If you could pick

I would definitely include:
* Kruger National Park to see the Big 5 and lots of other animals
* The Panorama Route on the way to Kruger (Blyde River Canyon, God's Window, Bourke's Luck Potholes)
* Cape Town and surrounds for a cool city and nature experience (beaches, Table Mountain, culture, history, wine tasting, Cape Point, penguins on the beach etc.)

For the rest of the time I would choose some of these (more or less in this order):
* The Garden Route (the forests of Knysna and Tsitsikamma and the beaches)
* The Wild Coast (Hogsback, Coffee Bay)
* The Drakensberg (hiking, waterfalls, beautiful scenery)
* The West Coast (Langebaan, Paternoster, the West Coast National Park, Cederberg Wilderness Area)
* The beaches around Durban (not Durban itself though) for relaxing and swimming in the warm Indian Ocean

Personally I would leave out:
* Broadly speaking the northern and central parts of the country and most places along the main N1 highway
* The Karoo and drier regions
* Smaller cities and small towns that are not by or close to the sea (some exceptions of course)

For other places I think it would make a difference if I were a tourist as opposed to living here. I can imagine Johannesburg being interesting to a tourist who hasn't seen it before. Pretoria is a nicer place to live but there aren't really a lot of very interesting things to see. With the exception of Cape Town our cities are quite new so the buildings are generally not as beautiful as those in Europe with fewer things to see and lots of traffic, but again if you are a tourist it would probably be interesting to experience the atmosphere there. Our mountains, beaches and other natural scenery are really beautiful and I think I would focus on those.

I think I have posted this before in another post you wrote Laura ? Are you still deciding on where to go ? My two " must see" destinations in South Africa are:
1) Krüger National Park and surrounding Private Game Reserves (like the Sabi Sand and the Timbavati). Amazing for wildlife. Ideally self-drive for 2-4 days in Krüger and then spend 2-4 nights in a Private Game Reserve.
2) Cape Town, in my opinion one of most beautiful cities in the world. There is so much to do and see, for all ages, likes and budgets.

With 2 weeks, spending 1 week in the Greater Krüger area and 1 week in Cape Town would be my plan(including 1-2 days in Joburg and / or the Panorama Route, and 1-2 days in the winelands, or in Hermanus).
With 3 weeks, plenty of possibilities for the third week. In 6 trips to South Africa, I havent been to a single place I didnt enjoy.

So after a few years break I'd love a couple of days in Cape Town again, but for me it's Kruger-area all the way. Kruger, Thornybush and Sabi Sands.

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