In the far northwestern corner of South Africa lies the Richtersveld, recently inscribed towards the end of 2007 as South Africa' 8th World Heritage Site. At first glance, it is a desolate and inhospitable place, with hot sandy plains and startling, jagged mountains of black rock. It is the world' only biodiversity hotspot located in an arid region, where thousands of plant species, many of which are endemic to the area. It is also the home to the last remaining groups of Nama (Khoikhoi) people who still practise their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, living in portable reed huts and moving with their flocks of sheep and goats. The Richtersveld travel guide contains all the information you need to explore this stunning region. It covers the geological, botanical and cultural history of the area, and it contains full details of where to stay and what to do. The guide includes the Richtersveld Community Conservancy, the Richtersveld National Park, the nearby towns of Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth, and crosses the border into Namibia, where the Richtersveld is joined with the Ai-Ais hot springs and the Fish River Canyon (second largest in the world) in a spectacular Transfrontier Conservation Area. The Richtersveld is also part of the greater Namaqualand region, which runs south from the Orange River for several hundred kilometers. This beguiling part of the world has won international renown for its annual spring-flower spectacle, when millions of flowers burst forth to mount a staggering display that attracts visitors from all over the world.

Back roads is not a travel guide with lists of hotels and restaurants. Instead, the pages are taken up with historical narratives, personal recollections, reflections on politics, environmental debates, social observation and some practical travel information. The rest is left up to the traveller to organise. Resources for further information are listed in the back of the title. The title is also an attempt to modernise the rather old-fashioned genre of travel writing with an idiosyncratic writing style and a sense of humour. It also aims to share a flavour of the travel experience with the reader and, hopefully, show them a little of the adventure that lies in wait outside the living room.

Let Southbound take you to the Vredefort Dome and back in time to where it all started-The Big Bang! To how our world began, and then, when it was all perfectly formed around two billion years ago- Wham! Another big bang-this time an uninvited intruder from outer space in the form of a whopping 190-kilometre-diameter meteorite that smashed into Earth near today's little town of Vredefort in central South Africa. * The Vredefort Dome, South Africa's seventh and least-known World Heritage Site, is the site of the largest and oldest meteorite impact structure on Earth ? Deep Impact: the formation of the dome and how the ground was turned literally inside out in a matter of minutes ? Described by UNESCO as "the world's greatest known single energy release event"* With consequences of global destruction, burying of the Witwatersrand goldfields and, perhaps, evolutionary change* Accommodation and activities: comprehensive listings of tourist facilities and routes in and around the picturesque town of Parys at the centre of the Dome region