Radio SAM Broadcasting Studios Information about the radio We built ‘Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany’ for YOU…….. For you to NEVER miss that amazing event. We strive to, at all times, try to take the hassle out of finding out where that favourite artist is performing, have a look at some other artists also performing, and at what venue it is going to be held, at what time, and maybe it will be the end of life as you know it. We love radio! Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany makes life a little easier for everyone who feels the same way. We offer you the opportunity to listen to internet radio from all over the world in a particularly uncomplicated manner and free of charge. With the push of a button, you can also record it very easily thanks to Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany. Don't you ever want to miss your favorite internet radio radio again? Our tools make it possible! You can put together your own program in the Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany player, in the app and directly on our website. This is then conveniently recorded and saved for you. If you just want to listen to your favorite online radio stations, you can of course do so here: You can click through the music genres or topics you want and you will find enough material to stream continuously for days! Here, the many German channels are just a few clicks away from the small regional channel from Italy. Thanks to the radio cloud, you don't even have to turn on your computer or smartphone to record, you don't even have to be at home. The scheduled shows are simply saved in the cloud, where you can easily stream them or download them for later use. Radio programs and tips - radio plays and more That's all well and good, but you don't even know what you want to hear in the wide landscape of internet radio? No wonder, after all, there are many of programs on all sorts of genres. Our editorial team therefore studies the radio program every week and always has a few tips ready to make your choice easier: There is also something for the little listeners on a separate page for children. Do you want to let off steam in the wide world of internet radio? Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany makes this particularly easy for you. You can listern completely free of charge and without obligation. In your own account under “Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany” you can start immediately, put together your own program and use the free radio cloud storage of two hours. In the download area you will find the Radio SAM Broadcaster Germany players for PC and Mac and the app is available for free download in the app store for iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Tune-Into the Radio Station OUR RADIO TUNE - INS OUR RADIO STATION LINKS CONTACT AND TUNE-INs Our Main Websites: https://radio-sam-broadcaster.de.tl/Home.htm Our English Website: https://radio-sam-broadcaster-germany.page.tl/ Our Blogspot: https://radiosambroadcastergermany.blogspot.com/ Our Second E-Mail: a.dezius@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radiosambroadcastergermany/ Tweeter: https://twitter.com/RadioSAMBroadc1 Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/andreas.dezius/ Streema: https://streema.com/radios/Radio_SAM_Music_Radio_SAM_International_Music Zeno Media Fm: https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-broadcaster-germany4xqvqt35p48uv/ Online Radio Box: Radio SAM Germany Our Main Website: https://radio-sam-music.de.tl/HOME.htm Radio SAM Germany Live On Line Radio: https://liveonlineradio.net/de/radio-sam-germany Radio SAM Germany Online Radio Box: https://onlineradiobox.com/de/samgermany/?cs=de.samgermany&played=1 Radio SAM Broadcaster on Google Blogger: https://radiosambroadcastergermany.blogspot.com/ Radio SAM Broadcaster on Online Radio Box: https://onlineradiobox.com/de/sambroadcastergermany/?cs=de.sambroadcastergermany&played=1 Radio SAM Broadcaster on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radiosambroadcastergermany/ Radio SAM Germany Zeno Fm: https://www.zeno.fm/player/radio-sam-germany-master-input-station?fbclid=IwAR2hz5yAvSPjEUAlnYvSiAQApVFD1 F8gaugxw9V5bLXOCK87L-xGIPG7Sl4 Radio SAM Blogger: https://radio-sam-germany-music.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreas.dezius/ Radio Voortekker Stereo: Zeno Media Fm: https://zeno.fm/radio-voortrekker-germany/ Radio Voortrekker Stereo Website: https://radio-voortrekker-stereo.page.tl/ Radio Voortrekker Blogger: https://radio-voortrekker-stereo-germany.blogspot.com/ Radio SAM Broadcaster: https://radio-sam-broadcaster-germany.page.tl/ Radio SAM broadcaster Germany: https://radio-sam-broadcaster.de.tl/Home.htm Radio SAM Broadcaster on Zeno Media: Radio SAM Broadcaster Live on Zeno Fm: https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-broadcaster-germany4xqvqt35p48uv/ Radio SAM Broadcaster on Tweeter: https://twitter.com/RadioSAMBroadc1 Radio SAM Broadcaster on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/andreas.dezius/ I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. BACK TO TOP

South African Arts The art of the peoples of South Africa is the oldest known art in the world, dating back over 100,000 years. The archeological discoveries there help scholars to date the evolution of cognition and intelligent progression. South African art in the modern era is influenced and molded by the trials of the South African people under apartheid and the years of European involvement in the area expressed in the found art of Africans making sense of modern traditions, and the Dutch influence on both white and black artists. With the many tribes, languages, cultures, and races of South Africa, there is a very diverse and eclectic art scene in historical and contemporary South Africa.The very beginnings of art, not just for South Africa, but for the world, were found at the Blombos cave. This ancient art studio contained paint pots in the form of shells that were used to store mixed paints from disparate sources. This proved to archeologists that early man may have been more sophisticated than previously thought. Whatever it was that they painted, be it clothing, faces, or the walls of the caves, the South African climate, particular in this sea cave is not conducive to the permanent survival of art. What has been found of ancient South African art are the cave paintings of the Khoisan, San, and Bushman tribes dating to 10,000 BC. Other cave painters left behind scenes of hunting and domestic life, and also of spiritual and magical art. The colors used are derived from nature and are therefore mostly in earth tones such as black, yellow, red, orange, white, and gray. “The drawings don’t start with ‘a beautiful mark’. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn’t have to be an accurate drawing, but it has to stand for an observation, not something that is abstract, like an emotion”. – William Kentridge Cave scenes portray battles and hunts, animals, dancing, and later, white hunters on horseback. The figures are shown in long forms in action and some figures that are either dancing or participating in the shamanic rituals are costumed in clothing in unusual patterns and prints and are often wearing masks. It is unknown if these are people drawn from life, or if these represent symbolic characters. The symbols, themes, and subjects of the South African cave paintings are similar to what is seen in cave and rock paintings all over the world. European Influence The Boers, better known as the Dutch, and the English came to South Africa in the mid-19th century and the art of the Europeans that remained and the traditional art of the indigenous tribal people began to mix. The end of the 19th century spurred some artists to move away from this mixed art and begin studying art in realism, creating a unique art free from both European and native influences.Under European colonization, the native people suffered under racial segregation and prejudice. The English established museums, universities, art schools, and other education opportunities, but they were not ones open to the indigenous. However, white intellectuals and artists seeking inspiration from the art and culture of the African people sought them out and some artistic instruction was imparted by collaboration.As the tide of the world was changing to strive for respect of all peoples, the artists of South Africa, both white and black began to protest against apartheid, and against the cultural boycott on South Africa. Their success led to South African artists stepping up to a level global playing field. South African Art Key Highlights South Africa is home to the Thupelo Workshop, an annual workshop that brings artists from all over the world to share the diversity of artistic style, technique, and motivation with the global community of artists. The San culture are hunter-gatherers that are still in existence, but as their culture fades and there are fewer San artists, galleries are stepping in to help keep their art and culture alive. The lack of galleries on the Cape has given artists in that area freedom of expression without the restriction of pleasing the intellectual middle classes. The Ndebele tribe is known for its graphics geometric paintings on houses. The paints used were traditionally made from natural sources, but the Ndebele are now sometimes being supplied with commercial paints. Because of the rampant poverty in South Africa, poor artists use found media to create art. The talent and vision of the South African people is evident in the beauty they are able to create from these materials. For instance, baskets spiraling in vivid bright colors look to be made from highly died natural materials but are, in fact, made from telephone wires. South African Art Top Works: San Bushmen Rock Paintings – Drakensberg Mountains Elephants Charging over Quartos Country – Thomas Baines An Extensive View of Farmlands – JH Pierneef Pretoria Mural – Walter Battiss Song of the Pick – Gerard Sekoto The Rice Lady – Vladimir Tretchikoff The Conservationists Ball – William Kentridge The Butcher Boys – Jane Alexander Ndebele Beadwork Zulu Baskets South African art is the visual art produced by the people inhabiting the territory occupied by the modern country of South Africa. The oldest art objects in the world were discovered in a South African cave. Archaeologists have discovered two sets of art kits thought to be 100,000 years old at a cave in South Africa. The findings provide a glimpse into how early humans produced and stored ochre – a form of paint – which pushes back our understanding of when evolved complex cognition occurred by around 20,000 – 30,000 years. Also, dating from 75,000 years ago, they found small drilled snail shells could have no other function than to have been strung on a string as a necklace. South Africa was one of the cradles of the human species. The scattered tribes of Khoisan and San peoples moving into South Africa from around 10000 BC had their own art styles seen today in a multitude of cave paintings] They were superseded by Bantu and Nguni peoples with their own vocabularies of art forms. In the present era, traditional tribal forms of art were scattered and re-melded by the divisive policies of apartheid. New forms of art evolved in the mines and townships: a dynamic art using everything from plastic strips to bicycle spokes. In addition to this, there also is the Dutch-influenced folk art of the Afrikaner Trek Boers and the urban white artists earnestly following changing European traditions from the 1850s onwards, making for an eclectic mix which continues to evolve today. Paleolithic rock art Main article: San rock art San rock paintings, Perdekop Farm, (Mossel Bay , South Africa) The pre-Bantu peoples migrating southwards from around the year 30,000 BC were nomadic hunters who favoured caves as dwellings. Before the rise of the Nguni peoples along the east and southern coasts and central areas of Africa these nomadic hunters were widely distributed. It is thought they entered South Africa at least 1000 years ago. They have left many signs of life, such as artwork (San paintings) depicting hunting, domestic and magic-related art. There is a stylistic unity across the region and even with more ancient art in the Tassili n'Ajjer region of northern Africa, and also in what is now desert Chad but was once a lush landscape. The figures are dynamic and elongate, and the colours (derived probably from earthen and plant pigments and possibly also from insects) combine ochreous red, white, grey, black, and many warm tones ranging from red through to primary yellow. Common subjects include hunting, often depicting with great accuracy large animals which no longer inhabit the same region in the modern era, as well as: warfare among humans, dancing, domestic scenes, multiple images of various animals, including giraffes, antelope of many kinds, and snakes. The last of these works are poignant in their representation of larger, darker people and even of white hunters on horseback, both of whom would supplant the San peoples. Many of the "dancing" figures are decorated with unusual patterns and may be wearing masks and other festive clothing. Other paintings, depicting patterned quadrilaterals and other symbols, are obscure in their meaning and may be non-representational. Similar symbols are seen in shamanistic art worldwide. This art form is distributed from Angola in the west to Mozambique and Kenya , throughout Zimbabwe and South Africa and throughout Botswana wherever cave conditions have favoured preservation from the elements. Black art post-apartheid The Bantu Education Act of 1955 barred Black South Africans from receiving formal art training during the years of apartheid and as a result, the artistic movements that had originated from this community have, until recently, been distinctly classified as “craft” rather than “art.” Informal art centers, that were funded by European states, became one of the few avenues in which Black South Africans could receive some form of artistic development. Throughout this time period from 1947 to the mid-1990s, the first practitioners to receive this informal training began passing down their knowledge to younger generations of practitioners. However, the traditional canon of African art, categorized as “fine art” had been formed in the 20th century by European and U.S. art audiences. South Africa's inequality gap is larger than that of other countries in the world so the audience for art is primarily the rich and not those who are subject to the artistic expression, giving these higher socio-economic groups a gatekeeper status in deciding what is classified as art. After the Soweto Riots of 1976, a new social consciousness emerged that retaliated against the government's policy of segregation and effectively reexamined the classification of certain Black South African artworks. One of the first artistic styles to receive critic attention was Venda sculpting because it aesthetically appealed to white patrons while also maintaining its “artistic manifestations of ethnic diversity.” These sculptures would be considered “transitional art” rather than “craft” and would gain access into fine art galleries. Other Black artistic expressions such as beadwork, photography, and studio arts have also begun to be slowly integrated into canonical South African art forms. The Johannesburg Biennale's Africus (1995) and Trade Routes (1997) had a significant impact on the cultural awareness of new South African art. These events were among the first exhibitions that revealed the “new South African art” to the international community, but also other local South Africans. This gave Black South African artists a new platform to express the effects to which apartheid had influenced society. In the post-apartheid regime, artists have now been given an apparatus to protest social issues such as inequality, sexuality, state control over the personal realm, and HIV/AIDS. However, the emphasis to embody many of these social issues within Black South African art has a led to a stereotype that many young artists are now trying to escape. International pressure has been said to once again demand a level of ‘authenticity’ within South African art that portrays discourse on the topic of apartheid. Scholar Victoria Rovine goes as far as to state that “these exhibitions represent a South Africa that seeks liberation not from apartheid itself but from apartheid as an already predictable subject for artistic production.” Furthermore, although South African art is not always political, conversations stemming from its interpretation are rarely apolitical and the high demand for apartheid symbols by private collectors have raised concerns over the collection of the art for the sake of nostalgia BACK TO TOP

Travel Guide So you're excited about starting your South African adventure but you're not quite sure about how things work here. Luckily for you, you have this guide to help you out. Here you'll find everything you need to know about travelling to and around South Africa. Getting around by Car Yes, flying is quick and easy but most of the magic of exploration lies on the ground. When you couple breathtaking scenery with a well maintained road network South Africa is an ideal road trip destination. While some distances between major centres can seem slightly daunting, with a little planning you can easily break the drives up by experiencing the warm, welcoming people in our smaller towns as well as our gorgeous landscapes. Overnight accommodation is available everywhere, ranging from B&Bs to farm stays, guesthouses and hotels. The trick is to book accommodation in advance as you map out your route. The rules of the road South Africans drive on the left-hand side of the road. Seatbelts are compulsory and you may not talk on your mobile phone while driving. All speed limits in South Africa are in kilometres per hour. Generally, the speed limit for urban areas is 60km/h, on secondary roads, its 100km/h and on national highways its 120km/h. Always keep an eye out for the designated speed limit as these may vary depending on road conditions, and law enforcement does take place next to the road. Driver’s licence You may use a valid driver’s licence issued in your own country as long as it has a photograph, the signature of the holder and is in English. Otherwise, it’s best to obtain an international driving licence before you leave home. You should always have your driver’s licence with you when you are driving as you will be asked to produce it if you are pulled over for any reason. Finding your way It’s wise to travel with a current road map or GPS system to help you find your way around. You can hire a GPS with your car or pick up a road atlas at most bookshops and convenience stores located at fuel stations. Our mobile networks offer exceptional coverage even in most out of the way places so you will have signal for your smartphone so you can also utilise your favourite map app. Fuelling your journey When you refuel, be sure to establish what kind of fuel your vehicle uses (diesel or petrol) before filling up, as a mistake could be disastrous. Most fuel stations accept major credit cards. At the fuel station, a petrol attendant will fill your car, check tyres, oil and water, and clean your windows if you ask. It’s customary to give a small tip of around R5 to the petrol attendant. Cash Many of the national roads are tolled however these toll gates accept credit cards and cash. Similarly, when you park in cities or towns, a parking attendant in a luminous bib might approach you in exchange for keeping an eye on your car. Once again, a tip is customary. TRAVEL TIP: It’s best to keep your fuel tank topped up and to carry extra water in the event of a breakdown as distances between towns can be quite long, especially along major roads crossing the interior of the country. CAR HIRE Many major international car-hire companies operate in South Africa, offering anything from small, budget-friendly cars to luxurious sedans. It’s best to hire vehicles in advance, especially if you are coming to South Africa at a high traffic season (during summer, which is from December to February). Some companies also offer 4x4 vehicles if you are planning to visit places out of the city with gravel roads. In that case, you can get a quote from a specialised off-road rental provider. They may also assist with the caravan and trailer hire. CAR HIRE Avis Rent a Car Tel: +27 11 923 3660 or +27 861 021 111 Email: reservations@avis.co.za http://www.avis.co.za/ Tempest Car Hire Tel: +27 11 552 3900 Email: transfers@tempestcarhire.co.za http://www.tempestcarhire.co.za/ CAR HIRE Europcar Tel: +27 11 479 4430 Email: ecs@europcar.co.za http://europcar.co.za/ Hertz Tel: +27 861 600 136 Email: res@hertz.co.za https://hertz.co.za/ CAR HIRE Budget Car Rental Tel: +27 11 398 0123 Email: chauffeur@budget.co.za http://www.budget.co.za/ Britz 4x4 Rentals Tel: +27 11 396 1860 Email: info@britz.co.za http://britz.co.za Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. WHAT TO PACK Packing for a trip (specifically to South Africa) is without a doubt just as exciting as it is actually being on a holiday. The thrill of knowing you’ll soon reach your destination while deciding what to pack into your luggage. However, the emotions associated with packing can swiftly change from great anticipation and excitement to indecisiveness and anxiety. But, there’s no need to stress – here’s a brief guide on what to pack on your next adventure to South Africa to ensure that you’re well equipped, informed and ready to experience our country’s warm hospitality. First thing’s first – what’s on your itinerary? Once you’ve decided on whether you’ll be vacationing along the coast, enjoying a safari at a game reserve or backpacking in the countryside, then you can hone in on what you should pack. Ideally, you want to pack light to avoid paying a hefty amount for your luggage at the airport. If you’re over the duty-free limit, all goods brought in the country are subject to the payment of customs duty and value added tax (VAT), regardless of whether you arrived via aircraft, ship or vehicle. So the trick is to pack only the essentials such as camera kit for the perfect photo ops (although most smartphones should do the trick) and international adaptor plugs. The common plug in South Africa is a 15-amp plug, and it has three round prongs that form a triangle. It’s advised that you purchase an international adaptor plug that has a socket to suit American plugs such as the NEMA 1-15 that has two flat 1.5 mm thick blades, measuring 15.9 – 18.3 mm in length. Specific items of clothing are a must to suit the season that you will be travelling in South Africa. In summer, the average temperature peaks at approximately 96F depending where you are in the country. Winter sees a low of approximately of 28F. For more information on our country’s climate in the various provinces, visit http://bit.ly/2HZHi70 . Pack medication and prescriptions too, should you need them. According to Brand South Africa, “you are allowed to bring in one month’s supply of pharmaceutical drugs or medicines for your personal use. Any other pharmaceutical drugs or medicines must be accompanied by a letter or certified prescription from a registered physician, and have to be declared.” A safari is always a great way to explore the great outdoors and experience the bush. So best to pack (or purchase once you arrive) toiletries including insect repellent and sunblock for those sunny days at the back of a safari truck venturing through the bush. A good SPF sunblock will also come in handy if you’re vacationing along the coast and soaking up some sun on one of South Africa’s many pristine beaches. There are 44 Blue Flag beaches along our country’s coast. Blue Flag is an international annual award that focuses on the environmental management of our coastline and coastal waters to help tourism growth and development. This means our beaches are world-renowned for its cleanliness and beauty – these include Camps Bay in the Western Cape, Ushaka Beach in KwaZulu-Natal and Dolphin Beach in the Eastern Cape. So besides sunblock, it’s best you pack in other beach essentials too. Ladies, consider packing in a bikini to enjoy a dip in either the Atlantic or Indian Ocean. To our gentlemen visitors, board shorts will do. Of course, don’t forget a pair of sunglasses to block out the sun’s harmful rays. Here’s a handy checklist of things you should consider packing: So there you have it, a quick rundown on what to pack when you explore South Africa. What are your plans when you visit South Africa? Whatever they are, there’s no doubt you’ll have an amazing time exploring the beauty of this incredible country. Remember to prepare accordingly and ensure you safeguard the contents of your suitcase. Enjoy your stay with us! General: General: Two pairs of shorts or two skirts Two T–Shirts and one long-sleeved Two pairs of long pants Underwear and socks Sandals Sleepwear Warm sweater and jacket for winter travel (June to August) Toiletries including moisturizer Good walking shoes Light weight jacket (for chilly nights) Safari: Safari: Insect repellent that contains DEET Camera Binoculars Antimalarial pills Contact lenses and glasses Brimmed hat Beach: Bathing suit and cover-up Suntan lotion Good quality sunglasses Documentation: Documentation: Documents folder with passport (two full visa pages available) Plane tickets Hotel & car rental information Plane tickets Travellers cheques and credit cards. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT VISAS *It is worth noting that anyone with an American or Canadian passport will not require a visa to travel to South Africa. If you’re a citizen of another country and want to travel to South Africa then you need a visa. The “visitor” visa is for international travellers who permanently reside outside South Africa. It’s also for those who wish to visit the country on a more temporary basis for tourism or business purposes. But it won’t last forever. Once acquired, this visa is valid for a no longer than 90 days. Great! Now that you’re allowed in, the visa will grant you access to the South African port of entry, where an immigration official will determine if you are allowed to enter the country and for how long. Always remember, all visitors are restricted only to the activity or reason for which their visas were issued. So now you’ve made it into the country. Once here, the visa is considered to be a visitor’s permit. The permit’s period of validity is set from the date you came in and will be set out under the heading “conditions” on the visa label. It’s important to ensure that you apply for the correct visa or permit. If not, entry into the country may be refused if the purpose of the visit was not correctly stated. Depending on where you’re from, visa requirements differ from country to country and the requirements are subject to change. Each application is treated as an individual case, hence you should ask your nearest South African mission or consulate abroad or any office of the Department of Home Affairs to see whether or not you are even supposed to apply for a visa. Remember, there is a fee that will be charged for issuing you a visa, and you should check the cost with the office as well as this is updated annually. The fee is payable in different currencies in different countries. It is incredibly important to get your visas. These are not issued at South African ports of entry, and airline officials are obliged to insist on visas before allowing passengers to board. If you arrive without a visa, immigration officials are obliged to put you onto a flight back to your home country. Foreigners with long-term status (work permits/permit residence) in the neighbouring countries who transit the Republic to return to their employment or residence are not subject to the transit visa, provided they are in possession of proof of their status. South Africa requires a valid yellow fever certificate from all foreign visitors and citizens over one year of age. This is essential for people travelling from an infected area or for those who have been country hopping through infected areas. Countries such as Zambia, Angola and Mozambique are considered as infected areas. For more information on visa requirements, please contact your nearest South African diplomatic mission. Don't forget that there are certain goods that you cannot bring into South Africa and other goods on which duties need to be paid. For Customs requirements, click here . For Agricultural requirements, click here . South African visitors’ visas may be granted for: visits to family or friends and also for tourism purposes business purposes spouse to join a spouse who is in South Africa on a work or study permit children to join parents who are in South Africa on work or study permits fiancée/fiancé to join his or her partner with the intention of marrying within 90 days study purposes (max stay three months) charitable or voluntary activities research conferences to work in the production of a movie or show (i.e. in the entertainment industry) for medical purposes (max stay three months) sport events Documents required for applying for a visa A passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of your intended visit Your passport must have at least TWO unused pages for entry/departure endorsements A completed Form BI-84 (application for a visa) Payment of the prescribed fee A yellow fever vaccination certificate (if required) Statement and/or documentation confirming the purpose and duration of your visit Two colour passport photographs A return or onward ticket if you are travelling by air If you have children (minors) travelling with you or joining you in South Africa, you will need to provide the following additional documents: Proof of guardianship or custody or; Proof of guardianship or custody or; Consent from the guardian in the case of an unaccompanied minor Proof of financial means to pay for your living expenses while in South Africa in the form of: Bank statements; Salary advances; Undertakings by the host(s) in South Africa; Bursary; Medical cover or Cash available (including credit cards and travellers’ cheques) Requirements for entering South Africa You will need the following if you wish to visit South Africa: A valid and acceptable passport or travel document for your intended stay At least two blank page in your passport for endorsements A valid visa, if required Sufficient funds to pay for your day-to-day expenses during your stay A return or onward ticket Yellow fever certificates if your journey starts or entails passing through the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America. Don't forget that there are certain goods that you cannot bring into South Africa and other goods on which duties need to be paid. Getting around South Africa by air There are over 70 international airlines now flying to South Africa. The award-winning South African Airways, the national carrier, flies to destinations all over the world and is connected to major international air routes, making it easier for you to enter the country from pretty much any corner of the world. Our award-winning national carrier, South African Airways is one of 70 international airlines that fly into South Africa. South African Airways flies to destinations all over the world and is connected to major international air routes, making it easier for you to enter the country from pretty much any corner of the world. It’s quite a lengthy flight from Europe (10 to 12 hours), Asia (12 to 17 hours) and the United States (up to 15 hours or even more). You’ll most likely fly directly into O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, or increasingly, there are direct flights into Cape Town International Airport. The journey may be long, but the destination more than makes up for it! With so much to see and do across the country, fly time can be used to help you make the most out of your limited time in such a diverse and beautiful country. Durban’s King Shaka International Airport is South Africa’s third major international airport, located about 35km north of Durban. So don’t rule this paradise on the sea out of your direct travel plans. Apart from the world-class international airports, there are a number of domestic airports including Bram Fischer International Airport in Bloemfontein, as well as airports in East London, George, Kimberley, Port Elizabeth and Upington. It doesn’t stop there. You’ll even find scheduled flights between Johannesburg and privately-owned airports that allow you to access rather more isolated locations such as the Kruger National Park by flight. One particular airport is the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport outside Mbombela (Nelspruit), which serves the Kruger National Park and Mpumalanga. If that’s not enough, several upmarket game lodges operate their own airstrips and charter direct flights from O.R. Tambo and other airports. If you’re intending on going on a safari with your family or friends then you should consider making a pitstop in Johannesburg or Cape Town to catch your breath. Take this opportunity to change your time zone to the new one, get a feel of the country, or go sightseeing before flying to your next destination. Getting around South Africa by bus If you’re on a budget, travelling by bus is the cheapest way to travel the country. As a result it has become the go-to travelling option for the more economically-conscious locals. Be sure to book with a reputable service as not all bus companies have an equally good reputation. The extensive road network in South Africa means that bus or coach travel is a simple and often very cost effective option for travellers. It has become the go-to travelling option for the more economically-conscious locals and many international travellers choose coach tours or bus travel as a hassle free option. It's a wonderful way of relaxing and taking in the astounding scenery between destinations. There are a number of bus and coach operators, offering a great range of products for every price point. Some of these trips even include being served coffee and biscuits with a selection of movies to entertain you while en route to your destination. If you're on a back-packing holiday across South Africa wanting to explore smaller out of the way places, Baz Bus offers a hop on hop off network that takes you door to door at your leisure. You will be glad to know that some companies offer cross-border trips in case you want to visit neighbouring countries in Southern Africa such as Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Greyhound Tel: +27 11 611 8000 Email: controlroom@greyhound.co.za https://www.greyhound.co.za/ Intercape Tel: +27 21 380 4400 info@intercape.co.za http://www.intercape.co.za Baz Bus Tel: +27 21 422 5202 Email: info@bazbus.com http://www.bazbus.com Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. When to visit Since South Africa is in the southern hemisphere, it’s summer down here when it’s winter in Europe and North America. Summer begins in November and lasts till February, which if you think about it, makes this the ideal time to visit if you want to escape the cold weather. Depending on where you’re visiting, the average day temperature in summer ranges from a minimum of 15°C ( 59°F) to a maximum of 28°C (82°F). In winter the average day temperatures are 19°C to 23°C (66°F to 73°F). Just ensure you have a jacket to put on as it can get chilly at night. If you’re intending on going on a safari in Mpumalanga and Limpopo then the best time to visit would be in winter. Why? Because these two provinces are very pleasant as it’s sunny and warm during the day and dry and cool at night. Late winter is popular for game spotting because the vegetation is sparse and animals visit the waterholes to drink. Summer in the Lowveld can be extremely hot due to high humidity. Alternatively, you can go on a winter beach holiday in Durban or on the KwaZulu-Natal coast as average temperatures hover around the 26°C mark. In Cape Town, the best time to visit is in spring and autumn, which is April and May or the beginning of September to October. Spring is particularly breathtaking as you’ll get to witness first-hand some of South Africa’s most beautiful indigenous flowers bloom. Autumn offers a relief from the summer heat while the vineyards of the Cape Winelands start to change colour. Winter in Cape Town is less attractive as it’s characterised by wet and windy spells when cold fronts pass through. SEASONAL HIGHLIGHTS The sardine run (May to July) Aptly described as “The Greatest Shoal on Earth”, the sardine run takes place every South African winter when millions of small silvery sardines surge from the cold Cape waters up to the warmer sanctuary of the KwaZulu-Natal coast. The reason for this hasn’t been determined however there are many prominent theories that attempt to make sense of this phenomenon. Whatever the reason, it is quite the spectacle as the shoal is approximately 15km long, 4km wide and 40m deep. It’s a feeding frenzy for dolphins, sharks, seabirds and other marine life – making it a watching frenzy for people interesting in marine life. Whale watching (May to November): Every year, from late winter through to early summer, different breeds of whales migrate to mate and calve in sheltered bays off the Cape coast. One of the best places to see these majestic marine animals is from the coastal town of Hermanus. It’s well known for a reputation of offering the best shore-based whale watching in the world. When you do decide to go, make sure you have a fully charged camera as you might consider being a full-time photographer afterwards with a portfolio of stunning whale shots. Namaqualand spring flowers (late July to October) This dazzling display of spring flowers in an arid semi-desert area of the Northern Cape is regarded as one of the world’s most dramatic and vivid natural spectacles. Stretching 500km north up the Cape coast and 100km inland, carpets of the brilliant colour burst into vibrant life. You’ll find that over 4000 species of plants have been identified here, so you will be spoilt for choice. The National Arts Festival (July) One festival you should look forward to is the National Arts Festival. This festival takes place at the Eastern Cape’s cathedral and university city of Grahamstown. It has become one of the biggest annual celebrations of the arts in Africa. So if you make it, you’ll be surrounded by world-class dance, music, drama, film, jazz and visual arts. The Comrades Marathon (June) What started off as a tribute to South African soldiers who lost their lives during World War I has now become an event not to be missed in South Africa. The Comrades Marathon is a long-distance running race that has gained traction around the world. If you’re still not impressed, at around 90km long, it is one of the world’s oldest and longest ultramarathons. The Cape Argus Pick ’n Pay Cycle Tour (March) Billed as the world’s largest timed cycle race, this event attracts a field of around 35 000 cyclists. The vast majority are ordinary people who want to take on the challenge of cycling around one of the most beautiful peninsulas in the world. However, over the years the race has also attracted its fair share of celebrities, including former Springbok rugby captain Francois Pienaar, who in turn persuaded American actor Matt Damon (who played him in the film Invictus) to ride. Staying healthy in South Africa If you’re heading to South Africa you can rest assured that the country has a very well structured healthcare system with a number of public and private hospitals throughout the country. If you’re heading to South Africa you can rest assured that the country has a very well structured healthcare system with a number of public and private hospitals throughout the country. However, it always pays to be cautious. Like in many countries around the world, you’ll probably receive quicker care at a private hospital than a public one. As a precaution, make sure your medical insurance payment is always up to date before you travel. Qualified doctors, dentists, and other specialists can be found in main centres but you’ll have to schedule an appointment prior, unless it’s an emergency. Malaria While most of South Africa is malaria-free, this mosquito-borne disease is prevalent throughout the year in the Kruger National Park and the low-lying areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal. If you’re heading to the above-mentioned areas then you should consult a healthcare professional about the ideal prophylactic. The type of prophylactic will be determined by your personal health, how long you are visiting the malarial area and the time of year. Like they always say “prevention is the best cure” so you should try by all means to prevent being bitten by a mosquito. Use a repellent lotion and then cover up with clothes. Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks to ensure that you give them no chance at all. There are many malaria-free game reserves like Madikwe or Pilanesberg in the North West province, the Waterberg in Limpopo, or private reserves in the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape, where you can also experience the untouched wild of South Africa risk-free. These are worth considering, particularly if you’re travelling with children aged six and under, or if you are pregnant. Always remember, if you develop a bad headache, have aching joints, and recurring fevers and chills after your trip, advise your doctor that you have been to a malarial area. Malaria symptoms can sometimes be confused with flu symptoms, which can lead to fatal consequences. HIV/Aids While Southern Africa has a high prevalence of HIV/Aids, your only real risk of contracting it is if you have unprotected sex with an infected individual. There should be no reason for unprotected sex as condoms are widely available in pharmacies and convenience stores everywhere you go. Personal medication There are pharmacies throughout South Africa, and many everyday medications, such as painkillers, are available over the counter. Some large chain stores also have in-store pharmacies that offer good value for money. If you have a specific medical condition, it’s wise to carry the relevant doctor’s prescription with you. In the event of you losing your medication, a qualified pharmacist should be able to source a replacement, even if the trade name differs in South Africa. Getting around South Africa by train If you’re an adventurer at heart, rail travel provides an exciting way to soak up South Africa’s scenic beauty without having to drive yourself around. If your ideal adventure includes being able to sit back and relax, letting beautiful landscapes roll on by with magical pitstops along the way, then consider travelling South Africa by train. Whether you're looking for cost effective options or opulent multi day luxury experiences you can choose from economy class, luxury coaches or the ultimate opulent rail safari on the Blue Train or Rovos Rail. Steam enthusiasts can also enjoy rail journeys of old, on restored steam trains. South African train travel covers some of the most beautiful parts of the country, taking visitors from cities like Johannesburg and Bloemfontein to prime destinations like Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth. On a budget: The Shosholoza Meyl is a passenger train that runs between all major cities. An economy-class ticket will buy you a reclining seat with sufficient legroom on routes that include 11 major cities across the country, but be prepared for the unconventional. The energy on the train is always electrifying especially during summer (December to February) as there are people from different parts of the country travelling. You can purchase an upgraded ticket that can get you a two-bed coupe or four-bed compartment. These are transformed into suites during the day and bedrooms at night. Each Shosholoza Meyl train contains several communal showers and bedrooms for passengers to freshen up. Mid-range: The Premier Classe is a luxury passenger liner that accommodates guests in spacious single bed, double bed or family compartments. It’s complete with beautifully designed bathrooms and complimentary toiletries, gowns and room service. Yes, that’s right, room service on a train. The Premier Classe line operates between Johannesburg and Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town as well as Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. Luxury: South Africa's most glorious train is undoubtedly the Blue Train. The Blue Train pulls out all the stops to guarantee a state-of-the-art South African rail safari. It comprises a baggage van, personnel car, club car for smokers, deluxe suites, kitchen, dining car and lounge. The Blue Train operates between Pretoria and Cape Town, and Pretoria and Durban. A special trip to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is also available. There is also Rovos Rail, defining itself as "the most luxurious train in the world". Begin a journey with Rovos Rail and experience the extravagance of rail travel to Southern Africa’s most spectacular destinations. The beautifully rebuilt trains carry a maximum of 72 passengers in 36 superbly appointed suites and are also available for charter, while the Events Train caters for up to 250 guests and is suitable for daytime journeys. Rovos Rail has also established three stately seaside retreats in St James, Cape Town If you’re an adventurer at heart, rail travel provides an exciting way to soak in South Africa’s scenic beauty without having to drive yourself around. The Shosholoza Meyl Tel: +27 11 774 5244 Email: info@shosholozameyl.co.za https://www.shosholozameyl.co.za Premier Classe Premier Classe Tel: +27 87 802 6674 http://southafricanrailways.co.za/premier_classe.h... The Blue Train Tel: +27 12 334 8459 info@bluetrain.co.za http://www.bluetrain.co.za Rovos Rail Tel: +27 12 315 8242 reservations@rovos.co.za http://www.rovos.com Staying healthy in South Africa If you’re heading to South Africa you can rest assured that the country has a very well structured healthcare system with a number of public and private hospitals throughout the country. However, it always pays to be cautious. Like in many countries around the world, you’ll probably receive quicker care at a private hospital than a public one. As a precaution, make sure your medical insurance payment is always up to date before you travel. Qualified doctors, dentists, and other specialists can be found in main centres but you’ll have to schedule an appointment prior, unless it’s an emergency. Malaria While most of South Africa is malaria-free, this mosquito-borne disease is prevalent throughout the year in the Kruger National Park and the low-lying areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal. If you’re heading to the above-mentioned areas then you should consult a healthcare professional about the ideal prophylactic. The type of prophylactic will be determined by your personal health, how long you are visiting the malarial area and the time of year. Like they always say “prevention is the best cure” so you should try by all means to prevent being bitten by a mosquito. Use a repellent lotion and then cover up with clothes. Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks to ensure that you give them no chance at all. There are many malaria-free game reserves like Madikwe or Pilanesberg in the North West province, the Waterberg in Limpopo, or private reserves in the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape, where you can also experience the untouched wild of South Africa risk-free. These are worth considering, particularly if you’re travelling with children aged six and under, or if you are pregnant. Always remember, if you develop a bad headache, have aching joints, and recurring fevers and chills after your trip, advise your doctor that you have been to a malarial area. Malaria symptoms can sometimes be confused with flu symptoms, which can lead to fatal consequences. HIV/Aids While Southern Africa has a high prevalence of HIV/Aids, your only real risk of contracting it is if you have unprotected sex with an infected individual. There should be no reason for unprotected sex as condoms are widely available in pharmacies and convenience stores everywhere you go. Personal medication There are pharmacies throughout South Africa, and many everyday medications, such as painkillers, are available over the counter. Some large chain stores also have in-store pharmacies that offer good value for money. If you have a specific medical condition, it’s wise to carry the relevant doctor’s prescription with you. In the event of you losing your medication, a qualified pharmacist should be able to source a replacement, even if the trade name differs in South Africa. Accommodation in South Africa South Africa is well-known for its tourist attractions, not to mention its awesomely dynamic range of accommodation. It stretches from game lodges to five-star hotels, to friendly country houses, small hotels, B&Bs and camping sites – all kitted out with a range of catering options. Whether you’re a student traveller, family holiday goers, or retirees on life’s great adventure, there is accommodation for everyone. Budget South Africa has an established network of affordable accommodation options that are surprisingly comfortable and luxurious. If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s an active camping community that will provide you with all the relevant information about different campsites countrywide. Pre-booking is generally advisable. Mid-range If you would like to save some money then you should consider looking into bed and breakfast options. These differ as some offer self-catering units and some are fully serviced. They range from apartments to holiday villas, chalets and even farm cottages. On the other hand, guesthouses are slightly more expensive but worth it for the warm, homely South African experience. Luxury If you’re a five-star traveller, then you’ll be happy to know that South Africa is home to some of the most luxurious lodges and hotels in the world. South Africa has a number of globally famous hotels such as Mount Nelson, Twelve Apostles and Mala Mala. It’s worth mentioning that you’ll find that you pay less for luxury in this beautiful country when compared to other, more expensive, countries in the world. Safari lodges usually offer the all-inclusive variety, and will give you safari game drives, meals, and drinks or spa facilities, particularly if it’s an upmarket establishment. Drinking water in South Africa Drinking water in South Africa is safe to drink and cook with when taken from taps in urban areas. Not all tap water in rural areas is safe for consumption, so it is advised you take precautions if necessary. Some rural areas make use of borehole systems which source found water and store them in containers before being purified by the water system connected to your tap. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry maintains that South Africa’s national standard of water quality can be compared to that of the World Health Organisation standards. Should you find yourself in an unlikely position of not having clean water on hand, you can disinfect the water yourself by boiling it for a maximum of 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can add a teaspoon of bleach per 25 litres or a teaspoon of chlorine granules per 200l. In both the latter cases, allow the water to stand for 2 hours. The survivalist method is to expose the water to direct sunlight for at least 6 hours in a transparent container with a small airspace, shaking after filling and every hour after that. For on-the-go situations, you could always grab bottled water at a supermarket or garage. Bottled water is available from a number of brands, some of them well-known international names. Your choice includes still and sparkling waters and a range of fruit flavoured variants. BACK TO TOP

South African history has been dominated by the interaction and conflict of several diverse ethnic groups. The aboriginal Khoisan people have lived in the region for millennia. Most of the population, however, trace their history to immigration since. Indigenous Africans in South Africa are descendants of immigrants from further north in Africa who first entered what are now the confines of the country roughly one thousand years ago. White South Africans are descendants of later European settlers, mainly from the Netherlands and Britain. The Coloureds are descended at least in part from all of these groups, as well as from slaves from the then East Indies, and there are many South Africans of Indian and Chinese origin, descendants of labourers who arrived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The history South Africa is taken here more broadly to cover the history not only of the current South African state but of other polities in the region, including those of the Khoisan, the several Bantu kingdoms in the region before colonisation, the rule of the Dutch in the Cape and the subsequent rule of the British there and in Natal, and the so-called Boer republics, including the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. South Africa was under an official system of racial segregation and white minority rule from 1948 known as Apartheid, until its first egalitarian elections in 1994, when the ruling African National Congress came to dominate the politics of the country. The Early Settlers The Early Settlers . Jan van Riebeeck and the 90 men who landed with him in 1652 at the Cape of Good Hope, under instructions by the Dutch East India Company to build a fort and develop a vegetable garden for the benefit of ships on the Eastern trade route. The Great Trek The Great Trek was a movement of Dutch-speaking colonists up into the interior of southern Africa in search of land where they could establish their own homeland, independent of British rule. The determination and courage of these pioneers has become the single most important element in the folk memory of Afrikaner Nationalism. On 16 December 1838 the Battle of Blood River On 16 December 1838 the Battle of Blood River took place near the Ncome River in KwaZulu Natal. The battle was between the Zulu's and the Voortrekkers.The battle began at dawn and was over by midday. More than 3000 Zulu casualties were counted around the laager. Only, 3 Voortrekkers (including Voortrekker leader Pretorius) were wounded, none were killed. The Ncome River became red with the blood of the slain. Hence the river became known as "Blood River". The Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, Sir Henry Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to bring the scheme into being. The First Boer War The First Boer War (Dutch: Eerste Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally First Freedom War) also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 The Second Boer War The Second Boer War (Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Tweede Vryheidsoorlog or Tweede Boereoorlog) was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State. The Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. This massive granite structure is prominently located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854.On 8 July 2011 the Voortrekker Monument, designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk, was declared a National Heritage Site by the South African Heritage Nicolaas Pieter Johannes ("Niklaas" or "Siener") Janse van Rensburg (August 30, 1864 - March 11, 1926) was a Boer from the South African Republic - also known as the Transvaal Republic - and later a citizen of South Africa who was considered by some to be a prophet of the Boere. He was born on the farm Palmietfontein in the Potchefstroom district as son of Willem Jacobus Janse van Rensburg and Anna Catharina Janse van Rensburg. The Day of the Vow The Day of the Vow (Afrikaans: Geloftedag or Dingaansdag) is the name of a religious public holiday in South Africa until 1994, when it was renamed the Day of Reconciliation-The holiday is December 16. Commemorating a famous Boer victory over the Zulu, the anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams of Afrikaner nationalism The Voortrekkers The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans and Dutch for pioneers, literally "those who trek ahead", "fore-trekkers") were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony (British at the time, but founded by the Dutch) moving into the interior of what is now South Africa. The Great Trek consisted of a number of mass movements under a number of different leaders including Louis Tregardt, Hendrik Potgieter, Sarel Cilliers, Pieter Uys, Gerrit Maritz, Piet Retief and Andries Pretorius. General Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey General Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (22 October 1847 – 15 September 1914), known as Koos de la Rey, was a Boer general during the Second Boer War and is widely regarded as being one of the strongest military leaders during that conflict.He is generally regarded as the bravest of the Boer generals during the Second Boer War and as one of the leading figures of Boer independence. Wild Life In South Africa The Kruger National Park The Big Five The Wild Life Gallery South African Animal Rehabilitation Endangered Wild life in South Africa Stop Crime In South Africa Stop Farm Killing in South Africa Die Tuis Blad South African Boere Links Stay Alive in South Africa The South African Awb Leader History of South Africa THE FIRST SETTLERS The Great Trek The Day of The Vow The Battle of Blood River THE VOORTREKKERS Culture in South Africa The Flags of South Africa South African Foods South African Arts South African Guide The South African Nine Provinces History of South Africa THE FIRST SETTLERS The Great Trek The Day of The Vow The Battle of Blood River THE VOORTREKKERS BACK TO TOP

Western Cape - CAPE TOWN About this place About these results Western Cape, South Africa, is a dream destination for those seeking a balance between natural beauty and cultural richness. The province offers breathtaking landscapes ranging from rugged coastlines to towering mountains dotted with charming towns and villages. Visitors can stroll through the vibrant streets of Cape Town, indulge in wine tasting in the renowned Cape Winelands, or witness the stunning diversity of flora and fauna in the UNESCO-listed Table Mountain National Park. Other highlights include whale watching in Hermanus, hiking the scenic trails of the Cederberg Mountains, and experiencing the vibrant local music scene in the city of Stellenbosch.Situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain, Cape Town has an abundance of scenic beauty and natural attractions. Just an hour away from Cape Town, we have the Cape of Good Hope, where one may see the magnificent blooms of the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of only six floral kingdoms in the world. The cuisine found in Cape Town is extremely diverse with something to suit most people's palates. Because of its closeness to the Atlantic Ocean, the area is abundant in seafood. The Cape Winelands, located just outside of Cape Town, is home to a broad assortment of wineries that are guaranteed to please visitors of all tastes. Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa . It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa It is the country's second-largest city, after Johannesburg , and the largest in the Western Cape . The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality . The city is known for its harbour , its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region , and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point . In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by The New York Times and similarly by The Daily Telegraph Located on the shore of Table Bay , the City Bowl area of Cape Town is the oldest urban area in the Western Cape , with a significant cultural heritage. It was founded by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa , India , and the Far East . Jan van Riebeeck 's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the VOC Cape Colony , the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope , becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony . Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in southern Africa. The metropolitan area has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean , which includes False Bay, and extends to the Hottentots Holland mountains to the east. The Table Mountain National Park is within the city boundaries and there are several other nature reserves and marine-protected areas within, and adjacent to, the city, protecting the diverse terrestrial and marine natural environment. History Main articles: History of Cape Town and Timeline of Cape Town Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias planting the cross at Cape Point , 1488. The earliest known remnants of human occupation in the region were found at Peers Cave in Fish Hoek and have been dated to between 15,000 and 12,000 years old. Little is known of the history of the region's first residents, since there is no written history from the area before it was first mentioned by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias . Dias, the first European to reach the area, arrived in 1488 and named it "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by John II of Portugal as "Cape of Good Hope " (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to the Indian subcontinent and East Indies . In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1510, at the Battle of Salt River , the Portuguese admiral Francisco de Almeida and sixty-four of his men were killed and his party was defeated by the !Uriǁ’aekua ("Goringhaiqua" in Dutch approximate spelling) using specially trained cattle. The !Uriǁ’aekua were one of the so-called Khoekhoe clans who inhabited the area. In the late 16th century French, Danish, Dutch and English, but mainly Portuguese, ships regularly continued to stop over in Table Bay en route to the Indies. They traded tobacco, copper, and iron with the Khoekhoe clans of the region in exchange for fresh meat and other essential travelling provisions. City of Cape Town Cape Town is a city that will captivate you with its stunning scenery , rich history, and diverse culture. Whether you want to explore the majestic Table Mountain, enjoy the sandy beaches and penguins of the Atlantic coast, or experience the vibrant nightlife and cuisine of the city center, Cape Town has something for everyone. You can also discover the heritage and creativity of the city's many neighborhoods, from the colorful Bo-Kaap to the trendy Woodstock. Cape Town is a city that celebrates its diversity and welcomes visitors with open arms. Dutch period Jan van Riebeeck and Dutch colonists arriving in Table Bay in 1652. A diorama of Cape Town as it would have appeared in 1800 at the end of Dutch rule by the VOC. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the United East India Company (Dutch : Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie, VOC) were sent to the Cape Colony to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies , and the Fort de Goede Hoop (later replaced by the Castle of Good Hope ). The settlement grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour. This labour shortage prompted the local authorities to import enslaved people from Indonesia and Madagascar . Many of these people are ancestors of modern-day Cape Coloured communities. Under Van Riebeeck and his successors, as VOC commanders and later governors at the Cape, a wide range of agricultural plants were introduced to the Cape. Some of these, including grapes, cereals, ground nuts, potatoes, apples and citrus, had a large and lasting influence on the societies and economies of the region.Adderley Street in 1897 was an important commercial hub in Cape Town at a time when the city was the most important centre of economic activity in the Southern Africa region. With the Dutch Republic being transformed into Revolutionary France 's vassal Batavian Republic , Great Britain moved to take control of Dutch colonies, including the colonial possessions of the VOC. Britain captured Cape Town in 1795 , but it was returned to the Dutch by treaty in 1803. British forces occupied the Cape again in 1806 following the Battle of Blaauwberg when the Batavian Republic allied with Britain's rival, France, during the Napoleonic Wars . Following the conclusion of the war Cape Town was permanently ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 . The city became the capital of the newly formed Cape Colony , whose territory expanded very substantially through the 1800s. With expansion came calls for greater independence from the UK, with the Cape attaining its own parliament (1854) and a locally accountable Prime Minister (1872). Suffrage was established according to the non-racial Cape Qualified Franchise .During the 1850s and 1860s, additional plant species were introduced from Australia by the British authorities. Notably rooikrans was introduced to stabilise the sand of the Cape Flats to allow for a road connecting the peninsula with the rest of the African continentand eucalyptus was used to drain marshes. In 1859 the first railway line was built by the Cape Government Railways and a system of railways rapidly expanded in the 1870s. The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West in 1867, and the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in 1886, prompted a flood of immigration into South Africa. In 1895 the city's first public power station, the Graaff Electric Lighting Works , was opened.Conflicts between the Boer republics in the interior and the British colonial government resulted in the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. Britain's victory in this war led to the formation of a united South Africa. From 1891 to 1901, the city's population more than doubled from 67,000 to 171,000. As the 19th century came to an end, the economic and political dominance of Cape Town in the Southern Africa region during the 19th century started to give way to the dominance of Johannesburg and Pretoria in the 20th century. South African period An aerial photograph of the newly completed Cape Town foreshore in 1945. Visible in this photograph as the large area of empty land between the City Centre and the newly constructed harbour out of reclaimed land from Table Bay .In 1910, Britain established the Union of South Africa , which unified the Cape Colony with the two defeated Boer Republics and the British colony of Natal . Cape Town became the legislative capital of the Union, and later of the Republic of South Africa . By the time of the 1936 census , Johannesburg had overtaken Cape Town as the largest city in the country. In 1945 the expansion of the Cape Town foreshore was completed adding an additional 194 ha (480 acres) to the City Bowl area to the city centre. Apartheid era Prior to the mid-twentieth century, Cape Town was one of the most racially integrated cities in South Africa. In the 1948 national elections , the National Party won on a platform of apartheid (racial segregation) under the slogan of "swart gevaar " (Afrikaans for "black danger"). This led to the erosion and eventual abolition of the Cape's multiracial franchise . In 1950, the apartheid government first introduced the Group Areas Act , which classified and segregated urban areas according to race. Formerly multi-racial suburbs of Cape Town were either purged of residents deemed unlawful by apartheid legislation, or demolished. The most infamous example of this in Cape Town was the suburb of District Six . After it was declared a whites-only area in 1965, all housing there was demolished and over 60,000 residents were forcibly removed. Many of these residents were relocated to the Cape Flats . The earliest of the Cape Flats forced removals saw the expulsion of Black South Africans to the Langa , Cape Town's first and oldest township, in line with the 1923 Native Urban Areas Act . Under apartheid, the Cape was considered a "Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of "Bantus ", i.e. Black Africans. The implementation of this policy was widely opposed by trade unions, civil society and opposition parties. It is notable that this policy was not advocated for by any Coloured political group, and its implementation was a unilateral decision by the apartheid government. During the student-led Soweto Uprising of June 1976, school students from Langa , Gugulethu and Nyanga in Cape Town reacted to the news of the protests against Bantu Education by organising gatherings and marches of their own. A number of school buildings were burnt down and the protest action was met with forceful resistance from the police. Cape Town has been home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement . In Table Bay , 10 km (6 mi) from the city is Robben Island . This penitentiary island was the site of a maximum security prison where many famous apartheird-era political prisoners served long prison sentences. Famous prisoners include activist, lawyer and future president Nelson Mandela who served 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment on the island, as well as two other future presidents, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma . In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech since his imprisonment, from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall , hours after being released on 11 February 1990. His speech heralded the beginning of a new era for the country. The first democratic election , was held four years later, on 27 April 1994. Nobel Square in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront features statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize winners: Albert Luthuli , Desmond Tutu , F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela . Geography and the natural environment Devil's Peak , Table Mountain and Lion's Head Satellite image of Cape Town showing the Cape Peninsula (left), Cape Flats and False Bay Satellite image 3D of the City Bowl and Table Mountain Cape Town is located at latitude 33.55° S (approximately the same as Sydney and Buenos Aires and equivalent to Casablanca and Los Angeles in the northern hemisphere) and longitude 18.25° E. Table Mountain , with its near vertical cliffs and flat-topped summit over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high, and with Devil's Peak and Lion's Head on either side, together form a dramatic mountainous backdrop enclosing the central area of Cape Town, the so-called City Bowl . A thin strip of cloud, known colloquially as the "tablecloth" ("Karos" in Afrikaans ), sometimes forms on top of the mountain. To the immediate south of the city, the Cape Peninsula is a scenic mountainous spine jutting 40 km (25 mi) southward into the Atlantic Ocean and terminating at Cape Point . There are over 70 peaks above 300 m (980 ft) within Cape Town's official metropolitan limits . Many of the city's suburbs lie on the large plain called the Cape Flats , which extends over 50 km (30 mi) to the east and joins the peninsula to the mainland. The Cape Town region is characterised by an extensive coastline, rugged mountain ranges, coastal plains and inland valleys. Extent The extent of Cape Town has varied considerably over time. It originated as a small settlement at the foot of Table Mountain and has grown beyond its city limits as a metropolitan area to encompass the entire Cape Peninsula to the south, the Cape Flats , the Helderberg basin and part of the Steenbras catchment area to the east, and the Tygerberg hills, Blouberg and other areas to the north. Robben Island in Table Bay is also part of Cape Town. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and False Bay to the south. To the north and east, the extent is demarcated by boundaries of neighbouring municipalities within the Western Cape province. The official boundaries of the city proper extend between the City Bowl and the Atlantic Seaboard to the east and the Southern Suburbs to the south. The City of Cape Town , the metropolitan municipality that takes its name from the city covers the Greater Cape Town metropolitan area , known as the Cape Metropole, extending beyond the city proper itself to include a number of satellite towns, suburbs and rural areas such as Milnerton , Atlantis , Bellville , Brackenfell , Durbanville , Goodwood , Gordon's Bay , Hout Bay , Kraaifontein , Kuilsrivier , Muizenberg , Simon's Town , Somerset West and Strand among others. The Cape Peninsula is 52 km (30 mi) long from Mouille Point in the north to Cape Point in the south, with an area of about 470 km2 (180 sq mi), and it displays more topographical variety than other similar sized areas in southern Africa, and consequently spectacular scenery. There are diverse low-nutrient soils, large rocky outcrops, scree slopes, a mainly rocky coastline with embayed beaches, and considerable local variation in climatic conditions.[45] The sedimentary rocks of the Cape Supergroup , of which parts of the Graafwater and Peninsula Formations remain, were uplifted between 280 and 21S million years ago, and were largely eroded away during the Mesozoic. The region was geologically stable during the Tertiary, which has led to slow denudation of the durable sandstones. Erosion rate and drainage has been influenced by fault lines and fractures, leaving remnant steep-sided massifs like Table Mountain surrounded by flatter slopes of deposits of the eroded material overlaying the older rocks, There are two internationally notable landmarks, Table Mountain and Cape Point , at opposite ends of the Peninsula Mountain Chain, with the Cape Flats and False Bay to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The landscape is dominated by sandstone plateaux and ridges, which generally drop steeply at their margins to the surrounding debris slopes, interrupted by a major gap at the Fish Hoek–Noordhoek valley. In the south much of the area is a low sandstone plateau with sand dunes. Maximum altitude is 1113 m on Table Mountain. The Cape Flats (Afrikaans: Kaapse Vlakte) is a flat, low-lying, sandy area, area to the east the Cape Peninsula, and west of the Helderberg much of which was wetland and dunes within recent history. To the north are the Tygerberg Hills and the Stellenbosch district. The Helderberg area of Greater Cape Town, previously known as the "Hottentots-Holland" area, is mostly residential, but also a wine-producing area east of the Cape Flats, west of the Hottentots Holland mountain range and south of the Helderberg mountain, from which it gets its current name. The Helderberg consists of the previous municipalities of Somerset West, Strand, Gordons Bay and a few other towns. Industry and commerce is largely in service of the area. After the Cape Peninsula, Helderberg is the next most mountainous part of Greater Cape Town, bordered to the north and east by the highest peaks in the region along the watershed of the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland Mountains, which are part of the Cape Fold Belt with Cape Supergroup strata on a basement of Tygerberg Formation rocks intruded by part of the Stellenbosch granite pluton. The region includes the entire catchment of the Lourens and Sir Lowry's rivers, separated by the Schapenberg hill, and a small part of the catchment of the Eerste River to the west. The Helderberg is ecologically highly diverse, rivaling the Cape Peninsula, and has its own endemic ecoregions and several conservation areas. To the east of the Hottentots Holland mountains is the valley of the Steenbras River, in which the Steenbras Dam was built as a water supply for Cape Town. The dam has been supplemented by several other dams around the western Cape, some of them considerably larger. This is almost entirely a conservation area, of high biodiversity. Bellville , Brackenfell , Durbanville , Kraaifontein , Goodwood and Parow are a few of the towns that make up the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town. In current popular culture these areas are often referred to as being beyond the "boerewors curtain," a play on the term "iron curtain ." UNESCO declared Robben Island in the Western Cape a World Heritage Site in 1999. Robben Island is located in Table Bay, some 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Bloubergstrand, a coastal suburb north of Cape Town, and stands some 30m above sea level. Robben Island has been used as a prison where people were isolated, banished, and exiled for nearly 400 years. It was also used as a leper colony, a post office, a grazing ground, a mental hospital, and an outpost. Cape Town's "City Bowl " viewed from Lion's Head in May (late autumn) Geology Main article: Geology of Cape Town Geological map of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay The Cape Peninsula is a rocky and mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the continent. At its tip is Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope . The peninsula forms the west side of False Bay and the Cape Flats. On the east side are the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountains. The three main rock formations are the late-Precambrian Malmebury group (sedimentary and metamorphic rock), the Cape Granite suit, comprising the huge Peninsula, Kuilsrivier-Helderberg, and Stellenbosch batholiths, that were intruded into the Malmesbury Group about 630 million years ago, and the Table Mountain group sandstones that were deposited on the eroded surface of the granite and Malmesbury series basement about 450 million years ago. The sand, silt and mud deposits were lithified by pressure and then folded during the Cape Orogeny to form the Cape Fold Belt , which extends in an arc along the western and southern coasts. The present landscape is due to prolonged erosion having carved out deep valleys, removing parts of the once continuous Table Mountain Group sandstone cover from over the Cape Flats and False Bay, and leaving high residual mountain ridges. At times the sea covered the Cape Flats and Noordhoek valley and the Cape Peninsula was then a group of islands. During glacial periods the sea level dropped to expose the bottom of False Bay to weathering and erosion, with the last major regression leaving the entire bottom of False Bay exposed. During this period an extensive system of dunes was formed on the sandy floor of False Bay. At this time the drainage outlets lay between Rocky Bank Cape Point to the west, and between Rocky Bank and Hangklip Ridge to the east, with the watershed roughly along the line of the contact zone east of Seal Island and Whittle Rock. Climate Llandudno, Western Cape during a sunny day Cape Town has a warm Mediterranean climate (Köppen : Csb), with mild, moderately wet winters and dry, warm summers. Winter, which lasts from June to September, may see large cold fronts entering for limited periods from the Atlantic Ocean with significant precipitation and strong north-westerly winds. Winter months in the city average a maximum of 18 °C (64 °F) and minimum of 8.5 °C (47 °F). Winters are snow and frost free, except on Table Mountain and on other mountain peaks, where light accumulation of snow and frost can sometimes occur. Total annual rainfall in the city averages 515 mm (20.3 in) although in the Southern Suburbs , close to the mountains, rainfall is significantly higher and averages closer to 1,000 mm (39.4 in). Summer, which lasts from December to March, is warm and dry with an average maximum of 26 °C (79 °F) and minimum of 16 °C (61 °F). The region can get uncomfortably hot when the Berg Wind , meaning "mountain wind", blows from the Karoo interior. Spring and summer generally feature a strong wind from the south-east, known locally as the south-easter or the Cape Doctor , so called because it blows air pollution away. This wind is caused by a persistent high-pressure system over the South Atlantic to the west of Cape Town, known as the South Atlantic High , which shifts latitude seasonally, following the sun, and influencing the strength of the fronts and their northward reach. Cape Town receives about 3,100 hours of sunshine per year. Water temperatures range greatly, between 10 °C (50 °F) on the Atlantic Seaboard, to over 22 °C (72 °F) in False Bay . Average annual ocean surface temperatures are between 13 °C (55 °F) on the Atlantic Seaboard (similar to Californian waters, such as San Francisco or Big Sur ), and 17 °C (63 °F) in False Bay (similar to Northern Mediterranean temperatures, such as Nice or Monte Carlo ). A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 , a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Cape Town in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Perth in Australia . The annual temperature would increase by 1.1 °C (2.0 °F), and the temperature of the coldest month by 0.3 °C (0.54 °F), while the temperature of the warmest month would be 2.3 °C (4.1 °F) higher. According to Climate Action Tracker , the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5. Moreover, according to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report , Cape Town is one of 12 major African cities (Abidjan , Alexandria , Algiers , Cape Town, Casablanca , Dakar , Dar es Salaam , Durban , Lagos , Lomé , Luanda and Maputo ) which would be the most severely affected by future sea level rise . It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of US$65 billion under RCP 4.5 and US$86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$137.5 billion in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to US$187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, US$206 billion for RCP8.5 and US$397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures. Hydrology See also: Cape Peninsula § Drainage , Helderberg § Drainage , and Cape Flats § Drainage Sea surface temperatures See also: False Bay § Waves, tides, water circulation and temperature ; and Cape Peninsula § Oceanography Charts of sea surface temperature in and near False Bay in summer and winter Cape Town's coastal water ranges from cold to mild, and the difference between the two sides of the peninsula can be dramatic. While the Atlantic Seaboard averages annual sea surface temperatures around 13 °C (55 °F), the False Bay coast is much warmer, averaging between 16 and 17 °C (61 and 63 °F) annually. In summer, False Bay water averages slightly over 20 °C (68 °F), with 22 °C (72 °F) an occasional high. Beaches located on the Atlantic Coast tend to have colder water due to the wind driven upwellings which contribute to the Benguela Current which originates off the Cape Peninsula, while the water at False Bay beaches may occasionally be warmer by up to 10 °C (18 °F) at the same time in summer. In summer False Bay is thermally stratified, with a vertical temperature variation of 5 to 9˚C between the warmer surface water and cooler depths below 50 m, while in winter the water column is at nearly constant temperature at all depths. The development of a thermocline is strongest around late December and peaks in late summer to early autumn. In summer the south easterly winds generate a zone of upwelling near Cape Hangklip , where surface water temperatures can be 6 to 7 °C colder than the surrounding areas, and bottom temperatures below 12 °C. In the summer to early autumn (January–March), cold water upwelling near Cape Hangklip causes a strong surface temperature gradient between the south-western and north-eastern corners of the bay. In winter the surface temperature tends to be much the same everywhere. In the northern sector surface temperature varies a bit more (13 to 22 °C) than in the south (14 to 20 °C) during the year. Surface temperature variation from year to year is linked to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation . During El Niño years the South Atlantic high is shifted, reducing the south-easterly winds, so upwelling and evaporative cooling are reduced and sea surface temperatures throughout the bay are warmer, while in La Niña years there is more wind and upwelling and consequently lower temperatures. Surface water heating during El Niño increases vertical stratification. The relationship is not linear. Occasionally eddies from the Agulhas current will bring warmer water and vagrant sea life carried from the south and east coasts into False Bay. Flora and fauna Main article: Biodiversity of Cape Town Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos growing in Table Mountain National Park . Located in a Conservation International biodiversity hotspot as well as the unique Cape Floristic Region , the city of Cape Town has one of the highest levels of biodiversity of any equivalent area in the world. These protected areas are a World Heritage Site , and an estimated 2,200 species of plants are confined to Table Mountain – more than exist in the whole of the United Kingdom which has 1200 plant species and 67 endemic plant species. Many of these species, including a great many types of proteas , are endemic to the mountain and can be found nowhere else. It is home to a total of 19 different vegetation types , of which several are endemic to the city and occur nowhere else in the world. It is also the only habitat of hundreds of endemic species and hundreds of others which are severely restricted or threatened. This enormous species diversity is mainly because the city is uniquely located at the convergence point of several different soil types and micro-climates. Table Mountain has an unusually rich biodiversity. Its vegetation consists predominantly of several different types of the unique and rich Cape Fynbos . The main vegetation type is endangered Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos , but critically endangered Peninsula Granite Fynbos , Peninsula Shale Renosterveld and Afromontane forest occur in smaller portions on the mountain. Rapid population growth and urban sprawl has covered much of these ecosystems with development. Consequently, Cape Town now has over 300 threatened plant species and 13 which are now extinct . The Cape Peninsula , which lies entirely within the city of Cape Town, has the highest concentration of threatened species of any continental area of equivalent size in the world. Tiny remnant populations of critically endangered or near extinct plants sometimes survive on road sides, pavements and sports fields. The remaining ecosystems are partially protected through a system of over 30 nature reserves – including the massive Table Mountain National Park . Cape Town reached first place in the 2019 iNaturalist City Nature Challenge in two out of the three categories: Most Observations, and Most Species. This was the first entry by Capetonians in this annual competition to observe and record the local biodiversity over a four-day long weekend during what is considered the worst time of the year for local observations.