South Africa Safaris

THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

South Africa comprises of a territory that ranges from the fertile rolling plains of the highveld and the Eastern Transvaal with wide open savanna, to the desert and the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains. The country is found in the southern part of the African continent and is bordered by wp and Botswana in the north, Swaziland and Mozambique in the northeast and Namibia in the northwest. East the country lies the coastline of the Indian Ocean, in the South is the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and Atlantic Ocean on the western side.
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The country is geographically composed of three primary regions including the escarpment of mountain ranges,the central plateau and a narrow strip of low-lying land along the coast. The country possesses two of the world’s most renowned wildlife reserves, the Kruger and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks and there are over a dozen smaller regional parks and reserves.

PRACTICAL DETAILS:

Currency: South African Rand (R) divided into 100 Cents.
Time: GMT +2
Major Airport: Johannesburg International Airport (There are 728 Airports in South Africa)
Ports and Harbours: These are in Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay.
Electricity: 220/230V ,50Hz
Main Health risk: Malaria
International telephone country code: 027

GEOGRAPHY:

Capital: Pretoria
Rainfall: Mean annual rainfall is 18.6 inches in the summer months from September to March .
Temperarture: Mean annual temperature is just below 15.6°C (60°F), with plenty of sunshine throughout the year.
Land Area:1,219,912 SQ KM (471,447 Sq Mi)
Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa (22° – 34° south, 16° – 32° east)
Altitude: From 900 m/3,000 ft and 1,800 m/6,000 ft.above sea level; highest point is the Drakensberg Mountains, the tallest of which is Mont-aux-Sources at 3,300m (10,823 ft).
Vegetation:Ranges from arid shrubland and semi desert, through savanna and woodland to coastal forest and alpine forest. There are 68 vegetation types classified into 7 biomes.
Natural Resourses: Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds
Land use:Arable land: 12.08% permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.13%
Major National Parks: Kruger and Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks
Main Exports: Coal, Diamonds, Food, Gold Coins, Gold, Iron and Steel, Metal Ores

HUMAN STATISTICS:

Language:11 official languages:Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga
Population:Approximately 44,344,136 million;
Density: 36 per sq. km
Life expectancy: Men 47.64, Women 48.56 years
Religion: Christians-68%, Bantu Churches-22%. Hindus-1%, Muslims-1% and Jews-1%.
Income per capita: $ 11,100
Education: Primary, high school,colleges, technical/vocational, higher/university

ADMINISTRATION/POLITICS:

President: Thabo Mbeki
Deputy President: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
National Flag: Red for bloodshed, Blue of open blue skies, Green for the land, Black for the black people, White for the European people Yellow for the natural resources.
Government: Multiparty Republic
Administrative divisions:nine provinces and 367 magisterial districts.

WHEN TO VISIT:

SouthAfrica can be visited at any time of the year.

GETTING THERE AND AWAY:

South africa has 728 Airports and 146 are paved.Johanneburg International Airport is the major airport in South Africa and is the hub for 45 airlines from all five continents.

Direct flights between the USA and Johannesburg or Cape Town are about 15 hours, and flights between London and Johannesburg take about 12 hours. Flights from Europe are generally overnight

SOUTH AFRICAN VISA AND PASSPORT GUIDELINES

All visitors to South Africa must be in possession of a valid passport for at least six months after the date of travel, in order to enter the country, and in some cases, a visa.

Visitors from British Commonwealth countries and holders of Irish, Japanese, Swiss Scandinavia, Japan, the USA and German passports can aquire Entry permits on arrival at the Airport. Travellers from these regions do not need to formally apply for a visa.

Passengers travelling to South Africa with passports which do not comply with requirements, will be stopped from boarding the aircraft or risk deportation upon arrival in South Africa. For the majority of foreign nationals who travel to South Africa for vacation, entry is straightforward and hassle-free.

However, it is advisable to check with your nearest South African Embassy/Consular before you travel.

AIR TICKETS:

South Africa has several Tour and travel companies/Tourist offices which offer Airline tickets and also offer other services.

GETTING AROUND

Flights to South Africa include several International and Domestic airlines like KLM, British Airways, South African Express Airways, Nation wide Airlines. Flights travel from all over the world to South Africa and there are several flights from Johannesburg to oTher African countries, as well as around SouthAfrica.

The Bus service is also efficient with The Baz Bus, a convenient hop-on hop-off door-to-door backpacker bus, Greyhound Coach Lines TransLux buses Elwierda (Stellenbosch) (Pty) Ltd which operates several Buses and the Intercape Mainliner

The railway system is South Africa is well established and mostly privately run. All the major towns are connected. SpoorNet (National Train Service) is famous for its sheer luxury, Southern Africa by Rail and the Rovos Rail offers luxury rail safaris.

SOUTH AFRICA HOTELS

South Africa has several accommodation facilties ranging from 5 star hotels, lodges, tented camps, camping sites, cottages, inns, and country houses.Major hotels include Devonshire hotel, Westerncape hotel and spa, Michelangelo on Sandton Square, The West Cliff, Sandton Sun & Towers Inter-Continental, The Plettenberg Hotel, Lodges like Amakhosi lodge, Etali game lodge, Elangeni lodge, Bushman river lodge and other accommodation facilities. South Africa Hotels Directory

ATTRACTIONS

South Africa is a country with several attractions and unique features.These include the The Drakensberg mountains which offer adventure, Kruger national park which is the greatest of South Africa’s many national parks, Robben island where Nelson Mandela and his comrades were imprisoned. Soweto the largest of South Africa’s ‘townships’ during Apartheid, Table mountain for south africa’s most breathtaking views. The Gold in the the anglo boer war and the industry – which claims the deepest underground mines in the world, The Garden route which includes a 600-kilometre stretch of small towns, farms, sea villages and wineries. Cradle of humankind which was declared a world heritage site, where the skull of mrs ples, a three-million year-old hominid was found.the Beaches which include more than 3 000km of coastline and the Namaqualand daisies with fields of daisies in natural colour. These offer an adventurous experience.

MONEY

Travellers cheques, Credit and charge cards including American Express, Standard Bank Card, Bank of America, Diners, MasterCard, and Visa are widely accepted in facilities

Autobanks are found in most towns and operate on a 24-hour basis and Some ATM’s give cash advances.There is howerver a surcharge for using credit cards and cashing travellers checques. Banks are open Mon-Fri 0900-1530 and Sat 0900-1100.