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Kwa Zulu Natal Welcome to the KwaZulu Natal Known as the Zulu Kingdom Appropriately named "South Africa's Garden Province ", the lush and green province forms the east coast of South Africa from the Mozambique boundary southwards to Port Edward. Enticing, spectacular and fascinating, the province is a subtropical coastline, with savannah heading east towards majestic Drakensberg mountain range in the west. KwaZulu Natal's beaches are along the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, and are some of South Africa's most popular holiday spots. It is a multi-cultural showpiece destination. Kwa-Zulu Natal is also known as the Zulu Kingdom and has eight different destinations, each offering its own unqiue set of experiences. It is a kaleidoscope showing you natural wonders, ultra-modern facilities, fascinating glimpses of a multi-coloured people, a history rich in heroic deeds, bloody battles and ultimately reconciliation, and this is all set against a majestic backdrop of sun, sea, mountains and sky. Durban is a sophisticated cosmopolitan city of over three million people. A city where east meets west it is known as the home of Africa's best managed, busiest port. It is an exciting city in which to play, shop, experience the nightlife and relax. It is a city in which to do business also. The world-class International Convention Centre has hosted an historic line-up of events including conferences of a global scale. Also known as the playground of the Zulu Kingdom, there are so many things to keep you busy in Durban, such as a marine world, the wharf, the BAT centre, fine restaurants, entertainment and shopping, craft markets, beachfront stalls, theatres and clubs, township tours, nature sanctuaries and parks, the Botanical Gardens and so much more. You can sail, swim, run, play tennis or stroll along or relax on the sun-drenched beaches. Battlefields - Shaka, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and General Louis Botha were all famous military strategists who walked through this place many years ago. Lone forts and small graveyards on these undulating landscapes with rocky outcrops make visible the secrets and sorrows of great battles, sighed and whispered by the wind. The Battlefield sites, historic towns and national monuments are testimony to the critical, blood-soaked conflicts which are the legacy of this place. Tours can be taken of the Battlesites, but if you wish to take on a more adventurous route you can go white-water rafting down the rapids of the mighty Tugela, sail on the Chelmsford Dam or hunt in the designated hunting reserves. This region offers all these pursuits. The elephant coast is a pristine eco-wonderland boasting 21 different ecological systems. Some of the world's highest natural dunes, brilliant coral reefs, fever tree and palm savannahs, papyrus swamps and rolling acacia bushveld can be found in this land of natural and cultural diversity. It is home to the Zulu and Tsonga people as well as the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, declared South Africa's first World Heritage Site. Accommodation ranges from luxury game lodges to Zulu homestays and camping. The sea, lakes and beach provide more adventure. Scuba diving and snorkelling enable you to watch the 1200 different species of marine life abounding in these waters. And taking a turtle tours is a must. Angling is a great sport, whether from the 200 kilometers of unspoilt beach, on the lakes or the deep sea. While at sea you might even be lucky enough to spot a whale or two. Historical venues are the Ghost Mountains and Dingaan's grave. The Zulu and Tsonga people will share these places with you and tell you more about their history as well as their traditional way of life. The South Coast is a very popular holiday destination, with it's sub-tropical forests, blue lagoons, golden beaches, rocky coves, warm Indian Ocean and sunny weather. There are three beaches which have International 'Blue Flag' status, namely Ramsgate, Marina Beach and Lucien. The South Coast is also known to many as 'The Golf Coast' because of its nine excellent 18-hole golf course, two of white are rated amongst the top 12 in the country. The Umtamvuna Nature Reserv conserves plants found nowhere else in the world, and you can view 400 species of birds along this coastline. Scuba diving is a popular past time and you will find excellent diving areas at Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks. You can also go abseiling in the Oribi Gorge. The scenery around here is absolutely breathtaking. The North Coast is also known as the Dolphin Coast and stretches from Zimbali to the mighty Tugela River. You will find the bottle nose dolphin frolicking in these waters close to shore, all year round. There are so many things to do here, such as dining at fine restaurants, partying at the nightclubs, taking a golf course or taking to the air in a microlight. You can stroll along the coast on horseback during low tide, or enjoy some angling. As for the history aficionados you will be interested to know that Shaka Zulu is buried at Kwa-Dukuza, and Albert Luthuli, the Nobel laureate, is buried nearby. You can visit historic battle sites such as the Ultimatum Tree, Ndondakusuka or Fort Pearson, or you can walk a 'muti' trail through the Harold Johnson Nature