As home has become our 2020 top destination. We look back at the top bucket list holiday destinations in 2019

We are not sure when the lockdown will be lifted but for now, we can carry on day dreaming of the perfect holiday in our very own country we call South Africa with a variety of beautiful places to visit. 

Here are the top holiday destinations for 2019: 

An almost four-hour drive from noisy Cape Town lies Kagga-Kamma Nature Reserve, a slice of peace and quiet in the heart of the Cederberg with a unique accommodation offering. Enhanced by breath-taking views of the stark landscape by day and the starlit sky at night, it’s a destination were endless memories are made and certainly a photographers paradise. 

An air crash on the escarpment of Kaapsehoop, Mpumalanga brought about the discovery of the megalithic stone calendar of Adams Calendar. Johan Heine, the pilot on search had come across the arrangement of stone circles alongside the crash site. Adams Calendar is an excellent base region which offers lots of activities such as hikes to nearby waterfalls, mountain bike trails and bird watching. A perfect place to recharge your batteries away from the rat race. 

Nieuwoudtville is where you’ll get lost if you’re any kind of nature lover for it is where you’ll find no fewer than nine of Acock’s 88 veld types, all within a 100 km radius, and where you can see a display of the annual wild flowers which are so famous in the area. A must visit for a beautiful and serene getaway. 

Known for the rugged beauty of our landscapes, and the old-world charm for their hospitality, Buffalo City is also a modern, cosmopolitan Metro that welcomes guests and travelers with 5-star elegance and luxury. Whether enjoying exquisite fine dining with the Indian Ocean lapping at your feet or unwinding in a trendy cocktail lounge overlooking Africa’s only river port, Buffalo City delights every sensory expectation. It is easy to see why Buffalo City is becoming a popular travel destination in South Africa.

Just outside the town of Springbok you will find the Goegap Nature Reserve with its granite peaks and sandy plains are dominated by Carolusberg, the highest point in the area. Goegap's wild flower garden contains an enormous collection of succulents’ unique to the area of Goegap. Besides the unbelievable number of floral species, Goegap Nature Reserve boasts a recorded 45 mammalian species. A perfect escape if you are missing the outdoors and nature this lockdown period. 

Genadendal is a quaint little historical village just six kilometers outside the city of Greyton - one of the most popular towns to visit in the Western Cape. Genadendal is the oldest Moravian mission village on the continent and at its heart are the original little thatched and predominantly white-walled cottages that first housed Georg Schmidt, the German missionary of the Moravian church who founded the village, and his mission. A must visit to look back at South Africa’s unique history and architecture that goes with it. 

Just 60km from the Kruger National Park is a route of eight waterfalls. The Sabie Waterfalls Route in Mpumalanga is one of South Africa's best-kept secrets: visitors are often so captivated by the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, with its magnificent cliffs and stunning views, not to mention dazzling flora and fauna, that this superb cluster of waterfalls is often overlooked, but it’s all mostly on the way. A must visit after lockdown to fill up that travel memory book!