GREATER KRUGER NATIONAL PARK Get up close and personal with rhinos and zebras (above, top left and bottom left) at the four posh safari lodges of Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve (below). Up-close encounters are expected. Spy wildebeests and safari; come nightfall, dine in a private boma (rustic enclosure) with only the bush beside and stars above.
DURBAN Face your fear on a boat ride with the KwaZulu-Natal Shark Board, an institute dedicated to the study of the toothy creatures. Intrepid honeymooners can dive with great whites with Shark Cage Diving KZN (above, bottom center).
FRANSCHHOEK Tour the art-fi lled Delaire Graff wine estate and spa (above, top center and bottom right) in Stellenbosch, where restaurant ingredients are sourced from local farmers and the onsite greenhouse. Overnight in the Pinotage Suite at the 22-room Mont Rochelle Hotel & Vineyard (below), Sir Richard Branson’s newest retreat. In the a.m. book the four-hour horseback winetasting tour with Paradise Stables.
JOHANNESBURG Bar-hop in trendy Braamfontein, a central neighborhood in downtown Joburg, chockablock with giant wall murals and hipster hangouts. Catch a show at the National School of the Arts, then hit the town. The area is home to many musicians, so it’s prime for people watching, sipping artisanal cocktails and dancing the night away to soul, jazz and house music at funky haunts like Kitchener’s and The Orbit.
JOHANNESBURG Stay at the 117-room Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff , just opened winter 2014. Gazing down eight acres of manicured hillside and over the Johannesburg Zoo, you’ll forget you’re in a city of more than 700,000. Dine on locally sourced cuisine like grilled ostrich paired with South African chardonnay at Flames restaurant (or at one of the four other dining spots), then banish post- fl ight fatigue at the lavish spa.
CAPE TOWN The mother city fl aunts selfi estick-worthy beaches (above, top right) and the trendy suburb of Camps Bay, framed by crystal waters and dramatic Table Mountain. Stroll Koeel Bay market to score some curios from African artisans.
