Do you live in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany or Italy? Well, you are in for a treat all this week on National Geographic they are showcasing the best of South Africa.

In a partnership with SA Tourism, colourful cultural celebrations, perilous pursuits of extreme adventure, daring wildlife expeditions and facinating historical explorations will leaving you longing to see South Africa for yourself.

“From the comfort of their living rooms, viewers across Europe will dive with sharks off the South African coast, stalk leopards in the Mala Mala bushveld, and fly over the continent on one of the most epic adventures ever filmed – all over a one week period,” said Deborah Armstrong of National Geographic.

You have been warned – don’t miss it!

I am sure the purists amongst us will tell you that you have to suffer the inconveniences of malaria tablets to really experience the best of South African safaris, with traditional venues being Mpumalanga and Sabi Sands regions simply because of the vast diversity in species available to view, but today sees an emerging alternative which can combine visits to Cape Town and the Garden Route along with a luxury safari in a non-malaria region in the Eastern Cape, without the hassle of long distance travel to get to the north of the country.

Shamwari Game Reserve has long been a prestigious, award winning destination, but others are now springing up out of the ‘empty’ green hills between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. Original European settlers pushing their way north and east, upsetting the Xhosa locals ‘en route’ and sparking bloody confrontations deemed this to be ‘frontier country’ and new waves of settlers are discovering game viewing and five-star accommodation more to their liking than fighting the locals!

Pumba Game Reserve is one such safari destination. Take a look at the luxury bedrooms! Click on the photos to get a clearer idea of the size of them. Aren’t they fabulous? I would imagine it’s hard to tear yourself away to go and look at the animals on cold mornings or evenings, but every luxury is taken care of and beanies, scarves and blankets are provided on your drive, along with binoculars, as a matter of course.

To get more of a hands-on feel for what it would be like to stay at Pumba and indeed the chance to win a luxury weekend stay, take a look at iafrica’s lucky reporter whose stay evidently fitted the bill!

Take a look at our Game Lodges to find more ideas on safaris in the north of the country, but please do contact us if you would like more information on other South Africa safari regions.