Apartheid wrote much of South Africa's history, but its amazing natural abundance is the enduring news of its present. Kruger National Park, almost a century in existence, sets the gold standard for preserves, with the Big Five in stunning numbers: 2,000 lions, 7,500 elephants, 27,000 buffalo, plus leopards and more rhinos--both white and black--than in all of Africa. And that's just in this reserve, not counting the other 18 in the country. And the birding here, well, it soars: ostrich and kori bustard stand as the largest birds on land and in the sky, respectively, joining more than 900 other species in a birdwatcher's extravaganza. So South Africa will deliver that classic safari experience in all its pith helmet glory, in a comfortable climate, to boot. But there is more: a wild southern coast and Cape of Good Hope, the lake St. Lucia with its resident wildlife, the ancient history of the Sterkfontein Caves, the more recent prison home of Nelson Mandela, and Zulu tradition mix.