Away
to South Africa

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A Comprehensive Destination Guide
for an experiential journey through South Africa.

Where diversity reigns—from savannah to surf, vineyards to townships—and every journey unfolds with colour, rhythm, and soul.

South Africa is one of the world’s most multifaceted countries. It offers raw wilderness, urban vibrancy, cultural legacy, and culinary innovation all within a few hours’ drive. This guide maps out South Africa through four immersive lenses: authentic local life; heritage and cultural connections; regional flavours and cuisine; and sustainable, boutique luxury stays. Each section shares real, specific, exclusive experiences that define our belief in curated tours to South Africa, meaningful experiences in South Africa, and transformational travel to South Africa.

Authentic, Unique,
and Local Experiences
for a memorable
Tour to South Africa.

Away LogoExperiences in South Africa

Walk Among Giants: Tracking Rhino with a Community Ranger (KwaZulu‑Natal)

In conservation zones near Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, you can join a tracker from a local community conservancy on a foot safari in search of black rhino or white rhino. Learning to interpret spoor, dung, and behaviour patterns, you come as a guest but leave with a deeper cultural and ecological connection. You discover that conservation here is about local stewardship, ancient land knowledge, and sustainable coexistence.

Meet the Shisa Nyama Masters in Soweto (Johannesburg)

A true township food experience where you dine at a local family’s choma (braai) yard in Soweto. You’ll taste nyama (grilled meat) and pap (maize porridge), learn how to prepare and season your own skewers, and sit among neighbours sharing stories, harmonies, and laughter. It’s food, community, and rhythm fused into one unforgettable culinary ritual—off the beaten path, and rich in authenticity.

Sisal Fibre Weaving with Women in the Wild Coast (Eastern Cape)

In remote villages along the Wild Coast, women harvest sisal and weave it into baskets, mats, and art pieces. Spend an afternoon learning the weaving patterns, understanding the harvesting rhythms tied to elders’ calendars, and helping craft your own basket. This is a tour to South Africa where cultural exchange and artisanal legacy intertwine.

Ride the Sugarcane Train in Umhlanga (KwaZulu‑Natal)

Climb aboard a historic sugarcane train that chugs through lush cane fields near Umhlanga. Accompanied by a former worker who explains the colonial history of the sugar route and contemporary agricultural life, you gain insight into local life beyond the resort façade. This ride is quieter, slower, and completely real—an experience in South Africa rooted in heritage, mobility, and human stories.

Cultural Immersion
in South Africa

Explore Robben Island with a Former Political Prisoner (Cape Town)

Instead of a generic boat ride, travel to Robben Island with a guide who was once incarcerated there. You walk past Nelson Mandela’s cell, hear firsthand stories of sacrifice and resilience, and witness the daunting prison landscape through the lens of survival. This is not tourism; it is a profoundly emotional chapter in travel to South Africa's narrative.

Zulu Royal Homestead Visit (KwaZulu‑Natal)

A journey that takes you into the courtyard of a Zulu royal homestead in Zululand. Greeted with traditional songs, you watch a reed dance, sample indigenous dishes, and learn about Zulu healing and medicine, ancestral seating, and clan structure. You leave with cultural ambassadorship in your heart. This is one of the most respectful and intimate experiences in South Africa.

Cradle of Humankind Tour with an Archaeology Expert (Gauteng)

Beneath the earth in limestone caves near Johannesburg lie some of humanity’s first ancestors. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Cradle of Humankind is best experienced through private access with an archaeologist who guides you through fossil chambers and reveals the earliest chapters of human history. This science-led tour to South Africa transforms geology into personal connection.

Cape Malay Cooking & Heritage in Bo-Kaap (Cape Town)

Walk the rainbow streets of Bo-Kaap and have a home‑hosted cooking lesson in a centuries‑old Cape Malay kitchen. Learn to mix spices like masala, curried fish, and pink koesisters (sweet dumplings), hear stories from matriarchal cooks, and dine on your creations in a courtyard shaded by old Cape Dutch lanterns. A culinary heritage experience that immerses you wholly in South Africa’s multicultural past.

Local Dining and Regional Cuisine
of South Africa

Fine Dining on Wagyu Beef with Wine Pairing in the Swartland (Western Cape)

At a boutique winery estate just outside Malmesbury, enjoy a multi-course tasting menu that includes farm‑raised Wagyu beef paired with rare Rhône-style blends produced onsite. Each dish is rooted in local purity—simplicity without sacrifice. This culinary experience in South Africa reimagines farm-to-table with artful precision.

Farmhouse Cooking with Argan Oil Producers (Garden Route)

Visit an organic farm near Plettenberg Bay that cultivates African blackwood, olives, and vegetables. In a log kitchen by an open fire, learn to cook linefish with local spices, grill yellowtail wrapped in banana leaves, and taste produce fresh from the field. Shared meals are accompanied by stories of sustainable farming and coastal traditions. A hyper-local—but luxurious—tour to South Africa.

Winelands Tastings with Historical Pairing in Stellenbosch & Franschhoek

Instead of just cellar tours, this is a guided pairing experience across three top estates, each offering rare heritage varietals like Pinotage heritage selections, Chenin Blanc from 100-year-old vines, and barrel-aged reds sealed before apartheid. Narrated by a wine historian, the tasting includes vineyard walks and local lamb or venison small plates on vine terrace lawns. This is fine wine and cultural continuity in a glass—an elevated travel to South Africa moment.

Wild Harvest & Forage Cookout with San Guides (Northern Cape)

In the fringes of the Kalahari, join a mother-daughter San team to track native plants, savour tsamma melon, kudu meat, and mokolwane seeds. Cook your harvest on a bush hearth and eat under stars. This is primal cuisine meeting storytelling, a gastronomic experience in South Africa that honours ancestral sustenance and broader culinary identity.

Unique Award-Winning
Boutique Hotels & Lodges

The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town

The Table Bay Hotel, on Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, offers five-star luxury with sweeping views of Table Mountain, the Atlantic, and the harbor. Stylish rooms, gourmet dining at Camissa Brasserie, and indulgent high tea set the tone, while the pool and Camelot Spa ensure every moment is steeped in refined ease.

Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa, Sandhurt, Johannesburg

In Johannesburg’s prestigious Sandhurst suburb, the Saxon Hotel is a serene sanctuary set amid ten acres of indigenous gardens. Blending rich cultural heritage with contemporary five-star luxury, it offers elegant suites in the main hotel and ultra-private villas, creating a retreat of rare sophistication in the heart of the City of Gold.

Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge

At the heart of Sabi Sabi, Bush Lodge is a vibrant expression of safari spirit, where contemporary African-inspired design meets the warmth of timeless hospitality. The oldest in the collection, it blends relaxed luxury with subtle nods to tradition, offering spacious standalone Luxury Suites and the refined exclusivity of the Mahlatini, Tumbela, and Mandleve Villas—each a serene retreat surrounded by the untamed beauty of the bush.

The Palace, Sun City

Set on an extinct volcanic site in the Pilanesberg mountains, The Palace of the Lost City has been an icon of African luxury since 1992, blending myth, opulence, and natural beauty. Inspired by a lost African tribe, its rich colours, cascading gardens, and bronze wildlife sculptures create a setting steeped in story. With Pilanesberg National Park at its doorstep, guests can take hot-air balloon rides, guided game drives to spot the “Super Seven,” or simply unwind beneath the vast African sky—where adventure and elegance meet.

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