Landing in the vibrant cultural melting pot of Johannesburg in South Africa, we begin our 16-day trip through Southern Africa by extensively touring the township of Soweto, where we see affluent neighbourhoods, shanty-towns, the world's largest hospital and the former residences of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. A region with a fascinating, and at times dubious, history, Soweto was the location of some of the more infamous events during the struggle against apartheid and is today brimming with sites of archaeological and historic interest. Crossing the border into Zambia, we head for one of the world's most magnificent natural sights at Victoria Falls, named after the then-reigning Queen of England by Scottish missionary David Livingstone. Using Livingstone as a jump-off point, we cross into Botswana for a water safari adventure, where we see elephants, waterfowl, hippos and crocodiles. We visit traditional Zambian villages, wherein locals are more than happy to let you explore the insides of their huts and explain how and why they are built and decorated as they are, and get closer to nature by rambling through dense rainforest around the Falls. We return to South Africa for yet more exploration of this abundant natural wonderland by admiring exotic flora and teeming fauna -- like leopards, cheetahs, elephants and zebras. We finish in and around Cape Town, one of the world's most spectacularly located cities.

© 2007 Adventures Abroad Worldwide Travel Ltd.