SOUTH AFRICA

Flag: The yellow, black and

green are taken from the
African National Congress
(ANC) flag. Black symbolizes the people, green the fertility of the land, and
gold the mineral wealth beneath the soil. Those colors were adopted by the
ANC in 1925.

 Official Name: Republic of South Africa

 Short form: South Africa
 Former: Union of South Africa.

Form of Government: South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier

system of government, an independent judiciary, and a Constitution - the highest
law of the land - recognized as one of the most progressive in the world.

The Constitution mandates that each of the three tiers of government - national,
provincial and local - is "distinctive", with a legislative and executive authority of its
own.

They are nonetheless "interdependent and interrelated". The key is "cooperative

governance" - the title of Chapter 3 of the Constitution.

Capital: Unlike most other countries around the world, South Africa has not one but
three capital cities. More precisely, the government branches are divided among three
major South African cities: Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein.

This concept dates back to the creation of the Union of South Africa, where
conflicting views on which city should hold the capital led to this compromise. Much
like the very idea of the balance of powers, leaders of early South Africa decided that
having all government centralized in one place could give that place too much power,
so it divided the branches among three provinces.

Pretoria, located in the Gauteng Province, is the administrative capital and the seat of
the President of the Cabinet, that is the executive branch. Pretoria is often considered
the de facto national capital, and was the capital of Apartheid South Africa. This city
is the headquarters for many government departments, as well as foreign embassies.

The city's name has been the source of controversy for several years, and may soon be
changed back to the indigenous name Tshwane. Pretoria is located about 55
kilometers (34 miles) from Johannesburg in the northeast of the nation.

Cape Town, South Africa is the legislative capital, and the seat of the nation's
Parliament. South Africa's parliament consists of the National Assembly and the
National Council of Provinces. After Johannesbug, Cape Town is the second largest
city by population in South Africa.

Finally, Bloemfontein serves as the judicial capital, as the seat of the Supreme Court
of Appeal. Bloemfontein is also the capital of its province, the Free State, and is
centrally located within South Africa.

Area/Territory: 1.2 million km2 (470,462 sq.mi)

Terrain: Plateau, savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains.

Boarders/Boundaries: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swailand

and Zimbabwe

Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)

Official Language (11)

-Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana, Swazi, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikans,
English, Isindebele,Isixhosa, Isizulu

Religion: Predominantly Christian, traditional African believes, Hindu, Muslim

and Jewish

Nationality: South African(s)

Top 3 Industries:
 South Africa's tourism industry.
 Mining and minerals in South Africa.
 ICT (Information and Computer Technology) and electronics in South Africa.

Culture and People: Sotho culture in South Africa and Lesotho. The Sotho
groups of the South Sotho, Pedi and Tswana have some major cultural
differences from the Nguni group (Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi), especially
with respect to how they organise their villages and their marriages.

How to get there: OR Tambo International Airport (formerly Johannesburg

International) is the major gateway, offering both domestic, African regional and
international connections. There are also an increasing number of international
flights direct to and from Cape Town, and a few direct to and from Durban.

Altogether there are more than 30 airports in SA, ranging from smaller airports for
cross-border flights to and from neighbouring countries to larger airports for flights
to and from other African airports.

WEATHER PATTERNS: South Africa is a subtropical region, moderated by ocean

on two sides of the triangle-shaped country and the altitude of the interior
plateau. These account for the warm, temperate conditions so typical of South
Africa – and so popular with its foreign visitors.
The country is bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by the
Indian Ocean; their waters meet at Cape Agulhas, at the southernmost tip of the
continent.

GETTING AROUND: Shared MiniBus Taxi, Private Taxi,

TOURIST ARRIVALS

TOURISM REVENUES:

5 MAJOR DESTINATION
 Cape Town
 Johanannesburg
 KwaZulu Natal
 Durban
 Knysna

5 attractions in Cape Town

-Table Mountain: Situated at the southwestern tip of Africa, the Table Mountain
National Park (TMNP), part of the Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site,
encompasses the incredibly scenic Peninsula mountain chain stretching from Signal
Hill in the north to Cape Point in the south - a distance of approximately 60 km.

