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wildlifephotos of South Africa
Geography:
South Africa is situated at the southern most part of the African continent.
Its total land area is 1, 228, 376 square kilometers (larger than the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Germany combined).
SA borders Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe in the north, and Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland in the northeast.
South Africa is surrounded by the Indian and Atlantic oceans to the west, east and south of the country, with a coastline of 3000 km. running from the border with Mozambique to the oranjeriver in the west.
South Africa is divided into nine provinces, each with their own distinctive landscapes, vegetation and climate.
The provinces are: Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Free State, North-West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Limpopo province.
Population and language:
South Africa has a total population of 44.8 million, about 79% of African origin, 10,9% Whites , 8,9% Coloureds and 2,6% Indians.
The population consists of a few remainders of the San, Nguni people (Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele), Sotho-Tswana people, Tsonga, Venda, Afrikaners, English and Chinese people.
There are 11 national languages in South Africa, the majority speaks English and Afrikaans.
Climate:
The summer in South Africa is in December and January, the winter in June and July. The climate changes from a chaparral climate on the Cape peninsula to subtropic on the Natal coast and the northern part of the Transvaal.
On the higher plateaus there is a mild climate, and in the mountains occasional snow occurs.
Keep in mind that this is a very big country with a big difference in weather between coast and inland, and a few degrees difference in temperature between north and south.
From June to August the wildlife is best visible due to the drought.
Av. temp. summer: 28 dgr.
Av. temp. winter: 18 dgr.
Rainseason: November till February
Self arranged or organised ??
As we don"t like organised travels which are usually more expensive, we arranged everything ourselves every time.
On the internet everything is easy to arrange in advance, from plane-tickets and car rental to accomodation and visits to the game reserves.
It is however useful to make good use of the experiences of people who visited South Africa, with accomodation, routes and things you must have seen.
For example in the Kruger Park it is nice to know where you can find the most game and what kind of accomodation the different camps have to offer.
We are always willing to help out with hints and advise ...( see contact )
Accomodation :
In South Africa there are many good hotels, guesthouses and B&b's, on the links page you will find some we can recommend.
The hotels are rated by the SATOUR-system with a number of stars, a 1 star hotel is good but simple and a 5 star hotel very luxurious.
Game lodges and rest camps in national parks and gamereservesare often rondavels, round huts with a thatched roof similar to the xhosa huts.
It is not hard to find accomodation while you are there, but for people that want to be sure everything can be booked ( on the internet ) in advance.
Transport :
South Africa has a very good roadnetwork, on some of the bigger motorways you will have to pay toll. Traffic in South Africa drives on the left side.
The big car rentalcompanies have agents on the airports and the major cities, by internet you can book your car in advance.
Besides normal cars there are also 4x4's, motorhomes, and campers you can rent.
South Africa also has a network of busses connecting all major cities, like the greyhound/ cityliner.
The railnetwork spans the whole of this country, with the long distance trains it's possible to visit all the major cities.
Safety:
First of all forget all the ghost-stories that are being told about this country, we have never experienced extraordinary crime.
Of course you must think about what you do, just as at home and there are places you have no use of being as a tourist( like the townships )
In big cities like Jo'burg or Pretoria it is good advise to keep your cardoors locked, and if you are the only tourist for miles around you better think if it is wise to leave your car.
Besides this precoutions South Africa is a very save country to travel around, and most of all very beautiful!
Money :
The national currency is the rand.
Almost everywhere ATM's are available, and creditcards are widely accepted.
So there is no use to travel with large amounts of cash or change money at the airport.
Health :
In some regions there is a malaria risk, so it is wise to take medication with you.
(for example lariam or malarone)
Insect repellents with DEET are very useful to prevent mosquitobites.
No vaccinations are needed to travel South Africa