Original subtitles

(wind whistling)

(upbeat orchestral music)

(light marimba music)

- [Narrator] Our aerial journey

starts by the Drakensberg Mountains

and across some of the bloodiest battlefields

of the 19th century before heading north

to the Kruger National Park

and on through Blyde Canyon to Polokwane.

From there, it's south to Pretoria,

Johannesburg, and Bloemfontein,

before heading west to Kimberley

and on to the Augrabies Falls.

From there, it's down the west coast

before finishing the journey

in the dramatic Cederberg Mountains.

South Africa is a country of contrasting landscapes.

And here, to the east of the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains,

a vast fertile plain stretches out

where small farms and private game reserves can be found.

But this seemingly peaceful countryside

was the site of violent battles during the 19th century.

(rhythmic percussion music)

The Second Boer War began in 1899

and was between the British and South African Boers

over who ruled their proclaimed republics.

Some of the battles were fiercely fought

and the casualties on both sides were high.

The Battle of Spion Kop was one of them,

and it gets its name from this hill

where the action took place.

It was a major disaster for the British.

Visitors today can walk amongst the moving memorials

and graves of soldiers from both sides.

The Boers held the hill.

And the British,

who thought only a handful of Boers were up there,

attacked at night, took a sentry post,

and thought they had taken the main part of the hill,

only to find in the clearing morning mist that they had not

and that the main Boer army was waiting.

The British were outnumbered

and suffered terrible casualties

before reinforcements arrived,

which enabled the army to retreat off the hill.

From a British defeat

to an outstanding victory against all odds 20 years earlier.

It took place here at Rorke's Drift, where, in 1879,

139 British soldiers held out

against 4,000 Zulu warriors for 12 hours.

11 Victoria Crosses were awarded for gallantry,

the highest number in any single engagement.

The hospital where much of the action took place

still exists, along with the stores

and a memorial and museum.

Close by is a replica of a Zulu krall

in a style which would've been around

at the time of Rorke's Drift.

The Zulu warriors had arrived at Rorke's Drift

from a battle where they had inflicted

the biggest defeat a British colonial army has ever had:

Isandlwana.

Here, in the shadow of the mountain,

roughly 1,300 British and colonial troops lost their lives

out of an army of near 2,000.

The Zulu force poured around the mountain

and, using mainly spears and shields,

outmaneuvered the British with skill and iron discipline.

Today, memorials and small white stone cans

marking mass graves scatter the slope

in remembrance of this battle.

20 miles north and 41 years earlier,

the situation was reversed at the Battle of Blood River,

where, in 1838, the Dutch Voortrekkers

inflicted a crushing defeat on the Zulus.

The river quite literally flowed red.

The Voortrekkers, who numbered 470 men, women, and children,

drew their wagons into a protective enclosure

known as a laager.

They faced well over 10,000 Zulu warriors,

who attacked at dawn.

For two hours, they held out

against four waves of Zulu attacks.

Women and children reloaded the muskets.

3,000 Zulus were killed.

But incredibly, only three trekkers were slightly wounded.

These wagons are cast in bronze

and were erected as a memorial in 1971.

The first monument on the battle site

was this granite ox wagon in 1947.

And in 1998, on the other side of Blood River,

a museum and memorial were built

to commemorate the fallen Zulu.

The shape of the building

represents the horns and chest of the Zulu battle formation.

150 miles to the north is Nelspruit

in the Mpumalanga region.

This is the largest town on the southern end

of the best known game reserve in South Africa,

the Kruger National Park.

(light orchestral music)

Restrictions for flying over the Kruger are strict

and aircraft must be above 2,000 feet

to create the least disturbance to wildlife.

The park is vast at nearly 8,000 square miles,

which is almost the exact size of Israel.

Spread around the park are various campsites.

This one is the Berg-en-Dal

and the only one set in a rugged mountain environment.

From here, it's possible to have conducted walks,

as well as game drives to see the wildlife.

Even from 2,000 feet, it's still possible

to spot a small herd of elephants

as they go about their daily routine.

(rhythmic percussion music)

Throughout South Africa,

there are many private game reserves,

as well as private farms that keep and breed

a number of game animals, including wildebeest.

Wildebeest meat is widely eaten,

as is the meat from water buffalo.

(soft orchestral music)

To the west of the Kruger Park is Blyde River Canyon,

the world's third largest

after the Grand Canyon in the United States

and Fish River Canyon in Namibia.

It is a dramatic and impressive sight.

(soft ambient music)

The canyon is 16 miles long and, on average,

about two-and-a-half-thousand feet deep.

One of the best views is of the Three Rondavels

which overlook the canyon, rondavel being the name

of the roundhouses of the local people.

