Welcome to an interactive online story. You’ve been a spectator reading my travelogues, but now it’s your turn to go on your own adventure! Immerse yourself in the story and make key decisions by choosing from among several options. Your selections could make the difference between a great trip or a travel disaster! Read and make your choice, and stay tuned as your travels unfold. If you haven’t read the story from the beginning, stop reading this post! Click here to begin your journey.

You’ve decided to take a trip to South Africa, a land of African and western cultures, scenic beauty, and wild safaris. Congratulations! Now the fun begins. You have to plan your visit.

You think of all the places in South Africa where you might want to go. Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria, and Kruger National Park are the first ones to cross your mind, but there are many more you’d probably like to see if you had the time. You’re going to travel a long way to visit Africa, but you can only take a couple weeks off and have to plan your schedule carefully to make the most of your time. An Internet search of popular travel destinations reveals more potential sites, from the Drakensburg Mountains to Blyde River Canyon near Kruger. The long Garden Route that follows the Indian Ocean along the southern coast sounds gorgeous, but two weeks isn’t enough time to drive it and tour other parts of the country. You decide to focus on two locations where you’ll spend most of your vacation.

You write down your travel preferences and think about how to fit them into your itinerary. You definitely want to experience the South African culture you saw on television during the 2010 World Cup and decide to visit a city for a taste of the local culture. Which one? Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria are the most obvious choices. You jot them down.

You also want to see some of the country’s natural beauty and draw up a list of some of South Africa’s natural wonders, including Blyde River Canyon, the Drakensburgs, and the Cape of Good Hope and Table Mountain near Cape Town. Poring over a map of the country, you see them scattered in different places. You can’t visit them all; you’re going to have to narrow them down and choose. Connecting the dots, you notice that many are clustered near Cape Town and Kruger.

A safari is a must-do on your list. You enjoy watching wildlife programs on television and want to see African game animals for yourself. The thought of seeing lions, rhinos, elephants, and other wildlife is exciting. Observing animals in their natural habitat certainly beats visiting them in a zoo!

So you have to choose where you want to go. You don’t have enough time to see everything. You whittle your list down to three options:  Capetown; Johannesburg and Pretoria; and Kruger National Park. You can only visit two of them. Which ones do you choose? Choose your preferred destination.

After making your choice,  click here to continue the story.

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M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.