SOUTH AFRICA - Fact file
MAP II PARKS II ITINERARIES
The word South Africa has derived from the name given by the British to the Cape Colony.
If you are looking for a vacation, with a wildlife safari as a sweetener (or even main course), you need to visit South Africa. It's infrastructure matches the best in the world. Armed with an international driving license you can go everywhere by yourself. Roads are excellent, and the scenic drive along the Garden Route will take your breath away. Cape Town, in the back drop of Table Mountain, is arguably the world's most picturesque city. While bigger cities like Joburg, Pretoria, Durban and Port Elizabeth offer all the amenities to the international traveler, smaller towns like Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Oudtshoorn, Hermanus and Gaansbai are a magnet for outdoor sport and water based wildlife viewing.
South Africa's wildlife is spread across several parks. Budget accommodation in parks is of a dependable standard, while there are many levels of luxury, and in between the two extremes. Kruger is it's biggest park, and one of the best managed parks in the world.
SA is Africa's capital for adventure sports and visitors can be spoilt for choice. Apart from wildlife game drives we offer birding tours, whale viewing, shark cage driving, paragliding, bungee, skydiving, hot air balloon, microlight flying, zipline, canoeing, kayaking, diving, fishing, hiking, kloofing, mountain biking, rock climbing, surfing and ostrich riding!
If you're short of time and wish to overdose on outdoor sport and fit in a wildlife safari, Sun City with Pilanesberg is a great weekend option.
FACT FILE :
Formation: 31 May 1961
Head of State: President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa
Major political parties: ANC, IFP, ACDP, AIC, APC, COPE, DA, EFF, FF+, NFP, PAC, UCDP, UDM
Area / Population: 1,219,090 sq km / 56.5 million (2020 est)
GDP (USD) - PPP: 767.2 billion / 1.3% (2017 est)
Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)
Capital: Cape Town (Legislative), Pretoria (Executive), Bloemfontein (Judicial)
Other major cities: Johannesburg, Durban, Soweto, Port Elizabeth, Tembisa, Pietermaritzburg and others
Major wildlife parks: Kruger, Madikwe, Pilanesberg, Kgalagadi, Addo, Augrabies, Table Mountain, Mountain Zebra, Agulhas and many others
Highest point: Njesuthi 3,408m
Natural resoures: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gems, diamonds,platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Major exports: Gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
Bordering countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini
Official languages: IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, IsiNdebele, Tshivenda, IsiSwati Others, Khoi, San, Nama
Religion: Christianity 86%, African religions 5.4%, Islam 1.9%, others
Literacy: 87%
Climate: Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast, sunny days, cool nights
Telephone code: +27
Time: UTC +2
National Flag: No universal symbolism is attached to any of the colours. The only symbolism in the flag is the V or Y shape, which can be interpreted as "the convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity.