Wild Coast truly lives up to its name - unspoilt beaches, historic shipwrecks, virgin forest, grassland and traditional rural Xhosa villages. The better-known resorts are all situated at river mouths, and reaching them may involve a final few kilometres of dirt road or perhaps even a river-mouth crossing by pont.

Port St John's is perhaps best-known for some of its eccentric, colourful residents, while Coffee Bay is famous for its "Hole in the Wall" - a huge off-shore cliff that has a giant opening carved through its centre by the waves.
The Wild Coast was the birthplace of South Africa's most famous Nobel Peace Laureate - Nelson Mandela - and because of his popularity, the area has become a place of pilgrimage for many.

Tsitsikamma National Park, east of Plettenberg Bay
The magnificent Tsitsikamma National Park, with its dense, indigenous forest, deep ravines and rocky coastline, offers some of the most spectacular scenery in South Africa.
Not many people know that the park extends some 5 kilometres out to sea. There is a wealth of protected inter-tidal sea life, reef and deep-sea fish, dolphins and even southern right whales that come in close to the shore to breed.

Birdlife in the forest is prolific, from the common but beautiful Knysna Lourie to the several pairs of endangered African Black Oystercatcher nesting along the rocky coastline.

Other unusual species include the shy and elusive Cape Clawless Otter - after which The Otter Trail is named - that hunts for crabs along the park's coastline and river banks, and a miniature antelope called the Blue Duiker.