After two days of rain, we finally got one day with better weather, so we decided to make the most of it and see as much of Durban as possible in a single day. Durban, affectionately known as “Durbs”, is a vibrant coastal city in KwaZulu-Natal, famous for its warm subtropical...
Our second historical stop of the day was Ladysmith, a historic town in northern KwaZulu-Natal that played a central role in the Anglo-Boer War. The Ladysmith Siege Museum sits next to the town hall in a building built in 1884 that originally served as a market house and later became a...
After spending the night in Dundee, we visited the Talana Museum (🎟️50 ZAR), one of the most important heritage sites in northern KwaZulu-Natal, which brings together the region’s rich military, industrial, and cultural history. Dundee was founded in 1882 by Peter Smith and soon...
We made an overnight stop in Barberton, a historic gold-rush town nestled in the De Kaap Valley of Mpumalanga and surrounded by the dramatic Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains. The area is remarkable not only for its pioneer and mining heritage, but also for its extraordinary geology. The...
Many people told us not to visit Pilgrim’s Rest because of safety concerns and because, according to them, the town had lost much of its old charm. Well, our visit turned out to be completely different. We had a great experience and were glad we didn’t believe those warnings...
The Cradle of Humankind is a world-renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site, located about 50 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. It is famous for its remarkable collection of ancient hominid fossils, offering an extraordinary glimpse into our human origins. We made a short stop at the main...
We weren’t really sure whether Gold Reef City (🎟️395 ZAR) was worth a visit. Built around a former gold mine, this unusual combination of amusement park and historical attraction recreates life in Johannesburg around the turn of the 20th century. The site commemorates the discovery of...
The Ngwenya Mine (🎟️70 SZL) is widely recognised as one of the world’s oldest known mining sites, with evidence of human activity dating back more than 40,000 years. Its extraordinary history spans three distinct eras—from Middle Stone Age pigment extraction, through Iron Age iron...
Ngwenya Glass is Eswatini’s famous eco-friendly glassblowing factory, founded in 1979 as a Swedish aid project. The factory closed in 1985 due to financial difficulties. Still, it was revived just two years later when the Prettejohn family purchased the abandoned site, tracked down former...
Another short visit took us to Mantenga Cultural Village, followed by a short hike to Eswatini’s most famous waterfall. Cascading for roughly 95 metres over massive granite rocks on the Lushushwane River, Mantenga Falls is one of the country’s most impressive natural landmarks and its...