LOCATION: at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho.

CAPITALS: Pretoria (Administrative Capital), Cape Town (Legislative capital) and Bloemfontein (Non-constitutional supreme court of appeal capital).

GOVERNMENT: RepublicAREA: 1,219,912 km2POPULATION: 43,786,115

GEOGRAPHY

South Africa is divided into nine provinces:

Eastern CapeFree StateGautengKwa-Zulu-NatalLimpopoMpumalangaNorth WestNorthern CapeWestern Cape

Cape of Good Hope

The Western Cape The Garden Route, Swartberg and Cederberg mountain ranges and The cape of Good Hope.

POPULAR DESTINATIONS

The Eastern Cape Sea-side, theTsitsikamma forest and the Great Karoo.

The Northern Cape Orange River, The Diamond capitol .

Kwa-zulu Natal The Drakensberg Mountain Range and the hilly coastline.

The Free State Orange River in the south and Vaal River in the north.

Gauteng Johannesbourgh.

Limpopo Limpopo River and Mapungubwe.

Mpumalanga The northern Drakensberg Escarpment, the subtropical Lowveld/Bushveld and the southern half of the Kruger National Park .The North West The Kalahari desert and the Magaliesberg mountain range.

CLIMATE The Karoo (semi-desert region), which occupies a large part of the western The Karoo (semi-desert region), which occupies a large part of the western Central Plateau, can be extremely hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. In Central Plateau, can be extremely hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. In contrast, the eastern coastline is lush and well watered. contrast, the eastern coastline is lush and well watered.

The Cape of Good Hope has a The Cape of Good Hope has a Mediterranean climate, with Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and hot, dry wet winters and hot, dry summers. summers.

The southern The southern coast, part of coast, part of which is which is known as the known as the Garden Route, Garden Route, is temperate is temperate and green.and green.

HISTORYThe tip of Africa has been home to the Koi and San people for

thousands of years. Their rock art can still be found in many places throughout South Africa. Bantu tribes started expanding into Southern Africa around 2500 years ago and by around 500 AD the different cultural groups as we know them today had been established in the area. Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902).

FLORA

WHAT TO EATTYPICAL FOOD• Braaivleis, meat roasted over wood; is very popular and generally done at weekend

social events. The act of roasting the meat as well as the social event is referred to as a braai.

• Pap, a porridge made with corn meal. Slappap (runny porridge), is smooth and often eaten as a breakfast porridge, Stywepap (stiff porridge) has a doughy consistency and is often used as a replacement for rice or other starches. Krummelpap (crumby porridge) is drier, resembles couscous and is often served at a braai covered in a saucy tomato relish.

• Potjiekos, a meat and vegetable stew make in a cast iron pot over an open fire.• Boerewors, a spicy sausage. • Biltong and Droëwors, seasoned meat or sausage that has been dried. A favourite at

sports events. • Bunny chows, half a loaf of bread with the inside replaced by lamb or beef curry.

Typical at KwaZulu Natal. • Bobotie, meatloaf with a Cape Malay influence, seasoned with curry and spices,

topped with savoury custard. FAST FOOD

Fortunately for people who don’t like “strange” food there is a large array of international fast food outlets, such as, KFC, McDonalds and Wimpi.

LANGUAGESLIST OF THE MOST POPULAR WORDS • Eish! – hey! • lekker - Enjoyable • howzit - How is it?• yebo - Yes • boet, bru, china or ou - Brother or

man (equivalent to dude or bro) • koppie - A small hill (can also mean a

cup) • robot - Traffic light • tannie - Respectful term for an older

woman • tinkle - phone call • now now - sooner than just now!

(from Afrikaans "nou-nou", pronounced no-no)

• braai - barbecue. • cheers - we use this for saying good-

bye, as well as saying thank you and for the occasional toast.

• heita - Hello • sharp - (usually pronounced quickly)

OK • sure-sure more pronounced like sho-

sho - Correct, Agreement, Thank you

OFICIAL LANGUAGESisiZulu (23.8%) isiXhosa (17.6%) Afrikaans (13.3%) SepedI (13.3%) English (8,2%)Setswana (8.2%) Sesotho (7.9%) Xitsonga (4.4%)

OTHER OFICIAL LANGUAGES (7,2%)isiNdebele siSwati Tshivenda

RELIGIONS & INDIGENOUS BELIEFS

Christian (68%) Muslim (2%) Hindu (1.5%)Indigenous beliefs and animist (28.5%)

Zulu: Belief in communalism expressed in the Zulu dictum "umuntu, ngumuntu, ngabantu"; belief in competition; belief in strength and power associated with animals; reverence of the fire-place as a resource for food and warmth; and belief in dreams for communicating with ancestors.

