Holidays on the wild side

Pristine nature, wildlife, a city lifestyle, affordable luxury and amazing adventures have made South Africa popular with Chinese visitors. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

Adventures in the wild

South Africa is the adventure capital of the world with some of the world's finest safari game viewing in the Kruger National Park, South Africa's premier Big 5 game park.

At the safari lodges in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, the service, the cuisine, the spas and the wildlife encounters add up to a memorable experience.

Big 5 safaris in South Africa are a must-do for anyone fascinated by wildlife.

The Big 5 refers to the buffalo, the elephant, the lion, the leopard and the rhino and the term comes from the animals considered most dangerous to hunt. But nowadays, the thrill comes from photographing the animals in their natural habitat.

Namaqualand attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year, mainly because of its spectacular variety of wildflowers.

There, visitors can explore this vast region of the Northern Cape on horseback, which allows access to areas off the beaten track.

With a wine culture developing in China, Stellenbosch is also popular with Chinese travelers.

Stellenbosch is the second oldest town in South Africa, renowned for having the longest wine trail in the world.

It is globsly renowned for its beautiful environment, wineries, street cafes, restaurants, quality wines and historical buildings.

From June until November, the southern right whales are visible along the Cape South Coast, making it the perfect time of year for a whale-watching trip.

There, you do not even have to go out on a boat to see the whales because Hermanus, overlooking Walker Bay, is considered to be the best land-based whale-watching site in the world.

Hermanus' cliffs offer an incomparable viewing point.

In addition to whale watching in Hermanus or traveling to Namaqualand to see the wildflowers in bloom, South Africa's famed sardine run is a seasonal peculiarity that is popular among local and international visitors, including the Chinese, says Bradley.

"It's a phenomenon certainly worth watching - from land, the ocean surface or underwater."

Around June each year, word gets out along the KwaZulu-Natal coast that the sardines have arrived. They have swum for more than 30 days from their spawning ground in the Cape to reach South Africa's east coast.

Then scores of fishermen join the sharks, game fish, marine mammals and birds that gorge themselves on the shimmering band of silver fish.