Gauteng
In the heart of the country's northern reaches, the tiny province of Gauteng is South Africa's economic dynamo. Home to the bustling metropolis of Johannesburg as well as Pretoria, the country's trim and tidy administrative capital, Gauteng is the smallest province in the country but its population is the largest.
Gauteng means "place of gold" in the Sotho language, but today instead of gold, the province lures travellers primarily with its urban attractions, including poignant historical monuments and impressive museums and botanical gardens. Away from the cities, sightseers can explore the fossil-rich caves of the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.