Recommended Routes - Roads to Travel By

The Sunshine Coast - white, sandy beaches, stretching for as far as the eye can see.
Ben MacDhui - the white, snow-covered slopes of South Africa's only ski resort.

One province - two faces - and numerous others in-between. This is the diverse Eastern Cape.

From the minute you enter the Eastern Cape by road you will find yourself faced with a variety of wonderful tourist routes to choose from. If you're travelling south from the Free State on the Friendly N6 Route you will have to make a choice as soon as you cross the Orange River at Aliwal North - continue south towards East London, turn left towards the magnificent Drakensberg Mountains, or turn right to experience the beauty of the huge Gariep Dam.

A left turn towards the Drakensberg will take you along breathtaking scenic drives. Snowfalls during the winter months draw visitors to Ben MacDhui, near Rhodes, to try out their skiing skills, but even when there's no snow, you will revel in the sights as you drive along the R58 through small towns and villages such as Lady Grey, Barkley East, Elliot, Ugie and Maclear. From Maclear you can take a circular drive back to the N6 through Rhodes, or you can follow the R396 down to Mthatha - home to the Nelson Mandela Museum, and close to where the beloved statesman grew up in the little village of Qunu.

Perhaps you are travelling up from Cape Town - if this is the case, you will enter the Eastern Cape via the gorgeous Garden Route, and almost immediately you will find yourself in the Tsitsikamma Falls Adventure Park. As the name suggests, this is the centre of adventure tourism. World records and firsts in the park include the highest commercial bungee jump in the world - 216m - the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world, South Africa’s first national marine park - the Tsitsikamma National Park - and the country’s first tree-top canopy tour. Hiking trails include the world-famous 48-kilometre Otter Trail and the 72-kilometre Tsitsikamma trail. There are tractor rides and horse trails to take you into the heart of the forests, or you can take the road from the N2 down to the wild and beautiful Storm's River mouth.