[ A worldwide survey suggested that the extinction rate of endemic plants from the City of Cape Town is one of the highest in the world, at roughly three per year since 1900 – partly a consequence of the very small and localised habitats and high endemicity. Tourism Clifton Beach is one of Cape Town's most famous beaches Table Mountain from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden African penguins at Boulders Penguin Colony The Western Cape is a highly important tourist region in South Africa; the tourism industry accounts for 9.8% of the GDP of the province and employs 9.6% of the province's workforce. In 2010, over 1.5 million international tourists visited the area. Cape Town is not only a popular international tourist destination in South Africa , but Africa as a whole. This is due to its mild climate, natural setting, and well-developed infrastructure. The city has several well-known natural features that attract tourists, most notably Table Mountain , which forms a large part of the Table Mountain National Park and is the back end of the City Bowl . Reaching the top of the mountain can be achieved either by hiking up, or by taking the Table Mountain Cableway . Cape Point is the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula . Many tourists also drive along Chapman's Peak Drive , a narrow road that links Noordhoek with Hout Bay , for the views of the Atlantic Ocean and nearby mountains. It is possible to either drive or hike up Signal Hill for closer views of the City Bowl and Table Mountain. Many tourists also visit Cape Town's beaches , which are popular with local residents. It is possible to visit several different beaches in the same day, each with a different setting and atmosphere. Both coasts are popular, although the beaches in affluent Clifton and elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast are better developed with restaurants and cafés, with a strip of restaurants and bars accessible to the beach at Camps Bay . The Atlantic seaboard, known as Cape Town's Riviera, is regarded as one of the most scenic routes in South Africa, along the slopes of the Twelve Apostles to the boulders and white sand beaches of Llandudno , with the route ending in Hout Bay , a diverse suburb with a fishing and recreational boating harbour near a small island with a breeding colony of African fur seals. This suburb is also accessible by road from the Constantia valley over the mountains to the northeast, and via the picturesque Chapman's Peak drive from the residential suburb Noordhoek in the Fish Hoek valley to the south-east. Boulders Beach near Simon's Town is known for its colony of African penguins . The city has several notable cultural attractions. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront , built on top of part of the docks of the Port of Cape Town, is the city's most visited tourist attraction. It is also one of the city's most popular shopping venues, with several hundred shops as well as the Two Oceans Aquarium . The V&A also hosts the Nelson Mandela Gateway, through which ferries depart for Robben Island . It is possible to take a ferry from the V&A to Hout Bay , Simon's Town and the Cape fur seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands. Several companies offer tours of the Cape Flats , a region of mostly Coloured & Black townships . Within the metropolitan area, the most popular areas for visitors to stay include Camps Bay, Sea Point , the V&A Waterfront , the City Bowl , Hout Bay , Constantia , Rondebosch , Newlands , and Somerset West . In November 2013, Cape Town was voted the best global city in The Daily Telegraph 's annual Travel Awards. Cape Town offers tourists a range of air, land and sea-based adventure activities, including helicopter rides, paragliding and skydiving , snorkelling and scuba diving , boat trips, game-fishing, hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing. Surfing is popular and the city hosts the Red Bull Big Wave Africa surfing competition every year, and there is some local and international recreational scuba tourism. The City of Cape Town works closely with Cape Town Tourism to promote the city both locally and internationally. The primary focus of Cape Town Tourism is to represent Cape Town as a tourist destination. Cape Town Tourism receives a portion of its funding from the City of Cape Town while the remainder is made up of membership fees and own-generated funds[ The Tristan da Cunha government owns and operates a lodging facility in Cape Town which charges discounted rates to Tristan da Cunha residents and non-resident natives. Cape Town's transport system links it to the rest of South Africa; it serves as the gateway to other destinations within the province. The Cape Winelands and in particular the towns of Stellenbosch , Paarl and Franschhoek are popular day trips from the city for sightseeing and wine tasting . Stellenbosch Welcome to Stellenbosch – South Africa’s second oldest town and most inspiring wine, food, art and cultural destination. The scenic Stellenbosch Wine Route is the oldest in the country and one of the most popular destinations for local and international visitors alike. We’ll introduce you to unforgettable cellar door experiences, award-winning wine estates, celebrated restaurants and Stellenbosch’s unique and enviable lifestyle. Stellenbosch is an ideal getaway year-round. Our historic town centre is a living museum with a vibrant street culture. Expect friendly locals, a host of lively events (from art, music and history to outdoor pursuits) and natural scenery to rival even our finest grape. Stellenbosch is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa , situated about 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Cape Town , along the banks of the Eerste River at the foot of the Stellenbosch Mountain . The town became known as the City of Oaks or Eikestad in Afrikaans and Dutch due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by its founder, Simon van der Stel , to grace the streets and homesteads. Stellenbosch has its own municipality (incorporating the neighbouring towns of Pniel and Franschhoek ), adjoining the metropolitan area of the City of Cape Town . The town is home to Stellenbosch University . Technopark is a modern science park situated on the southern side of the town near the Stellenbosch Golf Course. Stellenbosch is a charming town in the Western Cape of South Africa, where history, culture, and nature blend harmoniously. As the second oldest town in the country, Stellenbosch boasts a rich heritage of Cape Dutch architecture, museums, and monuments. It is also the heart of the Cape Winelands, where you can taste some of the finest wines in the world, paired with delicious local cuisine. Stellenbosch is not only a feast for the senses, but also a paradise for outdoor lovers, with scenic trails, golf courses, and wildlife reserves to explore. Whether you visit in the off-season or the peak season, Stellenbosch will enchant you with its beauty and hospitality. History Paleolithic biface from Stellenbosch Pre-history In 1899 Louis Péringuey discovered Paleolithic stone tools of the Acheulean type at a site named Bosman's Crossing near the Adam Tas Bridge at the western entrance to Stellenbosch. This indicates that human habitation of the area dates as far back as 1 million years. By 10,000 to 20,000 years ago the population, assumed to have been ancestors of the San people, were established in the area. Founding and early history Typical Cape Dutch style house in Stellenbosch The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the Cape Colony , Simon van der Stel , who named it after himself – Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's Bush". It is situated on the banks of the Eerste River ("First River"), so named as it was the first new river he reached and followed when he went on an expedition over the Cape Flats to explore the territory towards what is now known as Stellenbosch. The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a magistrate with jurisdiction over 25,000 square kilometers (9,700 sq mi) in 1685. The Dutch were skilled in hydraulic engineering and they devised a system of furrows to direct water from the Eerste River in the vicinity of Thibault Street through the town along van Riebeeck Street to Mill Street where a mill was erected. Early visitors commented on the oak trees and gardens. During 1690 some Huguenot refugees settled in Stellenbosch, grapes were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African wine industry. In 1710 a fire destroyed most of the town, including the first church, all the Company property and twelve houses. Only two or three houses were left standing. When the church was rebuilt in 1723 it was located on what was then the outskirts of the town, to prevent a similar incident from destroying it again. This church has been enlarged a number of times since 1723 and is currently known as the "Moederkerk" (Mother Church). Since the 1800s The first school had been opened in 1683, but education in the town began in earnest in 1859 with the opening of a seminary for the Dutch Reformed Church. Rhenish Girls' High School , established in 1860, is the oldest school for girls in South Africa. A gymnasium , known as het Stellenbossche Gymnasium, was established in 1866. In 1874 some higher classes became Victoria College and then in 1918 University of Stellenbosch . The first men's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Wilgenhof, in 1903. In 1905 the first women's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Harmonie Harmonie and Wilgenhof were part of the Victoria College. In 1909 an old boy of the school, Paul Roos , captain of the first national rugby team to be called the Springboks , was invited to become the sixth rector of the school. He remained rector until 1940. On his retirement, the school's name was changed to Paul Roos Gymnasium . In the early days of the Second Boer War (1899–1902) Stellenbosch was one of the British military bases, and was used as a "remount" camp; and in consequence of officers who had not distinguished themselves at the front being sent back to it, the expression "to be Stellenbosched"came into use; so much so, that in similar cases officers were spoken of as "Stellenbosched" even if they were sent to some other place. Knysna Knysna is a gem of the Garden Route, a scenic coastal region in South Africa's Western Cape province. This charming town offers a variety of attractions, from the stunning Knysna Lagoon and its iconic sandstone cliffs, the Heads, to the ancient forests and rich cultural heritage. You can explore the lagoon by boat, kayak, or stand-up paddle board, or enjoy the views from the Featherbed Nature Reserve. You can also hike, bike, or zip-line through the forests, where you might spot elephants, monkeys, and rare birds. Knysna is also a hub of arts, crafts, and cuisine, with many galleries, markets, and restaurants to discover. Whether you are looking for adventure, relaxation, or inspiration, Knysna has something for everyone. Knysna Knysna (/ˈnaɪznə/ ) is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa . It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road. Etymology A number of explanations exist for the origins of the name, 'Knysna' - including 'xthys xna,' purportedly from a Khoekhoe language term that might have meant 'place of timber', 'place of ferns', or even 'straight down (referring to the cliffs at The Heads). However, it is also likely that the name is related to, or a derivative of, similar place names that do or have existed in other parts of Africa. In colonial times Lake Malawi was known as Lake Nyasa (very similar to 'Knysna'), while Webster's Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the word 'nyanza' as a noun: "(African): An expanse of water, as a lake or wide river". History Early history Forty fossilised hominid footprints, dating to about 90,000 years ago, along with various other archaeological discoveries suggest that humans have lived in Knysna for well over 300,000 years. The first of these were various San Hunter-gatherer peoples who inhabited most of Southern Africa in paleolithic . The San were gradually displaced and absorbed by south migrating Khoekhoe peoples. Houtunqua (Outeniqua) Khoe The indigenous inhabitants of the Knysna area are a southern Khoekhoe people called the Houtunqua or Outeniqua. Their name means "The People Who Bear Honey". From the Khoekhoegowab words /hao, 'honey', tun'(teni), 'to carry (verb)', and khoe rendered as qua meaning people. Little is known about Houtunqua society prior to European contact . What little historical sources exist are not elaborate. It is suspected that at the height of the Houtunqua's society, their territory stretched from the mouth of the Krom River in the east, along the Outeniqua Mountains which bear their name, up until the mouth of the Grootbrak River in the west. The Houtunqua seem to have remained autonomous from the Inqua (Hamcumqua) expansion in the north with smaller Khoekhoe tribes like the Gamtobaqua coming into the fold of the Houtunqua to seek protection from the ever expanding Inqua to the north east. The Houtunqua were connected to trades routes with the Attaqua and Hessequa to the west. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Houtunqua kept livestock and practised Nomadic Pastoralism but made extensive use of the resources in mountain forests . Excavations in the region have unearthed many caves showing signs of pre-colonial occupation.The discovery of shell middens at Knoetzie beach confirms the idea that like other Khoekhoe peoples, the Houtuniqua made use of the ocean for its resources. Oral tradition among the Houtunqua tells how the Houtunqua held specific superstitions about Europeans and believed them to be "baleful spirits". Thus the Houtunqua went out of their way to avoid contact with Europeans. Where other Khoekhoe tribes established formal relations and trade with Europeans, the Houtunqua receded deeper and deeper into the mountain forests. As a result the Houtunqua disappeared from the historical record for some time with some Houtunqua eventually assimilating into colonial society of the time. Chief Dikkop , who died in 1816, was the last recorded Chief of the Houtunqua. European settlement The first Europeans arrived in the area in 1760, and the farm Melkhoutkraal (literally translating from Afrikaans as 'milk wood kraal') was established on the eastern shore of the Knysna Lagoon. Stephanus Terblans, the first European farmer to settle in the area, was given a loan permit to farm here in 1770. Upon moving to Knysna George Rex , a British-born entrepreneur credited as being the founder of Knysna, acquired the loan rights to Melkhoutkraal in 1804 and later, in 1816, to the farm Welbedacht, which he renamed Eastford.[20] He gave 80 acres (32 ha) of Eastford to the Colonial Government , on which the Royal Navy established the township of Melville. Rex's properties were sold when he died in 1839. In April 1817, the transport brig Emu , belonging to the Cape Town Dockyard, was the first European vessel to enter the Knysna Heads. She struck a rock, now known as Emu Rock, and was holed. Her crew ran Emu ashore to prevent her sinking. In late April HMS Podargus arrived to render assistance. After surveying the area, Podargus sailed safely into the Knysna and retrieved Emu's cargo. The next major settler in Knysna was Captain Thomas Henry Duthie, who married Caroline, George Rex's daughter, and bought a portion of the Uitzigt farm from his father-in-law which Rex had named Belvidere. The construction of a small Norman -style church was commissioned by Duthie on his property, and was consecrated in 1855. The settlement's population grew slowly, and Englishmen such as Henry Barrington and Lt. Col. John Sutherland, who established the settlement of Newhaven on a portion of purchased land, settled in the area. At the time, Knysna was a field cornetcy of Plettenberg Bay within the Magisterial Division of George . In 1858, Knysna became a separate Magisterial Division, new stores and accommodation facilities were opened, and Knysna became the new commercial centre of the region. On their way to New Zealand , the Thesen family who were travelling from Norway fancied the little hamlet of Knysna so much that they decided to stay, bringing with them their knowledge of commerce and sailing . Soon, timber was being exported to the Cape from the vast areas of forest surrounding Knysna, and a steam sawmill and small shipyard were established. Later, these were relocated to Paarden Island, later known as Thesen's Island. Millwood Gold Rush In 1878, an important discovery was made in the area. A gold nugget was found in the Karatara River, near Ruigtevlei. Soon fortune hunters from all over the world arrived at the Millwood Forest in search of gold, and Millwood grew into a bustling town. Millwood was declared a gold field , the first in South Africa. However, soon not enough gold was being recovered to sustain a growing town, and the mining industry in the area collapsed. Some miners relocated to Knysna, bringing their little homes with them. One of the houses, known as 'Millwood House', now functions as a museum . Plettenberg Bay Plettenberg Bay, or Plett, is a stunning resort town on the Garden Route, where you can enjoy white sandy beaches, crystal-blue waters, and majestic wildlife. Explore the rich history of the town, from the Stone Age to the colonial era, and discover the diverse cultures and traditions of the locals. Experience the thrill of whale and dolphin watching, or try some adventure sports like kayaking, surfing, or bungee jumping. Relax at the Plett Puzzle Park, a fun-filled attraction for the whole family, or visit the nearby nature reserves and national parks, where you can encounter elephants, monkeys, and birds. Plett is a perfect destination for a memorable holiday in South Africa. Franschhoek If you are looking for a gastronomic adventure in South Africa, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are the perfect destinations for you. These charming towns in the Western Cape are known as the gourmet capital and the wine capital of the country, offering a variety of exquisite cuisine and fine wines to suit every palate. You can explore the scenic vineyards, enjoy the art and culture of the historic villages, and marvel at the stunning mountain views that surround you. Whether you visit in the peak season or the secret season, you will find plenty of reasons to fall in love with Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Paarl Hoog-En-Droog is a historic suburb of Paarl, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Hoog-En-Droog means 'high and dry' in Afrikaans, and refers to the elevated position of the area on the slopes of Paarl Mountain. Hoog-En-Droog is known for its Cape Dutch architecture, its scenic views of the valley and the vineyards, and its proximity to the Drakenstein Correctional Centre, where Nelson Mandela spent his last years of imprisonment before his release in 1990. Hoog-En-Droog is a great place to explore the rich cultural and natural heritage of Paarl, and to enjoy the local wine and cuisine. Oudtshoorn If you are looking for a unique and diverse destination in South Africa, Oudtshoorn might be the place for you. This town in the Klein Karoo is famous for its ostrich farming heritage, which you can explore at the Rietfontein Ostrich Palace, the oldest ostrich farm in the country. You can also visit the Cango Caves, a spectacular natural wonder with ancient rock formations and chambers. Oudtshoorn is also a gateway to the scenic mountain passes of the Swartberg and Outeniqua ranges, where you can enjoy hiking, biking, and wildlife viewing. Oudtshoorn offers a blend of adventure, culture, and environment in the heart of the semi-arid landscape of the Klein Karoo. BACK TO TOP

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South Africa 9 Provinces Videos South Africa is a country of diverse landscapes and cultures, and its nine provinces offer a wealth of experiences for visitors to explore. From the bustling cities of Gauteng and Western Cape to the rugged coastline of Eastern Cape and the wildlife-rich reserves of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, there is something for everyone. Whether you're interested in history, nature, or adventure, South Africa's provinces are waiting to be discovered. If You would love to watch the youtube videos of South Africa,just turn off the Radio player , on top of the Page. Thankyou Greeting Andreas the Web Master, Enjoy and Welcome to the 9 Provinces. South Africa 9 Provinces South Africa 9 Provinces Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Search videos Search video... Now Playing SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL | The 15 BEST Places To Visit In South Africa (+ Travel Tips) 17:51 Play Video Now Playing Top 20 Best Places To Visit In South Africa - Travel Video 13:15 Play Video Now Playing CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA | 15 Best Things To Do In Cape Town (+ Essential Travel Tips!) 17:41 Play Video We Entertain Just for You. Welcome to our page about South Africa! This beautiful country is known for its diverse culture, stunning landscapes, and incredible wildlife. From the bustling city of Johannesburg to the breathtaking Cape Town, South Africa has something for everyone. Join us as we explore the rich history and vibrant present of this amazing country. Tourism Tourism in South Africa South Africa is a country with a diverse landscape and a rich history. It is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, including the snow-capped Drakensberg Mountains, the lush Garden Route, and the vast Kalahari Desert. South Africa is also home to a variety of cultures, including the Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaner peoples. South Africa is a popular tourist destination, and for good reason. There is something for everyone in South Africa, from adventure seekers to history buffs to beach lovers. Here are just a few of the things you can do in South Africa: Visit the Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa. Hike to the top of Table Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Go white-water rafting on the Blyde River Canyon. Visit Robben Island , where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. Relax on one of South Africa’s many beautiful beaches . Explore the city of Cape Town, a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with a rich history. Visit the city of Johannesburg, a bustling metropolis with a diverse population. No matter what your interests are, you are sure to find something to love in South Africa. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip today! South African World Heritage Sites Starting with sites recognised by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Some are listed below. iSimangaliso Wetland Park Maloti-Drakensberg Park Cape Floral Region Protected Areas Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa Maloti-Drakensberg Park Cape Floral Region Protected Areas Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape Read more information on the World Heritage Sites Here are some additional tips for planning your trip to South Africa: The best time to visit South Africa is during the seasons (April-May and September-October). The weather is mild during these months, and there are fewer tourists. South Africa is a large country, so it is important to plan your itinerary carefully. There is a lot to see and do, so you will want to make sure you have enough time to explore. South Africa is a safe country to visit, but it is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and take precautions against petty theft. South Africa is a diverse country, so it is important to be respectful of the local culture. South Africa is a beautiful country with a lot to offer visitors. With a little planning, you can have an unforgettable trip. Easter Cape Tourism The Eastern Cape has so much to offer the tourists. the Eastern Cape is the second largest province, accounting for 13,9% of the total area. Free State Tourism The Free State’s many nature reserves and resorts are the perfect places to relax and recharge your batteries enjoying Free State Tourism. Take a hiking trail, go on a game drive, or simply put your feet up and spot the passing wildlife from your tent or chalet. Almost uniformly at about 1,300m above sea level, the Free State climate is typical of the interior plateau with rain falling in summer, cold winters and lots of sunshine.. Gauteng Tourism Experience Gauteng and all it has to offer. Gauteng boasts a rich history largely based on the foundation of a precious resource – gold. Gauteng is a province that offers a fascinating blend of first-world know-how, combined with African magic. KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape Tourism Northern Cape Tourism information on national and provincial parks. Characterised by its vast expanses of space and silence, warm sunny climate, friendly people and hospitality, the Northern Cape is a province with a rich culture heritage. Below you will find information on Northern Cape Tourism. North West Western Cape Tourism The Western Cape lies at the southern tip of Africa. The province’s unmatched natural beauty, famous hospitality, cultural diversity, excellent wine and rich cuisine make it one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions. The tourism industry in the province has grown faster and created more jobs than any other. One in 10 employees in the Western Cape earns a living in the tourism industry, which contributes more than R25 billion to the provincial economy. (2015/2016). South African Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business. Tourism remains a key driver of South Africa’s national economy. The tourism industry is a major contributor to the South African economy and employment of citizens. Tourism contributes a reasonable amount to the country’s gross domestic product. We have a population of beautiful, warm and friendly people. BACK TO TOP

The nine provinces of South Africa South Africa has nine provinces, each with its own history, landscape, population, languages, economy, cities and government. South Africa’s nine provinces are the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, North West and the Western Cape. Before 1994, South Africa had four provinces: the Transvaal and Orange Free State – previously Boer republics – and Natal and the Cape, once British colonies. In 1910 these four states were united into a single country, the Union of South Africa, under British rule. This became the Republic of South Africa in 1960, under apartheid rule. In the 1970s and eighties, under the apartheid doctrine of “separate development”, the map of South Africa was spattered with the odd outlines of the “homelands”. These unsustainable states were set up on disjointed parcels of land with no economic value. Laws were passed to make black South Africans citizens of these barren regions, denying black people’s citizenship of South Africa as a whole. In 1996, under South Africa’s new democratic constitution , the homelands were dismantled and South Africa consolidated into today’s nine provinces. The land area of South Africa’s nine provinces, from smallest to largest: Gauteng: 18,178 square kilometres (1.5% of total) Mpumalanga: 76,495 square kilometres (6.3%) KwaZulu-Natal: 94,361 square kilometres (7.7%) North West: 104,882 square kilometres (8.6%) Limpopo: 125,755 square kilometres (10.3%) Western Cape: 129,462 square kilometres (10.6%) Free State: 129,825 square kilometres (10.6%) Eastern Cape: 168,966 square kilometres (13.8%) Northern Cape: 372,889 square kilometres (30.5%) South Africa: 1,220,813 square kilometres (100%) Population of the provinces The population of the provinces also varies considerably. Gauteng, the smallest province, has the largest number of people living there – over a quarter of South Africa’s population. The Northern Cape, which takes up nearly a third of the country’s land area, has the smallest population: just over 2% of the national total. The population of South Africa’s nine provinces in 2017, from smallest to largest: Northern Cape: 1.2 million people (2.1% of South Africa’s total population) Free State: 2.9 million people (5.1%) North West: 3.9 million people (6.8%) Mpumalanga: 4.4 million people (7.9%) Limpopo: 5.8 million people (10.2%) Eastern Cape: 6.5 million people (11.5%) Western Cape : 6.5 million people (11.5%) KwaZulu-Natal: 11.1 million people (19.6%) Gauteng: 14.3 million people (25.3%) South Africa’s population South Africa has 56.5-million people, according to 2017 estimates. The 2011 census puts it at 51.5-million. Black South Africans make up around 81% of the total, coloured people 9%, whites 8% and Indians 3%. Census counts of provincial populations South Africa has held three censuses in its recent democratic history: in 1996, 2001 and 2011. Over those 15 years, the population of the provinces shifted.Gauteng’s population grew dramatically, overtaking that of KwaZulu-Natal – which saw significant growth of its own. Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape also had notable increases in population. By contrast, the populations of the Eastern Cape, Free State and Northern Cape remained fairly static, as people migrated to other provinces. Population density in the provinces The variation in land area and population among South Africa’s population translates into huge differences in population density. Gauteng has an average of 785 people per square kilometre, while the Northern Cape has only three people for each square kilometre. Population density in South Africa’s nine provinces in 2017, from smallest to largest: Northern Cape: 3 people per square kilometre Free State: 22 people per square kilometre North West: 37 people per square kilometre Eastern Cape: 38 people per square kilometre Limpopo: 46 people per square kilometre Western Cape: 50 people per square kilometre Mpumalanga: 58 people per square kilometre KwaZulu-Natal: 117 people per square kilometre Gauteng: 785 people per square kilometre Provincial migration South Africans migrate away from poverty to where the jobs are, moving from poorer provinces to the richer ones. Gauteng is South Africa’s wealthiest province, mostly a city region and the centre of the country’s economy. It has the largest population, constantly swelled by migration. The province’s net migration rate (the number of people moving in minus people moving out) was nearly a million between 2011 and 2016. The Eastern Cape is the poorest province. Between 2011 and 2016 nearly half a million of its people migrated to other provinces, while only 170 000 or so moved into the province. Province and race There is also a wide variation in the racial composition of the different provinces’ populations. Census 2011 figures reveal that black South Africans are the majority population group in seven of the nine provinces, comprising from 75% to 97% of the provincial total. Yet they make up less than a third of the population in the Western Cape (26.7%) and under a half in the Northern Cape (46.5%). The distribution of a population group can reflect that people’s history in the country. Coloured South Africans are to be found mainly in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape (respectively 61.1%, 12% and 10.7% of South Africa’s total coloured population) because they are descended from a mixture of slaves brought to what was then the Cape Colony, white immigrants to the colony, and indigenous Africans, particularly the Khoisan. The majority (71.6%) of Indian South Africans live in KwaZulu-Natal because their ancestors were brought to Natal in the early 20th century to work on sugarcane plantations. And only 0.3% of Indians live in the Free State (0.1% of the total Free State population), as they were forbidden by law to enter what was then the Orange Free State during the apartheid era. Provincial distribution also reflects a group’s socioeconomic position. White South Africans, the beneficiaries of the apartheid system, are largely found in the more developed and urbanised provinces of Gauteng (40.4% of the total white population, and 18.9% of the total Gauteng population) and the Western Cape (19.4% of the total white population, and 18.4% of the Western Cape population). Languages of the provinces There’s considerable variation in home languages between the provinces, according to Census 2011. IsiXhosa, for instance, is spoken by almost 80% of people in the Eastern Cape, while around 78% of those in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu. IsiZulu is also the most common home language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. In the Western Cape and Northern Cape, Afrikaans comes into its own. READ MORE: The 11 languages of South Africa The main languages in each province, according to Census 2011: Eastern Cape: isiXhosa 78.8%, Afrikaans 10.6% Free State: Sesotho 64.2%, Afrikaans 12.7% Gauteng: isiZulu 19.8%, English 13.3%, Afrikaans 12.4%, Sesotho 11.6% KwaZulu-Natal: isiZulu 77.8%, English 13.2% Limpopo: Sesotho 52.9%, Xitsonga 17%, Tshivenda 16.7% Mpumalanga: siSwati 27.7%, isiZulu 24.1%, Xitsonga 10.4%, isiNdebele 10.1% Northern Cape: Afrikaans 53.8%, Setswana 33.1% North West: Setswana 63.4%, Afrikaans 9% Western Cape: Afrikaans 49.7%, isiXhosa 24.7%, English 20.3% Economy of the provinces Gauteng dominates almost all industries in South Africa, except agriculture and mining. In 2016 the main industries in each province were: Eastern Cape: government services 21%, trade, catering and accommodation 18%, finance 16% Free State: government services 15%, finance 14%, trade, catering and accommodation 13% Gauteng: finance 23%, government services 19%, manufacturing 14% KwaZulu-Natal: manufacturing 16%, finance 15%, government services 15% Limpopo: mining 25%, government services 18%, trade, catering and accommodation 13% Mpumalanga: mining 20%, trade, catering and accommodation 13%, manufacturing 13% Northern Cape: mining 19%, government services 15%, finance 12% North West: mining 30%, government services 12%, finance 12% Western Cape: finance 23%, trade, catering and accommodation 15%, manufacturing 14% The province’s share of South Africa’s economy Population size correlates with each province’s contribution to the national economy, with Gauteng having the biggest. The tiny province punches way above its weight, making up 33.8% of South Africa’s gross domestic product in 2016 and around 5% of the GDP of Africa as a whole. Next is KwaZulu-Natal with 16%, followed by the Western Cape with 13.7%. These three provinces together contribute nearly two-thirds to total economy of South Africa. In 2016 the value of each province’s economy, and its share of the total GDP of South Africa, was: Northern Cape: R91 billion (2.1% of South Africa’s GDP) Free State: R218 billion (5%) North West: R280 billion (6.4%) Limpopo: R312 billion (7.2%) Mpumalanga: R324 billion (7.4%) Eastern Cape: R331 billion (7.6%) Western Cape: R596 billion (13.7%) KwaZulu-Natal: R692 billion (15.9%) Gauteng: R1.5 trillion (34.6%) Government of the provinces South Africa’s provinces are governed, in different ways, on a national, provincial and local level. National government On the national level, South Africa has two houses of parliament: the National Assembly, and the National Council of Provinces. The second exists to ensure that the interests of each province are protected in the laws passed by the National Assembly. Each one of South Africa’s nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the National Council of Provinces. Six of these are permanent members of the council, and four are special delegates. Provincial government Each province has its own provincial government. The provincial legislature has the power to pass laws in certain limited areas. The legislature has between 30 and 80 members depending on the province’s portion of the national voters’ roll. The premier – the head of government in the province – governs the province together with other “members of the executive council”, known as MECs. Each MEC has a specific responsibility, such as health, education, tourism and transport. Local government The nine provinces are each further divided into municipalities. Metropolitan municipalities are densely populated urban areas with major cities – such as Johannesburg or Durban – at their core. District municipalities are larger, less urban regions centred on one or more town or small city. District municipalities are further divided into local municipalities. The cities of the provinces Each of the nine provinces has a provincial capital, the seat of provincial government. These are usually the largest city in the province – Johannesburg in Gauteng, for example, or Mahikeng in North West. The exceptions are the Eastern Cape (Bhisho) and KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg), which have smaller cities as their capitals for reasons of history. Cape Town in the Western Cape and Bloemfontein in the Free State also stand out for being both provincial capitals and two of the three capital cities of South Africa. The provincial capitals and major cities of South Africa’s nine provinces are: Eastern Cape: Bhisho (capital) and Port Elizabeth (major city) Free State: Bloemfontein (capital and major city) Gauteng: Johannesburg (capital and major city) KwaZulu-Natal: Pietermaritzburg (capital) and Durban (major city) Limpopo: Polokwane (capital and major city) Mpumalanga: Mbombela (capital and major city) – also known as Nelspruit North West: Mahikeng (capital and major city) – formerly known as Mafeking, then as Mafikeng Northern Cape: Kimberley (capital and major city) Western Cape: Cape Town (capital and major city) Sources Census South Africa public database Statistics South Africa Census 2011 Statistics South Africa Community Survey 2016 Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2017 Statistics South Africa gross domestic product, fourth quarter 2017 United Nations Statistics Division World Statistics Pocketbook 2017 World Bank Open Data Media Club South Africa BACK TO TOP

South African Foods The cuisine of South Africa is sometimes called "rainbow cuisine", as it has had a variety of multicultural sources and stages.The cuisine can be generalized as: Cookery practiced by indigenous people of Africa such as the Sotho and Nguni-speaking people. Cookery that emerged from several waves of colonialisation and immigration introduced during the colonial period by people of Dutch, German, French and Indonesian descent (since 1652) Afrikaner, British descent (since 1805 and 1820 Settlers) and their slaves or servants - this includes the cuisine of the so-called Cape Malay people, which has many characteristics of Indonesia and cooking styles from neighbouring colonial cultures such as Portuguese Mozambique. world clocks Johannesburg Time In the precolonial period, indigenous cuisine was characterized by the use of a very wide range of foods including fruits, nuts, bulbs, leaves and other products gathered from wild plants and by the hunting of wild game. The introduction of domestic cattle and grain crops by Bantu speakers who arrived in the southern regions from central Africa since 10,000 BC and the spread of cattle keeping to Khoi and San groups enabled products and the availability of fresh meat on demand. The pre-colonial diet consisted primarily of cooked grains, especially sorghum, fermented milk (somewhat like yogurt) and roasted or stewed meat. At some point, maize replaced sorghum as the primary grain, and there is some dispute as to whether maize, a Central American crop, arrived with European settlers or spread through Africa before white settlement via Africans returning from the Americas during the era of the slave trade. Men also kept sheep and goats, and communities often organized vast hunts for the abundant game; but beef was considered the absolutely most important and high status meat. The ribs of any cattle that were slaughtered in many communities were so prized that they were offered to the chief of the village. In many ways, the daily food of Black South African families can be traced to the indigenous foods that their ancestors ate. A typical meal in a Black South African family household that is Bantu-speaking is a stiff, fluffy porridge of maize meal ,called "pap," and very similar to American grits with a flavorful stewed meat gravy. Traditional rural families and many urban ones, often ferment their pap for a few days especially if it is sorghum instead of maize which gives it a tangy flavor. The Sotho-Tswana call this fermented pap, "ting." The vegetable is often some sort of pumpkin, varieties of which are indigenous to South Africa, although now many people eat pumpkins that originated in other countries. Rice and beans are also very popular even though they are not indigenous. Another common vegetable dish, which arrived in South Africa with its many Irish immigrants, but which has been adopted by black South Africans, is shredded cabbage and white potatoes cooked with butter. For many Black South Africans, the center of any meal is the meat. The Khoisan ate roasted meat, and they also dried meat for later use. The influence of their diet is reflected in the universal (black and white) Southern African love of barbecue (generally called in South Africa by its Afrikaans name, a "braai") and biltong (dried preserved meat). As in the past, when men kept cattle as their prized possession in the rural areas, Black South Africans have a preference for beef. Today, Black South Africans enjoy not only beef, but mutton, goat, chicken and other meats as a centerpiece of a meal. On weekends, many Black South African families, like white South Africans, have a "braai," and the meal usually consists of "pap and vleis," which is maize porridge and grilled meat. Eating meat even has a ritual significance in both traditional and modern Black South African culture. For weddings, initiations, the arrival of family members after a long trip and other special occasions, families will buy a live animal and slaughter it at home, and then prepare a large meal for the community or neighborhood. Participants often say that spilling the blood of the animal on the ground pleases deceased ancestors who invisibly gather around the carcass. On holiday weekends, entrepreneurs will set up pens of live animals along the main roads of Black townships—mostly sheep and goats for families to purchase, slaughter, cook and eat. Beef being the most prized meat, for weddings, affluent Black families often purchase a live steer for slaughter at home. Vegetarianism is generally met with puzzlement among Black South Africans, although most meals are served with vegetables such as pumpkin, beans and cabbage. Foreign visitors to South Africa should be aware that South Africans are so carnivorous that inviting South Africans to dinner and serving a vegetarian meal may be interpreted as an insult even by sophisticated urban people. Urbanization from the nineteenth century onward, coupled with close control over agricultural production, led Black South Africans to rely more and more on comparatively expensive, industrially-processed foodstuffs like wheat flour, white rice, mealie-meal (maize) and sugar. Before the arrival of crops from the Americas, pap was mostly made from sorghum, but maize is much more prevalent today. Often these foods were imported or processed by white wholesalers, mills and factories. The consequence was to drastically restrict the range of ingredients and cooking styles used by indigenous cooks. On the other hand, some imported food plants (maize, tomatoes) have expanded the dietary range of indigenous cooks. Of these maize is the most significant - it has been integrated to such an extent into the traditional diet that it is often assumed to be an indigenous plant.Popular foods in modern South Africa are chicken, limes, garlic, ginger, chili, tomatoes, onions and many spices. South Africa was settled from the seventeenth century onwards by colonists from Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. These colonists brought European cookery styles with them. The Afrikaners have their succulent potjiekos, tamatiebredie ,tomato bredie, or stews of lamb and mutton with tomato and onion sauce, with or without rice. There are many European contributions like Dutch fried crueler or koeksister, Malva Pudding and melktert (milk tart). French Hugenots brought wines as well as their traditional recipes.During the pioneering days of the 17th century, new foods such as biltong, droëwors (dried sausage) and rusks evolved locally out of necessity. A very distinctive regional style of South African cooking is often referred to as "Cape Dutch". This cuisine is characterized by the use of spices such as nutmeg, allspice and hot peppers. The Cape Dutch cookery style owes at least as much to the cookery of the slaves brought by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape from Bengal, Java and Malaysia as it does to the European styles of cookery imported by settlers, and this is reflected in the use of eastern spices and the names given to many of these dishes. The Cape Malay influence has brought spicy curries, sambals, pickled fish, and variety of fish stews. Bobotie is a South African dish that has Cape Malay origins. It consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. Of the many dishes common to South Africa, bobotie is perhaps closest to being the national dish, because it isn't made in any other country. The recipe originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia, with the name derived from the Indonesian bobotok. It is also made with curry powder leaving it with a slight "tang". It is often served with sambal, a hint of its origins from the Malay Archipelago. Curried dishes are popular with lemon juice in South Africa among people of all ethnic origins; many dishes came to the country with the thousands of Indian labourers brought to South Africa in the nineteenth century. The Indians have introduced a different line of culinary practices, including a variety of sweets, chutneys, fried snacks such as samosa, and other savory foods. Bunny chow is a dish from Durban, where there is a large Indian community, that has been adapted into mainstream South African cuisine and has become quite popular. When South Africa's mines were developed and Black South Africans began to urbanize, women moved to the city also, and began to brew beer for the predominantly male labor force a labor force that was mostly either single or who had left their wives back in the rural areas under the migrant labor system. That tradition of urban women making beer for the labor force persists in South Africa to the extent that informal bars and taverns ,shebeens are typically owned by women shebeen queens. Today, most urban dwellers buy beer manufactured by industrial breweries that make beer that is like beer one would buy in Europe and America, but rural people and recent immigrants to the city still enjoy the cloudy, unfiltered traditional beer. Compared to an American or southern or Korea or western European diet, milk and milk products are very prominent in the traditional Black South African diet. As cows were considered extremely desirable domestic animals in precolonial times, milk was abundant.In the absence of refrigeration, various kinds of soured milk, somewhat like yogurt, were a dietary mainstay. A visitor to any African village in the 1800s would have been offered a large calabash of cool fermented milk as a greeting. Because milk cows allowed women to wean their children early and become fertile more quickly, indigenous cultures had a number of sayings connecting cattle, milk and population growth, such as the Sotho-Tswana saying, "cattle beget children. " Today, in the dairy section of South Africa's supermarkets, one will find a variety of kinds of milk, sour milk, sour cream, and other modern versions of traditional milk products. South Africa can be said to have a significant "eating out" culture. While there are some restaurants that specialize in traditional South African dishes or modern interpretations there of, restaurants featuring other cuisines such as Moroccan, Chinese, West African, Congolese and Japanese can be found in all of the major cities and many of the larger towns. In addition, there are also a large number of home-grown chain restaurants, such as Spur and Dulce Cafe. There is also a proliferation of fast food restaurants in South Africa. While some international players such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wimpy are active in the country, they face stiff competition from local chains such as Nando's, Steers, Chicken Licken and Barcelos. Many of the restaurant chains originating from South-Africa have also expanded successfully outside the borders of the country. Amasi, sour milk Biltong, a salty dried meat (similar to jerky), although the meat used is often from different types of Antelope or other venison. Biryani Bobotie, a dish of Malay descent, is like meatloaf with raisins and with baked egg on top, and is often served with yellow rice, sambals, coconut, banana slices, and chutney. Boerewors, a sausage that is traditionally braaied (barbecued). Bunny chow, curry stuffed into a hollowed-out loaf of bread. A bunny chow is called Kota by the locals. Chakalaka, a spicy South African vegetable relish. Chutney, or Blatjang, a sweet sauce made from fruit that is usually poured on meat. Frikkadelle - meatballs Gatsby food mainly popular in Cape Town, comes in the form of a long roll with fillings of anything ranging from polony to chicken or steak and hot chips. Gesmoorde vis, salted cod with potatoes and tomatoes and sometimes served with apricot jam. Hoenderpastei, chicken pie, traditional Afrikaans fare. Isidudu, pumpkin pap Koeksisters come in two forms and are a sweet delicacy. Afrikaans koeksisters are twisted pastries, deep fried and heavily sweetened. Koeksisters found on the Cape Flats are sweet and spicy, shaped like large eggs, and deep-fried. Mageu, a drink made from fermented mealie pap. Mala Mogodu, a local dish equivalent of tripe. The locals usually enjoy mala mogodu with hot pap and spinach Malva Pudding, a sweet spongy Apricot pudding of Dutch origin. Mashonzha, made from the mopane worm. Melktert (milk tart), a milk-based tart or dessert. Melkkos (milk food), another milk-based dessert. Mealie-bread, a sweet bread baked with sweetcorn. Mielie-meal, one of the staple foods, often used in baking but predominantly cooked into pap or phutu. Ostrich is an increasingly popular protein source as it has a low cholesterol content; it is either used in a stew or filleted and grilled. Pampoenkoekies (pumpkin fritters), flour has been supplemented with or replaced by pumpkin or sweet potato. Potbrood (pot bread or boerbrood), savoury bread baked over coals in cast-iron pots. Potjiekos, a traditional Afrikaans stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. Rusks, a rectangular, hard, dry biscuit eaten after being dunked in tea or coffee; they are either home-baked or shop-bought (with the most popular brand being Ouma Rusks). Samosa or samoosa, a savoury stuffed Indian pastry that is fried. Skilpadjies, lamb's liver wrapped in netvet and braaied over hot coals. Smagwinya, fat cakes Smoked or braai'ed snoek, a regional gamefish. Sosaties, kebab, grilled marinated meat on a skewer. Tomato bredie, a lamb and tomato stew. Trotters and Beans, from the Cape, made from boiled pig's or sheep's trotters and onions and beans. Umngqusho, a dish made from white maize and sugar beans, a staple food for the Xhosa people. Umphokoqo, an African salad made of maize meal. Umqombothi, a type of beer made from fermented maize and sorghum. Umvubo, sour milk mixed with dry pap, commonly eaten by the Xhosa. Vetkoek (fat cake, magwenya), deep-fried dough balls, typically stuffed with meat or served with snoek fish or jam. Walkie Talkies, Grilled or deep-fried chicken heads and feet, most popular in townships and sold by street vendors, sometimes in industrial areas with high concentrations of workers. Waterblommetjie bredie (water flower stew), meat stewed with the flower of the Cape Pondweed. South African Recipes South African Recipes South African cooking has its roots in the many cultures that have visited the country over time. Therefore you will find the main dishes include a mixture of Eastern flavours, Western tastes and a healthy dose of bushveld ingredient Bobotie recipe The origins of Bobotie can be traced back to the eastern influence on South African culture. The Cape Malay society are famous for cooking this dish and it is usually served with yellow rice. Ingredients 1 kg minced lamb 125ml milk 1 thick slice of white bread, crust removed and soaked in milk 2 roughly chopped onions butter Salt 1 tablespoon of curry powder (mix the hot and the Cape Malay versions for a good flavour) 1 chili, finely chopped (optional and only if you like your food quite hot) ½ cup vinegar 1 tablespoon of lemon juice 1 teaspoon of brown sugar 1 tablespoon of chutney 8 -10 crushed almonds (optional) 3 eggs 1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped 6 bay leaves 1 orange, sliced in wheels 1 lemon, sliced in wheels Oil for cooking Instructions on how to make it Heat the oil in frying pan and add the garlic, onion and curry power. Cook over medium heat for three minutes, then add the mince meat. Fry until the meat is almost done, then using your hands, squeeze the milk from the bread. Discard the milk and add the bread, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and chutney to the mince. Fry for a minute or so and then remove from heat. Take a pie dish and place three bay leaves, two wheels of orange and two wheels of lemon at the bottom. Now scoop the mince mixture into the dish. Decorate the sides of the dish with the rest of the lemon and orange wheels, wedging them between the mince and the sides of the dish so that only a third protrudes. If you are using almonds, push them into the mince. Beat the eggs and 125ml milk, and pour over the meat. Put three bay leaves on top of dish. Place the dish uncovered in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 160 deg Celsius. Serve with a plain green salad or chopped tomato and onion, sprinkled with a little vinegar. Make sure you have some chutney near at hand. Serve piping hot with the yellow rice. Boerewors recipe Boerewors or Farmers Sausage is a traditional BBQ sausage. There are many secret recipes on how to make boerewors but here we provide you with the traditional recipe. Ingredients 2 kg of chuck beef (fat and gristle removed) 750 de-boned thick rib of pork 200 g of pork fat (spek) 1 tablespoon ground coriander 2 tablespoons salt a good pinch of nutmeg ½ cup vinegar About 90g of pork casings (ask your butcher for some or ask him where you can buy it) Instructions on how to make it Cut the meat and spek into small cubes. Sprinkle the seasoning over the meat (not the vinegar Penny), mix well and then mince together. Add the vinegar and mix lightly, but thoroughly. Stuff into casing and refrigerate for 24 hours in a covered, non-metal container. (Optional: You can experiment by adding additional ingredients. For a lovely curry flavour add a tablespoon of curry powder to the above recipe. For a great garlic flavour add finely crushed and chopped garlic and for a sharper taste add more vinegar). Do not overcook sausage. About 12-15 minutes over slow coals should do well. Serve with other BBQ dishes like Mealie Bread Chicken Curry Potjie recipe Chicken Curry Potjie (pot) is a great way to be able to entertain and still enjoy a great meal by simply adding all the ingredients into a huge pot over the fire place and leaving to simmer. Instructions on how to make it Sauté your onions and garlic until soft, then add the spices and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato paste together with some red wine – simmer for about 5 minutes. Add chicken pieces and potatoes with a little more wine. Place the lid on your potjie, simmer on a low heat for about 45 minutes, checking the liquid level regularly, adding more red wine when needed. About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat add sugar to taste. Serve on a bed of rice, cooked together with mustard seeds, turmeric and onion flakes for added flavorIngredients 2kg skinless chicken thighs or breasts 3 large grated onions 5 skinless tomatoes 1 large tin tomato paste 4 heaped teaspoons masala 3 bay leaves 2 dessert spoons crushed garlic 1 table spoon coriander 1 teaspoon fennel 2 large sticks cinnamon 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons sugar 1 litre red wine 6 Large potatoes cut in half Oxtail Potjie recipe A Potjie Kos is a meal cooked in an iron pot over the fire. The way to cook a potjie is usually very slow. Many types of meat can be used for a potjie but here we have chosen one of the favorites - oxtail. Ingredients 2 large oxtails, cut into joints 1/3 cup cooking oil 2 large onions, sliced into fairly thick rounds 6 bay leaves 4 chopped cloves of garlic 4 large carrots, scraped and cut into chunky wheels the juice of one lemon 6 cloves a good grind of black pepper a dash of Worcester sauce salt 6 potatoes, peeled and halved 1/3 cup of brandy water to cover Instructions on how to make it Heat the oil in the potjie, then brown the meat quickly over high heat with the onion. Add bay leaves, garlic, cloves, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and carrots. Add enough water barely to cover. Let it simmer away very slowly for four hours, then add the potatoes and the brandy and let it simmer until the potatoes are done and the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. Serve with rice, crispy fresh bread and green salad. Sosaties recipe Sosaties on the BBQ have never tasted better especially when there is Boerewors on offer too. These kebabs can contain many types of meat (or vegetables) but lamb sosaties seem to always taste the best. Ingredients 500g boned shoulder or leg of lamb, cut into 25mm cubes 2 large onions, one sliced into rings, the other chopped finely 50ml olive or cooking oil 4 cloves of peeled and crushed garlic one tablespoon of curry powder a teaspoon of tumeric a tablespoon of brown sugar 4 crushed bay leaves One tablespoon of lemon juice, plus two lemon cut into small wedges 120ml of meat stock 125g packet of dried apricots One green pepper cut into blocks the same size as the meat cubes A good blob of butter Wooden skewer sticks (you can buy them from most supermarkets) Instructions on how to make it Place the meat in a non-metal bowl with the bay leaves at the bottom. Heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the chopped onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes. Add the tumeric, lemon and meat stock, bring to the boil. As soon as the marinade comes to the boil, pour it over the meat. Allow to cool and place in fridge overnight. When ready to cook skewer the meat, apricots, green pepper and onion rings onto the sticks. Pour the marinade into a saucepan, add a blob of butter and salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil and serve warm with the sosaties and lemon wedges. To prepare the sosaties you can either grill them under a very hot grill for about 10 minutes, or braai them over very hot coals, turning them as you go along. Serve with the lemon wedges and for side dishes you can make a bowl of fluffy white rice, potato salad, baked potato or small jacket potatoes and crispy bread to soak up the sauce. NOTE: If you like hot food, add more garlic, a few crushed chillies, crushed curry leaves and a sprinkling of peri-peri powder to the marinade. Vetkoek recipe The English have Yorkshire Pudding and the South Africans have Vetkoek! Fill it with mincemeat, cheese or any thing else that comes to hand. Ingredients 250ml (1cup) cake flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 egg 125 milk 125 ml oil for frying Instructions on how to make it Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. beat egg separately and add to flour. Add milk and mix until smooth heat oil in frying pan and drop a tablespoon of the mixture into oil. Don't make more than four at a time. Fry for two to three minutes on one side, then turn and fry for one minute on other side. Serve hot. Koeksisters recipe The sweet taste of these plaited dough cakes makes them a great favorite in South Africa. The secret of their success, is in preparing the syrup a day ahead and chilling it before dipping the koeksisters. Ingredients For the syrup: 1kg sugar 500ml (2 cups) water 2 pieces fresh green ginger (each 5cm), peeled and crushed 2ml (½ teaspoon) cream of tartar Pinch of salt Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon For the dough: 500g flour 2ml (½ teaspoon) salt 30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder 55g butter, grated 1 egg 250-375ml (1-1½ cups) milk or water Instructions on how to make it To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a saucepan. Heat (stirring) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cover the mixture and boil for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan lid and boil the syrup for a further 5 minutes, but do not stir it. Remove the syrup from the stove and allow it to cool for at least 2 hours in a refrigerator, or overnight. To make the dough, sieve together the dry ingredients and rub in the grated butter with your fingertips, or cut it in with a pastry cutter. Beat the egg, add 250ml (1 cup) of the milk or water and mix lightly with the dry ingredients to a soft dough. Add more milk or water if the dough is too stiff. Knead well until small bubbles form under the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand for 30 minutes –1 hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, then form koeksisters in either of the following ways: Cut strips 1 cm wide and twist 2 strips together, or plait 3 strips together, cutting the twisted, or plaited lengths at 8cm intervals and pinching the ends together. Alternatively, cut the dough into 8cm x 4cm pieces. Cut 2 vertical slits in each piece, reaching to 1cm from the end. Plait the 3 strips that have been formed and pinch together the loose ends. Heat 7-8cm deep oil to 180-190°C – a cube of bread should turn golden-brown in a minute. Fry the koeksisters for 1-2 minutes, or until golden-brown, then turn them over with a fork and fry until golden-brown on the other side. Remove the koeksisters with a lifter or slotted spoon, drain them for a moment on paper towel and then plunge them into the cold syrup for 1-2 minutes. Stand the container of syrup in a bowel of ice so that the syrup will stay cold. Remove the koeksisters from the syrup with a lifter or slotted spoon, allowing the excess syrup to flow back into the basin, then drain them slightly on a wire rack. Yellow Rice recipe Yellow rice is eaten with the Cape Malay dish called Bobotie. Ingredients 2 cups of rice ¾ cup raisins, soaked in water for 20 minutes, then drained 1 teaspoon of turmeric a dash of salt 2 sticks of cinnamon Instructions on how to make it Place all the ingredients, including the raisins in about 750ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. If there is still excess water in the pot when the rice is tender, pour it out carefully. Dot the rice with a few blobs of butter and give it a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar (come on Penny, a little sugar and a little cinnamon powder, mixed together). Cover and keep warm. Traditional Melktert recipe This is the traditional Duch way and it worth making it the "old fashioned" way if you have the time. Ingredients Pastry 62.5ml margarine (1/4 cup) 62.5mll sugar (1/4/ cup) 250ml Self raising Flour (1 cup) Pinch salt 25ml iced water (2 T) Filling 500ml milk (2 cups) 1 stick cinnamon 25ml butter (2 T) 50ml sugar (4T) 2 Eggs 50 ml Cake Flour (4T) Instructions on how to make it Pastry: 1. Cream the margarine and the sugar together. 2. Work in the flour and salt. 3. Add the water and work to a soft dough. 4. Wrap up and chill until required. Filling: 1. Scald the milk in a double boiler with the cinnamon stick. 2. Combine the sugar and flour and stir in the hot milk slowly. 3. Return to the heat and cook for 15 minutes with the lid of. 4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. 5. When cool, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 6. Line a 22cm tart plate with the pastry and pour the filling mixture in. 7. Bake at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for 20 minutes. 8. Before serving sprinkle the top with powdered cinnamon and castor sugar. Buttermilk Rusks recipe This is a traditional yeast-baked rusk - great for dunking in your tea or coffee early in the morning when you watch the sun rise as the boer trekkers did every morning when they traveled from the Cape to the Transavaal. If the rusks are to be kept for a long time, do not substitute margarine for the butter. Ingredients 375g butter 500g sugar 2 extra large eggs 1,5kg self-raising flour 30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder 500ml (2 cups) buttermilk or plain drinking yogurt Instructions on how to make it Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream the butter and sugar together very well. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder together, and add this to the creamed mixture, using a fork to mix. Add the buttermilk or yogurt, using a little milk to rinse out the carton. Mix well with a fork and then knead lightly. Pack lightly rolled, golf ball sized buns of the dough into the greased bread pans close together, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Place the pans in the middle of the oven, with a sheet of brown paper on the top shelf to protect the buns from becoming browned too quickly. Remove the paper after the buns are well risen and cooked through, to brown the tops. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Turn out the buns on to cake racks, cool them and separate them, using 2 forks. Pack them on wire racks or on cooled oven racks – air must circulate. Place them in the cool oven, leaving the door ajar, for 4-5 hours, or overnight, to dry out. If no buttermilk or yogurt is available, use fresh milk curdled with lemon juice or white vinegar. Buttermilk Rusks recipe This is a traditional yeast-baked rusk - great for dunking in your tea or coffee early in the morning when you watch the sun rise as the boer trekkers did every morning when they traveled from the Cape to the Transavaal. If the rusks are to be kept for a long time, do not substitute margarine for the butter. Ingredients 375g butter 500g sugar 2 extra large eggs 1,5kg self-raising flour 30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder 500ml (2 cups) buttermilk or plain drinking yogurt Instructions on how to make it Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream the butter and sugar together very well. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder together, and add this to the creamed mixture, using a fork to mix. Add the buttermilk or yogurt, using a little milk to rinse out the carton. Mix well with a fork and then knead lightly. Pack lightly rolled, golf ball sized buns of the dough into the greased bread pans close together, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Place the pans in the middle of the oven, with a sheet of brown paper on the top shelf to protect the buns from becoming browned too quickly. Remove the paper after the buns are well risen and cooked through, to brown the tops. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Turn out the buns on to cake racks, cool them and separate them, using 2 forks. Pack them on wire racks or on cooled oven racks – air must circulate. Place them in the cool oven, leaving the door ajar, for 4-5 hours, or overnight, to dry out. If no buttermilk or yogurt is available, use fresh milk curdled with lemon juice or white vinegar. Biltong Ingredients 25 lb beef (top round/sirloin/London broil/ eye of round) 4 pints warm water 1 ¼ lb fine salt ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup coriander, coarsely ground 2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tbsp black pepper, ground 1 cup red wine vinegar 2 tsp saltpeter (optional) To make the biltong Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles of the meat of choice. Cut into strips of approximately 2-inch thick and any desired length, always cutting with the grain. Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpeter, pepper and coriander together. Rub the seasoning mixture thoroughly into the strips of meat. Layer the meat, with the more bulky pieces at the bottom, in a glass or stainless steel container. Sprinkle a little vinegar over each layer, as you add them. South African Biltong. A great taste. Leave the meat in a cool place for 12 hours or more, depending on how salty you want the meat to be.(Some experimentation may be required to ascertain the correct length of time to let the biltong 'marinade' for, according to your taste.) Remove the meat from the marinade Mix the water and vinegar and dip the meat into this mixture. This makes the biltong shiny and dark.Once this is complete, the biltong is ready to dry.Pat the pieces of meat dry and then hang them up on S-shaped hooks, or use pieces of string, about 2 inches apart.Hang the biltong in a cool to warm, dry place with an oscillating fan blowing on it.Ensure that the air is dry, as too much moisture will cause the meat to spoil. The biltong is ready when the outside is hard and the center part of the biltong strip is still a little moist.Let the center dry according to personal taste. Makes about 21 lb BILTONG is South African dried meat and has been around for centuries. Any South African will do almost anything to get a share if he/she knows that BILTONG is available. Biltong is cut from the "stick" in thin pieces using a very sharp knife. Some people shave off a number of pieces at a time so they don't have to let cutting interfere with eating.A professional trick is to place the biltong in a vice and, using a wood plane shave off as many pieces of the desired thickness as required. Eaten on its own as an appetizer or all day munch. Especially at sporting events, but anywhere is OK.Try it, you'll find it much more addictive than peanuts or potato crisps. The recipe given above is for beef biltong, but like jerky, biltong may be made using game animals such as Buck and Deer.Ostrich produces a great tasting but somewhat dry biltong.PS. Biltong is not really recommended for unfortunate souls wearing dentures, unless its shaved very thin. South African Jokes SOUTH AFRICAN JOKES The devil goes to South Africa. There he meets Gatiep and asks: Do you know who I am?" Gatiep: "Nay, djy's nie van die PLEK nie, give me a hint." Devil: "I'm the prince of darkness." Gatiep: "Oh, djy's 'n bigshot by Eskom" A Priest was seated next to Van Der Merwe on a flight to Brakpan. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. Van Der Merwe asked for a Rum and Coke, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the priest if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust "I'd rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips." Van Der Merwe then handed his drink back to the attendant and said "Me too, I didn't know we had a choice." Submitted by Ella Rabe, Charlotte NC Three jokes uit die Kaap…… The fruit seller walks up to the car and says: “Peske, Peske. Lekke peskes. Net vyf rand virrie laanie." The guy in the car says: "Is hulle soet?" The fruit seller says: "Dja menee, kyk hoe stil sit hulle!!" Three guys selling snoek on the corner shouts: "Hiers djou snoek" The guy in the car says: "Wat vra julle vir daai snoek?" One guy replies: "Ons vra hulle niks. Wil djy hulle iets vra?" Gatiep & Maraai steel 'n snoek, en sien toe 'n Polisie man Gatiep sê: „Sit die snoek onder djou rok!“ Maraai sê: " Dit gaan stink Gatiep!" Gatiep sê vir Maraai: " Drukkie snoek se nies toe, man!" There was a German, an Italian and Van der Merwe on death row.The warden gave them a choice of three ways to die: 1. to be shot 2. to be hung 3. to be injected with the AIDS virus for a slow death. So the German said, "Shoot me right in the head." Boom, he was dead instantly. Then the Italian said, "Just hang me." Snap! He was dead. Then it was Van der Merwe turn , and he said, "Give me some of that AIDS stuff." They gave him the shot, and Van der Merwe fell down laughing. The guards looked at each other and wondered what was wrong with this guy Then Van der Merwe said, "Give me another one of those shots,"so the guards did. Now he was laughing so hard, tears rolled from his eyes and he doubled over. Finally the warden said, "What's wrong with you?" Van der Merwe replied, "You guys are so stupid..... I'm wearing a condom." A boer went to the appliance store sale and found a bargain. "I would like to buy this TV," he told the salesman. "Sorry, we don't sell to boere," the salesman replied. He hurried home, took a shower, changed his clothes and combed his hair, then came back and again told the salesman "I would like to buy this TV." "Sorry, we don't sell to boere," the salesman replied. "Bliksem, he recognized me," he thought. So he went for a complete disguise this time, haircut and new color, shaved off the baard, suit and tie, fake glasses, then waited a few days before he again approached the salesman. "I would like to buy this TV." Sorry, we don't sell to boere," the salesman replied. Frustrated, he exclaimed "Jislaaik, man! How do you know I'm a boer?" "Because that's a microwave," the salesman replied. Van's two 18-year-old twin daughters Hettie and Betty are helping Ma van der Merwe redecorate. They're about to paint a bedroom when Ma sticks her head round the door and tells them not to get any paint on their dresses. So the girls decide to paint the room in the nude. Some time later there's a knock on the door. "Who's there?", asks Hettie. "Blind man",comes the answer. The girls look at each other and decide it can do no harm to let him in. Betty opens the door and in walks a bloke with a bundle under his arm. "Nice boobs," says the guy. "Where do you want the blinds?" Many Names are changing in South Africa....... Cities have new names, provinces changed their names and maybe even the country may change its name soon! From 01 January 2007, the following changes will be made to all Fairy Tales in South Africa as follows: 1. Snow White - Coal Black 2. Goldilocks - Dreadlocks 3. Hansel & Gretel - Sipho & Thandi 4. Jack & the Beanstalk - Zuma & The Dagga Plant 5. Liewe Heksie - Lovely Felicia 6. Red Riding Hood - Riding in the Hood 7. The Big Bad Wolf - e Tokeloshi 8. The Three Little Pigs - Goodness, Gift & Precious 9. Barbie - Modjadji 10. The Little Mermaid - The Little Maid 11. The Smurfs - The Freedom Fighters 12. Alice in Wonderland - Busi in Gauteng 13. Cinderella - Cinderfikile 14. The Emperor’s New Clothes – Mbeki goes Gucci 15. The Princess and the Pea – Manto and the African Potato A woman goes to the doctor, beaten black and blue. . . . . Doctor: "What happened? "Woman:" Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my husband comes home drunk he beats me to a pulp... "Doctor:"I have a real good medicine against that: When your husband comes home drunk, just take a glass of chamomile tea and start gargling with it. Just gargle and gargle" 2 weeks later she comes back to the doctor and looks reborn and fresh again. Woman:" Doc, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband came home drunk I gargled repeatedly with chamomile tea and he never touched me. Doctor:" you see how keeping your mouth shut helps!!!" Why so many South Africans are moving to Australia Van der Merwe had never been out of South Africa before and was visiting Bondi Beach, Australia . He spotted a long line of black dots out in the water and said to an Aussie who was sitting close by, "Meneer, what are all those little black things out there?" "They're buoys," replied the Aussie. "Boys?!" replied Van der Merwe. "What are they doing out there?" "Holding up the shark net, mate," the Aussie told him. "Fucking great country, this!" said Van der Merwe, deeply impressed. "We'd never get away with that at home!" Van der Merwe in London........Courtesy of Libby Murphy in Cape Town! Van der Merwe goes to London to watch the Boks take on the Poms at Twickenham. Whilst in London, he walks around, gaping and staring at everything. So much so that he walks smack bang into a fire hydrant which hits him so hard on the family jewels that they burst. He gets rushed to hospital where the doctors tell him they have to remove his testicles. Van goes berserk: he bites and snarls at every one and he won't let anybody within 10 metres of him. Eventually they find a South African doctor in the hospital and get him to talk to Van. He walks up to Van and tells him, "Hey Van, die ouens moet jou ballas uithaal." Van replies "O, okay, ek dog die bliksems wil my test tickets vat." Van in Paris Van goes to the top house of ill repute in Paris. He goes up to the Madam and asks,.. "I want your best girl !!". The Madam then calls her top girl, and the two of them go upstairs. Two minutes later the girl comes down the stairs screaming, "Nevair ! nevair ! 'ow can you ask me zat ?" The Madam is absolutely astounded, as that this has never happened before, but never the less she sends up her second best girl. Two minutes later the girl also comes down the stairs screaming, "Nevair ! nevair ! 'ow can you ask me zat ?" The Madam is now intensely curious, since she has experienced everything and is totally unshockable, she then decides that SHE must go upstairs and service this client herself. Two minutes later the Madam also comes down the stairs screaming, "Nevair ! nevair ! 'ow can you ask me zat ?" Some guys sitting at the bar and ask her what the hell was going on. She replies, " 'e vants to pay me in Rands !!!" Van der Merwe's pregnant sister and her husband live on a farm in Australia's outback. Soon she gives birth to twins and her husband phones Van in SA to ask him to register their births. He tells Van: "You must register the girl as Denise and the boy as........", but the phone cuts and Van doesn't hear the last name. Van goes off to register the twins and eventually his brother-inlaw phones back to ask him if he's done so. "Yes, I've registered them. Their names are: 'De Niece and De Nephew". Blonde Joke from Joburg - Courtesy of AmaBoston website! A blonde walks into a bank in Johannesburg and asks for the loans dept. She says she's going to Europe on business for three weeks and needs to borrow R10,000... The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the papers and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank manager and its staff all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a R500,000 Rolls as collateral against a R10,000 loan. An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there. Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the R10,000 and the interest, which comes to R141.66. The bank manager says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow R10,000?" The blond replies ... "Where else in Johannesburg can I park my car for two weeks for only R141.66 and expect it to be there when I return?" And everybody thinks blonds are dumb! Van from the klein Karroo goes to Joburg with his old school friend who had been living in Jozi for sometime. His friend, who has become accustomed to night clubs and wild Jozi parties, is a centre of attraction wherever they arrive. He complains to his friend that he felt an outsider and would like to be the THE man at their next stop. Then they come to the party birthday party of this English guy. During toasting everybody raised their glasses to said “cheers”. Van, who was almost sloshed and had problem to comprehend basic English, raised his, too, and raised his voice above everyone else and said “stoele!” Questions about South Africa were posted on a South African Tourism Website and were answered by the webmaster. Q: Does it ever get windy in South Africa? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK) A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die. Q: Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA) A: Depends how much you've been drinking or sniffing. Q: I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden) A: Sure, it's only two thousand kilometers. Take lots of water. Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa? (Sweden) A: So it's true what they say about Swedes. Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town, Knysna and Jeffrey's Bay? (UK) A: What did your last slave die of? Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA) A: Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific. A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not... oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked. Q: Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA) A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get there and we'll send the rest of the directions. Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK) A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do. Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA) A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is. oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked. Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France) A: No, WE don't stink. Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in South Africa? (USA) A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather. Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy) A: Yes, gay nightclubs. Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France) A: Only at Christmas. Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany) A: Not yet, but for you, we'll import them. Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round? (Germany) A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA) A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets. Good examples of snakes as pets are mambas (both green and black), rinkhals and municipal workers. Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA) A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour. Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA) A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first. MALEMA: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night. DR: Take this tablet, you will be ok. MALEMA : Can I take it tomorrow, tonight is final game. MALEMA comes back 2 his car & finds a note saying 'Parking Fine' He Writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for compliment.' How do you recognize MALEMA in School? He is the one who erases the notes from the book when the teacher erases the board. Once MALEMA was walking he had a glove on one hand and not on other. So the man asked him why he did so. He replied that the weather forecast announced that on one hand it would be cold and on the other hand it would be hot. MALEMA is in a bar and his cellular phone rings. He picks it up and Says 'Hello, how did you know I was here?' MALEMA : Why are all these people running? Commentator: This is a race, the winner will get the cup MALEMA: If only the winner will get the cup, why are others running? Teacher: 'I killed a person' convert this sentence into future tense MALEMA : The future tense is 'u will go to jail' MALEMA says to his ser van t: 'Go and water the plants!' Ser van t: 'It's already raining.' MALEMA : 'So what? Take an umbrella and go.' Van was on a lekker holiday in Durbs. One day he heard from his friends that there was a fancy dress ball, and he could go. The dress theme was to symbolize a country. Unsure what to do, he hid in a bush outside the hall and watched what was going on. A woman arrived scantily dressed in a few feathers. When the doorman asked what country she was she said "Turkey", so he said, "Feathers, Turkey, OK you can go in". Another beautiful and shapely woman arrived clad only in a "G" string, her body smeared with oil. She said she was Iran. "Oil, Iran." OK go in. So then Van sauntered up to the door naked except for a brown paper packet placed over his manhood and said he was from Pakistan. The doorman could not understand and asked Van to explain: "Bring daardie twee meisies uit, dan sal jy sien hoe hierdie pakkie staan!!!" BACK TO TOP

White Genocide South Africa and Farm Killing in South Africa South Africa Links Website ,All about South Africa ,See the wonderfull Pictures of South Africa ,Alot of Links ,that we have addon about South Africa.We hope that you will find someting that could intrest you on South African Links, Enjoy. The Flags South Africa Oranje-blanje-blou Oranje-blanje-blou (Afrikaans for Orange, white and blue refers, of course, to the old South African flag used between 1928 and 1994. This song was popular especially among Afrikaners when this flag flew over South Africa. The tune is by Henry Hugh Pierson they don't say whether it was borrowed from this composer, and the lyrics are by an Afrikaans poet who wrote under the name Eitemal. The Right Wing Leader Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (31 January 1941 – 3 April 2010) was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) during the apartheid era.Born on a farm in the Transvaal town of Ventersdorp on 31 January 1941, Terre'Blanche attended Laerskool Ventersdorp and Hoër Volkskool in Potchefstroom, matriculating in 1962. The AWB Leader The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (English: Afrikaner Resistance Movement) (AWB) is a South African far right separatist political , since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "Volkstaat/Boerestaat" in part of South Africa. In its heyday in the 1980s and '90s, AWB Leader Killed Murder because of disputes over wages Terre Blanche was killed on Saturday at his farm near Ventersdorp west of Johannesburg,The leader of the extreme right-wing South African Boer movement "Weerstandsbeweging Africans" (AWB) and the two young men between the ages of 15 and 21 years found Gilty of the Right Wing Leader,that had been Killed. Stop Farm Killing South Africa South African farming community has suffered from attacks for many years. The majority of the victims have been Afrikanerfarmers, with claims of death tolls of up to 3,000 cited in the national and international media. While the government describes the attacks as simply part of the bigger picture of crime in South Africa, white farmers point to brutal attacks and incidents involving self-declared anti-white motivations as evidence of a campaign to drive them off their land. The White Genocide South Africa The genocide of white South Africans is heating up.Last week, South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) finally told its members to stop singing the song "Kill the Boer" -- that is, murder white South Africans. (Boer is Afrikaans for "farmer," but colloquially is a disparaging term for any white South African.) This came after ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema defied a court ruling and kept singing the song (he still refuses to stop), and after Eugene Terreblanche, leader of the noxious and hateful neo-Nazi Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB), was found savagely bludgeoned to death at his farm in South Africa's North West province. The Vier Kleur Flag The Vierkleur The "vierkleur" (4 colour) design was first used by the Boer Republic of Land Goshen (Republiek van Land Goshen) between 1881-84 where the vertical stripe was green and the horizontal stripes were black, white and red. Alive South Africa It has become increasingly difficult to steal motor vehicles, with all the anti-theft devices, such as immobilisers, gear-locks, etc. These steps have resulted in a dramatic increase in vehicle hijackings. The hijacker has the element of surprise and this is a concern. The Boere Volk Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal which are together known as the Boer Republics,and to a lesser extent Natal. Their primary motivations for leaving the Cape were to escape British rule and extract themselves from the constant border wars between the British imperial government and the native tribes on the eastern frontier. The Right Wing Leader South Africa Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (31 January 1941 – 3 April 2010) was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) during the apartheid era. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he became known for threatening civil war to maintain white rule in South Africa. The Flags South Africa The Flags South Africa Right Wing Afrikaner flags (South Africa) Afrikaner Resistance Movement / Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) The three black 7s ,arranged in a fashion similar to the Three Legs of Man but rotated so that the top seven is upright is the emblem of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) Afrikaner Resistance Movement in English, which is a right-wing, neo-Nazi organisation, which appears on its flag ,on a white disc at the centre of a red field. Notice the white disk is closer to the hoist ,like the national flag of Nazi Germany and unlike most modern neonazi flags, which have centered discs. I would have expected this flag to be orange, not red. This flag and its symbol are now also being used by European Nazis as they have volunteered to fight in a race war in South Africa. Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) alternative flag ,for use in the Transvaal. The Transvaal vierkleur with 3 black sevens on the white stripe seems to be a once-off flag used on some or other occasion by followers of the AWB. The "777" might be like this or in one of the AWB's usual arrangements: swastika or 1+2. The three "7" are arranged horizontally in your image while in the image that I have the 7s are arranged in form of "Trinacria" (i.e. emblem of Isle of Man or Sicily). I found the following note: "In 1970, Eugene Terre'Blanche with 6 other kindred souls founded the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB). From this committee of seven, the AWB emblem, "Three Sevens", was created in contrast with the number 666 of the satanic forces". This symbol is clearly a variation of the Nazi swastika, just one leg less -- regardless of any other "symbolism" provided for it. Boer Resistance Movement / Boere Weerstandsbeweging (BWB) Boere Weerstandsbeweging (BWB) first flag This was the flag of Boere Weersdandsbeweging (BWB) (Boer Resistance Movement in English) which was black with white cross fimbrated red; in the center of the cross is a white circle fimbrated red with three black "7"s. The BWB was initially led by Eddie von Maltitz and subsequently by Andrew Ford. The flag described above black field with a white cross fimbriated red ,George, not Scandinavian; three black upright sevens, one above and two below, on a white disc fimbriated red at the centre, was the original flag of the BWB. A colour photograph of a crowd waving this flag appeared in the Sunday Times, Johannesburg during 1990 unfortunately I don’t have the exact date. Boere Weerstandsbeweging (BWB) second flag When Andrew Ford took over the leadership the flag was replaced by a similar one instead of having the three 7s, bears the letters BWB in white arranged in a triangular fashion pointing downwards, on a similarly directed black triangle. Illustrations of the two BWB flags can be found in my article "Flags of Political Organisations in South Africa". Afrikaner Student Federation / Afrikaner Studentebond The odal rune is used the by the Afrikaner Student Federation. Details about the odal rune can be found at http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/39/3922.html An odal rune is a "runic letter, (usu. traslit. "ö"), cognate to Greek omega a.k.a. _ethel_ and _othalan_. . The rune for odal, i.e. real estate, non-movable property. The odal rune was the last letter of the runic alphabet, and (here runic letter "ᚠ", usu. traslit. "f") for fä (cattle), i.e. movable or personal property, was is the first. This seems too focused in Viking book keeping; runes were letters, as such with a lot of usages apart from plain writing down of sound utterances. This rune, turned upside down, is the symbol of the Scottish Independence Party and was used at the elections in Great Britain in 1992. I wonder weather this is more than a coincidence. The saltire-like part of this letter, BTW, is subjected to such a variation that it appears much less evident in some instances. It is also a Swedish twentieth-century graffiti sign conveying a nationalistic message. Not only Swedish, and not even primarily so: the Nazi usage of runes as symbols is known - our site covers it well at naz symb.html#odal. From there to neo-Nazi symbolism it's a quick jump. The referred Swedish usage was reported to the list and appears in se}naz.html. Afrikaans Student Federation differed from the one shown in a book about flags that I had borrowed from the public library. I've just borrowed the book again so can give you more information. The Afrikaans Student Federation flag is shown in colour . The flag differs from that shown on your website in that the Odal Rune lacks the 'feet-like' bits sticking out at the bottom. The type of Odal Rune shown in the book was also widely used by right-wing nationalist youth groups like the Wiking Jugend in Germany and other counties but was banned in Germany in 1994. The flag used by the Wiking Jugend was black with a red Odal-Rune in its centre. Boer movement flags South Africa Vryheidsvlag - Afrikaner Peoples Front / Afrikaner Volksfront In South Africa there is a political movement or party called the "Afrikaner Volksfront" (Popular Front), which aims to set up an independent Boer state. They use a flag very similar to the Transvaal "Vierkleur", but the red stripe is replaced with an orange one. This flag is called "Vryheidsvlag" (freedom flag). The "Volksrepubliek Werkgroep" (People's Republic working group) made a proposal for a constitution of this imagined state. In article 19.16.3 it is written: Today's freedom flag (green and orange, white, blue) must be used by the Afrikaner. I was have also been asked who used the flag with "a yellow, maybe orange, stripe"? So it seems that there are two flags: an older one with a yellow and a newer one with an orange stripe. Or maybe the orange is because of the former South African national flag? As far as I am aware this is new, although the design has been popular amongst independent-minded Afrikaners for a good while now. The "Vryheidsvlag" mentioned has been registered with the SA Bureau of Heraldry by the Afrikaner Volksfront as indicated in SAVA Newsletter 14/95 of December 1995. Transvaal flag (or Vierkleur) is used by the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Movement, AVF) as their Vryheidsflag (Freedom's flag), with an orange stripe replacing the red one. The "vierkleur" (four colour) design has also been adopted by the Boerestaatparty - another Afrikaner organisation seeking an independent "volkstaat" - with the vertical stripe in green and the horizontal stripes, black, white and blue. The vierkleur in different coloured variations seems to be indeed a very popular symbol of Boer movements. There are not many national flags of this type in the world - I can think only that of the United Arab Emirates. Last night on ABCTV news there was a report on a new attempt by South African Boers to set up their own homeland (they're seeking $20m from the UK - as compensation for the Boer War - to fund the project). A flag was briefly shown - I only caught a glimpse - a red, white and blue horizontal tricolour; with a vertical green stripe occupying the hoist. I'm not a 100% sure, but I believe you might have the proportions of the Vierkleur and the Vryheidsvlag wrong. Although many people like to give the vertical bar the same width as that of the horizontal bars, I believe - in the case of the Vryheidsvlag anyway because I bought one from Orania) the correct proportions of the vertical bar is one third the (horizontal) length of the flag, i.e. the same proportion as the width of a bar in a vertical tricolour flag. A flag of the Afrikaner Popular Front / Afrikaner Volksfront was registered with the South African Bureau of Heraldry on 31 October 1995 and is described as being: "A rectangular flag, proportion 2:3, consisting of three horizontal stripes of equal width, from top to bottom, orange, white and blue, and at the hoist a vertical green stripe one and one quarter the width of each of the other three stripes". Source: Data of the Bureau of Heraldry on registered heraldic representations. A flag for the Vrye Republikeinse Beweging (Free Republican Movement, formerly Afrikaner Volksfront) was has also been registered with the South African Bureau of Heraldry on 16 May 1997 and is described as: "A rectangular flag, proportion 2:3, consisting of three horizontal stripes of equal width, from top to bottom, orange, white and blue, and at the hoist a vertical green stripe one and one quarter the width of each of the other three stripes". Source: Data of the Bureau of Heraldry on registered heraldic representations. I have just visited your web site and would like to correct some of the false statements regarding the "Vryheidsvlag". I am a founder member of both the Afrikaner Volksfront and the Vryheidsfront and so can speak with some degree of authority. 1) As far as I am aware, the flag you describe was never the flag of the Afrikaner Volksfront. The AVF used the Transvaal or Free State Vierkleur flags, depending upon in which province they were flown. 2) The translation of Afrikaner Volksfront as "Afrikaner Popular Front" is incorrect. The correct translation is "Afrikaner People's Front". 3) The origin of the flag you show is from the period of the Anglo-Boer War (or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog - Second Freedom War to many Afrikaners). When the forces of the two sovereign republics (Transvaal and Orange Free State) fought together, they used this flag. The orange stripe on top represents the Orange Free State and replaces the red stripe of the Transvaa and is called the Strydvlag (Struggle Flag). This flag was known as the Strydvlag until some time after the foundation of the Vryheidsfront/Freedom Front. The party changed the flag's name to tie in with that of the party. 4) The Afrikaner Volksfront dissolved soon after the 1994 general election in South Africa. Orania I think the name Orania is derived from the river Oranje/Orange. The home page of Orania shows a map. On this map of the Northern Cape Orania is only one village southwest of where the Orange and Vaal rivers come together. The homeland they plan for the Afrikaners is between the river Orange River and the Atlantic Ocean, so part of the Cape, not the Free State or Transvaal. Their flag is not totally based on that of the old Transvaal as the red is changed to orange for the Orange Free State. According to Boere Data the "Vryheidsvlag" or new "Vierkleur" was first hoisted in the night of 26/27 April 1994 (when the apartheid was officially abolished!). It's not only a combination of the design of the flag of the South African Republic (Transvaal) with the orange from the flag of Orange Free State but also incorporates the orange-white-blue of the "Prinzenvlag" of the "Dietse" ancestors of the Boers and the former flag of South Africa, but with a green stripe at the hoist. On the Flags of Aspirant Peoples, published in 1994 by the Flag Society of Australia and the Flag Research Center, is the flag of "Orandia (White homeland) - South Africa." It has vertical orange-white-blue stripes with an emblem in the white stripe which is green ground plan of the Castle of Good Hope, outlined in grey, and including a monument (?) on a light blue background enclosed in a white-black hatched circle. The chart effectively shows a small black stripe at the hoist. The flag originated in the early 1990s when the "Orandia Development Corporation" was established with the express purpose of establishing a "white homeland" to be called Orandia in the western part of South Africa. The town of Orania was purchased and was to be the centre of this activity. The flag is based on the former flag of South Africa, having vertical instead of horizontal stripes. The orange stripe represents the freedom struggle of the people of Orandia with the white stripe standing for cleanliness of thought, conduct and purpose. The castle outline in the centre indicates the origin of the "white" nation in South Africa with the landing of Dutch settlers in the Cape in 1652, with the surrounding protecting wall symbolising the protection of the nation's seed. The castle' inner 'face' is green to suggest life from the soil, on which the nation will multiply. Inside the castle a closed wagon laager encircles a stylised Voortrekker Monument (in Pretoria) symbolising the protection given to Orandia as the Nation of the Vow. The monument serves as a reminder of the slaughter that took place at the Battle of Blood River and of the sacrifices and perseverance of the predecessor of Orandia. The blue stripe shows the European origins of the forefathers of the people of Orandia and symbolises humanity and faith. The black sleeve nearest the hoist shows that Orandians are prepared to live peaceably the people of other races and that good neighbourliness and trade should prevail. Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) Republic in the Transvaal, formed between 1857 and 1864. Horizontally red-white-blue with a vertical green stripe at the hoist (known as the "Vierkleur" or four colour) 1857-1902, except for 1874-75 when the Voortrekker flag, but with the saltire fimbriated white, was restored [car61, p.83]. When the ZAR as officially recognised by Britain in January 1852, it had neither arms or a flag of its own. The flag which had been flown by the Voortrekkers was the so-called "Voortreeker Flag" which was a red saltire on a blue field. By resolution of the Volksraad approved on 18 February 1858, the flag of the ZAR was described as: "It is resolved that a flag for the South African Republic shall be adopted, consisting of the following colours: Red, White and Blue, horizontal, each of equal width and placed one above another, and Green perpendicular next to the staff". This resolution contains the only formal description of the vierkleur which was to be the national flag of the ZAR, apart from two short interruptions, until the end of the republic until 1902. In October 1874 the Volksraad adopted a new flag based on the "Voortrekker flag" for the ZAR, with the the red saltire being fimbriated in white. However, the Volksraad later reversed its decision in May 1875 when President Burgers, who was not satisfied with the vierkleur flag, was away overseas! The new saltire flag was retained as the Presidential flag, but soon fell into abeyance as some felt it was too similar to the Union Jack. The Vierkleur gave way to the Union Jack during the British annexation of the Transvaal between 12 April 1877 and 03 August 1881, following which the independence of the Transvaal was again formally recognised and the Vierkleur restored. The ZAR came to an end following the Peace of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902 which signaled the end of the Anglo-Boer War and the ZAR once again came under British control as the Transvaal Colony. The flag of the ZAR was incorporated into the new South African flag in 1928 while its arms were retained as the provincial arms of the Transvaal in 1951. Bruce Berry, 11 Nov 1997 This flag was registered with the South African Bureau of Heraldry as the flag of the South African Republic for the Office of the Prime Minister together with the flag of the Republic of Orange Free State on 30 April 1983 (application 08 January 1982, amendment 05 March 1982). Certificates were issued for both in Afrikaans on 14 October 1983. The text in English for the flag of the South African Republic reads as follows: A rectangular flag proportions three by two, consisting of three horizontal stripes of equal width, from top to bottom red, white and blue and at the hoist a vertical green stripe one and one quarter the width of each of the other three stripes. Source: "Some South African flags, 1940-1990" compiled by F.G. Brownell, South African State Herald [brl92]. The Vierkleur of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek was designed by Reverend Dirk van der Hoff and was hoisted for the first time in Potchefstroom on 06 January 1857. It was officially accepted by the Volksraad (House of Assembly) as the flag of the ZAR on 18 February 1858. Following the occupation by the British, the flag was removed but was raised again on the Day of the Vow (Geloftedag) (16 December) in 1880 in Heidelberg. The Transvalers fought under this flag between 1899 and 1902 during the Anglo-Boer War. Orange or Red? Why did the Transvaal adopt the "new" Dutch colours (red-white-blue) whereas South Africa uses the "old" Dutch colours (orange-white-blue) for its flag? Josh Fruhlinger, 15 Oct 1996 It might be because the independent Boer republics were trying to capitalise on their Dutch connections in the hope of getting support from there and elsewhere in Europe against the British. However, by the 1920s it was clear that for the time being they had to be resigned to the British connection. Instead more emphasis was put on the idea of the Afrikaners (a term and language which was then becoming preferred over the Dutch used in the 19th century) as a people belonging to and shaped by Africa, as much as by Europe, and the "Van Riebeek" orange-white-blue flag was said to be the first flag raised in South Africa itself. Even the earliest republics (Graaff-Reinet and Swellendam, which were set up in 1795) adopted the new Dutch flag. The reason was that they saw themselves as being Dutch, but no longer belonging to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) which still flew the old orange-white-blue flag. The Afrikaners (Boers) of the Great Trek who wished to escape the British colonial rule, adopted Dutch-inspired flag for their new republics for the same reason. When the new (now old) South African flag was created, it was to unite the whites of South Africa - those Afrikaners whose forefathers left the Colony and set up independent republics (the small Orange Free State and ZAR flag), the Afrikaners whose forefathers stayed at the Cape (the orange-white-blue "Van Riebeeck flag") and the British settlers (the small Union Jack). I agree with Roy that the Van Riebeeck flag was used as dominating part because of its importance in South African history. And don't forget that the flag was adopted under the rule of the Afrikaner JBM Hertzog. Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek re-established In December 1880 rebellious Boers again declared a South African Republic, which re-established the "Vierkleur". This is the war flag of the former South African Republic (Transvaal), used during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Transvaal flag (or Vierkleur) is used by the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Movement, AVF) as their Vryheidsflag (Freedom's flag), with an orange stripe replacing the red one. The Vierkleur The "vierkleur" (4 colour) design was first used by the Boer Republic of Land Goshen (Republiek van Land Goshen) between 1881-84 where the vertical stripe was green and the horizontal stripes were black, white and red. This was followed by the New Republic (Nieuwe Republiek) between 1884-88 whose flag had a blue vertical stripe and red, white and green horizontal stripes. The Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR/Transvaal) flew the now traditional "vierkleur" of a green vertical stripe and red, white and blue horizontal stripes between 1858-1902. The green in the flag stands for hope and youthfulness. Thank you very much for the reaction. But actually I want to know something about the meaning of the flags and its colours? e.g. why three orange stripes at the OFS flag etc.? The use of red, white and blue, and indeed of the unadulterated Dutch tricolour Boer flags needs no explanation, surely? On specifics, Carr says the green stripe in the Transvaal vierkleur is supposed to represent "Young Holland" [p.83] (whether there was an actual movement by this name in 19th century South African and/or the Netherlands, or whether it was simply a reference to the nationalist ideal of groups like "Young Italy", I don't know). I received a message from an Afrikaner who states that the green band on the flag represents how fruitful the Transvaal is. It was designed that way by a certain Dominee (Reverend) Dirk van der Hoff. The flag was hoisted for the first time at Potchefstroom. The Vierkleur of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek was designed by Reverend Dirk van der Hoff and was hoisted for the first time in Potchefstroom on 06 January 1857. It was officially accepted by the Volksraad (House of Assembly) as the flag of the ZAR on 18 February 1858. Following the occupation by the British, the flag was removed but was raised again on the Day of the Vow (Geloftedag) (16 December) in 1880 in Heidelberg. The Transvalers fought under this flag between 1899 and 1902 during the Anglo-Boer War. South Africa (1928-1994) Suid-Afrika / Unie van Suid-Afrika (until 1961) / Republic of South Africa / Republiek van Suid-Africa Flag of 1928-1994 Following the Union of South Africa , that is the joining of the former colonies of Natal, Cape, Transvaal and Orange River on 31 May 1910, South Africa used defaced red and blue ensigns. Having suffered defeat in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), many South Africans particularly of Boer extraction found these flags unacceptable. Discussions about a new flag had taken place from time to time but were interrupted by such pressing issues as World War I and achieving Dominion Status within the British Empire etc. and it was only in 1925 that the matter began to receive renewed attention. The Balfour Declaration adopted at the Imperial Conference of 1926 defined in general terms the mutual constitutional relationship of the self-governing members of the British Empire (later Commonwealth) whereby Great Britain and the dominions were "equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another" and as such South Africa, as an independent state was entitled to a flag of its own. The flag issue in South Africa was also considered along with the question of nationality. The issue of inclusion of the Union Jack proved to be a very emotional subject, with the English-speakers on the one side demanding its inclusion and the Afrikaners (Boers) seeing its a symbol of British imperialism demanding it be excluded! A number of proposals were put forward but it was not until the Prinzenvlag design based on the House of Orange that consensus began to emerge. This design was based on the commonly held view that Jan van Riebeeck has raised an orange, white and blue horizontal tricolour when he arrived at the Cape in April 1652. The original design had a quartered shield in the centre, each quarter having a symbol to represent the territories making up the Union. Various other designs were submitted to a Parliamentary Committee which had been established to resolve the issue but none found favour. The compromise design eventually adopted saw the flag of the Republic of the Orange Free State hanging vertically in the centre of the white stripe of the Prinzenvlag with the Union Jack spread horizontally towards the hoist from the centre and the flag of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Transvaal) spread towards the fly. In terms of the Union Nationality and Flags Act of 1927 South Africa had two flags, namely the Union Jack to denote association with the British Commonwealth of Nations and a national flag described as being: "Three horizontal stripes of equal width from top to bottom, orange, white, blue; in the centre of the white stripe the old Orange Free State Flag hanging vertically, spread in full, with the Union Jack adjoining horizontally, spread in full, towards the pole, and the old Transvaal Vierkleur adjoining horizontally spread in full away from the pole, equidistant from the margins of the white stripe. The flags shall be of the same size and their shape shall be proportionally the same as the National Flag and the width of each equal to one-third of the width of the white stripe". This Act came into force on 31 May 1928 when both the new national flag and the Union Jack were hoisted together for the first time at simultaneous ceremonies at the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town and at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The flags first hoisted at Parliament are now on display in the Old Assembly chamber. The dual flag arrangement continued until 06 April 1957 when the Government brought it to an end with the Flags Amendment Act. This Act also provided for the sole national anthem of South Africa to be Die Stem van Suid-Afrika/The Call of South Africa without "God Save the Queen" despite Queen Elizabeth II still being head of state. South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth of Nations and became a republic on 31 May 1961. No changes were made to the national flag or anthem. The flag, commonly known as the oranje-blanje-blou (orange, white and blue) continued to fly until it was replaced on 27 April 1994 by the flag representing a democratic South Africa. What are the colour specifications of the former (1928-1994) South African flag in (BS) RGB values? NB: Blue was BCC 150 Lapis Lazuli in the British Colour Council's "Dictionary of Color Standards". The only colour specifications I could find for the old SA flag in the old British Standard Colour Classifications are: Orange: BBC 57 Blue: BBC 218 Green: BBC 24 Red: BBC 210 Regarding the shade of blue on the former South African flag, the blue stripe was originally described as being "solway" blue but over the years, as can be expected given that South African flags originally came from the UK, the blue stripe changed to the darker "Union Jack blue" until the blue stripe became almost black. This prompted a return to the lighter "solway blue" shade following a Government investigation into the matter in 1982. Speaking to flag manufacturers on this matter yesterday, all agreed that they used the same shade of blue for the blue stripe and in the Union Jack and Vierkleur flags in the centre of the flag as well. The other shades in the flag were described as "Spectrum orange", "Green Beetle" and "Union Jack red" with the BCC classifications as indicated above. Research into the controversy surrounding what flag was used by Jan van Riebeeck when he started his replenishment station in Table Bay on 6 April 1652 reveals the following as outlined in my forthcoming book on SA flags: "Van Riebeeck makes no mention in his Journal that he hoisted a flag, but it is assumed that he did. There is considerable controversy as to which flag Van Riebeeck might have hoisted. The flag generally used by Dutch vessels at, or before that time was in the colours of the House of Orange in honour of the Prince of Orange, the Stadtholder of the Netherlands. It was the orange, white and blue horizontal tricolour or Prinzenvlag. It was originally used by the so-called Watergeuse or Waterbeggars at sea during their struggle against the Spanish during the Eighty-Year's War and by the end of the war it was firmly established as the national flag of the Netherlands Republic. It is considered that the flag had its origins with the flag of the Province of Zealand which was red, white and blue horizontally. The red was then replaced by orange in honour of William the Silent, Prince of Orange and its first appearance as this Prinzenvlag occurred circa 1572. Later, towards the middle of the next century, the orange was again replaced by red. The reason for the change of the orange colour to red is not known with certainty, but some authorities ascribe it to the fact that the orange coloured dye was not easy to make and did not remain colour-fast. Van der Laars, an authority on the flags of the Netherlands, states that from about 1648 and certainly by 1663, the orange had changed to red, and the orange, white and blue tricolour was replaced by the red, white and blue tricolour of today. The point in dispute is whether it was already red at the time of Van Riebeeck's arrival, or still orange. According to Van der Laars, it is likely that it was still the orange version. Gerard in Flags over South Africa (1952) [ger52], however, makes out a good case that it was already red. He quotes sources, which indicates that most of the bunting used by the Dutch at that period came from India. Proof of this exists in the archives of Zealand (7.11.1630), which records the delivery of six rolls of bunting, red, white and blue. An advertisement in the Navorsher of 1634 mentions ten rolls of bunting, red, white and blue and in 1653 there is mention of many bales of sater - Indian cotton, dyed red, white and blue. The Indian dyers used kurkuma (turmeric) to which they added kav - a reddish rocky material - in order to obtain the orange colour used to dye the khadi-material (loosely hand-woven cotton cloth which we call bunting) to orange. This kav-stone was ground into a fine dust and then mixed with oil, water and turmeric wherein the khadi-cloth was then soaked. In order to obtain a rich orange colour, more kav and less turmeric was used by the Indian dyers and in time the orange changed to a flame red colour. * Gerard also states that in many of the paintings of the Thirty Year's War (1618 - 1648), the ensigns of the Netherlands are clearly already indicated as red, white and blue. He further states that it is therefore clear that when Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape he did so with flags which were already using flame red instead of orange. Dr Pama in his book Lions and Virgins (1965) produces evidence that on 14 August 1654 Jan van Reinbeck ordered rolls of red, white and blue bunting from Batavia in order to make flags for the fort and ships at the Cape. This seems to confirm Gerard's view. However, Pama also found an instruction by Van Riebeeck dated 22 August 1653 to the garrison and visiting ships that on the sighting of approaching vessels, the Princevlag (his spelling) must be hoisted over the Fort and the same must be done by the approaching vessels. This was obviously meant as a recognition signal during the time of the First Anglo-Dutch War. Pama explains this contradiction with the view that there was at that time not a great deal of importance attached to whether the upper bar was orange or red, with red probably only regarded as a discolouring of orange. The red took on political importance only during the decades of struggle for power between the States-General of the Netherlands and the Princes of Orange which ended with the confirmation in power of William III in 1672 as Stadtholder and Captain-General of the Dutch forces. The instruction for the signal was arrived at in consultation with Captain Douwe Aukes, captain of the Phenix who was strongly in favour of the orange bar in the flag. The year before he had been in command of another East Indiaman Struisvogel and participated with her in the encounter between the hostile English and Dutch fleets off Plymouth in 1652. It was during this naval battle that the colour of the flag had become a political question and the Dutch sailors refused to fight under any other flag than the orange-white-and blue. The reason for the politicising of the flag was the refusal of the States-General to appoint a member of the House of Orange as head of the government and expressed its enmity by changing the orange to red in the national flag. This decision was strongly resented by the people, especially the sailors. He also quotes the Dutch historian J.C. de Jonge who in his authoritative work on the maritime history of the Netherlands writes as follows: "At least until October 1653 the old Princevlag was still in use by the Netherlands navy" and he shows that between 1653 and 1660 the States-General's red-white-blue flag was generally introduced because of the enmity between the States and the House of Orange. Pama's opinion is that when Van Riebeeck ordered the red bunting he was simply conforming to his superiors instructions and following their declared policy for changing the orange to red". I am of the opinion that no matter whether it was red or orange, Jan van Riebeeck probably used the VOC flag over the fort. He was after all a servant of the Dutch East Indies Company and not of the States-General. What is certain is that the Dutch tricolour was most definitely already red, white and blue fully a century before the First British Occupation of the Cape. * Gerard claims that he obtained this information from Professor P.K. Gode, curator of the Bhandakar Oriental Research Institute in Poona, India. He unfortunately does not provide his other sources or dates. This was interesting to read. One conclusion could be, that it is not possible to set a date for the change of orange into red of the Dutch flag, because it was made during a span of time. Is that right? If the change would have been made by some decision, who would have decided on this? The States General, the Stadholder or someone else? Pending evidence to the contrary, this is (given the so far available data) the only conclusion possible. None the less, we now have a definitive date from which we may say that the change was "documented", and visual proof (upon which we can place reasonable reliance) that the change had become officially recognized by 1665. The South African Flag Controversy (1927) The Afrikaners - Boere; Voortrekkers; or South African Dutch (according to the English) - in spite of being a mixture of Dutch, French, German and quite a few other nationalities, including Khoi, cherished their Dutch connections for most of the nineteenth century during their increasingly bitter struggles against British imperialism. There is still in Afrikaans today a saying: "Die Kaap is weer Hollands" ("The Cape is Dutch again") meaning everything is all right again. This came about when the Cape was returned to the Batavian Republic at the Peace of Amiens in 1803. Three years later the British were back again for the next 160 years. After the turmoil of the Great Trek when the Voortrekkers left the Cape Colony for the interior, they established the Republic of Natalia and not surprisingly chose the red, white and blue of the old Dutch "Driekleur" (three colour), but with the white an inverted pile, as their flag. This republic did not last long as in 1843 it was annexed by the British who could not stand the thought of British subjects simply trekking away from their allegiance, however unwilling, to the crown. In the 1850's the British suffered a bout of anti-colonialism and abandoned the countries to the north of the Orange River to their fate. In 1854, the Boere in the Trans-Oranje, established the Republic of the Orange Free State (Oranje Vrijstaat). On the day of independence they hoisted the Driekleur for lack of their own flag. This flag they called the Bataafsche Vlag in memory of the Batavian Republic, they having of course no experience with the Dutch Kingdom established in 1816. The first president, Josias Hoffman, then wrote to a friend of the Voortrekkers in Holland asking him to approach King Willem III