REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

GENERAL INFORMATION
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GENERAL INFORMATION

Arriving South Africa (Port Elizabeth 2015)

I prefer RORO to Container shippingSome containers survive some don’t

South Africa, has three capitals, rather than one. Pretoria, is the administrative capital and seat of national government, Cape Town legislative capital and home of Parliament, and Bloemfontein — judicial capital. Known as the “Rainbow Nation,” South Africa is home to more than 60 million people and has 12 official languages, including English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, and isiXhosa. The South African rand (ZAR) is the official currency.

South Africa is one of the most geographically diverse countries in the world: Located at the southern tip of the African continent, it borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Eswatini, (Formely Swaziland) while surrounding the independent kingdom of Lesotho. The country has coastlines on both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, offering thousands of kilometres of beautiful beaches, dramatic mountains, vineyards, deserts, vast grasslands and some of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves. It is also a country of extraordinary cultural diversity and a complicated modern history, where the legacy of colonialism and apartheid continues to influence politics, economics and land ownership.

South Africa is a young and rapidly changing country. Politically, the country entered a new era , when the African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid. It subsequently formed a coalition government, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), creating an often uneasy political partnership.

One of the most controversial issues is land reform. Apartheid and earlier colonial policies left profound inequalities in land ownership, and successive governments have sought to redistribute land and address historical injustice. The law has become the subject of political and legal battles, but no land has been expropriated under the Act to date. The subject nevertheless remains highly sensitive, because it combines real concerns about rural crime with the unresolved history of land ownership, race and apartheid.

For overlanders, however, South Africa is much more than its political controversies. The country offers an almost astonishing variety of experiences. For us it is definately one of our Favourite countries.

1. Western South Africa

Cape Town sits beneath the unmistakable silhouette of Table Mountain, between the Atlantic Ocean and the rugged Cape Peninsula. Cape Town itself deserves several days. Table Mountain provides spectacular views across the city and coastline, while the surrounding Table Mountain National Park extends all the way towards the Cape of Good Hope.

The V&A Waterfront, Bo-Kaap, Company’s Garden and the city’s many restaurants and galleries offer a very different experience from the wilderness areas elsewhere in the country.

A visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his imprisonment. This is a must visit and provides an important connection to the history of apartheid. South Africa’s history includes the apartheid era, a system of racial segregation introduced in 1948 that denied Black South Africans and other non-white communities equal rights, including voting, education, and land ownership. Millions were forcibly relocated under apartheid laws. The struggle against apartheid was led by figures including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. After Mandela’s release from prison in 1990, South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, ending apartheid and making Nelson Mandela the country’s first Black president.

From Cape Town, the road south follows the spectacular Cape Peninsula. At Boulders Beach, African penguins live beside the suburban coastline, while further south the Cape of Good Hope provides dramatic cliffs, beaches and ocean scenery.

THE WEST COAST

South Africa steak house great time with Petre-Talana-Tia and Andru.

The surrounding Cape Winelands are another highlight. Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl combine historic Cape Dutch architecture, vineyards, mountains. Further north, the landscape becomes increasingly wild, with the Cederberg mountains offering great bush camping, rock formations and a sense of isolation.

For overlanders seeking something quieter, the West Coast is particularly attractive. During the spring flower season, parts of the normally dry landscape can become spectacularly colourful.

2. SOUTHERN SOUTH AFRICA

Travelling east from the Cape leads into one of the country’s most scenic road-trip regions.The Garden Route stretches along a beautiful section of coastline between mountains and the Indian Ocean. Forests, lagoons, beaches and cliffs create a landscape very different from the dry interior.

Tsitsikamma National Park is particularly impressive, with indigenous forests meeting the ocean. Hiking, kayaking, canopy tours and dramatic coastal walks make this an excellent destination for active travellers. The Garden Route is also famous for adventure activities, including bungee jumping at Bloukrans Bridge.

Further east lies the Eastern Cape, a region often overlooked by Overlanders. It offers some of South Africa’s most rewarding wilderness experiences and a much quieter atmosphere than the country’s better-known destinations.

Addo Elephant National Park, is unusual in offering the possibility of seeing marine wildlife, including whales and great white sharks, alongside the traditional African safari animals.

Beyond the major roads lies the Wild Coast, one of South Africa’s most remote and beautiful coastal areas. Traditional villages, rolling green hills, cliffs, empty beaches and the Indian Ocean dominate the landscape. The famous Hole in the Wall is one of its natural landmarks.

For overlanders looking for remoteness, the Eastern Cape also contains the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area, an enormous mountainous wilderness of rugged valleys and dramatic rock formations.

