An Overview of South Africa
South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of Africa and is a vast and incredibly varied country. It is famous for its wines and is the world's largest producer of gold and platinum.
To describe South Africa in just a few words is impossible. Each region has its own flavour and its distinct landscape and climate.
The most popular areas with tourists are Cape Town, famous for Table Mountain and the surrounding Cape Winelands; The Garden Route which winds along the southern coast through fashionable resorts and tiny seaside towns; Kruger National Park or one of the smaller parks, for watching wildlife andDurban with its busy Indian markets and incomparable beaches.
General Information about South Africa
Capital: Tshwane (pretoria). Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital
Official language: 11 official languages, English is the most widely spoken.
Population: 44 million
Currency: Rand (ZAR)
Calling code: +27
Climate
South Africa has a hugely varied climate, from the arid desert areas of the interior, to the lush tropical Eastern coastline and the Mediterranean like southern coast.
Surprisingly perhaps in the Drakensberg mountains in the east skiing is possible in Winter while temperatures can drop as low as -15C in the western Roggeveld Mountains.
To the north and east of Johannesburg are the main bush areas, very popular with tourists and very hot throughout the year.
Religion
A majority of South Africans are Christian, with many denominations represented. The remainder are mainly Muslim, Hindu or adhere to indigenous beliefs.
Crime & Safety
Without wishing to seem alarmist, it is important to realise that although South Africa has changes radically in the days since the ending of Apartheid, crime is still a major problem.
This has had a significant effect on how people live, with the wealthy mainly living in gated communities in the suburbs. There are high rates of murder, rape, robbery and car hijacking by international standards.
However all of this should be taken in context and most of the crime that takes place in South Africa is between people who know each other, not in attacks on strangers.
Tourists can safely visit most parts of the country provided basic common-sense precautions are followed.Try not too look too like a tourist, for example, carrying expensive camera equipment in obviously questionable places, or wearing valuable jewellery in public.
Many cities run crime prevention programmes and make leaflets with relevant local information available through hotels and tourism information offices