IF you’re keen to travel in 2020 but an international trip will just stretch the budget too much, then don’t despair!
South Africa is overflowing with tourist-friendly spots, including 10 Unesco World Heritage Sites, all of which are worth a visit.
The criteria for a Unesco listing include areas of exceptional beauty, bearing testimony to a cultural civilisation or significant natural habitats of biological diversity – among others.
Here’s a look at the 10 sites to explore:
iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Starting right on our doorstep with this area of incredible natural beauty, iSimangaliso is a fusion of marine, coastal wetland, estuarine and terrestrial environments. Spanning 234km, this pristine coastline has three natural phenomena:
• Shifting states of salinity in Lake St Lucia
• Nesting turtles, dolphins and whales
• Breeding water flow, including pelicans, storks, herons and terns
uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park
You won’t have to venture too far for this one either.
Located in KZN’s Drakensberg, the park is a combination of Africa’s highest mountain range south of Kilimanjaro, high-altitude grasslands, river valleys and rocky gorges.
The diversity of natural habitats provides sanctuary for endemic and threatened species, with the most concentrated selection of San rock art paintings south of the Sahara.
Vredefort Dome
Just 120km from Johannesburg is the site of a meteorite impact which happened an astounding two million years ago. It’s considered to be the oldest and largest impact site on earth, and the fertile land is also home to a variety of plant and wildlife.
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
This mountain range covers 120km by 60km, covering Barberton in Mpumalanga and Swaziland. This mountain range has some of the best-preserved ancient rocks on earth dating back some 3.25 billion years.
Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
Covering 160 000ha of mountainous desert and Karoo vegetation, this Northern Cape Unesco World Heritage Site is owned by the Nama people, descendants of the Khoisan.
The Nama people still reside in portable homes (haru oms) and follow a life of seasonal migration and oral tradition.
Cape Floral Region
Stretching 553 000ha from the Cape Peninsula to the Eastern Cape is 20% of the Africa’s flora – an incredibly diverse representation of plants, many of which are endemic.
Khomani Cultural Landscape
Bordered by Botswana, Nambia and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park), is the lonely land protecting the remnants of the San people. The Saasi group of San still practice the traditional hunter-gatherer way of life.
Robben Island
Renowned for its most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela, this island prison is located 11km from Cape Town and is home to the Robben Island Museum.
The fossil hominid sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and environs
Covering 47 000ha of Gauteng and North West Province is the Cradle of Humankind, home to one of the richest concentrations of hominid fossils – our early ancestors and their relatives. More than 950 hominid fossils have been located in this area.
Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
Limpopo is home to South Africa’s first kingdom, a sophisticated people who traded gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt.
The ‘place of stone wisdom’ is located where the Limpopo River meets the Shashe River on the Zimbabwean border.
You have the list, so just pack your bags, type in the GPS co-ordinates and explore the wonders of Mzansi!
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