 Filming began in February 2011 , and concluded in the late summer ( from the Northern Hemisphere 's perspective ) . Filming largely took place in South Africa , particularly in Cape Town , but also in Durban and Springbok , Northern Cape . Outside South Africa the series was also filmed in Budapest , Hungary , and the UK . Among the separate locations the series takes place in , the New Delhi hotel in the first two episodes were shot in Cape Town , and the suburbs of Hout Bay doubled as Mozambique . Throughout the shoot the actors were allowed to perform the majority of their own stunts . Military advisors were on hand to teach the actors how to perform certain stunts , and to tell them what they did wrong during the take . The series includes a number of sex scenes , many of which were performed by Stapleton . In an interview with the British newspaper Metro , the actor stated " I 've done my fair share of nude scenes in the past but not as much as this – not as risqué , anyway , " adding that while he got used to it , he was always " a bit nervous running around in front of 50 people with no clothes on . The sex scenes were usually with an actress I 'd just met , so it 's like : ' How 's it going ? I 'm Sullivan and this is me nude . ' It 's nerve @-@ racking at first but you have as much fun as you can with it . " 
