Do whale-watching
South Africa's Coast of whales stretches from Gansbaai in the south to St. Helena Bay on the West Coast, with Hermanus in the centre. Courting, mating and calving whales frequent the waters between June and November every year. The species most commonly seen is the Southern right whale, but Humpback and Bryde's whales have also been sighted in the area.

Visit art galleries and exhibitions
Every city and town has at least one important art gallery. In recent years, a uniquely South African artistic school has begun to emerge.

See San paintings
Scattered throughout the country, the priceless rock art executed in caves and on rocks by nomadic San-people is considered to be the world's richest heritage of prehistoric mural decoration.

Explore caves
The Cango Caves, 29 km from Oudtshoorn, are among the most beautiful calcite caves in the world. Tours are conducted daily. In the Crocodile River Valley, the Sudwala Caves, with their great variety of stalagmites and stalactites, are a major tourist attraction. The Sterkfontein Caves, near Johannesburg, are among the world's most important prehistoric sites.

Go on a coach tour
Tour operators offer a variety of excursions, scheduled and tailor-made, ranging from half day trips in the cities, to a week or more exploring the country's highlights and off-the-beaten-track hideaways.

Go to a cabaret, disco or pub
The choise ranges from trendy to ultra-sophisticated.

Visit a gold mine
Book through the Chamber of Mines, Johannesburg, for visits to working gold mines.
Tel (Intl): + 27 11 498 7100

Visit a diamond mine
About 40 km east of Pretoria, surface tours of Cullinan's Premier Diamond Mine take place from Monday to Friday.
Tel (Intl): + 27 12 734 0260

Near Kimberley, surface tours are offered from Monday to Friday at the Bultfontein Mine.
Tel (Intl): + 27 53 842 1321
(Visitors Reception Centre)

Go for live entertainment
The performing arts feature regularly on the South African entertainment calendar, and most towns and villages stage a festival or two every year. They include air, agricultural, arts and crafts, music, wine, fashion and garden shows. Every year in July, Grahamstown hosts the Standard Bank National Arts Festival - a showcase for South Africa's top creative talents, and the country's most important cultural event. A substantial indigenous fringe component compliments the main programme, and for some, this is the most interesting element of all. From all over the world, musicians and dancers flock to Roodepoort to participate in the biennial International Eisteddfod of South Africa. Audiences are in for some stunning performances. UNISA's International Music Competition is held in Pretoria. Those in the know rate the Durban Tattoo among the world's 'Big Three' - in the same league as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Royal Tournament. Since it was first staged 18 years ago, the local Tattoo has enjoyed immense popularity. The Klein-Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) (Little Karoo National Arts Festival) takes place in Oudtshoorn every year around Easter. It is a veritable cornucopia of Afrikaans theatre, one man or one woman performances, shows, music, from symphonic to 'local is lekker' (local is nice), exhibitions, etc., not to mention the food and just getting to know the people of this sleepy town that comes to life at that time.

Attend exhibitions
Themes range from agriculture, electronics and wildlife to the latest, most romantic bridal apparel, and new developments in home decor, travel and wine. Johannesburg's Rand Easter Show is the best attended consumer show in Africa.

Museums
The history of the country is reflected in the great number of museums which focus on local history. Among them:

 • Groot Constantia, in the Cape Peninsula, is one of the finest examples of Cape Dutch architecture, exquisitely furnished with fine antiques and paintings.

 • At the South African Museum in Cape Town, man is depicted from his early stages of development in Africa through the Stone Age and up to the first white settlement in the Cape. The museum is especially notable for displays of ethnic groups.