Introducing South Africa
Every country in the world displays some diversity, but South Africa, stretching from the hippos in the Limpopo River to the penguins waddling on the Cape, takes some beating. It befits its position at the southern end of the world’s most epic continent, with more types of terrain than photographers can shake their zoom lens at. There’s the deserted Kalahari, Namakwa’s springtime symphony of wildflowers, iconic Table Mountain and Cape Point, Kruger National Park’s wildlife-stalked savannah (scene of the famous lion-buffalo-crocodile battle watched more than 40 million times on YouTube) and, running through the east of the country and into Lesotho, the Drakensberg. KwaZulu-Natal’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park alone has five distinct ecosystems, attracting both zebras and dolphins.
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If you’re interested in another kind of wildlife, hit the nightclubs on Cape Town’s jumping Long St or sample African homebrew in a township shebeen (unlicensed bar). When it’s time to reflect on it all, do it over seafood on the Garden Route, curry in Durban’s Indian Area, a sizzling Cape Malay dish, or a braai (barbecue) in the wilderness – accompanied by a bottle of pinotage produced by the oldest wine industry outside Europe.
Of course, it's impossible for travellers to South Africa to remain oblivious to the fact that, despite the rise of ‘black diamonds’ (middle-class black folk), racial inequality persists here. Black and coloured townships face problems such as a horrific HIV/AIDS rate and xenophobic tensions caused by economic refugees from nearby countries.
Nonetheless, South Africans are some of the most upbeat, welcoming and humorous folk you’ll encounter anywhere, from farmers in the rural north who tell you to drive safely on those dirt roads, to Khayelitsha kids who wish you molo (‘good morning’ in Xhosa).
Ready to go?
These tours & activities make it easy:
- Go on a classic overland journey through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana
- Answer the call of the Kruger, South Africa's vast game park
- Discover Africa's heart on the trip of a lifetime from Cape Town to Nairobi
- Snorkel with great white sharks
Last updated: Jan 17, 2013
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Our Top Picks For South Africa
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1 Kruger National Park
Savour creation's primeval majesty in this world-renowned safari destination
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2 Drakensberg
Hike amid the magnificent peaks and plunging valleys of this breathtaking escarpment
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3 Southern Coast
Explore South Africa's coastline, from Hermanus with its whales to the rivers and ravines of Tsitsikamma National Park
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4 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
Visit this stomping ground for the Big Five plus other wildlife galore
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5 Cape Town
Savour the cosmopolitan chic of one of the world's most beautiful cities and get pelted with spray at Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
Fast Facts about South Africa
- Borders
- Population
49 million
- Hello
- Sawubona (Zulu)
- Molo (Xhosa)
- Hallo (Afrikaans)
- Thobela (Northern Sotho)
- Dumela (Tswana)
- Telephone
Country code 27; international access 09
- What's the rand worth
- Official languages
11 (English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Sepedi, Sotho, Tshivenda, Tswana, Swati and Xitsonga)
- Capital
Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)
- Elephants in Kruger National Park
around 13,000