Photographing nature at the Pilansberg

There is nothing quite like the African bush, and no better place in the world for big game. Besides its renowned national parks, South Africa boasts a range of private reserves, all offering excellent wildlife and bird watching. And supporting all these is an unparalleled botanical richness.

Fourteen South African hotels and resorts made it onto the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler 2013 "gold list" of the 510 best places in the world to stay, with eight of these earning "platinum circle" status for making the list for five years running.

Already well loved by local and international tourists, the town of Wupperthal in the Cederberg mountains of the Western Cape now boasts a new, community-driven offering - the Cederberg Donkey Cart Route.

Cape Town's Boulders Beach, part of the Table Mountain National Park, is home to a much-photographed, much-loved and much-maligned colony of African penguins.