MUSICSouth Africa has a lot of music, some imported from Dutch

and English settlers and others that have been part of South Africa since the beginning of its prehistoric inhabitants. Between all of this sort of music we choose two of them, one from the Zulu society and another from the influence from The United States of the 90s decade mixed up with their traditional heritage sounds:

Isicathamiya: It’s a popular urban vocal music genre of Zulus who constitute the majority of about a dozen ethnic groups of people in South Africa. Scholars like Erlmann, Ndlovu and Xulu, have, from their field studies and writings, classes to learn it.

Marabi: Firstly, it was played on pianos with accompaniment from pebble-filled cans. By the 1930s, however, marabi had incorporated new instruments, such as, guitars, concertinas and banjos, and new styles of marabi had sprung up.

FESTIVALSThe most interesting festivals in South Africa, that you must not forget to have are:

Ficksburg Cherry Festival: One of the oldest festivals in South Africa - first held in 1969 - the Ficksburg Cherry Festival now attracts around 20 000 visitors to this small eastern Free State town every November. The scenery is magnificent, and the festival offers cherry and asparagus tastings, tours, picnics, music, and the Miss Cherry Blossom and Miss Cherry Pip competitions.

The Hermanus Whale Festival: Every year, southern right whales travel thousands of miles to the Cape south coast to mate and calve in the bays. Join the villagers of Hermanus for an entertainment-packed festival, in the town with the best land-based whale watching in the world.

The Lambert's Bay Kreeffees: Kreef is Afrikaans for crayfish, and a fees can be both festival and feast. At the Kreeffees, held every March in the West Coast town of Lambert's Bay, you'll feast on fresh crayfish and get festive at rock concerts by some of South Africa's favourite musicians. There's also bungee jumping, aerial displays, a half-marathon, beer tents and more.

The Prickly Pear Festival: Held in late February or early March every at Cuyler Hofstede farm near Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape's Nelson Mandela Bay. It's a day of traditional food such as ginger beer, pancakes, potjiekos, home-made jam, a spit braai and fish braai, bunnychow and home-made pudding.

Oppikoppi Bushveld Festival: Held on the bushveld farm of Oppikoppi ("op die koppie" in Afrikaans, or "on the hill"), this festival offers three permanent thatched stages, a smaller comedy stage and a stage for more chilled music at the top of the koppie.

SPORTSSoccer: It’s the most popular sport among black South African men, with the

national team being nicknamed Bafana Bafana (meaning 'The Boys'). South Africa will be hosting the 2010 World Cup Tournament, the first soccer World Cup to be held in Africa.

Rugby union: It is one of the most popular sports in South Africa, which is especially popular among Afrikaners, the Springboks (or “boks”). The Springboks famously hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, it was their first appearance at the World Cup. The domestic league, the Currie Cup is also played annually, as well as the international Super 14.

Cricket: It’s traditionally popular among English-speaking whites. It is the second most popular sport and is the only sport in South Africa to feature in the top two sports of all race groups.

Jukskei: It’s a 200 year old folk sport. Jukskei is played at club and provincial level, and there is an annual tournament in Kroonstad in the Free State. The object of the game is to knock over a peg that is planted in the sand over a distance of between 11 and 16 m. It is played in teams with usually four members each. Each member has two skeis (two turns). Each time a team member knocks over the peg, he gets three points. The first team to get exactly 23 points first wins the game.

Local industries in all sectors are thriving, and the country produces an array of unique artefacts, textiles, jewellery, leather goods and crafts. Stock up on delicious local beverages, cheeses, dried fruits, sweetmeats and honey, which comes infused with delicate fragrances from orange blossom to eucalyptus.

There is no shortage of covetable goods to take home as a reminder of an unforgettable holiday. Local craftspeople are frequently

in attendance in craft markets where you can spend hours choosing rotund polished hippos, intricate beadwork, stately wooden giraffes and a plethora of other sculpted objets d’art made from colourful beads, gemstones, wood, leather, grasses, fabric and metal.