-V&A Waterfront: It provides visitors with a vibrant and ever-changing backdrop

of ferries, fishing vessels, charter boats and marine life. The harbour, originating
from 1860, today caters for a wide range of vessels from working boats to yachts
and provides berthing to passenger boats, super yachts and a multitude of
upmarket cruise liners

-Castle of Good Hope: Built between 1666 and 1679, this pentagonal fortification
replaced a small clay and timber fort built by Commander Jan van Riebeeck in 1652
upon establishing a maritime replenishment station at the Cape of Good Hope (Cape
Town) for the Dutch East India Company, better known as the VOC (Verenigde Oos-
Indische Compagnie).
-Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden: Founded in 1913, Kirstenbosch lies on
the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. It consists of landscaped gardens of
indigenous plants and trees, watered by the Liesbeek River, as well as natural
forest that extends up the lower slopes. Kirstenbosch covers an area of 828Ha,
60 ha of which are cultivated; the remainder is a natural flora reserve.
- Two Oceans Aquarium: The Two Oceans Aquarium is an aquarium located at
the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. The
aquarium was opened on the 13 November 1995 and comprises seven exhibition
galleries with large viewing windows: The enchantment of this particular
aquarium is due to its location, where the Indian and Atlantic ocean meet.

5 attractions in Johannesburg
-Gold Reef City: The complex is made up of theme park, Apartheid museum and
casino facilities. Visitors savour the offering of traditional African music, dance
and history found throughout the complex. Gold Reef City's Casino is open 24
hours a day and boasts a magnificent entertainment atmosphere, highly trained
staff and an abundance of gaming choices. The arena caters for everybody's
gaming tastes with slots, tables, sports betting, Salon Privé for the high rollers
and much more.

-Botanical Garden: Is located in the suburb of Emmarentia

in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The gardens were established in 1964 as a large rose garden (becoming known
locally as the "Rose Garden") and subsequently expanded to cover an area of
around 125 hectares (1.25 km2). It is administered by Johannesburg City Parks.
The Emmarentia Dam is situated immediately to the east of the garden and
shares its extensive acreage.
One of the main attractions is the Rose Garden with over 10 000 roses.

-Hector Pieterson Museum: is a large museum located in Orlando

West, Soweto, South Africa, two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was
shot and killed. The museum is named in his honour. It became one of the first
museums in Soweto when it opened on 16 June 2002. A companion museum
nearby is Mandela House, the former home of Nelson Mandela and his family,
which has been run as a museum since 1997.

-SAB World of Beer: is a museum of beer, and conference venue operated

by South African Breweries;[1] it is located in Newtown, Johannesburg, South
Africa. The museum has nearly 50,000 visitors a year.[citation needed] It is open
for tours Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm.

-Lion’s Park: a 2 km² (500 acre) wildlife conservation enclosure

in Gauteng province in South Africa for Transvaal lions.
The Lion Park is situated near Lanseria Airport and Fourways within distance
of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The park has a large variety of predators and
large herbivores indigenous to Africa.
The Lion Park is home to over 80 lions including the rare white lions and many
other carnivores such as South African cheetah, Cape wild
dog, hyena and spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, and a wide variety
of antelope which roam freely in the antelope area.

5 attractions in Kwazulu Natal

-Oribi Gorge: is a canyon in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, just west
of Port Shepstone, which itself is 120 km south of Durban. Oribi Gorge, cut by
the Mzimkulwana river, is the eastern gorge of two gorges that cut through the
Oribi Flats (flat sugarcane farmlands) of KwaZulu-Natal. The western gorge was
formed by the Mzimkulu river. The gorge is approximately 400 metres (1,300 ft)
deep, and almost 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide at its widest.
Erosion by these rivers have carved out nearly 30 kilometres (19 mi) of

-Umtamvuna Nature Reserve: Erosion by these rivers have carved out nearly 30
kilometres (19 mi) of spectacular kloofs and crags, covered with subtropical
vegetation.[2] In the gorge, the dense forest on the sandstone slopes is home to
various small mammals, while the large leguaansexcavate their burrows along
the riverbanks

-Aliwal Shoal: is a rocky reef which is the remains of an ancient sand dune
approximately 5 km off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The reef is
inhabited by many kinds of hard and soft corals and a variety of tropical and
subtropical fish species. Aliwal Shoal was named after the near-sinking of the 3
Masted vessel "Aliwal", captained by James Anderson, in 1849.

-Fort Amiel Museum: Fort Amiel was constructed in 1876 by Major Charles
Frederick Amiel and soldiers of the 80th Staffordshire Volunteers.[1] It was built
as a fort and "look-out post", for the British during the run up to the annexation
of the former Transvaal and the Zulu War, although it really never served that
purpose. During the First Boer War it was used as a garrison for the King's Own
Royal Regiment (Lancaster)

-Mpenjati Nature Reserve: is situated on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast 20

kilometres (12 mi) south of Margate. The reserve lies on the Mpenjati
River Lagoon.
The residential town of Trafalgar is on the northern border of the reserve,
and Palm Beach lies to the south. The Mpenjati River Lagoon is also a popular
venue for water-based recreation including angling, boating and swimming. The
beach in the reserve has been used by nudists for over 20 years

5 attractions in Durban
-Durban Botanic Gardens: The gardens cover an area of 15 hectares (37
acres)[2] in a subtropical climate. The Durban Botanic Gardens was established
to participate in the quest of Kew Gardens to establish a series of botanic
gardens across the world which would assist in the introduction of economically
valuable plants, and to supply plants to Kew that were new to science.[1] The
first garden was established in December 1849 by Dr Charles Johnston on the
edge of the Berea Ridge next to the Umgeni River (near Quarry Road)

-Gateway Theatre of Shopping: A shopping centre located on Umhlanga Ridge

in Umhlanga, north of Durban,KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Construction
commenced on 3 March 1998 and the mall officially opened in September 2001.
It also has almost all of South Africa's and many major international retail stores.
Gateway sees more than two million visitors coming through its doors per
month.[3] The centre was modeled on the Mall of America and West Edmonton
Mall centres and was developed by Old Mutual Properties.

-North Beach: One of the beaches of Durban, South Africa. It is situated north of
the harbour and bluff, in between Bay of Plenty and Dairy Beach on
Durban's Golden Mile.
North Beach is one of the main beaches in Durban and is cared for by the Durban
Surf Lifesaving Club. The clubhouse features prominently on the Marine Parade.
The beach itself is flanked by two large piers and is accessible from the Marine
Parade that stretches along the Golden Mile. North Beach is one of the beaches
of Durban, South Africa. It is situated north of the harbour and bluff, in
between Bay of Plenty and Dairy Beach on Durban's Golden Mile.

-Umgeni River Bird Park: Designed and built by Dr. Alan Abrey in an old quarry site,
the Umgeni River Bird Park was opened in April 1984. The park was owned privately
by a group of bird lovers who wanted to educate others about birds from around the
world. It was run by Alan Abrey until his retirement in 1997, and in those years the
artwork for the park (guidebook illustrations, park maps, and so forth) were done by
his daughter Robyn Abrey.

-Mitchell Park Zoo: Situated in the Morningside suburb of Durban, South Africa, it
is the only zoo in Durban.
The zoo was established as an Ostrich farm in 1910, but was unprofitable and
started adding other animals. At one time it was home to many large animals, the
most notable of which was an Indian Elephant named Nellie. Nellie was given to
the zoo by the Maharajah of Mysore in 1928, and could blow a mouth organ and
crack coconuts with her feet.

5 attractions in Knysna
-Amataloe montane Forest: Ecoregion, of the Tropical and subtropical moist
broadleaf forests Biome, is in South Africa. It covers an Afromontane area of
3,100 square kilometers (1,200 sq mi) in South Africa's Eastern
Cape and Western Cape provinces

-Elephant Park: Was the first facility in South Africa to house and care for orphaned
African elephants. Today, it has become a world class facility, having cared for and
raised more than forty elephants. These animals include relocated animals,
orphaned calves, elephants rescued from culls and ex-circus animals.

-Buffelsbaii: Is a small seaside town 20 kilometers [2] from Knysna in the Eden
District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
The cargo ship Kiani Satu, travelling from Hong Kong to Ghana with a shipment
of rice, ran aground and sank off the coast of the town in August 2013. Leaked oil
from the vessel threatened the nearby Goukamma Nature Reserve; 217 birds
were cleaned bySANCCOB after the spill.

-Brent on Sea: A settlement and seaside resort town 15km west

of Knysna in Eden District Municipality in the Western Capeprovince of South
Africa.
Named after Sir Jahleel Brenton, who declared Knysna a harbour in 1818, the
area is home to the endangered Brenton Blue butterfly.

-Garden Route: The indigenous forests in Knysna constitute the largest complex of
closed-canopy forest in southern Africa, whilst the remarkable richness of the
Fynbos vegetation contributes over 8000 plant species to the Cape floral kingdom.
Exploring the Knysna forests, along demarcated walks, with the occasional call of the
Loerie, provides a complete escape into a former time when many elephants trod
these paths, particularly if you’ve read Dalene Matthee’s ‘Circles in a forest’

POSSIBLE ITINERARIES:

DAY 1
Experience a must-see for any visitor to Cape Town. Even if you have been up
before, the breathtaking views in Table Mountain are worth appreciating more
than once. After the beautiful scenery in Table mountain they can proceed to
Cape point nature reserve, a world heritage site, and most easily reached by car
or tour bus. Here, at the tip of the Peninsula, you'll enjoy some of the most
stunning views in the Cape.
DAY 2
Experience riding a horse on the beautiful sands of Noordhoek Beach in Cape
Town, it teaches lessons for both children and adults from Mondays to Fridays
during the school term - either a half-hour individual lesson or one hour group
lesson.
DAY 3
Visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned during apartheid.
Explore the superb wine estates of Franschhoek and neighbouring valleys. And
indulge in fine food to accompany the great wines of Franschhoek in one of the
many restaurants

DAY 4
Head into Paternoster and spend the day exploring one of the West Coast's most
beautiful seaside villages. Filled with quaint, whitewashed homes, many of them
still original fisherman's homes, the beach, the restaurants and the lifestyle have
'caught on' in quite a way with Capetonians, who make this their 'second home'
over weekends and holidays. There is plenty of accommodation in Paternoster,
and even the local corner café is something of a deli to cater for visitors.
DAY 5
Take a slow drive through the West Coast National Park as an alternative route
to reach the town, Langebaan. Spend the bulk of a sunny day here surrounded by
kite surfers, fishermen, seafood and winding down to West Coast time. Head off
in the late afternoon to Velddrif at the mouth of the Berg River and overnight
here, or at St Helena Bay, the largest bay in Africa. One of only three in the world
where the sun both rises and sets, and which claims permanently calm seas

ALLIED DESTINATION
South Africa is active in the United Nations, the African Union and
the Commonwealth of Nations. Considered a possible permanent addition to
the United Nations Security Council, South Africa was elected in 2006 and again
in 2010 by the UN General Assembly to serve on the Security Council, which it
did until 31 December 2012.

Pre-apartheid
South Africa, as a key member of the British Empire and Commonwealth, fought
alongside the United Kingdom and the Allies in both World War I and World War
II, and it participated in the postwar UN force in the Korean War. South Africa
was a founding member of the League of Nations and in 1927 established a
Department of External Affairs with diplomatic missions in the main Western
European countries and in the United States.

Apartheid
South Africa introduced apartheid in 1948, as a systematic extension of pre-
existing racial discrimination in the country. As a result, the country became
increasingly isolated internationally until apartheid was ended and racial
equality introduced in 1990–3.

Post-apartheid
Having emerged from the international isolation of the apartheid era, South
Africa has become a leading international actor. Its principal foreign policy
objective is to develop good relations with all countries, especially its neighbors
in the Southern African Development Community (*-see note below) and the
other members of the African Union. South Africa has played a key role in
seeking an end to various conflicts and political crises on the African continent,
including in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Comoros, and
Zimbabwe. In August 1998, South Africa assumed the chair of the Non-Aligned
Movement, which it relinquished in July 2002.
Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some
nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were
long ago part of the Swazi kingdom.
FACTORS THAT MOTIVATE VISITORS:
The top motivator of tourist visit to South Africa is adventure.