Ways to Be a Local

• Use the 3-stage handshake. Shake hands in the Western way, clasp hands with thumbs on top, then repeat stage one.
• Call things lekker. This all-purpose word (Afrikaans for 'nice') can be applied to anything, from a meal to a fine sunset.
• Walk around in shorts in all weather, in the city or on the beach.
• Praise South African sports teams - the locals will love it.
• Travel by minibus-taxi, as millions of South Africans do (but leave your valuables at home!)
• Raise a laugh by greeting people with the colloquial 'Hello, howzit' - to which the response may be 'Ja well no fine'.
• Talk to people. Most South Africans love to chat.
• Try unusual foods such as prickly-pear fruit, maize meal and, if you're really daring, mopani worms.
• Mix in with your English any words of Afrikaans, Sotho, Zulu or Xhosa that you may have picked up.
• Refer to Nelson Mandela as Madiba. Many South Africans use Mandela's clan praise-name, Madiba, as an affectionate and respectful way of naming him.

Good Places to Have Lunch

• Vineyard Hotel (Inexpensive-Moderately priced) Address: Colinton Road, Newlands, Cape Town Phone: 021-683 3044. Hotel with a choice of restaurants. Superb views from the garden.
• Mount Nelson (Expensive) Address: 76 Orange Street, Cape Town Phone: 021-483 1000. Famous luxury hotel with three fine restaurants.
• The Wild Fig (Moderately priced) Address: Courtyard Hotel complex, Liesbeeck Avenue, Mowbray, Cape Town Phone: 021-448 0507. Housed in an 18th-century barn, this restaurant offers a blend of Thai, South African and Greek specialties.
• Cock House (Moderately priced) Address: 10 Market Street, Grahamstown Phone: 046-636 1287. Restaurant and guest house in a National Monument.
• Star of the West (Moderately priced) Address: Corner of Barkly and North Circular roads, Kimberley Phone: 053-832 6463. Atmospheric restored 19th-century miners' pub.
• Baccarat (Expensive) Address: Admiral's Court, Mutual Gardens, Rosebank, Johannesburg Phone: 011-880 1835. French-Huguenot style buffet; specialities include bouillabaisse, kudu, trout and other fish dishes.
• Coachman's Inn (Moderately priced) Address: 29 Peter Place, Lyme Park, Sandton, Johannesburg Phone: 011-706 7269. Wide-ranging, international food of consistently good quality.
• Legends Café (Inexpensive-Moderately priced) Address: Musgrave Centre, Musgrave Road, Durban Phone: 031-201 0733. Serves a range of light meals at affordable prices.
• Langoustine-by-the-Sea (Moderately priced) Address: 131 Waterkant Street, Durban North Phone: 031-563 7324. Good seafood with sea views.
• Café Riche (Inexpensive-Moderately priced) Address: 2 Church Square, Pretoria Phone: 012-328 3173. Oldest café in Pretoria. Light lunches, dish-of-the-day.

Top Activities

• Take a hot bath. South Africa has many natural hot springs, which are great places to visit in winter. If you're the indoor type, try a steam bath at Cape Town's Long Street Baths.
• Go to a sporting event. In sports-mad South Africa this is a must. Watch soccer, the country's most popular sport, at Johannesburg's FNB Stadium; enjoy rugby at Durban's Kings Park; or take in a cricket match at the loveliest ground anywhere, Newlands in Cape Town.
• Try an adventure activity. Mountain-biking through superb countryside, hot-air ballooning over Gauteng, bungee jumping, paragliding, scuba diving, whitewater rafting and sea-kayaking are available.
• Visit a session of Parliament. Watch the country's new democracy in action. The opening of Parliament in Cape Town in February has become a showcase of South African dress styles, from ethnic African to Voortrekker chic.
• Stroll through botanical gardens. Two of the loveliest and the most restful locales in South Africa are Cape Town's Kirstenbosch and Durban's Botanic Gardens.

Top Beaches

• Clifton, Cape Town. Very fashionable sunbathing spot, with dazzlingly white sands.
• Muizenberg, Cape Town. Popular swimming and surfing beach.
• Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route. Some of the best golden, sandy beaches in South Africa.
• Nahoon Beach, East London. Outstanding surfing beach.
• North Beach, Durban. The most popular and populous beach in the country.

Top Nature Reserves

• Addo Elephant National Park.
• Augrabies Falls National Park.
• Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve.
• Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
• Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.
• Hluhluwe-Umfolozi National Park.
• Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
• Kruger National Park.
• Mountain Zebra National Park.
• Pilanesberg National Park.