Reserve. The Zulu people are indigenous to this part of the land, but the North Coast is also home to a large Indian community. You will find Indian temples and you can sample their spicy food. Pietermaritzburg Midlands is home to quaint antique shops, markets, restaurants, art galleries, museums and a casino. This is where the annual Duzi Canoe Marathon starts, as is beginning and end for the Comrades Marathon. Take a picnic to the magnificent Howick Falls, or try your hand at some trout or bass fishing. For the more adventurous you can paraglide off Bulwer Mountain or slide across the canopy of Karkloof's indigenous forests. The Drakensberg Mountains are named by the Zulu 'Ukhahlamba' or the 'Barrier of Spears' and by the Dutch Voortrekkers 'The Dragon Mountain'. With their awe-inspiring basalt cliffs, snowcapped in winter, towering over riverine bush, lush yellowwood forests and cascading waterfalls, the Drakensberg Mountains form a massive barrier separating Kwa-Zulu Natal from the Kingdom of Lesotho. The only road access is via Sani Pass, which at the top boasts the highest pub on Africa, at 3000 metres above sea level. This 243 000 hectare mountainous region known as the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, has been preserved and venerated for eons since the San people or bushmen roamed these slopes. These mountains combine sheer natural beauty with a wealth of biological diversity. Tens of thousands of paintings depicting the daily life of the bushmen can be found on the rock faces. In December 2000 the park received international recognition and was declared KwaZulu Natal's second World Heritage Site. The adventurous may try climbing it or abseiling, white water rafting or taking a helicopter ride to view the mountains from above. There are also hiking routes for the less adventurous where you can view the large variety of animals and plantlife. KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (/kwɑːˌzuːluː nəˈtɑːl/ , also referred to as KZN; nicknamed "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu ) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique , Eswatini and Lesotho . Its capital is Pietermaritzburg , and its largest city is Durban . It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng . Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites : the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park . These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Republic before becoming the British Colony of Natal in 1843. The Zulu Kingdom remained independent until 1879. KwaZulu-Natal is the birthplace of many notable figures in South Africa's history, such as Albert Luthuli , the first non-white and the first person from outside Europe and the Americas to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1960); Pixley ka Isaka Seme , the founder of the African National Congress (ANC) and South Africa's first black lawyer; John Langalibalele Dube , the ANC's founding president; Harry Gwala , ANC member and anti-apartheid activist; Mac Maharaj , grammy award winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo , grammy award winning DJ Black Coffee , ANC member, anti-apartheid activist and Little Rivonia Trial defendant ; Mangosuthu Buthelezi , the founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP); Anton Lembede , the founding president of the ANC Youth League ; Jacob Zuma , the former President of South Africa ; Bhambatha , a 19th-century Zulu chief who became an anti-apartheid icon; and Shaka Zulu . Geography A view of the Mngeni River valley near Howick Falls At around 92,100 km2 (35,600 sq mi) in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas and is the eastern most province in the country. The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province, while the central Natal Midlands consists of an undulating hilly plateau rising toward the west. Two mountainous areas, the western Drakensberg Mountains and northern Lebombo Mountains form, respectively, a solid basalt wall rising over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) beside Lesotho border and low parallel ranges of ancient granite running southward from Eswatini. The area's largest river, the Tugela , flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines; steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest . The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland . The province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species and are designated as Ramsar sites . South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats and numerous species. The former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa . The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene (30°34′35″S 30°34′35″E ) to northeast Lesotho . The province became the first to include a portion of road that is made of partial plastic, the equivalent of nearly 40,000 recycled milk cartons. Climate Upland savannah near Pietermaritzburg Mangrove forest at the Umgeni River estuary in Durban KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 21 °C (70 °F), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23 °C (73 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (52 °F). Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter. Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, supporting many sugar cane farms around Pongola. Sports Provincial sport teams Soccer African Warriors (Phuthaditjhaba ) Carara Kicks F.C. (Welkom ) Bloemfontein Celtic (Bloemfontein )(now has been sold) Free State Stars (Bethlehem ) Roses United Bloemfontein Young Tigers Rugby Cheetahs (Bloemfontein ) Currie Cup : Free State Cheetahs (Bloemfontein ) Griffons (Welkom ) Cricket Knights (Bloemfontein ) Borders KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho: Maputo Province, Mozambique (far northeast) Lubombo District, Eswatini (northeast, east of Shiselweni) Shiselweni District, Eswatini (northeast, west of Lubombo) Mokhotlong District, Lesotho (southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka) Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho (southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha's Nek) Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho (southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka) Domestically, it borders the following provinces: Mpumalanga (north) Free State (west) Eastern Cape (southwest) See also: Parks of KwaZulu-Natal , List of cities and towns in KwaZulu-Natal , and List of municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal The KwaZulu-Natal Province is divided into one metropolitan municipality and ten district municipalities . The district municipalities are in turn divided into 44 local municipalities . The local seat of each district municipality is given in parentheses: In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal, in many municipalities. This amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust. Metropolitan municipalities eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (Durban ) District municipalities Amajuba District (Newcastle ) Newcastle Dannhauser eMadlangeni Uthukela District (Ladysmith ) Emnambithi/Ladysmith Indaka Umtshezi Okhahlamba Imbabazane Zululand District (Ulundi ) Ulundi Nongoma Abaqulusi uPhongolo eDumbe uMkhanyakude District (Mkuze ) Jozini Hlabisa Umhlabuyalingana Mtubatuba The Big 5 False Bay King Cetshwayo District (Richards Bay ) [formerly uThungulu] uMhlathuze Umlalazi Nkandla Mbonambi Ntambanana Mthonjaneni uMzinyathi District (Dundee ) Msinga Nqutu Umvoti Endumeni uMgungundlovu District (Pietermaritzburg ) Msunduzi uMshwathi uMngeni Richmond Mkhambathini Mpofana Impendle iLembe District (kwaDukuza ) KwaDukuza Ndwedwe Mandeni Maphumulo Ugu District (Port Shepstone ) Ray Nkonyeni uMdoni uMuziwabantu Umzumbe Harry Gwala District (Ixopo ) Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Ubuhlebezwe Greater Kokstad Umzimkhulu Coastline A beach on the North Coast The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in the United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as "The North Coast ", while south is "The South Coast ". The Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board includes towns such as Margate , Port Shepstone , Scottburgh and Port Edward in its definition of the South Coast, while Ballito , uMhlanga , Zimbali and Salt Rock are North Coast resort towns. San Lameer Resort Beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least-developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province. Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognised in 2002 as a Blue Flag beach . Some visitors come for the annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the "sardine run ". Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northward along the Eastern Cape coastline toward KwaZulu-Natal. They follow a route close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres; it is preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish , sharks , dolphins and seabirds . Usually, the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Scientists have been unable to answer many questions surrounding this exceptional seasonal event. Interior The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the Valley of a Thousand Hills to the Midlands . Their beauty has inspired literature. Alan Paton , in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country , wrote: There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles (11 km) into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya , one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu , on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and Griqualand East . History Further information: Zulu Kingdom , Natalia Republic , Colony of Natal , Natal Province , and KwaZulu On Christmas Day 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama saw the coast of Natal and named the site after the Portuguese word for Christmas, Natal . The Nguni branch of the Bantu occupied this area from the early 1300s[10] The first European settlers, mostly British, established Port Natal , a trading post. They made almost no attempt to develop the interior, whose inhabitants had been decimated by the Zulu king, Shaka . The Afrikaner Voortrekkers entered the area via the Drakensberg passes in 1837. These Afrikaners defeated the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838 and thereafter established the Republic of Natal. Thus, the territory was once part of a short-lived Boer republic between 1839 and 1843 until its annexation by Britain. Many Afrikaner inhabitants left for the interior after the annexation and were replaced by immigrants, mainly from Britain. From 1860 onwards, increasing