Your Bucket List: 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa (MapStudio), by

Your Bucket List: 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa, by Patrick Cruywagen. MapStudio, Cape Town, South Africa.

Patrick Cruywagen's guide, Your Bucket List: 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa, is the result of a decade of southern African travel while working for South Africa 4x4 magazine as their Bush Editor.

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I like to call it the best decade of my life, as during this time I was able to visit just about every river, waterfall, lake, mountain, pass and national park found within this very special part of Africa. You can experience thousands of memorable and must-do-at-least-once-in-your-lifetime activities when travelling through southern Africa. For this book we had to narrow them down to only 150. We decided to include Tanzania, Angola and Kenya in our list of countries covered, because once you are in northern Zambia or Namibia, some of these are just a short border crossing away. Anyone can reside in southern Africa, but to truly experience the place or call yourself a local you need to tick off as many of the activities on this bucket list as possible. We might not all have the physical capabilities to do something as crazy as run the Comrades Marathon, but you still need to go and experience it at least once or support a mate who is doing it. While some of the activities on our list are pretty straightforward, such as going to see the penguins at Boulders, we have given others a unique twist to heighten the experience. You will see that instead of just telling you to go to the Victoria Falls, I suggest swimming in the Devil's Pool on the edge of the falls, or taking a helicopter flip to a private island just downstream from them. My wish is that this book will serve as a reminder of all the great activities and experiences on offer in southern Africa and, more importantly, I hope that it inspires you to go out there and do as many of them as possible. Get ticking! (See the Checklist on page 188.)

Drive the longest uninterrupted gravel road in South Africa

When: All year round
Where: Between Ceres and Calvinia, Western Cape
Experience: Driving

This is the longest uninterrupted gravel road in South Africa, and everybody has to drive it at least once, It is 257km long, starts at Ceres in the Western Cape and finishes in Calvinia in the Northern Cape province. This would be a good time to clarify something: you don't just drive this gravel road because of its record-breaking status, but rather because of the adventures and opportunities that lie between these two towns. You might actually want to take a detour or two along the way. Before you set off, you need to make sure that all your tyres are in good condition; also take with you all the necessary gear to change or repair a tyre, as there's a good chance you might get a puncture or two. Remember that you are about to do almost 260km without refuelling, so you might want to fill up before you tackle this gravel road. When you hit the gravel for the first time, take it easy and drive within your capabilities. This road has seen many an accident and flat tyre, so don't become another victim as you run out of talent on a seemingly gentle road curve. The gravel can be deceptively slippery and you will need to muster all your driving skills. After about 103km, you are faced with a dilemma. You could either take the turn-off to the Tankwa Karoo National Park, which is well worth visiting for a day or two. More adventures, an interesting pass and the unique Tankwa Karoo landscape await you there. [...]

This is an excerpt from: Your Bucket List: 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa, by Patrick Cruywagen.

Title: Your Bucket List: 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa
Author: Patrick Cruywagen
Genre: Atlas / Travel guide
Publisher: MapStudio
Cape Town, South Africa 2014
ISBN 9781770265608 / ISBN 978-1-77026-560-8
Softcover, 21 x 29 cm, 192 pages, throughout maps and photos