3. EASTERN SOUTH AFRICA

The eastern side of South Africa has a distinctly subtropical character. KwaZulu-Natal combines warm beaches, Zulu cultural heritage, mountains, wildlife reserves and historic battlefields.

Durban is the region’s largest city and an important Indian Ocean port. Its long beachfront, warm climate and strong Indian and Zulu cultural influences give it a character quite different from Cape Town.

North of Durban lies iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape containing lakes, wetlands, forests, beaches and coastal ecosystems. Hippos, crocodiles, turtles and an impressive range of birdlife make this one of the country’s most interesting places for nature lovers.

Lost but we found a local to show us the way

SANI PASS

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park a little more inland famous for its rhinoceros conservation history.

The Drakensberg is a completely different South African experience from Kruger. Instead of savannah and game drives, as a overlander you encounters high mountains, cold streams, enormous cliffs. The mountains form one of southern Africa’s most spectacular landscapes, with cliffs, waterfalls, and valleys.

KwaZulu-Natal is also important historically. The Battlefields region contains sites associated with conflicts between the Zulu kingdom, Boer forces and the British Empire.

4. NORTHERN SOUTH AFRICA

If South Africa’s south is about scenery, wine and coastlines, the north is about wilderness and wildlife.

The centrepiece is Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s legendary safari destinations. Stretching roughly 350 kilometres from north to south, Kruger is enormous and contains extraordinary biological diversity, including the famous Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros.The southern part is generally easier to access and particularly good for first-time safari visitors, while the northern sections are quieter and more remote.For overlanders seeking solitude, northern Kruger is especially rewarding. The landscape changes towards mopane woodland, baobabs and the dramatic Limpopo and Luvuvhu river systems.

Outside Kruger, Mpumalanga offers the spectacular Panorama Route. The Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, God’s Window and the mountains around Graskop form one of the most impressive scenic drives in the country.

Mapungubwe National Park, near the borders with Zimbabwe and Botswana, is where wildlife and archaeology meet. The ancient Mapungubwe civilisation flourished here centuries ago, leaving important archaeological remains.

This northern region is where South Africa begins to feel truly wild. Long drives, enormous skies, elephants crossing roads and evenings around a campfire create the classic African safari experience.

5. Central South Africa

Rhino poaching is a serious problem in South Africa. Rhinos are illegally hunted for their horns, which are sold on the black market. This has caused rhino numbers to fall and puts rangers at risk. Although efforts to stop poaching are helping, more action is needed to protect these animals and prevent them from becoming endangered.

The vast interior is perhaps the least understood part of South Africa. It lacks the international fame of Cape Town or Kruger, but it contains some of the country’s most extraordinary landscapes.

The Great Karoo is a huge semi-desert region of endless horizons, mountains and isolated settlements. It is a place for travellers who appreciate space rather than crowds.

Camdeboo National Park just outside Graaff-Reinet, protects striking geological landscapes and wildlife, while the historic town itself is one of the best-preserved examples of South African colonial architecture.

Further north lies the Free State, with the sandstone cliffs of Golden Gate Highlands National Park providing some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the interior.

Gauteng offers an entirely different experience. For those interested in modern South Africa, Johannesburg and Pretoria are the economic and political heart of the country. Johannesburg’s museums, galleries and neighbourhoods provide opportunities to understand apartheid, the struggle for democracy and contemporary South African society.

Soweto is particularly significant, with landmarks associated with Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid struggle.

But the ultimate destination for overlanders seeking remoteness is further west and north: the Kalahari.

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, is shared by South Africa and Botswana, is an immense semi-desert wilderness of red dunes, dry riverbeds and enormous skies. It is famous for black-maned Kalahari lions, gemsbok, meerkats and extraordinary birdlife.

Here the experience is fundamentally different from a traditional touristy safari in Kruger. There are fewer trees, fewer people and enormous distances between places. The red dunes glow in the evening light, predators gather around dry riverbeds and the silence can be almost complete.

For adventurous overlanders, this is perhaps the South Africa that remains longest in the memory.

A Country of Extraordinary Contrasts

South Africa cannot easily be reduced to one image. It is simultaneously a modern African democracy, an emerging economy, a country still wrestling with the consequences of apartheid, and one of the world’s great travel destinations.The country’s 19 national parks, managed within the SANParks system, protect an extraordinary range of environments, from Table Mountain and coastal ecosystems to Kruger and the Kalahari.

What makes South Africa particularly special is this combination of wildlife, landscapes, history and cultural diversity. The tourist who only visits Cape Town and Kruger will see two magnificent parts of the country, but will miss much of what lies between them.The remote Karoo, the Wild Coast, the Drakensberg, the northern reaches of Kruger and the Kalahari reveal another South Africa: quieter, more spacious and often more challenging, but equally fascinating.