Nanaga, Greater Addo

The somewhat obscure little village of Nanaga scores by dint of the fact that it is ideally placed on the South African map. Not only is it virtually just outside the Greater Addo Elephant Park, but it is also a short drive from the Sunshine Coast and other malaria-free safari game reserves.

Just where the name Nanaga comes from is not very well documented, but the Nanaga Parbat Mountain in Pakistan - the second highest peak in the country and 9th highest in the world - stands just as one crosses the Indus and drives between the Lower Himalyan Hills, and serves as a wall for monsoon winds. It means ‘naked mountain’, also known as killer mountain as it is difficult to climb. Whilst there are no obvious ties between the Greater Addo Nanaga and the mountain in Pakistan, the village does offer certain peacefulness, not least because of the country air and star-filled nights away from the mania of city life. This is the country of the dairy farmer and wildlife game farm. Rolling hills provide numerous hikes and the Alexandria forest trail is just outside the town.

The Alexandria Dune Fields, close to the nearby village of Colchester, stretch for 50 kilometres and provide one of the most beautiful and scenic, as well as the largest, coastal dunefields in the southern hemisphere. The Nukakamma Canoe trail - the two-day trail that starts and ends in Cannonville - ventures along the green and grassy banks of the Sundays River and allows one some fantastic sightings of wonderful birds, such as African fish eagles, as well as otters leguaans and buck..