The furthest point north in our travels is Polokwane,

a mere hundred miles from the border with Zimbabwe.

The name Polokwane means 'place of safety'

and is the capital of the Limpopo region.

(soft piano music)

In former times, it was called Pietersburg.

The town also has a new football stadium,

which was built for the 2010 World Cup

and has a seating capacity of 46,000 spectators.

Our journey now heads west across the north of the country

and the landscape starts to become dry

and almost desert-like.

This vast open flat space is known as veld,

which is the South African equivalent

to outback in Australia, prairie in North America,

and Pampas in South America.

There are only a few villages or towns

scattered in this sparse landscape.

But nothing prepares you for the surprise you get

when suddenly a fantasy city seems to rise up

out of the arid landscape.

This is Sun City, a luxury resort and casino.

(light jazz music)

It opened in 1979 and has been popular ever since.

There are four hotels,

timeshare apartments,

two 18-hole golf courses,

exotic-looking swimming pools,

and lots of entertainment,

including this wave machine.

And guests don't have to go far to see elephants,

as they are close by and ready to ride.

On the outskirts of Pretoria is Hartbeespoort Dam,

with its new estates and golf courses.

The fluorescent-colored lake

suffers from phosphate pollution,

which encourages a very bright green algae to flourish.

Pretoria, which is the executive capital of South Africa,

is an elegant city centered around Church Square,

which is lined with handsome 19th-century buildings.

The city has many fine museums and galleries,

as well as parks and gardens.

And on one side of Burgers Park is Melrose House,

built in the 1880s for an industrialist.

During the Boer War, it became the residence

of the British commander, Lord Kitchener.

Overlooking the city from the east are the Union Buildings,

the seat of the South African government.

They were designed in a grand manner in 1910

to celebrate the new union of South Africa

following the end of the Boer War.

And it was on these steps

that Nelson Mandela was declared president in 1994

and where all previous presidents had been inaugurated.

And from the steps, it's possible to see

the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

There's been a stadium here since 1906,

making it one of the oldest in the country.

It was upgraded for use as a World Cup venue.

The local historical name for Johannesburg is Gauteng,

meaning 'place of gold.'

And surrounding the city, it's easy to see why,

with all the spoil

from well over a hundred years of gold mining.

Johannesburg, 30 miles south of Pretoria,

is the financial heartland of the country.

Its sleek, modern buildings continue to elevate the skyline.

The Carlton Centre was once the tallest building

on the African continent at 730 feet.

From the top, it's easy to see

the city's two World Cup venues.

The first is Ellis Park Stadium,

and it was here in 1995 that the South African Springboks

won the Rugby World Cup in a thrilling match

against New Zealand in extra time.

To the south of the city is Soccer City Stadium,

built in 1989 and the site of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Final.

The stadium is on the edge

of South Africa's largest township, Soweto.

The township's history

goes back to the gold mining era of the late-19th century,

when Africans seeking work were drawn to the mines

and were accommodated in separate areas around the city.

This segregation continued

and was further enforced during the apartheid regime.

The word Soweto has been abbreviated

from 'south western townships'

and it encompasses all the suburbs in the area.

It's estimated that around 65%

of Johannesburg's population live here.

One of the landmarks of the area

are the two cooling towers from an old power station,

one of which has been decorated

with the largest mural painting in the country.

Soweto came to the world's attention in 1976,

when there were mass protests

about apartheid restrictions in education.

23 people lost their lives when the police opened fire,

and the horror reverberated around the world,

leading to economic sanctions against South Africa.

Today, Soweto is a very different place

and even has guided tours for visitors.

There are still the matchbox houses

built in the apartheid era,

but new, larger, more prosperous-looking dwellings

are being built.

But there are still the old shantytowns for the poorest,

where there are few services and little sanitation.

The judicial capital of South Africa is Bloemfontein,

300 miles to the south.

To get there means crossing 300 miles

of flat, open landscape

where electric storms can build up very quickly.

(soft piano music)

Day almost turns to night

as nature shows its awesome power.

(lightning cracking)

It's certainly not a place for our small aircraft

to get too close to.

Bloemfontein was once the capital of the new republic

the Afrikaners declared in their conflict with Britain.

The city is full of fine 19th-century buildings.

And as the judicial capital of South Africa,

many of them are associated with the law.

To the south of the city is the National Women's Memorial,

commemorating Boer and black African women and children

who died in British concentration camps

during the South African War.

80 miles to the west across open veld

is a city more than any other in the world

associated with diamonds: Kimberley.

In 1869, diamonds were found in the mud wall

of a small house on the eastern edge of the Western Cape.

This discovery led to a diamond rush

and the birth of Kimberley.

Prospectors came in their thousands

and the holes they dug got deeper and deeper

until vast chasms opened up around the town.

