Gallery
Step out of the urban centres and tourist areas and you'll find a different South Africa. The countryside is an unexplored place of contrasts, from elegant wine estates and vast monoculture grain farms to subsistence farmers who coax a living from near-desert conditions and nomadic shepherds who herd their goats across the country's remote and beautiful rural landscape.

Wheatfields near Caledon in the Western Cape
Cottages in the region between Villiersdorp and Worcester, Western Cape
La Motte wine estate near Franschhoek, Western Cape
Historic homestead in Montagu, Western Cape

Autumn in the Hex River Valley, Western Cape
Karoo desert near Colesburg, Northern Cape
Farm near Fouriesburg, Free State
Cosmos flowers and gate, Free State

Afrikaner bull, from an indigenous breed of South African cattle
Donkey cart near Springbok, Northern Cape
Canola fields in the southern region of the Western Cape
Farm near Balgowan in the Underberg region of KwaZulu-Natal

Fruit market near Thohoyandou in the Venda region of Limpopo
Fish drying in Velddrif on the Western Cape west coast
Sun-drying fruit near Ashton in the Western Cape
Harvesting broccoli near Stellenbosch, Western Cape

Farmland near Clarens in the Free State
Wheatfields near Malmesbury in the Swartland region of the Western Cape
Early morning in Hermanus, Western Cape
Harvesting pineapples near East London in the Eastern Cape

Vineyard in the Hex River valley, Western Cape
Buitenverwachting wine estate, Western Cape
Farm stall, Plettenburg Bay, Western Cape
Boer goat doe and kids with shepherd near Kamieskroon, Northern Cape

Farm in the Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape
Children in a vineyard, Northern Cape
Farmer tending his cattle, Northern Cape
Nederburg wine estate, Western Cape

Nguni bull, from an indigenous South African breed of cattle
Wild flowers and wind pump near Niewoudtville in the Northern Cape
Farm near Paarl in the Western Cape
Nomadic sheep and goat farmers in the Northern Cape

Farmland near Swellendam in the Western Cape
Grape harvesting at Bovlei Vineyard, Western Cape
Sunflower farm near Rustenburg in North West
Bonsmara bull, from a hardy beef breed developed in South Africa

Green winter barley fields in the Overberg, Western Cape
Harvesting wheat, Free State
Vineyards in the Hex River Valley, Western Cape
Sheep and maize fields near Caledon, Western Cape

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Gallery compiled by Mary Alexander