Product Description

Discover Southern Africa

Climb atop a scorching sand dune in Sossusvlei, Namibia, and listen to the overpowering silence.
Fall asleep to the sounds of grunting hippos and howling hyenas in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe.
Stand on the sidelines during Swaziland's Umhlanga Dance, while potential wives parade before the king.

In this Guide

8 authors, 249 days of in-country research, 109 maps, 97 buses.
Specialist music chapter and full-color wildlife section.
Incorporating 1073 traveler tips and suggestions.
Don't take our word for it - find out what travelers think at lonelyplanet.com

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75173 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 812 pages

Review
For sheer global reach and dogged research, attention must be paid to Lonely Planet…' --Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2003

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Customer Reviews

It holds up, but just barely....
I purchased this book for a month long trip that I took throughout the countries of Namibia and South Africa, and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when it came to the details. In normal fashion, Lonely Planet does a great job with historic and cultural information pertaining to a certain locality, but once again falls short on the in-depth info that many travelers would be interested in. For instance, national parks and world heritage sites are usually not covered in enough detail, and sometimes they're not mentioned at all. Much of the information is very basic as well, and doesn't really paint a solid picture of the park. Sure, we all know there are animals running around, but what makes it stand out? Notable exceptions would be Etosha and Kruger, both of which have good coverage, but so many other options exist and are just barely mentioned. Major cities are covered well, but so many exciting points of interest are over-looked that sometimes I wonder if the publishers think that most travellers are going to spend their entire trip in wine bars and discos. If you're interested in truly seeing this region and some of the fabulous, remote places that it has to offer, Lonely Planet will get you close, but other guides will actually get you there.

Lonely Planet Southern Africa
This book give a great overview of Southern Africa, history, what to see and what is a must see. Having never visited Africa, this was my book to read prior to the trip. I have watched several of the movies they suggest in the book and they are excellent. Lonely Planet rocks.

Rotten Guide
This book may have everything you need about Southern Africa... that is unless you plan to travel there. It is full of background facts and history, but of no use if you actually want a guide to attractions, accommodations or local culture.

I bought it for a trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe. Big mistake. For South Africa, it misses several of the major attractions altogether, including Seal Island and Gold Reef City. When the book does mention attractions, it rarely gives any information on how to see them. In an illustrative moment, it mentions the Sterkfontein Caves in the introductory section on Africa's ancient past--but no where in the book does it mention that they offer a museum and guided tours in South Africa an easy distance for Joberg. (The Sterkfontein Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not a minor attraction by any measure).

So that's what you can expect for the most well-traveled of the countries in this book. I won't bore you with details on the political diatribe that Lonely Planet calls its guide to Zimbabwe. It suffices to say I would not rely on it for a trip there.