The best known is simply called Big Hole.

Here, the first 780 feet was dug by hand.

And today, the depth stands at two-and-a-half-thousand feet,

with another thousand feet hidden from view.

By 1914, some 23 million tons of rock had been excavated,

which yielded over 14 million carats worth of diamonds.

And a flawless carat today will set you back around £15,000,

so a lot of money was dug out of this Big Hole

in just 50 years.

Flying west from Kimberley

and the landscape begins to become drier

and more desert-like.

Vast estates with miles of fencing carve up the landscape.

Long, straight dirt roads

are the only means of getting around to check on fences,

as well as any game.

In this type of landscape, ostriches thrive and run free.

As do these magnificent sable antelope.

Further west, and the landscape begins to turn red,

the soil rich in iron ore.

And in this hot and arid landscape,

a group of gemsbok search for food.

Quite suddenly,

out of this parched and unpopulated landscape,

a wide strip of green appears on either side of a big river.

This is the Orange River,

the longest in South Africa at just over 1,300 miles.

Surprisingly, the river does not flow

through any major city,

but it plays an important part in the economy of the country

by providing irrigation.

And here in the Northern Cape,

the banks are lined with vineyards.

Downstream and to the west of Upington

is one of the most dramatic sites in the country,

and it can be heard before it can be seen.

(water roaring)

These are the Augrabies Falls,

flowing into the largest granite gorge in the world.

The original Khoikhoi people called it 'place of big noise.'

Over thousands of years,

the Orange River has eroded this smooth-sided gorge,

creating a spectacular waterfall of nearly 200 foot.

When the river floods,

four times more water falls here per second

than at the Niagara Falls.

The surrounding granite landscape

seems to come from another planet,

with great folds of rock shaped millions of years ago.

(soft orchestral music)

The area was made into the Augrabies National Park in 1966.

In this arid landscape, an extraordinary tree grows,

which is a species of aloe

and indigenous to the Northern Cape: the quiver tree.

In fact, it's becoming quite a rare sight

due to climactic changes.

The quiver tree gets its name

from the ancient practice of the San people

hollowing out the tubular branches

to form quivers for their arrows.

(soft piano music)

The landscape may look completely deserted

for mile upon mile, but one important aspect of modern life

has been built on it: a national highway.

The N14 highway runs for hundreds of miles

across the Northern Cape and, for much of its length,

is like a very long ruler laid over the landscape.

The highway runs west towards the Atlantic Coast.

And just inland is an extraordinary area of landscape,

and no one is quite sure how it was formed.

These circular smooth-topped mounds

are known locally as fairy circles

and there are literally thousands of them

stretching up into Namibia.

Apparently, nothing will grow on them

and they have remained a mystery for years.

The most plausible explanation

seems to be that some sort of termite created them,

but it has not been proved.

The west coast is a wild, desolate, and windy place.

The Atlantic rolls in

and is much colder than the Indian Ocean on the east coast.

The main industry along the coast is mining,

and diamonds in particular.

Vast mines operate where tons of sand is sifted for diamonds

under tight security.

Old workings scar the landscape,

though today, new rules mean that mining companies

will have to leave the landscape as they found it.

Even the sea yields diamonds,

as gravel is sucked up from gullies

using a long vacuum cleaner from a specially-rigged boat.

To the south, houses and small towns start to appear.

Lambert's Bay is a popular place to visit,

particularly with seafood lovers,

as along the coast open-air fish restaurants

offer a fresh catch every day.

(seagulls squawking)

Inland from Lambert's Bay is Clanwilliam,

where a variety of tea can be found,

and it's the only place in the world where it will grow.

This is the rooibos shrub,

which is better known around the world

as the plant that produces redbush tea.

It has been used by the San people for centuries

as a herbal medicine.

The plant is narrow and needle-like and picked by hand.

It's then cut and dried in the sun on large concrete slabs

before being graded and packed.

The tea is naturally caffeine-free and very low in tannin.

The rooibos shrub is grown in the foothills

of the Cederberg Mountains.

This mountain range is famous for its rock formations.

(rhythmic percussion music)

Over millions of years,

wind and water have carved the Cederbergs

into a magical landscape.

The pinnacles and fissures seem to create fantasy castles

and reddish rocks start to resemble

strange frozen creatures.

The Maltese Cross stands out alone,

as softer stone has eroded away,

leaving this cross-like shape.

Up in the high peaks is the Wolfberg Arch,

where the softer center has eroded away,

leaving this spectacular formation.

And right at the top is Tafelberg Mountain,

which in English is of course Table Mountain.

And it's only a hundred miles to the other Table Mountain

and a perfect place to end this journey.

(reverent orchestral music)