Our journey through South Africa began in Cape Town, a city that feels mostly modern and very European (perhaps even too much for my taste). Table Mountain is the city’s landmark and is incredibly spectacular both from above and below. In this city, the sunsets from any beach are simply dreamy. But the most spectacular part of the region is, without a doubt, the Cape Peninsula. Its endless beaches, scenic roads, and landscapes are a sight unlike anything I had ever seen. On top of that, there are several spots where you can watch penguins and whales breaching in the middle of the ocean.

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Our next stop was the wine region, specifically Stellenbosch, where we spent two days in an amazing hotel in the middle of a vineyard, surrounded by endless rows of vines. The crisp winter air, wine tastings under the midday sun, and evening barbecues perfectly summed up those days before we headed to Hermanus. Once on the coast, we took part in one of the activities I was most looking forward to: great white shark spotting. The experience was good, although maybe my expectations were a bit too high. What did impress me enormously, however, was a whale we watched breaching for over ten minutes.

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Johannesburg welcomed us with much warmer weather compared to Cape Town. Since the city itself is neither very attractive nor particularly safe, we quickly set off eastward to drive along the Panorama Route, with its highlights at Three Rondavels and Lisbon Falls. This scenic road leads to Kruger National Park, the jewel of South Africa—and it truly is. We saw countless lions (at one point, five even surrounded our car), a leopard, hyenas with their cubs, hundreds of elephants, giraffes, antelopes, and buffalos. We were even lucky enough to spot two white rhinos, which are notoriously hard to find in the park. What’s amazing is that even outside the reserve, animals cross the river and wander close to the hotels.

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After enjoying the park for three days, we drove south into the small country of Eswatini, where we visited two national parks (Hlane and Mkaya) and came face to face with dozens of rhinos—sometimes less than two meters away! I have to admit that the country and its parks were a bit of a disappointment, mainly because climate change is prolonging the winters, leaving the animals with less food. Many have migrated to other regions, so the variety of wildlife isn’t what it used to be a few years ago. Still, the star-filled skies and the Milky Way shining every night were an indescribable spectacle.

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Our final stop was the mountainous region of the Drakensberg, where we spent three days hiking in a breathtaking setting.​