numbers of Indians, mainly Tamils ,[11] were brought in by the British mainly to work in the sugar plantations on the coast. The colony acquired Zululand (the area north of the Tugela River) after the Zulu War of 1879. The lands north of the Buffalo River were added in 1902. Boer forces entered the area during the South African War (1899 to 1902) – also known as the second Boer War – and laid siege to Ladysmith . They failed to build on their initial advantage and for three months the line between the opposing forces followed the course of the Tugela River . In 1910, the colony became a province of the Union of South Africa and in 1961 of the Republic of South Africa. When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal, which had existed between 1910 and 1994, was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy; the majority population speak Zulu . It is the only province in South Africa that has the name of its dominant ethnic group as part of its name. As with Eastern Cape , most White South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal are of British descent and less than a quarter of whites in the province are of Boer/Afrikaner descent.[12] [13] [14] Provincial coat of arms The lion and wildebeest supporters are symbols of, respectively, KwaZulu and Natal, the regions joined to create KwaZulu-Natal. Besides its importance as a symbol of the Zulu monarchy, the lion is also featured in the state emblems of the India and the United Kingdom which together represent the three largest people groups in KwaZulu-Natal and also represents the unity between them. The zig-zag stripe represents the Drakensberg which is green in summer, but snowcapped in winter and the star represents the Star of Bethlehem , due to Vasco da Gama naming the region "Natalia" (a reference to the birth of Christ) on Christmas Day in 1497. The strelitzia flower on the shield symbolizes the province's beauty, while the assegai and knobkierrie behind the shield represent protection and peace. The base of the crown element is a type of headdress traditionally worn by Zulu elders that represents wisdom and maturity; the element itself is a Zulu-style grass hut. The motto is Masisukume Sakhe, Zulu for "Let us stand up and build". Law and government The KwaZulu-Natal parliament building, located in Pietermaritzburg Provincial government KwaZulu-Natal's provincial government sits in Pietermaritzburg . The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on 21 June 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee . The building was completed two years later. On 25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir Arthur Havelock , opened the first Legislative Council session in the new building. This was the former site of St Mary's Church, built in the 1860s. The congregation built a new church in 1884 at the corner of Burger Street and Commercial Road. The old building was demolished in 1887 to provide space for the legislative complex. When governance was granted to Natal in 1893, the new Legislative Assembly took over the chamber used by the Legislative Council since 1889. Further extensions to the parliamentary building were made. The building was unoccupied until 1902, when it was used without being officially opened, due to the country's being engulfed in the Anglo-Boer war . The war forced the Legislative Assembly to move the venue of its sittings, as its chamber was used as a military hospital. The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council buildings have both been protected as provincial landmarks . They formed a colonial Parliament of two houses: a Council of 11 nominated members and an Assembly of 37 elected members. The Natal Parliament was disbanded in 1910 when the Union of South Africa was formed, and the Assembly became the meeting place of the Natal Provincial Council. The council was disbanded in 1986. The Provincial Legislature consists of 80 members. Current composition Composition of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature The African National Congress (ANC) holds power in the provincial legislature, winning the province with a convincing overall majority in South Africa's 2019 elections . After the election, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) regained the title of the official opposition in the province. Zulu monarchy KwaZulu-Natal is the home to the Zulu monarch , currently King Misuzulu Zulu kaZwelithini. As of 2015, the king is provided a stipend of 54 million South African rands by the provincial governmentHe is also the chairman of the Ingonyama Trust , which controls 32% of the area of the province. Economy Sugar cane in Midlands South. KwaZulu-Natal has the second largest regional economy in the country after Gauteng . Durban is a rapidly growing urban area and is by most measures the busiest port in Africa. A good railway network links the city to other areas of Southern Africa. Sugar refining is Durban's main industry. Sheep, cattle, dairy, citrus fruits, corn , sorghum , cotton, bananas, and pineapples are also raised. There is an embryonic KwaZulu-Natal wine industry. Other industries (located mainly in and around Durban) include textile, clothing, chemicals , rubber, fertiliser , paper, vehicle assembly and food-processing plants, tanneries, and oil refineries. To the north, Newcastle is the province's industrial powerhouse, with Mittal Steel South Africa (previously ISPAT/ISCOR) and the Karbochem synthetic rubber plant dominating the economy. In 2002, Newcastle became the largest producer of chrome chemicals in Africa with the completion of a chrome-chemical plant, a joint-venture project between Karbochem and German manufacturing giant Bayer. Other large operations include a diamond-cutting works, various heavy engineering concerns, the Natal Portland Cement (NPC) slagment cement factory, and the Newcastle Cogeneration Plant (old Ingagane Power Station). This was recommissioned as Africa's first gas-fired power station by Independent Power Southern Africa (IPSA), and it supplies the Karbochem Plant with electricity. The textile industry is a major employer in the Newcastle area, with over 100 factories belonging to ethnic Taiwanese and Chinese industrialists. Maize, livestock and dairy farmers operate on the outskirts of the city. Coal is also mined in the Newcastle area. Offshore mining of heavy mineral sands including minerals with a concentration of significant economic importance at several locations, such as rutile , ilmenite and zircon are threatening the marine ecology of KwaZulu-Natal's coast, including the Tugela Banks; the fishing economy of the prawn and nurse fisheries are also threatened. Ecology tourism is increasingly important to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal. The area's rich biodiversity and efforts at conservation have been recognised. Tourists have come to see the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park , declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites . These two major parks and that of Ndumo have wetlands of international importance listed as Ramsar sites for conservation. Civil society and politics Prominent civil society organisations based in the province of KwaZulu-Natal include: Abahlali baseMjondolo (shackdwellers') movement, the Diakonia Council of Churches, the Right2Know campaign, and the Unemployed People's Movement. Evictions and political controversy The government in KwaZulu Natal has been under sustained controversy for their eviction of shackdwellers and mistreatment by provincial police structures that has resulted in more than 200 arrests of Abahlali members in the first last three years of its existence and repeated police brutality in people's homes, in the streets and in detention. See also: Attack on Kennedy Road The attack on Kennedy Road informal settlement by an armed mob in 2009 in [Durban] put local and provincial government under sustained scrutiny. It was reported by members of the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement that the attackers were affiliated with the local branch of the African National Congress and it was claimed that the attack was carefully planned and sanctioned by the provincial police department. Academic research seems to confirm that the attackers self-identified as ANC members and that ANC leaders at Municipal and Provincial level later provided public sanction for the attack. See also: Marikana Land Occupation (Durban) Despite a court interdict, the eThekwini municipality, with the support of the provincial SAPS, repeatedly evicted shack dwellers in Durban's Cato Crest. The General Council of the Bar has also expressed concern over the evictions. Ecology Natal plum There are various game reserves found in the province; one notable example is Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park , where the southern white rhinoceros was saved from extinction. In many of these larger reserves, large animals ranging from several antelope species to elephant , Cape buffalo and hippopotamus can be found. Predators include lions , leopards , and Cape wild dogs . The scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) is a fish found in the Tugela River system as well as in the Umzimkulu , Umfolozi and the Mgeni . It is a common endemic species in KwaZulu-Natal Province and it lives in different habitats between the Drakensberg foothills and the coastal lowlands. Carissa macrocarpa (Natal plum) is a shrub native to South Africa, where it is commonly called the "large num-num". In the Zulu language or isiZulu, as well as in the Bantu tribes of Uganda, it is known as the Amathungulu or umThungulu oBomvu. In Afrikaans, the fruit is called noem-noem. Education Universities The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has five campuses in the province.[33] It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville .[34] Other universities are: University of Zululand Durban University of Technology Mangosuthu University of Technology University of South Africa Colleges AAA School of Advertising Berea College of Technology Berea Technical College CTU Training Solutions Central Technical College Damelin College Eduvos Ethekwini college ICESA Education iStudent MANCOSA Management and Leadership Academy Pax college Regent Business School Richfield Graduate institute of Technology Stadio institute of Higher Education (Embury institute for higher education) The Business School at Varsity College Oval International Education Sport Major sports events Comrades Marathon , an annual marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Midmar Mile , a mile-long swimming race held annually at Midmar Dam . Dusi Canoe Marathon , an annual canoe marathon starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban. Durban July , South Africa's premier annual horse racing event at Greyville Racecourse, Durban. Mr Price Pro, a premier international surfing event at Durban during winter (previously known as the "Gunston 500"). Provincial sports teams Football (soccer) The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) currently features the following teams from the province: AmaZulu , Golden Arrows and Royal AM (Durban) Thanda Royal Zulu (Richards Bay) Maritzburg United (Pietermaritzburg) Royal AM Durban Rugby union United Rugby Championship The Sharks Currie Cup Sharks BACK TO TOP