for the grant of a flag and a coat of arms for the new republic. This must be a unique event in the history of both vexillology and heraldry - a republic asking a monarch to grant a flag and arms? The upshot of all this was the old Orange Free State flag with the Driekleur in the canton and the three orange and four white bars. The Transvalers took a while longer to find unity and establish an organised state, but in 1856 they finally adopted a constitution and a flag. The committee who decided on the design of the Transvaal Vierkleur (four colour) was advised by the Reverend Dirk van der Hoff, his brother Marthinus and Jacobus Stuart, all born Hollanders. The result was the Driekleur (three colour) with a vertical green bar added along the hoist. The continued attachment of the Boere to the old Driekleur and their Dutch heritage comes out clearly in the flag designs which they adopted for these three republics. After the Anglo Boer South African War (1899-1902) and the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the British Union Jack became the national flag of the united South Africa. The Red and Blue ensigns with the Union coat of arms in the fly, were granted by British Admiralty warrants in 1910 (amended in 1912) for use at sea as was the case all over the British Empire. They were not intended as national flags for the Union although some people used them as such (especially the Red Ensign). It was only in 1925, after the first post-Union Afrikaner government took office, that a Bill was introduced in parliament to make provision for a national flag for the Union of South Africa. This action immediately led to some three years of civil strife and near civil war. The British thought that the Boere wanted to do away with their cherished Imperial symbols. The province of Natal even threatened to secede from the Union. A compromise was finally reached which resulted in the adoption of a flag for the Union late in 1927 and which was first hoisted on 31 May 1928. This was based on the so-called Van Riebeeck flag, which was in reality the old Princevlag, of orange, white and blue horizontal stripes with three smaller flags centred in the white stripe. These 'flaglets' were the British Union Jack towards the hoist, the Orange Free State Vierkleur hanging vertically and the Transvaal Vierkleur towards the fly. The choice of the Prinzenvlag as the basis of the new flag had more to do with finding an acceptable compromise (the Prinzenvlag supposedly being the first flag hoisted on South African soil - although this is not at all certain - and being a neutral design as it was no longer a current national flag) than having anything to do with Afrikaner political desires. A further part of the compromise was that the British Union Jack would continue to fly alongside the Union national flag everywhere over official buildings. South Africa was thus one of a few countries in the world, as far as I am aware, that flew two national flags simultaneously! This situation continued until 1957 when the Union Jack was finally dispensed with by an Act of Parliament. Although it was taken into use in 1928, the parliamentary debate on the orange-white-blue flag took place in 1927, so it is frequently referred to as the flag of 1927. Looking at your page on flag proposals, I notice that one particularly insulting nickname of the House of Assembly’s proposal – the one which stuck – is not mentioned. The National Party, which had a slender majority and was in government, was not able to prevent this flag design from being approved, but maintained that the shield was no more than a scab which would in due course fall away. The shield flag was for many years known as the “scab flag” – possibly because the only people who referred to it in public were the radical Nationalists (especially Dr D F Malan’s Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party which abandoned the coalition government of 1934). Dr Malan’s preference was for the Princevlag, so for him the “scab” (the quartered shield) was totally unacceptable. Yet his party (the Herenigde Nasionale Party which won the 1948 general election) quite happily accepted the 1928 flag (despite the presence of the Union Jack), and eventually abandoned its intention of returning to the Prinzenvlag. I remember reading somewhere that somewhere around the years 1969-1971 a proposal was made for replacing the "1928" flag with the Prinzenvlag. Does anyone know more details about this? Was it an official proposal and/or was it taken in consideration seriously? On 28 September 1968 the then ruling National Party announced a commission under the chairmanship of Mr Justice JF Marais to look into the matter of a new flag for South Africa and that any new design should be hoisted on Republic Day (31 May) in 1971 - the 10th anniversary of the declaration of the the republic. However, Mr John Vorster, the then Prime Minister of South Africa, decided later that new flags and symbols were not necessary and that it would be "petty politics" to interfere in the matter and accordingly, no further attempt was made to change the then national symbols of the country until the advent of democracy in 1994. As most vexillologists are aware, the previous South African flag was born following a fierce debate and was in essence a compromise symbol between the English and Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans following the Anglo-Boer South African War of 1899-1902. There were numerous attempts to change the flag, particularly from Afrikaners who detested the "Union Jack" being part of the flag. The former Prime Minister (and architect of apartheid) Dr Verwoerd had a dream to hoist a "clean" flag over South Africa in the 1960s. The proposed design comprised three vertical stripes of blue, white and orange (Princevlag colours) with a leaping springbok over a wreath of six proteas in the centre. This flag was designed by Mr HC Blatt, then assistant secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had already approved this design but his assassination in 1966 left the matter in abeyance until the National Party meeting in 1968, as referred to above. The successor to Dr Verwoerd, Mr John Vorster, raised the flag issue at a news conference on 30 March 1971 and said in the light of the impending elections and 10th anniversary Republic Day celebrations, he preferred "to keep the affair in the background". This he said was done because he did not want the flag question to degenerate into a political football (perhaps reflecting on the 1920s experience) and that the matter would be considered again when circumstances would be "more normal". "I only want to warn, and express the hope, that no person should drag politics in any form into this matter because the flag must, at all times, be raised above party politics in South Africa" he said. Verwoerd's dream for a new South African flag, with black and white illustration, is published in SAVA Newsletter 3/92 (July 1992) and is based on an article published in the Afrikaans newspaper, Rapport, on 15 December 1991. Upside-down Union Flag ? The UK flag within the Old South African one is upside down. Is that the way it is supposed to be? This is my understanding and feel free to correct me: It isn't upside down; it is being seen from the back! This was an elaborate trick to keep any one of the three flags from having "precedence" - the British flag as portrayed on the old South African flag as at the honour point (left); but since you are seeing the reverse, from the "proper" perspective the UJ is really on the left. The Union Jack is not upside but is spread horizontally from the Free State flag towards the hoist, thus is in the superior position (by being closest to the hoist) but also reversed. As Josh says, an "elaborate trick"! I was wondering what flag South African army forces would have been flying during World War II alongside the British? Can you help me out? South African forces in East Africa flew their own national flag. In a July 1941 letter to the Colonial Office about the use of British flags in the territory, the Governor of Tanganyika referred to the Union Jack, adding that "I do not use the expression out of ignorance but since the wartime eruption of Union troops in East Africa the term Union Flag is usually associated with the Vierkleur (Four Colour of the former Transvaal)." The formation badges were yellow and green. That of the 1st South African Division (raised in Kenya in 1940, then Somaliland, Abyssinia and North Africa) was a diamond divided in half horizontally, yellow over green, later a rectangle yellow over green on which was superimposed a black wildebeest. The 2nd South African Division in North Africa was a circle divided yellow over green while the 6th South African Armoured Division in Italy was a yellow triangle with a green border. It is quite correctly stated that the Union Flag of 1927 was used by SA forces. My father, who served in the Second World War, assured me that the Union Jack was hardly to be seen at SA military installations. Ironically, since my Dad served (in 1944-45, in the 6th SA Armoured Division in Italy) in a Natal infantry regiment (previously he had been in the SA Corps of Engineers and the SA Tank Corps, and was not himself from Natal) there was one exception to this: Natal Command (army regional headquarters) in Durban, from 1927 to 1961, always flew the Union Jack and the Union Flag side by side. The Natal Provincial Administration also flew the two flags together, as did most Natal local governments (the corporations of Durban and Pietermaritzburg and the boroughs of the other towns). The reason for this was that Natal was far more closely attached to the British Crown than the other provinces of the Union, and was fiercely loyal to the British connection. The deviation at Natal Command was tolerated for this reason. The only military bases elsewhere in the Union where the Union Jack was flown were the Royal Navy installations on the Cape coast and the Joint Flying Schools, which were run by both the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force. At these, naturally, the White Ensign and the Air Force Ensign respectively were also in evidence. Retention of the 1912 Red EnsignThe 1912 Red Ensign was retained as South Africa's merchant flag until 1951. The Vierkleur Flag The Flag of Transvaal was the flag of the former Transvaal province of South Africa. It was previously the flag of the historic Transvaal Republic, officially called the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek or in English translation, the South African Republic, from 1857 to 1874, 1875-1877, and 1881-1902. It was also used by the Boer rebels during the Maritz Rebellion as the flag of their insurgent South African Republic from 1914 to 1915. The flag features three horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue (recalling the Dutch national flag), with a vertical green stripe at the hoist, and is known as the Vierkleur (lit. four colours). The former national flag of South Africa (from 1928—1994) had, as part of a feature contained within its central white bar, a horizontal flag of the Transvaal Republic. Vaarwel aan die Vierkleur Here are the lyrics of Vaarwel aan die Vierkleur, as they appear in the FAK-Sangbundel (Fourth Edition 1979, sixth printing of 2002) published by Protea Boekhuis for the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK). No longer may the Vierkleur wave, in tears we gave it up, it has been buried with our braves sunk into an honourable grave it has been buried with our braves sunk into an honourable grave. Happier those who fell when still the Flag was borne, than us who had to see and mourn it dragged into the dust than us who had to see and mourn it dragged into the dust. No happy morning for it there, we part from it forever now resting in the Nation's heart and dedicated to the Past now resting in the Nation's heart and dedicated to the Past. Blessed to those who bore it boldly to brave the prideful foe whose feeble arms to it did cling as they went to their death whose feeble arms to it did cling as they went to their death. Let Future Ages never forget them as long as men endure till even Heaven is outworn and Earth reels before its fall, till even Heaven is outworn and Earth reels before its fall. Die Vierkleur van ons dierbaar land, die waai weer oor Transvaal en wee die Godvergete hand, wat dit weer neer wil haal! Waai hoog nou in ons helder lug, Transvaal sy vryheidsvlag! Ons vyande is weggevlug, nou blink 'n blyer dag! Met lae lis haal Albion ons vlag verrad'lik neer, en doen toe net al wat hul kon, dat ons hul vlag moes eer: "Ons sou dan alles daarby wen, 'n telegraaf en spoor, as ons die rooivlag wil erken". Maar dit wou ons nie, hoor! Vier jaar lank het ons mooi gepraat, om weer ons land te kry: "Ons vra jou, Brit, geen goed of kwaad; gaan weg en laat ons bly!" Maar toe die Brit ons nog vererg, toe vat ons die geweer. Ons was al lank genoeg geterg, nou kan ons tog nie meer. En met Gods hulp het ons die juk van Eng'land afgegooi, ons is weer vry, geluk! Geluk! Nou waai ons vlag weer mooi! Dit het ons heldemoed gekos, maar Eng'land nog veel meer, so het die Heer ons weer verlos, ons gee Hom al die eer. SIMBOLIEK Die Vierkleur aan die wapperkant van die vlag simboliseer die vryheidstryd van Transvalers sowel as Noord-Natallers, vanaf volksplanting tot vandag asook die geogafiese gebied van die Transvaal waarbinne Transvalers hulself vandag demografies bevind. GESKIEDENIS (1857 - vandag) In 1855 is 'n komitee benoem om 'n grondwet en vlag vir Transvaal saam te stel. Op die komitee het o.a. gedien Jacobus Stuart as voorsitter met Ds. Dirk van der Hoff in 'n raadgewende hoedanigheid asook ’n jong seun met die naam Paul Kruger as lid van die komitee. In 'n onderhoud wat gevoer is met 'n dogter van Martinus van der Hoff, broer van Ds. Van der Hoff, het sy onthul dat die Vierkleur deur haar pa en Jacobus Stuart ontwerp is in opdrag van bogenoemde komitee. Volgens haar het haar vader hierdie gebeurtenis persoonlik aan haar meegedeel. Die vlag is dus deur Ds. vd Hoff se broer ontwerp en nie deur homself soos deur verskeie ander bronne aangegee nie. Die groen vertikale baan wat deur Van der Hoff en Stuart aangebring is, was om goeie hoop te simboliseer. Aan Sy Majesteit, die koning van Nederlande, skryf Pres. Pretorius op 10 Januarie 1857: Onze vlag is boven rood, midden wit, onder blaauw horisontaal en eene groene strook ter halver breedte an eene der drie kleuren, langs den stok perpendicular, aan deze vasgehecht. “Ons het goeie hoop, dat ons, met God se hulp in die reinheid en suiwerheid van bedoelings ons vryheid sal behou, en bid tot God dat geen menslike mag hierdie vryheid van ons sal ontneem nie! Op 6 Januarie 1857 is die vlag amptelik in gebruik geneem. Die Volksraad bekragtig dit dan ook met hierdie bewoording: "Is besloten dat eene vlag voor de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek aangenomen zal worden, bestaande uit de volgende kleuren: Rood, Wit en Blaauw, horizontaal - even breed en boven elkanderen gesteld en groen perpendiculair langs den stok”. Daarop zullen de woorden geplaatst worden; “EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT” Die bepaling dat hierdie woorde op die groen baan geplaas moet word is later verander deur die woorde op die leuselint onderaan die staatswapen te plaas. AMPTELIKE BESKRYWING Die vlag is in die verhouding 2:3, en bestaan uit drie horisontale bane, almal ewe breed, waarvan die boonste rooi is, die middelste wit, en die onderste groen. Langs die vlagpaal, is 'n donker groen vertikale baan wat oor al drie horisontale bane gaan, en een en 'n kwart keer so breed is as die horisontale bane. Suid-Afrika: my land Jy’s indrukwekkend, manjifiek jou sondeurdrenkte landskappe weerkaats helder beelde in my siel jou pragtige wonders flikker oneindig lank in die stilte van jou nagrus Mount Aux Sources – so elegant en grasieus verrys jy vanuit die voetheuwels, soos ‘n fakkel by die Spele ets jy lekkende beelde teen die muur van my geheue en voel ek jou hitte gloeiend teen my hart O Blyde! ek fantaseer oor jou magiese kragte wat jy sorgloos en galant in die galery van my stille gemoed stilletjies uitpak terwyl my dawerende applous eggo oor die velde van my gedagtes Moederstad! hoe inskiklik laat jy my telkens hakkel wanneer ek my herinneringe sagkens koester – jou fasades! waar ek jou gambiet betree en gewillig my pionne oorgee En saans voel ek jou fluweelagtige skoonheid van elke sonsondergang stadig neerdaal in my gemoed terwyl ek stadig drink van jou geloofs-fonteine wat borrellend bruis in oorvloed Fragmentaries vier ek feeste ek dans en omhels jou en jy - jy blus my gees telkens met jou magiese heildronke: een-vir-een op ‘n toekoms – wat mag wees! –Nikita –14/8/09 Die Ou Voortrekker My kinders om my bed geskaar Ek voel die lange tog is klaar, Die laaste uitspan daar, — Dank Heer, dat U aan gindse kus Die moeë trekker gun sy rus, Na opdraans lank en swaar.Die ou familiebybel daar Moet julle meer as goud bewaar; Hy was deur al die swaar My raad en troos in tyd van nood, Nou in die ure van die dood My vaste steunpilaar.Daar aan die muur hang my geweer; Bewaar hom goed. Hoe menig’ keer By dreigende gevaar Was net sy snelle, wisse lood Ons een’ge redding van die dood Deur roofdier of barbaar!Majoebaberg die ken sy knal; Die grootwild het voor hom geval, En leeus die stof gebyt! Mag daar nooit iemand met my van, Wat nie kan skiet — geen weerbaar’ man, — Die lewe hulploos slyt.Besonders wil en julle vra: Hou vir gedagt’nis my ou wa; Wat het hy nie deurstaan? Hy was ons huis as onweer dreig, Ons vesting sterk in felle kryg Met Silkats en Dingaan!Hy kan getuig van moedermin: Die Lewe het in hom begin; Die kille Dood ken hy. Wat ‘n verhaal kon hy ontvou Van mannemoed en vrouetrou En eerste liefde bly!Gee aan ou Poon, my laaste perd, Genadebrood. Hy is dit werd. Vir hom is daar geen geld! Hoe dikwels het ons twee gedeel My laaste bietjie mieliemeel Daar buite op die veld!My kinders bly die grond behou; Onthou julle afkoms; wees getrou! Laat vreemde sedes staan! Al bars die swaarste onweerswolk Oor ons, tog bly ons nog ‘n volk En sal ons voortbestaan.Daar’s nog ‘n ou Transvaalse vlag — Bewaar . . wie weet . . miskien . . een dag — Ek sal daar nie meer wees —, Maar mag ons eie vlag weer waai, Vat my geweer en skiet en laai — En . . . Heer, ontvang my gees !AG VISSERAdam Small se gedigte [spesiaal ook vir Bets - op haar versoek op die 'About' bladsy] Stop Farmkilling In South Africa South Africa Farmkilling In South Africa Stop Farmkilling In South Africa South Africa Our Support to South African Farm Killing.. southernstar-africa’s blogs http://www.blogger.com/home?pli=1 http://southernstar-africa.blogspot.de/2012/05/genocide-in-south-africa.html The South African farming community has suffered from attacks for many years. The majority of the victims have been Afrikaner farmers, with claims of death tolls of up to 3,000 cited in the national and international media.While the government describes the attacks as simply part of the bigger picture of crime in South Africa, white farmers point to brutal attacks and incidents involving self-declared anti-white motivations as evidence of a campaign to drive them off their land. In 2010, the issue garnered greater international attention in light of the murder of the far-right political figure Eugène Terre'Blanche on his farm http://www.genocidewatch.org/southafrica.html South African statutory law does not define a "farm attack" as a specific crime. Rather, the term is used to refer to a number of different crimes committed against persons specifically on commercial farms or smallholdings. According to the South African Police Service National Operational Co-coordinating Committee: Attacks on farms and smallholdings refer to acts aimed at the person of residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm. In addition, all actions aimed at disrupting farming activities as a commercial concern, whether for motives related to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, anti-White concerns or intimidation, should be included. This definition excludes "social fabric crimes", that is those crimes committed by members of the farming community on one another, such as domestic or workplace violence, and focuses on outsiders entering the farms to commit specific criminal acts. The safety and security MEC for Mpumalanga, Dina Pule, has disagreed with this definition and has stated that "farm attacks" only included those cases "where farm residents were murdered, and not cases of robberies or attempted murders. Human Rights Watch has criticized the use of the term "farm attacks", which they regard as "suggesting a terrorist or military purpose", which they consider to not be the primary motivation for most farm attacks. On 15 September 2011, Genocide Watch placed South Africa at level 6, Preparation, saying "we have evidence of organized incitement to violence against White people". However, on 2 February 2012, Genocide Watch returned South Africa to level 5, Polarization. As of 14 August 2012, Genocide Watch was resetting South Africa to level 6. Genocide Watch stated that by 2001 "2.2 percent of ethno-European (White) farmers had already been murdered and more than... 12 percent of these farmers had been attacked on their farms". As of December 2011 approximately 3,158 - 3,811 White farmers have been murdered in these attacks Link To Farmkilling In South Africa http://rense.com/general25/wfrm.htm http://www.wnd.com /2012/08/genocide-looms-for-white-farmers/ http://farmkillinginsouthafrica.blogspot.de/ http://www.petitionbuzz . com/petitions/farmkilling http://www.ibtimes.com/south-africas-white-farmers-endangered-species-915345 South Africa’s White Farmers: An Endangered Species http://afrikaner-genocide-achives.blogspot.de/ http://www.boerentrepreneur . com/farmi-tracker FARM KILLING IN SOUTH AFRICA Farm Attacks In South Africa Farm attacks and murders remains a serious issue for all South Africans, out of the 35000 commercial farms operating in South African 3158 farmers have been brutally murdered since 2004, whist most of these murders have taken place since 2008. Commercial farming in South African contributes 2.6% of our total GDP (R113.4 billion) and employees around 10% of the total work force in South Africa (1.76 Million people). Our farms produce the food we eat and contribute a large part of our global exports. Some report indicate that our farmers are being killed at a rate of 330 / 100000 people per year since 2008 (Six times higher that our already high murder rate) and the sheer violent uses during these attack indicate that there is something far more worrying going on, although there is no direct link to the ANC it must be noted that farm attacks and murders have seriously increased since Mr. Julius Sello Malema was elected as ANCYL. Organisations within South Africa have been monitoring and reporting on farm attacks and have reported the following statistics. 1995 (1), 1997 (1), 1999 (1), 2000 (1), 2001 (2), 2002 (2), 2003 (2), 2004 (01), 2005 (1), 2006 (2), 2007 (1), 2008 (37), 2009 (465), 2010 (439), 2011 (551), 2012 to date (92). = 1599 farm attacks, 3158 people murdered. Don’t worry the world is watching and there are several organisations and activists working to high light these issues to the world. Unity is strength - All South Africans have the right to be free, protected against crime, have the right to be educated to a good standard, fair opportunity to the jobs available to them and last but not least share and enjoy South Africa’s beauty and wealth together as one. South Africa and its people will only move forward is everybody respects all culture, colours, traditions and by everybody works together to overcome our home lands issue. South Africa is one of the beautiful countries in the world and has wealth and an abundance of natural resource. Why can’t everybody work together and build the South Africa everybody wants to live in? All South African should fight against all of the very things that are currently destroying our country, We should campaign to ensure the rest of the world aware of what is happening behind our rainbow coloured curtain and putting non -violent pressure on our government to deliver on what we have all dreamed about for centuries – a true democracy, a true rainbow nation that all people can share, prosper and enjoy. We should be using this form to drive all our people forward into a bright future, toward a safer place to live, working together to build our economy and create job and uniting together in protest against poverty, inequality, crime, racism, corruption. Power to our people, let’s all work together to build a brighter future for all our people. Please no racists – only South Africans that want the best for everybody. God bless and protect all South African, each death should be seen as a national tragedy. http://www.boerentrepreneur.com/farmitracker/feed/ South African President Jacob Zuma appealed for calm Sunday amid fears the killing of notorious white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche could stoke racial tensions in the country. Terreblanche, the leader of the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement, or AWB), was killed Saturday following an apparent dispute over wages with workers on his farm, according to South African police. Police said the 69-year-old was bludgeoned and stabbed to death with clubs and a machete in an attack at his farm near the town of Ventersdorp in South Africa's North West Province. Two of his farm workers ages 21 and 16 turned themselves in to authorities in connection with the killing and will appear in court on Tuesday, they said. In a statement on the South African presidency's Web site, Zuma said he had spoken to Terreblanche's daughter to express his "sincere condolences." "I call upon our people, black and white to remain calm, and allow police and other organs of state to do their work," Zuma said. "This is not the time for speculation that can worsen the situation. It is the time for us to unite all of us, black and white and put the nation and the country first." The AWB also urged its members and supporters to be calm as they mourned their leader. Terreblanche's death comes amid a time of racial polarization in the country. Analysis: Terreblanche's death stokes racial tensions A South African court last month banned the playing of a political song called "Kill the Boer," most recently sung by radical youth leader Julius Malema. The apartheid-era song's lyrics translate to "kill the farmer." South African civil rights group AfriForum condemned the killing and also called for calm in a statement on its Web site. "These events are a call to all South Africans to come to their senses and to be aware of the extremely polarized and violent circumstances presently prevalent in the country," the statement said. The group also said that "all communities -- white, as well as black -- should refrain from reckless statements and from romanticizing violence." Terreblanche's AWB is best known for trying to block South Africa's effort to end apartheid. The group used terrorist tactics in a bid to stall the country's first all-race vote in 1994, killing more than 20 people in a wave of bombings on the eve of the elections. Terreblanche was convicted of the 1996 attempted murder of Paul Motshabi, a black man who worked as a security guard on Terreblanche's farm. He served about two-thirds of a five-year sentence. He was also convicted of setting his dog on a black man in an earlier incident. Alive South Africa ALIVE SOUTH AFRICA HIGHJACKING TIPS AND SAFETY Hijacking in South Africa The Facts: Crime Statistics from South African Police Services Carjackings between April 2005 and March 2006 = 12,825 Truck Hijackings between April 2005 and March 2006 = 829 The SAPS Strategic Plan (2004 – 2007) includes four key strategic priorities for the medium term. One of these is to: combat organised crime by focusing on drug and firearm trafficking, vehicle theft and hijacking, as well as commercial crime and corruption among public officials Measures to Decrease Hijackings Over the last 4 years there has been a decrease in the number of reported hijackings, mainly because of: The formation of anti-hijacking police units The launch of “Operation Ngena” – targeting hijacking syndicates Hijacking units that consist of investigative, crime intelligence and rapid response components Dedicated hijacking courts to reduce case times and increase the conviction rate of hijackers Enhanced effectiveness of vehicle tracking technology Road Safety and Hijackings Every motorist should equip himself /herself with knowledge that could assist him/ her in avoiding hijack situations, or how to handle such a situation: Also visit the following sections of content: It has become increasingly difficult to steal motor vehicles, with all the anti-theft devices, such as immobilisers, gear-locks, etc. These steps have resulted in a dramatic increase in vehicle hijackings. The hijacker has the element of surprise and this is a concern. The increasing retrenchment and the high unemployment figures are also factors. This is easy earned money and the already well-established syndicates will buy these vehicles from the hijacker. Vehicle hijacking is an organised business, run according to business principles and based on thorough planning. Specific vehicles with specific characteristics are ordered beforehand and efforts have to be made to meet the requirements of such orders. These vehicles will then be resold to the already predetermined buyer. The hijacked vehicles that are not sold to buyers in South Africa, will be smuggled out of the country. These vehicles will be sold in our neighbouring countries or trade, exchanged for drugs. The large number of stolen and unlicensed firearms is also a concern. Most of these firearms are bought or supplied to the robbers by the syndicates. This easy access to firearms make the robbery of a vehicle the easiest crime to commit and by far the quickest way of earning a few thousand rand. It is obvious that vehicle hijackers are motivated by greed and an insatiable need for more and more comfort, rather than need. An insatiable hunger for power is another theme emerging in robbers. The power-base for the latter is presented by the access to firearms. Possession of a firearm forces everybody to obey or else face the consequences. Definition: Vehicle hijacking forms one of the sub-categories of armed robbery and does not constitute a different crime from armed robbery. Perpetrators would consequently be charged with “robbery with aggravating circumstances” in court, and not with “vehicle hijacking”. Robbery with aggravating circumstances can be defined as the unlawful, intentional and violent removal and appropriation of movable corporeal property belonging to another. The victim’s resistance has to be overcome and the property obtained by the use of violence against the victim’s person. If the victim is first injured by the perpetrator and then dispossessed of property while being physically incapacitated, armed robbery is likewise committed. However, the victim needs not necessarily be physically incapacitated. In the absence of actual physical violence, a threat to commit violence against the victim is sufficient. The threat of violence may be of an express or implied nature. Vehicle hijacking neatly fits the above definition, with the property involved being specifically a motor vehicle of some kind. Days of the week and time of day in which hijackings occurred: The analysis indicated that hijackings occur every day of the week, reaching a high on Fridays, due to motorists being more relaxed and traffic increasing earlier on a Friday. Weekends show a lower hijacking rate due to syndicates checking their stock and placing orders on Mondays as well as the fact that there are fewer vehicles on the road. This also explains why Tuesdays and Wednesdays show more hijackings. Hijacking of vehicles reached its lowest point at 02h00 in the morning. Hijackings are low during the night and early hours of the morning, and start increasing at 06h00 due to motorists leaving home for work and stabilises throughout the day. A drastic increase occurred from 17h00 in the afternoon due to motorists heading towards home. Vehicles hijacked during this peak hour (16h00 – 20h00) may be explained by the fact that people returning from work are often tired, frustrated and not alert to potentially threatening circumstances. Negligence on behalf of the motorist could also not be excluded, e.g. an idling vehicle is left unattended to open a gate in the driveway. This trend is not new and the motorist will become the prey of hijackers. Another explanation for this phenomenon is that highways are congested with traffic, which make it almost impossible to catch hijackers involved without air support once they have disappeared into traffic. Weapons used during hijackings: As it was earlier indicated, in the majority of vehicle hijackings, firearms were used to commit the crime. Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal reported the highest incidence of vehicle hijacking. The circulation of illegal firearms in South Africa is disturbing and has to have a direct influence on the increase of vehicle hijackings and violent crime in general in South Africa. The trade in stolen firearms is a lucrative industry in South Africa and the rewards seem to justify the risk of apprehension for the criminals involved. The punishment of crimes does not seem to have a deterrent effect on potential criminals anymore. The analysis indicates that firearms most used are pistols and revolvers. A very small percentage of vehicle hijackings are committed using knifes, hands, high caliber guns and shotguns. When to Shoot: It is noticed with great concern that there is general confusion over the issue of the public shooting and killing or wounding another person under differing circumstances. People have a responsibility to protect themselves in a situation where they need to discharge a firearm in the process of self-protection. What exactly are the legal requirements of self-defense? The following points are important: The attack must be unlawful. The attack must be imminent or have commenced. The attack must not have been completed. One cannot act on grounds of self-defense for an attack committed an hour earlier. The defensive action must be directed against the attacker. The defensive action must be proportionate to the circumstances. The value of property involved and the instrument used for attack are important considerations. The test used by the court to determine the lawfulness of the defensive action is that of a reasonable man. The question to be asked is whether a reasonable man in the same position would have done the same thing. In all cases where a person is killed, the matter is investigated to establish if anyone was responsible for the death. This is the point when people perceive they are being charged with murder by the police and believe they cannot defend themselves against an unlawful attack without being charged. If your action is within the principles of self-defense, there is nothing to worry about. Types of hijackings: Freight Hijacking – A commercial vehicle is hijacked not only to secure the vehicle but also its cargo, which can be of substantial value. Frequently, the cargo is of more interest to the hijacker than the truck. Transport Hijacking – The vehicle is taken for the express purpose of using it as transport during other crimes such as drug dealing, burglaries, bank robberies and gun running. The vehicles are probably later cannibalised for spare parts or simply dumped. Showmanship Hijacking – A gang operates out of egotistical bravado, acting on the “this is a cool thing to be doing” rationale. Peer group pressure is very high and individuals may be coerced into more dangerous and daredevil approaches; being labeled a “sissy” if they don’t. Thus intimidation, violence and vandalism are associated with the crime. Drugs and alcohol may also be a motive as theft of the victim’s personal belongings is commonplace. Operational Hijacking – A group formally work together in a more structured way. They usually have experience in car theft and have established contacts within the motorcar underworld that will receive and pay cash for stolen vehicles or spare parts. Syndicate Hijacking – The most organised of all and often has international connections. A network of hijacking groups is established with the overall coordinator, syndicating out work so that he remains out of view in exactly the same way as the drug baron uses pushers. This makes identifying and arresting the ultimate boss very difficult. Additionally, a syndicate is often backed by a lot of money, especially if there are international links and makes full use of any potential to bribe the authorities in order to protect their operations. Modus Operandi used by the hijackers: Most hijackings take place in the driveways of residential areas. These hijackers prefer areas with accessible escape routes. Hijackings take place while stationed at any traffic sign or intersection. Hijackings take place while stationary next to the road, e.g. to answer cell phone. Hijackings also occur at post offices and parking areas or you may be followed leaving the filling station with the objective to hijack your vehicle where it is quiet. The hijackers sometimes use a vehicle to force the victim off the road. Hijackings take place at schools when dropping off / picking up children. Hijackings take place while the vehicle is idling when off-loading / loading passengers. Hijackings take place when advertising your vehicle for sale (Test drive method). Bogus Police or Traffic Officers also conduct hijackings (Blue light scenario). HOW TO AVOID A HIJACK SITUATION: Approaching and entering your driveway: 2km from your house strategy. Be extra alert. Switch off the car radio and concentrate on your surroundings. If you have noticed any vehicle behind you, use the techniques you have learned during the hijack prevention & survival course to determine whether you are being followed. Remember to stop your vehicle just on the inside of the gate and select reverse whilst waiting for the gate to close. This creates confusion and may buy you a few seconds for the gate to close completely behind you. Check your driveway and street before you leave or enter your premises. Make sure your driveway is well lit and clear from shrubbery where perpetrators can hide. Be aware of unknown pedestrians close to your residential address – do not turn into your driveway – pass and go back later. Liaise with your neighbours – know them. Be aware of vehicles parked close to your address with occupants inside. It might be perpetrators observing the area. Be alert if your animals do not greet you at the gate as usual. It might be that the perpetrators over-powered them. Phone your home and ask for someone to make sure your driveway is safe and to open and close the gate for you. When returning home after dark, ensure that an outside light is on, or have someone meet you at the gate. Check with your armed response company if they are rendering rendezvous services. If at any time you have to open the gate yourself, make sure nobody suspicious around and the road is clear. Stop right in front of your gate. Do not switch off the vehicle, leave the key in the ignition, get out and close the door (not creating temptation). Then open the gate. Drive in and close the gate immediately behind you. If you have small children in the vehicle, take the key with you (this is the only exception). You need the key as a “negotiating tool”. The perpetrators want your vehicle and you want your children. If your children are older, it is advised that they exit the vehicle with you when opening the gate so that you are all separated from the vehicle should an attack occur. Parking your vehicle: Check rear-view mirror to ensure you are not being followed. When exiting your vehicle, be cautious and aware of surrounding obstructions and shrubbery that may be concealing a hijacker. Never sit in your parked vehicle without being conscious of your surroundings. Sleeping in a stationary vehicle is particularly dangerous. When approaching your driveway, be on the lookout for suspicious vehicles / persons. This is very important as the majority of hijackers approach their victims in home driveways. Whilst entering your vehicle and while driving, the following should be considered: Have your key ready, but not visible. Inspect the outside and inside of the vehicle before unlocking. Check underneath your vehicle for items placed under the wheels. Also make sure nobody is hiding on the passenger side before you enter your vehicle. (As explained during the hijack prevention & survival course) Know your destination and directions to it; and be alert should you get lost. Always drive with your windows closed and doors locked. Make a mental note of any Police Stations in the vicinity. When stopping behind another vehicle, leave half a vehicle length in front of your vehicle to make an emergency escape if necessary. When dropping off a passenger, make sure they are safely in their own vehicle before departing. Avoid driving through high crime or unfamiliar areas. Avoid driving late at night / early hours of the morning when the roads are quiet. Drive in the center lane away from pedestrians where possible. If possible, never drive alone. NEVER, EVER pick up hitchhikers or strangers. (VERY IMPORTANT) Never follow routine routes when driving; change on a regular basis. Other situations: If approached by a stranger while in your vehicle, drive off if possible or use your hooter to attract attention. Lock your doors, close your windows and do not have bags or briefcases visible in the vehicle. Use the boot for this. Cell phone should also not be visible. There are times and days that these items are visible in the vehicle. Try and open the window they might “smash & grab” about 3 cm, so the window can absorb the sudden impact. If you’ve left your stopping distance you may be able to