"South Africa: An incredible honeymoon" South Africa by diver-x

People asked us, "Why South Africa?!?!" when we said we were going there for our honeymoon. It has only been 10 years since the African National Congress became the dominant political force in the country and apartheid was abolished. I guess people still have images of civil unrest in their minds, plus during the days of apartheid, South Africa was shunned by many nations. So very few people that I know have any idea of what the country is like.

Luckily, I once worked with a fellow who grew up in South Africa. He would always tell stories of growing up in the bush and all the animals that somehow got into the house! I was intrigued. Also by luck, my husband works with a couple of people who had visited South Africa and showed us the most wonderful photos and travelogues.

We were determined to see Africa and being Americans and given the current political climate, we felt that South Africa is one of the few countries in the African continent where we might be welcomed rather than scorned - or worse. But that certainly isn't the only reason to go to South Africa. There is so much to do and see!

Lions at Kruger National Park

Our tour began in Johannesburg, where our flight landed. We rented a small 4-door Toyota Tazz and headed east to Sabie. We spent the night in Sabie and left to tour the Escarpment, a scenic drive along the rim of Blyde River Canyon. From the Escarpment, we went to Kruger National Park, and spent 3 days & nights in the Park viewing and photographing the incredible wildlife!

Sodwana Bay

After Kruger, we headed south and east to Sodwana Bay, stopping overnight in the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland en route. Sodwana Bay has world-class scuba diving in the southern-most coral reefs in the world. We were excited to dive the Indian Ocean for the first time! The beach was fantastic and the surf was intense!

From Sodwana, we traveled west again to the northern Drakensberg Mountains. There we witnessed a complete eclipse of the moon and we hiked a gorgeous trail that I can only compare to the trails in Sedona, Arizona, only greener!

Then we headed back to Johannesburg, where we caught a flight to Cape Town. There, we were lucky enough to catch the Waterfront Wine Festival, which was a great introduction to South African wines! We also took the cable car ride up to the top of Table Mountain and hiked back down. Finally, we drive down to Cape Point before heading back to the airport and home.

In all, we spent 12 days and 11 nights in South Africa, which wasn't nearly enough! The weather was perfect: sunny, warm days and cool nights. The people were amazingly friendly. The landscape was lovely. Everywhere we went there were flowers growing in the wild that I pay a dear price for at home to plant in my window boxes!

It was a great trip! I highly recommend South Africa for any sort of holiday!

• Pros:Very scenic, incredible wildlife, friendly people, perfect weather, great scuba diving, wine!
• Cons:Long flight to get there, huge gap between haves & have-nots, driving on the left.
• In a nutshell:Well worth the trip!