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Explore the Daan Viljoen Game Park

There are few cities in the world located within a 30-minute drive from a wild nature reserve. And Windhoek is one of them. Just a hop and a skip from the city, the Daan Viljoen Game Park is home to zebras, giraffes, antelopes and over 200 different species of bird. You won’t find any predators here. The advantage is that visitors are free to explore on their own.

Wag-‘n-bietjie

The park’s most characteristic vegetation is known as ‘Wag-n’-bietjie’. The unusual tongue twister-like name is derived from the big thorns on these local bushes that easily hook passers-by. When that happens, you have to wait a minute to untangle yourself – which translates into the Afrikaans expression ‘Wag-n’-bietjie’. One of the hikes in the park is named after this unique bush and leads through a dry river bed to the Stengel Dam. The 3-kilometre-long trail makes for an easy day hike.

Giraffe in the bush

Rooibos Route & Sweet Thorn hike

Hikers looking for more of a challenge can choose from 2 longer routes. The Rooibos Route is a 9-kilometre-long trail that takes you to the highest point in the region. As you make your way to the 1,763-metre-high mountain, you can enjoy the fabulous views of Windhoek. Just over 30 kilometres long, the Sweet Thorn hike covers 3 times the terrain. As this route cannot be completed in one day, hikers spend the night in a rustic park hut. It’s an unforgettable experience to wake up with the animals in the park.

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Arts & Culture

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Water sports

Nature

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Arts & Culture

Houston and Dallas may be bigger and more famous, but Austin is in fact the capital of Texas. It’s also the least Texan city in Texas. And the weirdest city in the country. This is something its residents take pride in, as evidenced by the Austin motto of Keep Austin Weird! Have a peek inside weird houses or admire a cathedral of junk in a city where there is even a museum devoted entirely to the weird and strange.

Nightlife

When it comes to music, you might be inclined to think New Orleans (jazz), Memphis (rock ‘n’ roll), Chicago (blues) or Nashville (country), but Austin is actually the music capital of the US. The city boasts over 250 music venues, more than any other American city. You can choose from countless live performances and a fantastic music festival every month, such as SXSW. Austin lives and breathes music.

Beach, Water sports, Nature

The airport in Liberia is the gateway to the Province of Guanacaste, the sunniest part of Costa Rica. Thanks to its large number of snow-white buildings and tree-lined streets made of white gravel, the city itself is also referred to as ‘la ciudad blanca’. But, let’s be honest, most visitors who arrive here are primarily interested in white sand. Only a half hour by car from the airport is the fantastic Pacific coast with beaches that are postcard perfect.

Nature

In the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, you can hike, swim in natural hot springs, picnic and camp. The park features a variety of ecosystems around nine craters and 32 rivers with spectacular waterfalls during the rainy season. The diversity of flora and fauna is amazing: look up and chances are you’ll see toucans, sloths and monkeys in the treetops.

Active & Outdoor

Old towns, stunning constructions and wonderful nature: admire all of this and more in THIS IS HOLLAND, a brand-new 5D movie attraction by the producers of De Nieuwe Wildernis (The New Wilderness). It is the perfect introduction to Holland for first-time visitors, but also an interesting surprise for Dutchies who think they know their country inside out. This is a magical 5D experience with smells, colours, images, sounds, rain and shine.

Culinary

Everyone in Sweden knows Småland as the nation’s culinary centre. The region’s cuisine goes above and beyond the famous meatballs: a Michelin-star restaurant serves innovative Swedish haute cuisine, coffee is elevated to an art, and you can visit a lovely castle and pretend to be Lord or Lady of the manor. Here are three suggestions for typically Swedish restaurants in the city of Växjö.

Arts & Culture

Älmhult is the birthplace of renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus and children’s books author Astrid Lindgren, however its most famous ‘offspring’ is IKEA. Life in this southern Swedish town evolves around the blue-and-yellow furniture giant: from the IKEA Hotel and IKEA Museum to the IKEA Bar and IKEA Spa. Welcome to the one and only IKEA Småland – meatballs and ball pit included.