escape. Be constantly on the lookout for suspicious looking characters or vehicles and do not hesitate to report them to the SAPS. Always be on the alert for potential danger, and be on the lookout for possible escape routes and safe refuge along the way. When approaching a red traffic light at night, slow down so that you only reach it when it turns green. Do not take anything from people standing at traffic lights or places where they gather (job seekers on gathering points). Perpetrators are usually standing among these people. Make sure you are not followed. If you suspect you are being followed, drive to the nearest Police Station or any busy public area. If any person or vehicle in a high-risk area arouses your suspicions, treat it as hostile and take appropriate action, e.g. when approaching a red traffic light, slow down, check for oncoming traffic and if clear, drive through the intersection. A fine will be preferable to an attack. Treat stop streets in the same way. Thereafter call for assistance if necessary. Always report these incidents to the SAPS. But remember, this is not an excuse to ignore the rules of the road. The onus will be on you to prove in a court of law that you had justifiable reason to act the way you did and this is only in the case of a real, life-threatening emergency. Should a suspicious vehicle in fact be a (unmarked) SAPS vehicle, the Police must identify themselves by: Use of a blue light, loudspeaker or any other police equipment. The flash of a badge through the window whilst driving is not enough. The Police must go all out in order to let the public know who they are. Consider the following actions: Switch on emergency lights and put your hand out the window (if possible), indicating that they should follow you. Your intention must be very clear and understandable. By exceeding the speed limit, you are sending out a message of suspicion, e.g. stolen / hijacked vehicle, transporting stolen goods, under the influence. Drive to the nearest Police Station or when in doubt, the nearest busy public area. Always have your identity document and driver’s license in your possession as well as a pen and notebook to take necessary notes. If possible, avoid driving in the dark. Hijackers may stage a minor accident, for e.g. If your vehicle is bumped from behind and you do not feel comfortable with the individual involved in the situation, indicate he / she must follow you and drive to the nearest Police Station or any busy public area for help. Never open your vehicle window or door for any stranger. If a suspicious person is near your unoccupied vehicle, do not approach the vehicle. Walk to the nearest public area and ask for assistance. If you encounter obstacles in the road, e.g. rocks, tyres, do not get out of your vehicle to remove them. Reverse and drive away in the opposite direction. Do not stop to eat or rest on deserted roads. Do not leave your vehicle unattended at a filling station. Cell phones should be carried on the body. Perpetrators will not allow you to remove your cell phone and valuables from the vehicle during an attack. Information you should know: If your vehicle is hijacked or stolen, promptly report it to the SAPS. Make sure you have the vehicle details: model, color, vehicle identification and registration numbers available to assist with the recovery of the vehicle. When forced to drive with a hijacker, be observant without making direct eye contact and try to memorise as many details as possible. It is important to describe the hijacker as accurately as possible. When observing a hijacker, take note of his head and face – the shape of the eyes, mouth, nose and ears. Take note of possible irregularities. Look at the hair, skin color, complexion and possible scars and tattoos. Observe the build, sex, body movement, clothing and any conversation that may take place. Remember the direction from which they came and fled, as well as the time and place the incident happened. Remember to make mental and physical notes immediately after the incident to ensure accurate and detailed information for the Police investigation. Taken hostage - It can be helpful to have a survival plan in the back of your mind should such an incident occur. It is difficult not to become paranoid about being taken hostage. However, it is just as easy to become complacent. One very important fact to remember when being hijacked: Should the conclusion of the drama be by way of armed intervention, and escape is not possible, immediately drop to the ground, remain still and obey the orders of the leader. If confronted: Do not lose your temper, threaten or challenge the hijacker. DO EXACTLY AS TOLD BY THE HIJACKERS! Do not resist, especially if the hijacker has a weapon. Surrender your vehicle and move away. Try to put as much distance between yourself and the hijacker(s) as speedily as possible. Do not reach for your purse or valuables. Leave everything in the vehicle. Try to remain calm at all times and do not show signs of aggression. Be compliant to all demands set by the perpetrator. Do not make eye contact with the hijacker. He may perceive this behavior as a threat and retaliate aggressively. Keep your hands still and visible to the hijacker, so as to give him assurance of your passive content. Do not speak too fast (if you are able to talk) and do not make sudden movements. Gather as much information as possible without posing a threat. How many people? How many firearms and description thereof? What were the perpetrators wearing (clothing)? To which direction did they drive off? Take note of the language they use (the accent). First phone the SA Police Service on 08600 10111. They will dispatch the medical services if needed. Other emergency numbers you could phone are 112 ANY Network (Vodacom+MTN+Cell C) or 147 Vodacom ONLY. Activate the vehicle-tracking device, if the vehicle is fitted with one. The Effects of Trauma: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) This is the term given to a particular range and combination of reactions following trauma. Reactions following trauma can be divided into three main groups: Re-experiencing the event – a feeling that you are experiencing the original event all over again, through memories intruding into your waking or sleeping life. Arousal reactions – you feel persistently aroused, nervous, agitated sense, anxious, tense, unable to settle or concentrate, over-reacting very sharply to small things and especially, having trouble sleeping. Avoidance reactions – you make frantic efforts to avoid anything that could remind you of the trauma, or cause you to think or talk about it in any way. You may shut down your feelings about other people and things you normally care about and keep to yourself. You may feel unusually withdrawn and emotionally numb. Five stages of trauma / loss: Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance The following is some general advice to help you cope with trauma in general and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in particular: Do: Express your emotions. Talk about what has happened as often as you need to. Seek trauma counselling. Try to keep your life as normal as possible by following daily routines. Find opportunities to review the experience. Look to friends and colleagues for support. Don’t: Use alcohol, nicotine or other drugs to hide your feelings. Simply stay away from work or isolate yourself. Seek help and support instead (counselling). Allow anger and irritability to mask your feelings. Hide your feelings and be afraid to ask for help. Think your feelings are a sign of weakness. Remember that your life is worth more than your vehicle! Technology has changed the way people communicate and do business with each other. Tracking technology has evolved from the developments in personal computers, mobile phones, the GPS Global Positioning System and the Internet into what is now described as “vehicle telematics”. In this section we would like to focus on vehicle tracking as the “use of computers and telecommunications to enhance the functionality, productivity and security of both vehicles and drivers”. This can also be described as the technology of tracking the movements and/or status of a vehicle or fleet of vehicles, through the use of a vehicle tracking device, typically equipped with a GPS Locator and GPRS modem, which is fitted in the vehicle. What do I need to know about Vehicle Tracking? A vehicle tracking system is basically an electronic device installed in a vehicle to enable the owner or a third party to track the vehicle's location. Most modern vehicle tracking systems use Global Positioning System (GPS) modules for accurate location of the vehicle. Many systems also combine a communications component such as cellular or satellite transmitters to communicate the vehicle’s location to a remote user. Vehicle information can be viewed on electronic maps via the Internet or specialized software. Typical vehicle tracking systems are comprised of two core parts; location hardware (or tracking device) and vehicle tracking software. The tracking device is most often hardware installed in the vehicle; connected to the ignition switch, battery and antennae. The typical tracking hardware for a fleet management solution uses GPS to pinpoint its location and then updates are transmitted at a regular timed interval or after an event trigger, e.g. ignition on / off. The location data is made available for viewing through many of the solutions sold today, via a website, accessed over the internet, where fleet activity can be viewed live or historically using digital maps and reports. Vehicle tracking is also described as being "Passive" and "Active". "Passive" devices store GPS location, speed, heading and sometimes a trigger event such as key on/off, door open/closed. Once the vehicle returns to a predetermined point, the device is removed and the data downloaded to a computer for evaluation. "Active" devices also collect the same information but usually transmit the data in real-time via cellular or satellite networks to a computer or data centre for evaluation. It is important for business managers to understand how vehicle tracking technology is best introduced. It is suggested that business owners should explain to drivers why the system is being proposed, how it will work, what it will achieve and what it will and won’t do. How this is introduced can have a massive impact on its acceptance by the workforce. It should be explained that cases of vehicle theft, unauthorised use and speeding will be detected, but that any penalties will be defined in disciplinary procedures before the system starts. Employees should understand how the system will be used to improve emergency response in the case of accidents and to protect vulnerable lone workers. This should reassure employees and resolve the fears that result in the implementation of new technology. Benefits of Vehicle Tracking Vehicle tracking technology has become an important requirement for effective fleet management and improving the safety of company drivers. The benefits of vehicle tracking include: Vehicle tracking systems reduce running costs by specifically targeting those who speed and waste fuel. Fuel savings also means it softens the blow to the environment It reduces time wasted through vehicle maintenance. In addition, by having a service that ensures your vehicles are regularly serviced means that resale values for the fleet will be higher. It can also help to avoid penalties for issues such as bald tyres and tax as reminders are clear and precise. Insurance companies often offer discounts to companies who implement a GPS vehicle tracking system. This is not only because it encourages safer driving, but also helps recovery if thefts do occur. Vehicle tracking systems are popular in consumer vehicles as a theft prevention and retrieval device. When used as a security system, a Vehicle Tracking System may serve as either an addition to or replacement for a traditional car alarm. Productivity of workers can be increased by being able to keep track of lunch hours, exposing unauthorised stops and breaks and by evaluating the overtime requests of workers. Tracking devices help businesses to become more “customer friendly”. Drivers now only need a mobile phone with telephony or Internet connection to be inexpensively tracked by and dispatched efficiently to the customer. Business owners can find their most productive employees and use this information to implement further training or even implement a system of bonuses to enhance staff members' work ethic. Mobile sales professionals can access real-time locations. For example, in unfamiliar areas, they can locate themselves as well as customers and prospects, get driving directions and add nearby last-minute appointments to itineraries. Vehicle tracking systems will vastly reduce your phone bills as it is no longer a necessity to constantly call employees to find their location. It provides easy access to answer enquiries rapidly and accurately. Vehicle tracking systems reduce the amount of paperwork that drivers must fill out. By doing this you not only soften the blow of introducing such a system, but also increase the accuracy of your records. Business owners are more in touch with their business operations and see an increase in efficiency, productivity and accountability in their businesses. While paying the same wages many companies see a significant increase in productivity that often coincides with the installation of the tracking system. This leads to more jobs completed per day, reduced journey times, fuel savings and improved customer satisfaction. Improved health and safety – knowing the location of a workers vehicle can be of significant benefit if that person were to require immediate attention. Vehicle Tracking enhancing road safety The above benefits of vehicle tracking systems are well known amongst fleet management companies. It is also important for the vehicle owner to be alert to the benefits that vehicle equipment and software can have in protecting the physical safety and the general well being of loved ones. We would like to reflect on a few of these benefits: In private cars, installing vehicle tracking software makes the concept of owning and running a private car less stressful for the owner. Emergency Assistance - vehicle tracking software will be able to provide accurate information of your car's whereabouts. In an emergency situation, this will enable instant access to receive medical or emergency assistance. The police or tracking company can follow the signal emitted by the tracking system to locate a stolen vehicle. Car thieves might tend to stay clear of cars displaying a tracking system sticker or those known to have a tracking device. Data to show driving performance monitoring will not only improve driving but also help to optimise the performance of the vehicle. Reducing the average speed of your vehicles and getting your vehicles to slow down and stay within the speed limits relate directly into reduced fuel consumption and maintenance. This could also lead to fewer accidents and a saving in your monthly running costs. Insurance companies might provide a lesser premium if shown your vehicles are now driving slower, driving less distances and you are reducing the risk of accidents. The additional benefit of reducing speed is that you may hold on to your license longer and receive fewer traffic fines. You can reduce your insurance liability, reduce servicing and maintenance costs with more money available for new and safe tyres. Vehicle tracking technology might provide important evidence after an accident Vehicle tracking software not only provides totally accurate directions, but the system might also suggest alternative routes when traffic congestion is detected ahead. Choosing a vehicle tracking solution There is a wide range of vehicle tracking suppliers available and many might claim to be the best! The truth is there is no ‘best’ vehicle tracking supplier, but there will be a supplier whose vehicle tracking products and services meet your specific requirements, are reliable, well established, and offer good support at the right price. What factors do you need to consider whilst making a decision on vehicle tracking for your vehicle? Never assume that all vehicle tracking systems are the same and just choose based on price Learn as much as you can about different systems. Research them on the Internet, call the companies and ask for literature. The vehicle tracking system needs to be able to do what you require of it. Determine how much money you are willing to spend. Check exactly what you are getting for your money. Check the fixed and variable costs, set up charges, annual software licensing etc. Qualify and quantify each benefit and prove to yourself and others in your business that there would be a return on each of these benefits and that they are not just a ‘nice to have’. Reliability – The best way for you to establish whether a product is reliable is to speak to existing customers Customer support – technology is never perfect and vehicle tracking is no different. You will have problems with some of your units over time, which is to be expected, but you need to know that you have the support there when needed. Financial Stability of the Tracking Supplier – there are a rapidly increasing number of tracking companies entering the industry, and almost as many are failing to survive in a very competitive environment. Enquire about your tracking supplier and find out a bit about their history. Find out if, in addition to the fixed costs, there are additional monthly charges e.g. "Airtime". Monthly charges, in addition to the cost of the system itself, can add up. Check the coverage of the tracking system. Are there black spots? If there are, where are they? What happens to the data if the Vehicle Location Unit installed in the vehicle cannot transmit due to a coverage black spot? (lack of GSM, GPRS, Satellite Communications) Does the unit store the location updates? If so, how many and for how long? It is important to be aware that the technology you acquire today may be quickly overtaken by the technology of tomorrow. Your vehicle tracking partner must be able to provide you with new technology and upgrades! Conclusion Vehicle tracking is important technology for the safety not only of fleets of vehicles –but also for the ordinary driver. This is to become even more important for road safety as the technology becomes increasingly accessible and inexpensive. The Arrive Alive website would like to urge all road users to investigate this technology as an important safety feature. Eugène Terre'Blanche The Right Wing Leader Eugène Terre'Blanche Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (31 January 1941 – 3 April 2010) was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) during the apartheid era. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he became known for threatening civil war to maintain white rule in South Africa. After the country's transition to post-apartheid democracy, he revised his stances and urged his followers to push for independence in an independent Afrikaner homeland, which he frequently referred to as a "Boerevolkstaat". Terre'Blanche led the organisation until his death in 2010. He was given several labels during his lifetime, including "white supremacist", "nationalist," and "racist". Terre'Blanche spent three years in prison for assaulting a black petrol station worker and for the attempted murder of a black security guard in 1996. On 3 April 2010, he was hacked and beaten to death on his farm by a farm labourer, allegedly over a wage dispute. Terre'Blanche's supporters have said that the murder is part of a larger pattern of anti-white "farm murders" in South Africa Terre'Blanche's grandfather fought as a so-called "Cape Rebel" for the Boer cause in the Second Boer War, and his father was a lieutenant colonel in the South African Defence Force. The progenitor of the Terre'Blanche name (translatable as either 'white land' or 'white earth' in French) in the region was a French Huguenot refugee, Estienne Terreblanche from Toulon (Provence), who arrived at the Cape in 1704, fleeing anti-Protestant persecution in France: The Terreblanche name has generally retained its original spelling though other spellings include Terre'Blanche, Terre Blanche, Terblanche and Terblans. Born on a farm in the Transvaal town of Ventersdorp on 31 January 1941, Terre'Blanche attended Laerskool Ventersdorp and Hoër Volkskool in Potchefstroom, matriculating in 1962. While in school, he gave early expression to his political leanings by founding the cultural organisation Jong Afrikanerharte (Young Afrikaner Hearts). He joined the South African Police, and was initially deployed in South West Africa (now Namibia), which had been given to South Africa under a League of Nations Trust mandate after World War I. Upon returning to South Africa proper, he became a Warrant Officer in the Special Guard Unit, which was assigned to members of the Cabinet Herstigte Nasionale Party During the late 1960s, Terre'Blanche increasingly opposed what he called the "liberal policies" of B. J. Vorster, then Prime Minister of South Africa. After four years of service in the SAP, he resigned to pursue a career in politics, running unsuccessfully for local office in Heidelberg as a member of the Herstigte Nasionale Party Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging Disillusioned with the established avenues for political participation, Terre'Blanche founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement, AWB) in Heidelberg in 1973, initially as a secret society. The AWB first appeared on the public scene after its members were charged with and fined for tarring and feathering Floors van Jaarsfeld, a professor of history who had publicly voiced the opinion that the Day of the Vow (previously called Dingaan's Day), a public holiday in remembrance of the Battle of Blood River, was nothing more than a secular event with hardly any real reference point in history. Though Terre’Blanche would later express his regrets regarding the incident when testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he suggested that his convictions relating to the sanctity of the Day of the Vow might make his actions more understandable. In the years that followed, Terre'Blanche's speeches at public gatherings often evoked the Battle of Blood River, and his oratorical skills earned him much support among the white right wing in South Africa; the AWB claimed 70,000 members at its height. Throughout the 1980s, Terre'Blanche continued to present himself and the AWB as an alternative to both the National Party-led government and the Conservative Party, and he remained staunchly opposed to the reform policies of PW Botha to establish additional, albeit still separate, parliamentary chambers for non-whites, and to grant suffrage to Coloureds and South Africans of Indian origin. The organisation's strongest support was found in the rural communities of South Africa's North, with comparably few supporters in urban areas where his following was largely limited to the middle and lower income Afrikaners. Terre'Blanche viewed the end of apartheid as a surrender to communism, and threatened full scale civil war if President FW de Klerk handed power to Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress.When De Klerk addressed a meeting in Terre'Blanche's hometown of Ventersdorp in 1991, Terre'Blanche led a protest, and the Battle of Ventersdorp ensued between the AWB and the police, with a number of people killed Terre’Blanche claimed that it was only when he stood between the police and the AWB and demanded a ceasefire that the shooting ended. Terre'Blanche accused President de Klerk of instigating the riot for political gain. In an attempt to disrupt the negotiation process in 1993, Terre'Blanche accompanied by General Constand Viljoen and Conservative Party parliamentarian Thomas Langley led an armed invasion of the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park while negotiations were in progress. After a memorandum of grievances were presented to National Party minister Roelf Meyer and Dawie de Villiers and upon concluding and agreement that no arrests would be made, the AWB withdrew from the premises. However that evening several identified AWB leaders were arrested and their wives were incarcerated in Soweto, separately from their husbands. Vlakplaas General Krappies Engelbrecht was appointed to launch an investigation. Terre'Blanche claimed he and President Lucas Mangope of the predominantly ethnic Tswana Homeland of Bophuthatswana came to a “mutual agreement” on 17 February 1992, to aid each other in the “event of a communist threat .On 4 March 1994 Mangope announced that Bophutatswana would not participate in the South African general election in an effort to maintain Bophutatswana's independence from the Republic of South Africa. Bophuthatswana's minister of justice, Godfrey Mothibe tried in vain to convince Mangope to participate in the election, but then accused the ANC of orchestrating the revolt, which was helped by the stance taken by South Africa's then Minister of Foreign Affairs, P.W. "Pik" Botha. Thousands of ANC supporters were bussed in from areas outside of Bophuthatswana to support the popular uprising. Terre'Blanche claimed a conspiracy by citing a “three-step plan” by the ANC in an effort to destabilise Bophuthatswana, which included ANC infiltration of the Bophuthatswana police and military. However, ANC candidate for the North West Province, Popo Molefe claimed the ANC was merely supporting the people of Bophuthatswana after it became clear that their political freedoms were limited. Terre'Blanche claimed he had personally communicated with Mangope On 10 March 1994 , prior to mobilising his men to protect the capital Mmabatho against looting and unrest. Officers of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force initially received the AWB militia with “great joy and surprise.” (Vuur en Verraad, Arthur Kemp) The AWB militia assembled in an airport hangar in Mmabatho, where they were to be provided with rations and firearms. Terre'Blanche ordered his men to remove their AWB badges upon the request of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force. While contained at the hangar, an unidentified and independent faction carrying the AWB emblems started shooting indiscriminately at the public. Terre'Blanche concluded that the South African intelligence services may have set up the shooting in order to discredit the AWB, since the media broadcast footage of the individuals' emblems, but did not publicise their identity.The Bophuthatswana police systematically began to remove the media from strategic locations, and the initial hospitality shown to the AWB militia was replaced by contempt. When Bophuthatswana fell into complete anarchy, the AWB withdrew. The AWB were subsequently defeated while invading Bophuthatswana to prop up the autocratic leader of the bantustan in 1994 and, consequently, Terre'Blanche did not follow up on his earlier threats of war. Terre'Blanche was lampooned in the 1991 documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife, directed by British filmmaker Nick Broomfield. A sequel, His Big White Self, was first broadcast in February 2006. Terre'Blanche was also interviewed by Louis Theroux in episode 3.3 "Boer Separatists" of the BBC series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. In 1988, the AWB was beset by scandal when claims of an affair with journalist Jani Allan surfaced. In July 1989, Cornelius Lottering, a member of the breakaway Orde van die Dood group, orchestrated a failed assassination attempt on Allan's life by placing a bomb outside her Sandton apartment. Broomfield's 1991 documentary claimed Terre'Blanche had an affair with the Sunday Times journalist; a claim she denied as well as her portrayal in the documentary. This led to Allan taking libel proceedings against the documentary broadcaster Channel 4 in 1992 in the London High Court. During the trial, several transcripts of their alleged sexual relationship appeared in the South African and British press. Terre'Blanche submitted a sworn statement to the London court denying he had had an affair with Allan. In a rare interview with the Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Die Rapport, his wife Martie Terre'Blanche denounced the rumours. Although the judge found that Channel 4's allegations had not defamed Allan, he did not rule on whether or not there had been an affair. The South African business newspaper Financial Mail published a lead story on 6 August detailing the theory that F.W. de Klerk had orchestrated the libel case to discredit Terre'Blanche and the far right movement in South Africa. Terre'Blanche was widely ridiculed after he was filmed falling off his horse during a parade in Pretoria. After his murder the state-owned SABC said on the evening news that he would be remembered "as a failed horseman". Terre'Blanche claimed the media only showed part of the fall and explained that unedited footage of the incident would show that the horse had slipped. He accused the media of double standards in reporting when praising Mbhazima Shilowa when he fell from, but immediately remounted his horse. In 2004, he was controversially voted No. 25 in SABC3's Great South Africans from a list of 100 South African personalities. Controversy over the list led the SABC to cancel the television series Amnesty Following the end of apartheid, Terre'Blanche and his supporters sought amnesty for the storming of the World Trade Centre, the 'Battle of Ventersdorp', and other acts. Amnesty was granted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission In March 2008, the AWB announced the re-activation of the political party, for 'populist' reasons, citing the encouragement of the public. Reasons for the return have been attributed principally to attacks on commercial farmers and ethnic Boers, the electricity crisis, corruption across government departments and rampant crime. Throughout April 2008, Terre'Blanche was to be the speaker at several AWB rallies, encompassing Vryburg, Middelburg, Mpumalanga and Pretoria. He had been calling for a “free Afrikaner republic”, and vowed to take his campaign to the United Nations' International Court of Justice in The Hague in a bid to secure this. He favoured large tracks of land that had been purchased from the ethnic Swazis in the eastern portion of the South African Republic, from the Zulus in northern Natal, and others, as well as largely uninhabited portions of the interior that had been settled by the Voortrekkers. In June 2008, it was announced that the AWB Youth Wing would be launched and Terre'Blanche was to be its founding member. In a video interview in 2008, he voiced his objection to a proposal to change the iconic Springbok emblem of the South Africa national rugby union team (Springboks). He stated that the Springbok emblem could be replaced with an impala or kudu for sports teams representing the new Afrikaner republic. In September 2009 he addressed a 3-day convention attended by 300 Afrikaners which was intended to develop a strategy for "Boer liberation". Terre'Blanche reinforced earlier claims for land in Northern Natal and the Eastern Transvaal. In October 2009 several right-wing groups led by Terre'Blanche outlined their future plans at a Ventersdorp meeting. In an interview with the Mail and Guardian he said he wanted to unite 23 organisations under one umbrella, in order to take, as he had vowed, the fight of "the free Afrikaner" to the International Court of Justice. In an interview with the Mail and Guardian, he stated that he would publish his biography, Blouberge van Nimmer (The Blue Mountains of Long Ago), in December 2009. The biography was ready for press at the time of his death and published under the name “My Storie”, as told to Amos van der Merwe. A complaint was lodged in December 2009 with the South African Human Rights Commission regarding inflammatory comments he was alleged to have made On 17 June 2001, Terre'Blanche was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served three years, for assaulting a petrol station worker and the attempted murder of a security guard in 1996. He denied both accusations and insisted on his innocence. One of only three whites in the Rooigrond prison near Mafikeng, during his time in prison he claimed to have become a born-again Christian He claimed to have moderated many of his more racist views. Terre'Blanche was released on 11 June 2004 and the AWB website claims these court cases and other scandals involving him were fabricated by the "Black Government and the left wing media". Paul Motshabi was permanently disabled when he was beaten up by Terre'Blanche in 1996. He was crippled and intellectually impaired by brain damage sustained in the attack, and his wife left him. He was one of 16 victims of violence in the South Africa's North West who received new houses as part of the national government's campaign to mark sixteen days of activism against violence against women and children. Terre'Blanche continued to maintain his innocence in the Motshabi case, citing that he had discovered Motshabi already beaten when he found him in a park while patrolling Ventersdorp after which he took him to the hospital. Although he was not present when the alleged attack happened, Gabriel Kgosimang, an ex-employee of Terre'Blanche, testified that his former employer had repeatedly beaten Motshabi over the head, upper body, neck and shoulders after he crashed into him with his vehicle. The official medical report only cites a single hit to the head Twelve years later a policeman revealed that it had not been Terre'Blanche who had attacked Motshabi, and disclosed the names of the two culprits. Terre'Blanche claimed he feared the same powers that were active at Vlakplaas and chose not to make their names public. However, he stated that the identity of the attackers were contained in a sealed envelope and kept in safekeeping and that instructions were given that this information would be released in case something “unnatural” should happen to him. These names have not yet been released despite the murder of Terre'Blanche. Terre'Blanche claimed innocence in the case of John Ndizima, suggesting a bogus case had been built against him in order to “bury the conservative element of Afrikaner-nationalism in the shallow grave of injustice”. Terre’Blanche cites that he interviewed Ndizima as the only eye witness of a burglary at a pharmacy in Ventersdorp. Ndizima claimed a white man with a white shirt with fine white lines had broken the window with a rock and had ran off. Terre'Blanche countered that Ndizima could not have seen such details from a 200-metre distance in the middle of the night, and suggested that Ndizima had alerted the thief to his presence. Terre'Blance then claimed that following a heated argument his dog broke loose and chased Ndizima, whereafter Terre'Blanche restrained the dog. Terre'Blanche raised the question of why neither Ndizima nor the state prosecution could explain why there was no blood on his overall that had been submitted as evidence. Terre'Blanche pointed out that his defence attorney suddenly resigned as a member of the ultra-conservative white Conservative Party's Volksraad and joined the ANC shortly after the conclusion of the court case Terre'Blanche, who had lived in relative obscurity since the collapse of his organisation, was murdered on his farm Villana, just outside Ventersdorp, on 3 April 2010. He was reportedly beaten to death with pipes and pangas (machetes), while napping, by two black males (then aged 28 and 15), allegedly over a wage dispute. His daughter Bea told the media that the two workers had not been paid for March because her father could not get his banking in order before the Easter weekend, and that an arrangement had been made to pay them after the weekend. She stated that he had enjoyed a good relationship with his employees, which had been strengthened by their work with animals on the farm. His body was found on the bed with facial and head injuries. Speculation that Terre'Blanche had sexually assaulted one or both of the accused was raised in some publications. Ventersdorp police said two suspects were taken into custody over his killing; they were both charged with murder, and one was released on bail. South African President Jacob Zuma, who followed up an overnight statement with a televised address called for calm and for "responsible leadership" following the murder, describing it as a "terrible deed;" and described the murderer as "cowardly." Zuma's words were echoed by the AWB and organisations including AfriForum and Solidarity. Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa Commissioner of police, Bheki Cele and other high ranking police officials, and politicians visited Terre'Blanche's family in Ventersdorp the morning after the murder to express sympathy with the family. The murder took place amid a racial controversy in South Africa involving the singing of a song by African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malemawhich includes the lyrics "Shoot the Boer" ("Dubul' ibhunu"). The ANC, which had previously defended its right to sing the song, announced that it would consider a moratorium on the singing of the song, following the murder, in the interests of national cohesion. Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said that the murder would "inflame tensions" in South Africa. Malema denied the song had anything to do with the murder, and defended his singing of it, saying he was "ready to die," and that he was "not scared of Boers, in reference to threats, later retracted, that Terre'Blanche would be avenged. ANC leaders later announced a temporary ban on the singing of the song. Thousands attended Terre'Blanche's funeral, held at noon on 9 April 2010 at Ventersdorp's Protestant Church. Later the same day, he was buried on his farm. Terre'Blanche's murder has been linked by the British media to attacks on farmers in South Africa Aftermath The accused, Chris Mahlangu, announcement to other farm workers that he was "now their boss" fuelled suspicions that the murder was politically motivated. Members of the African National Congress (ANC) have supported the accused by turning up at the court in huge numbers, and singing other revolutionary songs. Terre'Blanche's supporters also turned up at the court, singing the former South African national anthem, "Die Stem van Suid Afrika." Court Case The two suspects appeared in court in Ventersdorp on 6 April 2010 amid racially charged scenes, and were charged with murder, robbery and crimen injuria, for injuring the dignity of Terre'Blanche by leaving his pants pulled down after killing him. The AWB retracted earlier calls to avenge the murder as Zuma appealed for peace. On 22 May 2012, 29-year-old farm worker Chris Mahlangu was found guilty of the murder. 18-year-old Patrick Ndlovu, the other man accused in the case, was acquitted of murder due to a lack of forensic evidence, though he was found guilty of breaking-in. They had both pleaded not guilty, but declined to testify. Protesters from both sides were gathered outside the courthouse when the verdict was read. Judge John Horn ruled that there was no evidence that Mahlangu had been acting in self-defense, and that the murder had been committed for financial reasons. Although Mahlangu claimed that he had been raped, Horn declared that if that was the case he should have raised it immediately, which he failed to do. He also claimed that he had been acting in retaliation because he had been subject to "appalling condition... not fit for human habitation," as well as having experienced child exploitation on the farm BACK TO TOP

