Sossus, Damara & Skeleton

Set to the northeast of South Africa, Johannesburg is the great commercial heart of the country and the main transport hub, a sprawling mess of a place, scarred through its heart by the gold mines. It is not somewhere safari travellers tend to linger too long, although the Cradle of Mankind may be worth a visit.

Set in the northeast of South Africa, Sabi Sand is the premium private safari reserve to the west of Kruger National Park, with extremely rich and accessible wildlife and containing the lion's share of the region's high quality lodges.

Set in the northeast of South Africa, Timbavati is a very strong private safari reserve to the west of Kruger National Park, containing a full range of safari wildlife and hosting a very strong range of relatively well-priced lodges.

Windhoek is the capital of Namibia and the location of the main international airport, so most visitors pass through here at least once in their trip. It is usually possible to connect through without having to overnight, but actually it is a rather relaxed and pleasant place to break a journey.

Set in the southwest of Namibia, Sossusvlei is home to the enormous and iconic orange dunes of the Namib Desert, a truly remarkable combination of desert landscapes. Guest accommodation is in around twenty lodges of various levels, offering a good range of activities including quad-biking, ballooning and scenic flights.

Set in the northwest of Namibia, Damaraland North is a fabulous area of awesome desert scenery, unusually strong wildlife and superb remote lodges. If you could only visit one part of the country, this would have to be the one. We happily spend weeks up here in our spare time.

Set in the Western Cape of South Africa, Cape Town is a fabulous, fascinating city, tucked in the folds of a very beautiful national park, where you are never short of a view and never more than a short walk away from an epic hiking trail. There's so much to see and do that a few nights will only enable you to scratch the surface.

Set on the Whale Coast, De Hoop is a lovely coastal nature reserve, a real hidden gem, containing fabulous white dunes, swimmable rock pools, shore-based whale-watching (Jun-Oct), fascinating endemic fynbos flora and fauna, plus a good range of larger mammals, notably including baboons, bonteboks and caracals. There are a handful of good accommodation options.

Set in the heart of the Cape Winelands, Franschhoek is a beautiful and relaxed village and a very popular place for our guests to stay, with a wealth of high class wineries, restaurants and hotels, plus options for shopping, mountain hiking and biking.