Essentials
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Flora and Fauna
South Africa is home to an astonishing variety of flora and fauna. Indigenous plant life includes some 23,000 species of flowering plants (including 728 species of trees) and some 900…
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Art and Culture
From theatre to dance, opera to cabaret, fine art to craft art, classical music to jazz, poetry readings to lectures, every art form is represented all over South Africa. The…
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Economy
Since the landing of Jan van Riebeeck at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, the economy in South Africa has progressed rapidly. The South Africa of today is a…
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Government
The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and…
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Religion
South Africa caters for most religious dominations. Places of worship that include churches of every denomination, temples, synagogues and mosques are easily accessible in most towns and cities. Serviced are…
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The people
The South African nation is made up of people whose ancestors have lived here for thousands of years as well as of people whose ancestors travelled from the other side…
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National Anthem of South Africa
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg. It was one of many songs he composed, and he was…
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Languages
Languages of South Africa South Africa has 11 official languages but English is spoken well by almost all South Africans and visitors will always be able to have their needs…
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Getting to South Africa
Air Transport South Africa has three international airports: Johannesburg International Airport, Durban International Airport and Cape Town International Airport. Of these three, Johannesburg is the largest and most popular. All…
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Getting around
Buses South Africa’s three established intercity bus companies are Greyhound (083 915 9000,www.greyhound.co.za), Intercape (086 128 7287, www.intercape.co.za) and Translux (086 158 9282, www.translux.co.za); Baz Bus (021 21 422 5202, www.bazbus.com) operates an extremely useful hop-on/hop-off system…