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Route - South Africa
| Highlights |
| Cape Town - Lying at the foot of Table Mountain; which is actually not a mountain as it is not high enough; the city is by the sea. A cable car ride to the top of the mountain can show the highlights of the city to its best. |
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| The Garden Route - The route along the south coast, the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe train runs the route from George to Knsyna. |
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| Useful Information |
| Visa - A 90 day stay is issued free on arrival. |
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| Vaccinations - Yellow fever, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Malaria, Polio |
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| Driving Regulations - International driving permit and a temporary local driving licence. |
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| Embassies - 15 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DD (020) 7925 8900 or 15th Flr, Southern Life Centre, 8 Riebeech Street, Cape Town (21) 405 2400 |
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| Country Code - 27 |
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| Introduction |
| South Africa lies at the southernmost part of the African continent and has long been seen as the gateway to the whole African Continent and has been a stop over port for hundreds of years. It is bordered to the north by Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the northeast by Mozambique and to the northwest by Namibia. On the east coastline lays the Indian Ocean with warm waters and the Atlantic Ocean on the western side with cold water, this is means the beautiful beaches around Cape Town are actual not that warm to go swimming in. South Africa also completely surrounds Lesotho. |
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| In South Africa summer runs from November to March, while winter is from April July, during the other months the temperature increases and the rain becomes less and less. Snow can fall during the winter months in the high lands of South Africa and Lesotho. Due to South Africa being mainly surround by the sea, the climate and temperatures will vary massively from coast to coast and in the centre of the country, the temperatures will also vary during the day from 30+ to below minus at night. Around the Cape winds can pick up to gale force which is often referred to as the "Cape Doctor". |
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| People |
| Southern is a real melting pot of culture and diversity, which has seen many hard times due to the ethnic differences the country has. The country's black majority still has a substantial number of rural inhabitants who lead largely impoverished and necessarily simple lives. They are normally found in Townships, which are vast areas of land oacked full of home that are made from any material that the owners can find. Most do now have power and running water but the conditons are still 3rd world. Blacks are increasingly urbanised and westernised, and usually speak English or Afrikaans in addition to their native tongue, which may be one of nine Bantu languages with official status since 1994. These include the Nguni languages, Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Swazi, and Tsonga, and the Sotho languages, which include Tswana, Sotho, Northern Sotho and Venda. Cultural differences between speakers from the two language groups are comparable to those differences between speakers of German and Italian. |
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| Food |
| The braai or barbecue is widely popular and includes meat, especially boerewors or spicy sausages. Mielies (maize) or Mielie-meal, often served as a porridge is a part of staple diet of many black South Africans. Pastries such like koeksusters and desserts like melktert (milk tart) are also universally popular. Another favourite among most South Africans is biltong, a form of dried meat usually made from beef or game. |
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| Indian food like curry is also popular, especially in Durban with its large Indian population. Another local Indian Durban speciality is the 'bunny' or bunny chow, which consists of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry. Cape Malay dishes, which have their origins in Southeast Asia, include bobotie made from curried lamb, fruit and bread, served with rice, and sosatie, a type of barbecued meat. More recently, Pakistani and Indian restaurants have been opened in major cities by recent immigrants, and provide a more "authentic" South Asian dining experience. |
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| The Portuguese community has also made its mark, with spicy peri-peri chicken being a favourite. The South African Portuguese-themed restaurant chain Nando's now has restaurants in the UK, Australia, Malaysia and Kenya. |
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