South Africa Maps PRETORIA Pretoria is a city in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive ,administrative and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is divided into three sections: pretoria west, east and north. Pretoria is contained within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as one of several constituent former administrations ,among which also Centurion and Soshanguve. Pretoria itself is sometimes referred to as "Tshwane" due to a long-running and controversial proposed change of name, which has yet to be decided, as of 2012. Pretoria is named after Andries Pretorius.Pretoria in South Africa is popularly known as The Jacaranda City due to the thousands of Jacaranda trees planted in its streets, parks and gardens http://visitpretoria.co.za/General/map-of-pretoria View Larger Map JOHANNESBURG Johannesburg , is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa.The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. It claims to be the lightning capital of the world, though this title is also claimed by others. While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on interpretation of South Africa's new post-Apartheid constitution. The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. Johannesburg is served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of Southern Africa. More recently Lanseria International Airport has started international flights, and is situated conveniently on the opposite side of the metropolis. View Larger Map DURBAN Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is also the third largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million, making the combined municipality the biggest city on the east coast of the African continent. Archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. These people lived throughout the area of present day KwaZulu-Natal until the expansion of Bantu farmers and pastoralists from the north saw their gradual displacement,incorporation or extermination. View Larger Map CAPE TOWN Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa after Johannesburg, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is also Africa's most popular tourist destination. Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. View Larger Map PORT ELIZABETH Port Elizabeth is one of the largest cities in South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province, 770 km (478 mi) east of Cape Town. The city, often shortened to PE and nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City", stretches for 16 km along Algoa Bay, and is one of the major seaports in South Africa. Port Elizabeth was founded as a town in 1820 to house British settlers as a way of strengthening the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa. It now forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of over 1.3 million. During the Second Boer War, the port was an important transit point for soldiers, horses and materials headed to the front by railway. While the city itself did not see any conflict, many refugees from the war moved into the city. These included Boer women and children interned by the British in a concentration camp. Following that war, the Horse Memorial was erected to honour the tens of thousands of horses and mules that died during the conflict. View Larger Map PIETERBURG-POLOKWANE Polokwane, meaning "Place of Safety", is a city in the Polokwane Local Municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province, South Africa. It is also often referred to by its former name,Pietersburg. Polokwane is a major urban centre, the biggest and most important north of Gauteng. Polokwane was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.In the 1840s, Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter established Zoutpansbergdorp, a town 100 km to the north west. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes. They founded a new town in 1886 and named it Pietersburg in honour of Voortrekker leader Petrus Jacobus Joubert. The British built a concentration camp at Pietersburg during the Boer War to house almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town officially became a city on April 23, 1992; on February 25, 2005, the government declared the official name of the city as Polokwane, a name that was generally in use by the speakers of Northern Sotho. View Larger Map PORT SHEPSTONE Port Shepstone is situated on the mouth of the largest river on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the Mzimkulu River ,the great home of all rivers. 