Safari Tours Wildlife Animal History SPRINGBOK / SPRINGBUCK The springbok (Afrikaans and Dutch: spring = jump; bok = antelope or goat) (Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium-sized brown and white gazelle that stands about 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in) high. Springbok males weigh between 33 and 50 kg (73 and 110 lb) and the females between 25 and 40 kg (55 and 88 lb). They can reach running speeds of up to 90 km/h (56 mph),to 96 km/h (60 mph) and can leap 4 m(13 feet) into the air and can long jump of up to 15 m (50 feet). Springbok inhabit the dry inland areas of south and southwestern Africa. Their range extends from the northwestern part of South Africa through the Kalahari desert into Namibia and Botswana. Springbok occur in numbers of up to 2,500,000 in South Africa;it is the most plentiful antelope. They used to be very common, forming some of the largest herds of mammals ever documented, but their numbers have diminished significantly since the 19th century due to hunting and fences from farms blocking their migratory routes. In South Africa springbok inhabit the vast grasslands of the Free State and the open shrublands of the greater and smaller Karoo. They inhabit most of Namibia ; the grasslands of the south, the Kalahari desert to the east,the dry riverbeds of the northern bushveld of the Windhoek region as well as the harsh Namib Desert on the West Coast. In Botswana they mostly live in the Kalahari Desert in the southwestern and central parts of the country. KUDU Greater kudus have a narrow body with long legs, and their coats can range from brown/bluish-grey to reddish-brown. They possess between 4–12 vertical white stripes along their torso. The head tends to be darker in colour than the rest of the body, and exhibits a small white chevron which runs between the eyes. Male greater kudus tend to be much larger than the females, and vocalize much more, utilizing low grunts, clucks, humming, and gasping. The males also have large manes running along their throats, and large horns with two and a half twists, which, were they to be straightened, would reach an average length of 120 cm (47 in), with the record being 187.64 cm (73.87 in). They diverge slightly as they slant back from the head. The horns do not begin to grow until the male is between the age of 6–12 months, twisting once at around 2 years of age, and not reaching the full two and a half twists until they are 6 years old; occasionally they may even have 3 full turns. Males weigh 190–270 kg (420–600 lb), with a maximum of 315 kg (690 lb), and stand about 180 cm (71 in) tall at the shoulder. The body length is 185–245 cm (6.07–8.04 ft). The tail is 30–55 cm (12–22 in) long. The ears of the greater kudu are large and round. Females weigh 120–210 kg (260–460 lb) and on average stand 120 cm (47 in) tall at the shoulder; they are hornless, without a beard or nose markings. ELAND Giant eland are typically between 220–290 cm (7.2–9.5 ft) in length, stand approximately 150 to 175 cm (4.9 to 5.74 ft) at the shoulder, and weigh 440–900 kg (970–2,000 lb). Despite its common name, it is of very similar size to the common eland. The smooth coat is reddish-brown to chestnut, usually darker in males than females, with several well-defined vertical white stripes on the torso. A crest of short black hair extends down the neck to the middle of the back, and is especially prominent on the shoulders. The slender legs are slightly lighter on their inner surfaces, with black and white markings just above the hooves. There are large black spots on the upper forelegs. The bridge of the nose is charcoal black, and there is a thin, indistinct tan-coloured chevron between the eyes. The lips are white, along with several dots along the jaw-line. A pendulous dewlap, larger in males then females, originates from between the jowls and hangs to the upper chest, with a fringe of hair on its edge. The tail is long, and ends with a dark tuft of hair. Both sexes have tightly spiralled horns, which are relatively straight. In males the horns form a wide "V" and can grow to 120 cm (3.9 ft) in length, slightly longer than on females. HYENAS Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora (consisting of four species), and one of the smallest in the mammalia. Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components to most African and some Asian ecosystems. Although phylogenetically close to felines and viverrids, hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canines in several aspects (see Convergent evolution); both hyenas and canines are non-arboreal, cursorial hunters that catch prey with their teeth rather than claws. Both eat food quickly and may store it, and their calloused feet with large, blunt, non-retractable nails are adapted for running and making sharp turns. However, the hyenas' grooming, scent marking, defecating habits, mating and parental behaviour are consistent with the behaviour of other feliforms.Although long reputed to be cowardly scavengers, hyenas, especially spotted hyenas, kill as much as 95% of the food they eat, and have been known to drive off leopards or lionesses from their kills. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but may venture from their lairs in the early morning hours. With the exception of the highly social spotted hyena, hyenas are generally not gregarious animals, though they may live in family groups and congregate at kills. Hyenas first arose in Eurasia during the Miocene period from viverrid-like ancestors, and developed into two distinct branches; the lightly built dog-like hyenas and the robust bone-crushing hyenas. Although the dog-like hyenas thrived 15 million years ago (with one taxon having colonised North America), they died out after a change in climate along with the arrival of canids into Eurasia. Of the dog-like hyena lineage, only the insectivorous aardwolf survived, while the bone-crushing hyenas (whose extant members are the spotted, brown and striped hyena) became the undisputed top scavengers of Eurasia and Africa. Hyenas feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures with which they are sympatric. Hyenas are mostly viewed with fear and contempt, as well as being associated with witchcraft, as their body parts are used as ingredients in traditional medicine. Among the beliefs held by some cultures, hyenas are thought to influence people’s spirits, rob graves, and steal livestock and children BLUE WILDE BEEST The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), also called the common wildebeest or the white-bearded wildebeest, is a large antelope and one of two species of wildebeest. It grows to 115–145 cm shoulder height and attains a body mass of 168–274 kg. They range the open plains, bushveld, and dry woodlands of Southern and East Africa, living for more than twenty years. The male is highly territorial, using scent markings and other devices to protect his domain. The largest population is in the Serengeti, numbering over one million animals. They are a major prey item for lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. It has a beefy muscular front-heavy appearance with a distinctive robust muzzle, it strides with relatively slender legs and moves gracefully and quietly most of the time, belying the reputation for stampeding in herds; however the stampeding characteristic may sometimes be observed. Blue wildebeest are found in open and bush-covered savanna in south and east Africa, thriving in areas that are neither too wet nor too arid. They can be found in places that vary from overgrazed areas with dense bush to open woodland floodplains. Wildebeests prefer the bushveld and grasslands of the southern savanna.The terrestrial biome designations for these preferred habitats are savanna, grassland, open forest and scrub forest. PLAINS ZEBRA The plains zebra (Equus quagga, formerly Equus burchelli), also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra.It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra remains common in game reserves, but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat. The Plains zebra and perhaps the mountain zebra belong to the subgenus Hippotigris, but Grévy's zebra is the sole species of subgenus Dolichohippus. The latter resembles an ass, while the former two are more horse-like. All three belong to the genus Equus along with other living equids. Recent phylogenetic evidence suggests that Grévy's zebras (and perhaps also mountain zebras) are with asses and donkeys in a separate lineage from the Plains zebra. In areas where Plains zebras are sympatric with Grévy's zebras, it is not unusual to find them in the same herds and fertile hybrids occur. In captivity, Plains zebras have been crossed with mountain zebras. The hybrid foals lacked a dewlap and resembled the plains zebra apart from their larger ears and their hindquarters pattern. CHEETAH The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large-sized feline (family Felidae) inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. It is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx. The cheetah achieves by far the fastest land speed of any living animal—between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to over 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds. This cat is also notable for modifications in the species' paws. It is one of the only felids with semi-retractable claws, and with pads that, by their scope, disallow gripping.Thus, cheetahs cannot climb upright trees, although they are generally capable of reaching easily accessible branches. The cheetah has unusually low genetic variability. This is accompanied by a very low sperm count, motility, and deformed flagella.Skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs illustrate the former point in that there is no rejection of the donor skin. It is thought that the species went through a prolonged period of inbreeding following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age. This suggests that genetic monomorphism did not prevent the cheetah from flourishing across two continents for thousands of years. The cheetah likely evolved in Africa during the Miocene epoch (26 million to 7.5 million years ago), before migrating to Asia. Recent research has placed the last common ancestor of all existing populations as living in Asia 11 million years ago, which may lead to revision and refinement of existing ideas about cheetah evolution. IMPALA Impala range between 75 and 95 cm (30 and 37 in) tall. Average mass for a male impala is 40 to 80 kg (88 to 180 lb), while females weigh about 30 to 50 kg (66 to 110 lb). They are normally reddish-brown in color (hence the Afrikaans name of "Rooibok"), have lighter flanks and white underbellies with a characteristic "M" marking on the rear. Males, referred to as rams, have lyre-shaped horns, which can reach up to 90 centimeters in length. Females, referred to as ewes, have no horns. The black impala, found in very few places in Africa, is an extremely rare type. A recessive gene causes the black colouration in these animals. Impalas are an ecotone species "living in light woodland with little undergrowth and grassland of low to medium height". They have an irregular distribution due to dependence relatively flat lands with good soil drainage and water.While they stay to water in the dry season, they can go weeks without drinking if there is enough green fodder. Impalas are adaptable foragers. They usually switch between grazing and browsing depending on the season. During wet seasons when grasses are freshthey graze. During dry seasons it browses foliage, shoots, forbs and seeds. It may switch between grazing and browsing depending on the habitat. Leopards, cheetahs, lions and wild dogs prey on impala. Impala, as well as other small- to medium-sized African antelopes, have a special dental arrangement on the front lower jaw similar to the toothcomb seen in strepsirrhine primates, which is used during grooming to comb the fur and remove ectoparasites. LIONS The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with an endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru.The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Within Africa, the West African lion population is particularly endangered. Lions live for ten to fourteen years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than twenty years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than ten years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have been known to do so. AFRICAN ELEPHANT The African elephant is the largest living terrestrial animal. Its thickset body rests on stocky legs and it has a concave back.Its large ears enable heat loss. Its upper lip and nose forms a trunk. The trunk acts as a fifth limb, a sound amplifier and an important method of touch. The African elephant's trunk ends in two opposing lips, whereas the Asian elephant trunk ends in a single lip. African elephants are bigger than Asian elephants. Males stand 3.2–4.0 m (10–13 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 4,700–6,048 kg (10,000–13,330 lb), while females stand 2.2–2.6 m (7.2–8.5 ft) tall and weigh 2,160–3,232 kg (4,800–7,130 lb). The largest individual recorded stood four metres to the shoulders and weighed ten tonnes Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 5 kg (11 lb) and measures about 30 cm (12 in) long. As the front pair wears down and drops out in pieces, the back pair shifts forward, and two new molars emerge in the back of the mouth. Elephants replace their teeth six times. At about 40 to 60 years of age, the elephant no longer has teeth and will likely die of starvation, a common cause of death. Their tusks are firm teeth; the second set of incisors become the tusks. They are used for digging for roots and stripping the bark off trees for food, for fighting each other during mating season, and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from 23–45 kg (51–99 lb) and can be from 1.5–2.4 m (5–8 ft) long. Unlike Asian elephants, both male and female African elephants have tusks. They are curved forward and continue to grow throughout the elephant's lifetime. The enamel plates of the molars are fewer in number than in Asian elephants. WHITE RHINOS There are two subspecies of white rhinos; as of 2005, South Africa has the most of the first subspecies, the southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum). The population of southern white rhinos is about 14,500, making them the most abundant subspecies of rhino in the world. However, the population of the second subspecies, the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), is down to as few as four individuals in the wild, with the possibility of complete extinction in the wild having been noted since June 2008.Six are known to be held in captivity, two of which reside in a zoo in San Diego. There are currently four born in a zoo in the Czech Republic which were transferred to a wildlife refuge in Kenya in December 2009, in an effort to have the animals reproduce and save the subspecies. The rhino receives its name not from its colour, but from the Dutch settlers that gave it the name "whyde", meaning wide referring to the animals square mouth. Confusion in translation then led to the to the name "white" being adopted The white rhino has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. This rhino can exceed 3,500 kg (7,700 lb), have a head-and-body length of 3.5–4.6 m (11–15 ft) and a shoulder height of 1.8–2 m (5.9–6.6 ft). The record-sized white rhinoceros was about 4,500 kg (10,000 lb). On its snout it has two horns. The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages 90 cm (35 in) in length and can reach 150 cm (59 in). The white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its relatively large head. The colour of this animal can range from yellowish brown to slate grey. Most of its body hair is found on the ear fringes and tail bristles with the rest distributed rather sparsely over the rest of the body. White rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth which is used for grazing. BLACK RHINOS The name black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was chosen to distinguish this species from the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). This can be confusing, as those two species are not really distinguishable by color. There are four subspecies of black rhino: South-central (Diceros bicornis minor), the most numerous, which once ranged from central Tanzania south through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to northern and eastern South Africa; South-western (Diceros bicornis bicornis) which are better adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannas of Namibia, southern Angola, western Botswana and western South Africa; East African (Diceros bicornis michaeli), primarily in Tanzania; and West African (Diceros bicornis longipes) which was declared extinct in November 2011. The native Tswanan name Keitloa is used to describe a South African variation of the black rhino in which the posterior horn is equal to or longer than the anterior horn. An adult black rhinoceros stands 150–175 cm (59–69 in) high at the shoulder and is 3.5–3.9 m (11–13 ft) in length. An adult weighs from 850 to 1,600 kg (1,900 to 3,500 lb), exceptionally to 1,800 kg (4,000 lb), with the females being smaller than the males. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm long, exceptionally up to 140 cm. Sometimes, a third smaller horn may develop. The black rhino is much smaller than the white rhino, and has a pointed mouth, which they use to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding. During the latter half of the 20th century their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000 in the late 1960s to only 2,410 in 1995 BLACK BACKED JACKAL The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), also known as the silver-backed or red jackal,is a species of jackal which inhabits two areas of the African continent separated by roughly 900 km. One region includes the southern-most tip of the continent, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The other area is along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. It is listed by the IUCN as least concern, due to its widespread range and adaptability, although it is still persecuted as a livestock predator and rabies vector. The fossil record indicates the species is the oldest extant member of the genus Canis. Although the most lightly built of jackals, it is the most aggressive, having been observed to singly kill animals many times its own size, and its intrapack relationships are more quarrelsome. Black-backed jackals are small, foxlike canids which measure 38–48 cm in shoulder height and 68-74.5 cm in length. The tail measures 30–38 cm in length. Weight varies according to location; East African jackals weigh 7-13.8 kg (15-30 lb). Male jackals in Zimbabwe weigh 6.8-9.5 kg (15-21 lb), while females weigh 5.4–10 kg (12-22 lb). Their skulls are elongated, with pear-shaped braincases and narrow rostra.The black-backed jackal's skull is similar to that of the side-striped jackal, but is less flat, and has a shorter, broader rostrum. Its sagittal crest and zygomatic arches are also heavier in build. Its carnassials are also larger than those of its more omnivorous cousin. Black-backed jackals are taller and longer than golden jackals, but have smaller heads. HIPPOPOTAMAS The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος), is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus.) After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl. The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers, lakes and mangrove swamps, where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippopotamuses rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about million years ago.The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around million years ago]The earliest known hippopotamus fossils, belonging to the genus Kenyapotamus in Africa, date to around million years ago. The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3 tonnes), behind the white rhinoceros (1½ to 3½ tonnes) and the three species of elephant (3 to 9 tonnes). The hippopotamus is one of the largest quadrupeds (four legged mammals) and despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is often regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. There are an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 hippos throughout Sub-Saharan Africa; Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000–30,000) possess the largest populations CROCODILE A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the subfamily Crocodylinae). The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e. the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae) and the gharials (family Gavialidae), as well as the Crocodylomorpha, which include prehistoric crocodile relatives and ancestors. Member species of the family Crocodylidae are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodiles tend to congregate in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water. They feed mostly on vertebrates - fish, reptiles, and mammals, and sometimes on invertebrates - molluscs and crustaceans, depending on species. They first appeared during the Eocene epoch, about 55 million years ago Size greatly varies between species, from the dwarf crocodile to the saltwater crocodile. Species of Palaeosuchus and Osteolaemus grow to an adult size of just 1 metre (3.3 ft) to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). Larger species can reach over 4.85 metres (15.9 ft) long and weigh well over 1,200 kilograms (2,600 lb). Crocodilians show pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males growing much larger and more rapidly than females.Despite their large adult sizes, crocodiles start their lives at around 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long. The largest species of crocodile is the saltwater crocodile, found in eastern India, northern Australia, throughout South-east Asia, and in the surrounding waters. Two larger certifiable records are both of 6.2 metres (20 ft) crocodiles. The first was shot in the Mary River in the Northern Territory of Australia in 1974 by poachers, and measured by wildlife rangers. The second crocodile was killed in 1983 in the Fly River, Papua New Guinea. In the case of the second crocodile it was actually the skin that was measured by zoologist Jerome Montague, and as skins are known to underestimate the size of the actual animal, it is possible this crocodile was at least another 10 cm longer MEERKAT The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild. The meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid (mongoose) weighing on average about 731 grams (1.61 lb) for males and 720 grams (1.6 lb) for females. Its long slender body and limbs give it a body length of 25 to 35 centimetres (9.8 to 14 in) and an added tail length of 17 to 25 centimetres (6.7 to 9.8 in). Its tail is not bushy like all other mongoose species, but is rather long and thin and tapers to a black or reddish colored pointed tip. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright, as well as for signaling. Its face tapers, coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The eyes always have black patches around them and it has small black crescent-shaped ears that can close to exclude soil when digging. Like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, a large peripheral range, depth perception, and eyes on the front of their faces. LEOPARD The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its range of distribution has decreased radically because of hunting and loss of habitat. It is now chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa; there are also fragmented populations in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Because of its declining range and population, it is listed as a "Near Threatened" species on the IUCN Red List. Compared to other members of the Felidae family, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic (completely black or very dark) are known as black panthers. The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph), its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains. Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The five species are some of the largest nonhominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger. Previously, the closely related gelada (genus Theropithecus) and the two species (mandrill and drill) of genus Mandrillus were grouped in the same genus, and these Old World monkeys are still often referred to as baboons in everyday speech. They range in size and weight depending on species. The Guinea baboon is 50 cm (20 in) and weighs only 14 kg (30 lb) while the largest chacma baboon can be 120 cm (47 in) and weigh 40 kg (90 lb). monkey is a apes . There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys usually have tails. Tailless monkeys may be called "apes", incorrectly according to modern usage; thus the tailless Barbary macaque is called the "Barbary ape". The New World monkeys are classified within the parvorder of Platyrrhini, whereas the Old World monkeys (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) form part of the parvorder Catarrhini, which also includes the hominoids (apes, including humans). Thus, as Old World monkeys are more closely related to hominoids than they are to New World monkeys, the monkeys are not a unitary (monophyletic) group. Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of apes in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitats of the two species: Common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (West and Central Africa) Bonobo, Pan paniscus (forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) Chimpanzees are members of the Hominidae family, along with gorillas, humans, and orangutans. Chimpanzees split from the human branch of the family about four to six million years ago. The two chimpanzee species are the closest living relatives to humans, all being members of the Hominini tribe (along with extinct species of Hominina subtribe). Chimpanzees are the only known members of the Panina subtribe. The two Pan species split only about one million years ago. Lycaon pictus is a canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf.The African wild dog is an endangered species due to habitat loss and predator control killing. It uses very large territories (and so can persist only in large wildlife protected areas), and it is strongly affected by competition with larger carnivores that rely on the same prey base, particularly the lion and the Spotted Hyena. While the adult wild dogs can usually outrun the larger predators, lions often will kill as many wild dogs and cubs at the brooding site as they can but do not eat them. One on one the hyena is much more powerful than the wild dog but a large group of wild dogs can successfully chase off a small number of hyenas because of their teamwork The Warthog or Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P. aethiopicus, but today that scientific name is restricted to the Desert Warthog of northern Kenya, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia. The common name comes from the four large, wart-like protrusions found on the head of the warthog, which serve as a fat reserve and are used for defense when males fight. Afrikaans-speaking people call the animal "vlakvark", meaning "pig of the plains". The Warthog is medium-sized as a wild suid species. The head-and-body length ranges in size from 0.9 to 1.5 m (3.0 to 4.9 ft) in length and shoulder height is from 63.5 to 85 cm (25.0 to 33 in). Females, at 45 to 75 kg (99 to 170 lb), are typically a bit smaller and lighter than males, at 60 to 150 kg (130 to 330 lb). A warthog is identifiable by the two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards. The lower pair, which is far shorter than the upper pair, becomes razor sharp by rubbing against the upper pair every time the mouth is opened and closed. The upper canine teeth can grow to 25.5 cm (10.0 in) long, and are of a squashed circle shape in cross section, almost rectangular, being about 4.5 cm (1.8 in) deep and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) wide. A tusk will curve 90 degrees or more from the root, and will not lie flat on a table, as it curves somewhat backwards as it grows. The tusks are used for digging, for combat with other hogs, and in defense against predators the lower set can inflict severe wounds. The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, mbogo or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear. Owing to its unpredictable nature, which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated unlike its Asian counterpart the domestic Asian water buffalo. Contrary to popular belief, the African buffalo is not the ancestor of domestic cattle, and is only distantly related to other larger bovines. The African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from 1 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) and its head-and-body length can range from 1.7 to 3.4 m (5.6 to 11 ft). Compared with other large bovids, it has a long but stocky body (the body length can exceed the Wild water buffalo, which is rather heavier and taller) and short but thickset legs, resulting in a relatively short standing height. The tail can range from 70 to 110 cm (28 to 43 in) long. Savannah-type buffaloes weigh 500 to 910 kg (1,100 to 2,000 lb), with males normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight range. In comparison, forest-type buffaloes, at 250 to 455 kg (550 to 1,000 lb), are only half that size. Its head is carried low; its top is located below the backline. The front hooves of the buffalo are wider than the rear, which is associated with the need to support the weight of the front part of the body, which is heavier and more powerful than the back. The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. Its species name refers to its camel-like appearance and the patches of color on its fur. Its chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones and its distinctive coat patterns. It stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall and has an average weight of 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) for males and 830 kg (1,800 lb) for females. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. There are nine subspecies, which are distinguished by their coat patterns.Fully grown giraffes stand 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall, with males taller than females.The average weight is 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) for an adult male and 830 kg (1,800 lb) for an adult female. Despite its long neck and legs, the giraffe's body is relatively short. Located at both sides of the head, the giraffe's large, bulging eyes give it good all round vision from its great height. Giraffes see in color and their senses of hearing and smell are also sharp.The animal can close its muscular nostrils to protect against sandstorms and ants.The giraffe's prehensile tongue is about 50 cm (20 in) long. It is purplish-black in color, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and is useful for grasping foliage as well as for grooming and cleaning the animal's nose. The upper lip of the giraffe is also prehensile and useful when foraging. The lips, tongue and inside of the mouth are covered in papillae to protect against thorns. Wild Life Videos Wild Life Videos South Africa and Africa South Africa has a large variety of wildlife, including snakes, birds, plains animals, and predators. The country has 299 species of mammals and 858 species of birds. The Cape Buffalo The Cape Buffalo, also known as the African Buffalo,is a powerful animal that has few natural enemies. Their power and size means that they are very much able to defend themselves. They have been known to kill lions, hyena, humans, and other wild predators.Because of this they have taken their place in the African big five, elephants, lions, Cape Buffalo,rhinoceroses, and leopards.The big five are known to be some of the most dangerous and aggressive animals in Africa. Another African name for the Cape Buffalo is Black Death, because of their colour and their aggressive behavior. The African Oryx Gazella also known as Gemsbuck or Gemsbok are African plains animals that travel in groups of 10-45. The Gemsbuck's groups are set up with a dominant male and in most cases a few dominant females. Male's horns are straight and pointed at the tip. Because of this they have been known to impale attacking lions. Females horns can be the same but sometimes they are curved backward. *There are two different varieties of Gemsbok, the southern and the northern. The southern variety have longer horns and the northern have black fringed ears. The Northern Gemsbok are rarely seen in South Africa. A Greater Kudu Bull The Kudu are split into two different groups, Greater Kudu and Lesser Kudu. The Greater Kudu are regularly found in South Africa. Like the Gemsbok, Kudu are African antelope. They are fast and stealthy. They are a brown-grey color with white stripes that go down the center of their body. For those two facts their African name is Grey Ghost. The males have tall spiraling horns, females regularly have no horns. Kudu are peaceful and are normally not dangerous. Leopards Leopards are the most reclusive of the Big Cats.They are opportunistic hunters and will prey upon smaller mammals and rodents when other food sources are unavailable.The diet of leopards consists primarily of ungulates such as Thomson's Gazelles.Leopards have relatively small physical builds in comparison to lions and therefore choose to hunt nocturnally to prevent the possibility of confrontation. In order to protect themselves and preserve their kills,leopards have developed exceptional climbing skills, allowing them to scale trees quickly often with a carcass. Cheetahs have often been confused with leopards on sight and vice versa, but the cheetah's lean profile and eye markings make it easily distinguishable. 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Limpopo "Northern Transvaal" redirects here. For the rugby union team, see Blue Bulls . For the cricket team previously called Northern Transvaal, see Northerns (cricket team) . Limpopo (/lɪmˈpoʊpoʊ/ ) is the northernmost province of South Africa . It is named after the Limpopo River , which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane , while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo . The province is made up of three former homelands of Lebowa , Gazankulu and Venda and part of the former Transvaal province. The Limpopo province was established as one of nine provinces after the 1994 South African general election . The province's name was first "Northern Transvaal", later changed to "Northern Province" on 28 June 1995, with two other provinces. The name was later changed again in 2002 to the Limpopo Province. Limpopo is made up of three main ethnic groups: the Pedi , the Tsonga and the Venda . Traditional leaders and chiefs still form a strong backbone of the province's political landscape. Established in terms of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders Act, Act 5 of 2005, the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders' main function is to advise the government and the legislature on matters related to custom, tradition, and culture, including developmental initiatives that affect rural communities. On 18 August 2017, Kgosi Malesela Dikgale was re-elected as the Chairperson of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders. Geography Sundown over one of the mountain ranges found in Limpopo. Limpopo Province shares international borders with districts and provinces of three countries: Botswana 's Central and Kgatleng districts to the west and northwest respectively, Zimbabwe 's Matabeleland South and Masvingo provinces to the north and northeast respectively, and Mozambique 's Gaza Province to the east. Limpopo is the link between South Africa and countries further afield in sub-Saharan Africa . On its southern edge, from east to west, it shares borders with the South African provinces of Mpumalanga , Gauteng , and North West . Its border with Gauteng includes that province's Johannesburg -Pretoria axis, the most industrialised metropolis on the continent. The province is central to regional, national, and international developing markets. Limpopo contains much of the Waterberg Biosphere , a massif of approximately 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi) which is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve . Law and government Main article: Politics of Limpopo The current Premier of Limpopo Province is Stanley Mathabatha , representing the African National Congress . Municipalities Main article: List of municipalities in Limpopo Limpopo districts and local municipalities Limpopo Province is divided into five district municipalities . The district municipalities are in turn divided into 25 local municipalities : District municipalities Capricorn District Blouberg Lepele-Nkumpi Molemole Polokwane Mopani District Ba-Phalaborwa Greater Giyani Greater Letaba Greater Tzaneen Maruleng Sekhukhune District Elias Motsoaledi Ephraim Mogale Fetakgomo Tubatse Makhuduthamaga Vhembe District Makhado Musina Collins Chabane Thulamela Waterberg District Bela-Bela Lephalale Modimolle–Mookgophong Mogalakwena Thabazimbi Economy Man and his donkeys collecting wood in a rural area Limpopo has a total population of 6.015 Million with 1.641million Households., The province has a high Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.710, which is the third highest in South Africa. Agriculture The bushveld is beef cattle country, where extensive ranching operations are often supplemented by controlled hunting. About 80% of South Africa's game hunting industry is in Limpopo. Sunflowers , cotton , maize and peanuts are cultivated in the Bela-Bela and Modimolle areas. Modimolle is also known for its table grapes . An embryotic wine industry is growing in Limpopo. Tropical fruit, such as bananas , litchis , pineapples , mangoes and pawpaws , as well as a variety of nuts , are grown in the Tzaneen and Louis Trichardt areas. Tzaneen is also at the centre of extensive citrus , tea , and coffee plantations and a major forestry industry. Most of the farmers and households lack a water supply. Therefore, they drill their boreholes on their premises. Housing Most Limpopo residents live in rural areas; this has led to a new phenomenon of rural development, where the residents have invested in building lavish homes on their tribal land. Limpopo rural houses have been profiled by TV channels, lifestyle vloggers, social media influencers, and Africa's biggest facts brand, Africa Facts Zone. According to 96.2% of Limpopo live in formal housing, above the national average of 84.0%. This makes Limpopo the province with the highest percentage of people living in formal housing in South Africa. Mining Ajoite in quartz , from the Messina mine, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Scale at bottom is one inch, with a rule at one cm. Limpopo's rich mineral deposits include the platinum group metals, iron ore, chromium, high- and middle-grade coking coal , diamonds, antimony , phosphate , and copper, as well as mineral reserves like gold, emeralds, scheelite , magnetite , vermiculite , silicon , and mica . Commodities such as black granite , corundum , and feldspar are also found. Mining contributes to over a fifth of the provincial economy. Limpopo has the largest platinum deposit in South Africa. The Waterberg Coalfield , the eastern extension of Botswana 's Mmamabula coalfields, is estimated to contain 40% of South Africa's coal reserves. Tourism The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism has targeted the province as a preferred eco-tourism destination. Its Environment and Tourism Programme encompasses tourism, protected areas, and community environment development to achieve sustainable economic growth. While Limpopo is one of South Africa's poorest provinces, it is rich in wildlife, which gives it an advantage in attracting tourists. Both the private and public sectors are investing in tourism development. Near Modjadjiskloof , at Sunland Baobab farms, there is a large Baobab tree which has been fashioned into a relatively spacious pub. Transportation and communications The province has excellent road, rail, and air links. The N1 route from Johannesburg , which extends the length of the province, is the busiest overland route in Africa in terms of cross-border trade in raw materials and beneficiated goods. The port of Durban , South Africa's busiest, is served directly by the province, as are the ports of Richards Bay and Maputo . Polokwane International Airport is situated just north of Polokwane . Limpopo province contains approximately 56 airports and airstrips. Education The Department of Education is responsible for effecting quality education and training for all. The Department has to coordinate all professional development and support. Policies, systems, and procedures had to be developed. Educational institutions As of December 2020, 12.9% of the Limpopo population had attained some post-school qualifications. The following higher education institutions are found in Limpopo: University of Limpopo (Polokwane , Mankweng ) University of Venda (Thohoyandou ) Tshwane University of Technology (Polokwane Campus) Capricorn College for TVET (Seshego ) Capricorn College for TVET (Polokwane) Lephalale TVET College (Lephalale)[ Letaba TVET College (Tzaneen)[ Mopani South East TVET College (Phalaborwa) Sekhukhune TVET College (Motetema) Vhembe TVET College (Venda) Waterberg TVET College (Mokopane) Giyani Campus Of Nursing College Limpopo Province College of Nursing (Giyani Campus) Sports Association football : Polokwane was one of South Africa's host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup , with matches being played at the Peter Mokaba Stadium . Football clubs in the province include Real Rovers, Silver Stars, Black Leopards, Polokwane City, Baroka, Ria Stars, and Dynamos. Rugby union : Limpopo has no provincial rugby team of its own; it is represented in the domestic Currie Cup by the Pretoria -based Blue Bulls . The Blue Bulls also operate a Super Rugby franchise, known simply as the Bulls . Limpopo nonetheless produces its share of top players. Most notably, the two most-capped forwards in the history of the country's national team , John Smit and Victor Matfield , are both natives of Polokwane. Basketball : The province is home to Limpopo Pride , a professional team that plays in South Africa's top basketball division, the Basketball National League . Demographics The population of Limpopo consists of several ethnic groups distinguished by culture, language, and race. 97.3% of the population is Black , 2.4% is White , 0.2% is Coloured , and 0.1% is Indian /Asian . The province has the smallest percentage and second smallest total number of White South Africans in the country. However, there are several localities with a White majority, notably Hoedspruit and Modimolle . It also has the highest Black percentage out of all the provinces. The Northern Sotho people comprise the largest percentage of the population, 52% of the province. The Tsonga people comprise about 24.0% of the province; the Tsonga also comprise about 11.5% of Mpumalanga province since the southern part of their homeland, Gazankulu , was cut off from Limpopo and allocated to Mpumalanga. The Venda make up about 16.7%. Afrikaners make up the majority of Limpopo's White population, about 95,000 people; English -speaking Whites number just over 20,000. Vhembe district has the smallest share of White people in Limpopo, about 5,000 total. In contrast, the Waterberg district has the largest share of Whites, with more than 60,000 Whites residing there. Coloureds and Asians /Indians make up a tiny percentage of the province's total population. HIV / AIDS At 18.5% (2007), Limpopo has a relatively high incidence of HIV compared to other South African provinces. Cases rose from 14.5% to 21.5% between 2001 and 2005, with a slight fall between 2005 and 2007. However, as at 2019, the Limpopo province HIV stats sat at (13.2%) which is one of the lowest in comparison with other provinces in South Africa. BACK TO TOP