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Durban, it is the administrative, educational and commercial centre for southern Natal. Port Shepstone was founded in 1867 when marble was discovered nearby and is named after Sir Theophilus Shepstone of the Natal government of the 1880s. William Bazley built a harbour and the first coaster entered the harbour on the May 8, 1880. In 1882 a party of 246 Norwegian immigrants settled here and played a large part in the development of the area. After the opening of the railway to Durban in 1901 the harbour fell in disuse and eventually the river silted up again making it impossible to use. The 27,000 candela lighthouse still stands at the mouth of the Mzimkulu River. View Larger Map EAST LONDON East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa, situated at 32.97°S and 27.87°E in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. East London today has a population of over 400 000, with over 1.4 million in the metropolitan area.The city formed around the only river port in South Africa and was originally known as Port Rex. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, which was elevated to city status in 1914. During the early to mid-19th century frontier wars between the British settlers and the local Xhosa inhabitants, East London served as a supply port to service the military headquarters at nearby King William’s Town, about thirty miles away. A British fort, Fort Glamorgan, was built on the West Bank in 1847, and annexed to the Cape Colony that same year. This fort is one of a series of forts the British built, that include Fort Murray, Fort White, Fort Cox Fort Hare and Fort Beaufort, in the border area that became known as British Kaffraria. View Larger Map BLOEMFONTEIN Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals ,the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital. As the capital of the Orange Free State Republic the growth and maturing of the Republic resulted in the growth of the town. Numerous public buildings that remain in use today were constructed. This was largely facilitated by the excellent governance of the Republic ,which acquired the term model republic ,and the compensation from the British for the loss of the diamond rich Griqualand area.In 1899 the city was the site of the Bloemfontein Conference, which failed to prevent the outbreak of the Second Boer War. The conference was a final attempt to avert a war between Britain and the South African Republic. With its failure the stage was set for war, which broke out on 11 October 1899. View Larger Map KIMBERLEY Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War. Notable personalities such as Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes here, and the roots of the De Beers company can also be traced to the early days of the mining town.In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River, on the farm De Kalk leased from local Griquas, near Hopetown, which was his father's farm. He showed the pebble to his father who sold it. The pebble was purchased from Jacobs by Schalk van Niekerk, who later sold it. It proved to be a 21.25 carat (4.25 g) diamond, and became known as the Eureka. Three years later Schalk van Niekerk sold another diamond also found in the De Kalk vicinity, the Star of South Africa for £11,200. View Larger Map MPUMALANGA Mpumalanga from Eastern Transvaal on 24 August 1995), is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area. In the north it borders on Limpopo, to the west Gauteng, to the southwest the Free State and to the south KwaZulu-Natal. The capital is Nelspruit ,recently renamed to Mbombela. Prior to 1994, Mpumalanga was part of Transvaal Province. The Drakensberg Escarpment divides Mpumalanga into a westerly half consisting mainly of high-altitude grassland called the Highveld and an eastern half situated in low altitude subtropical Lowveld/Bushveld, mostly savanna habitat. The southern half of the Kruger National Park is situated in the latter region. The Drakensberg exceeds heights of 2000m in most places with this central region of Mpumalanga being very mountainous. These regions have alpine grasslands and small pockets of Afromontane Forest. The Lowveld is relatively flat with interspersed rocky outcrops. The Lebombo Mountains form a low range in the far east forming the border with Mozambique. View Larger Map LIMPOPO Limpopo is the northern most province of South Africa. It was named after the Limpopo River; "Limpopo" means "waterfalls" in Zulu and other Nguni languages. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal. The following year, it was renamed Northern Province, which remained the name until 2003, when the name of the province was formally changed to the name of its most important river–on the border with Zimbabwe and Botswana–after deliberation by the provincial government and amendment of the Constitution. A notable consideration for the name was Mapungubwe, the area where the most ancient gold-using civilisation of the province was discovered a few years earlier. The province contains much of the Waterberg Biosphere, a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve. The Waterberg Biosphere, a massif of approximately 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi), is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The massif was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte landforms.The Waterberg ecosystem can be characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld. Within the Waterberg, archaeological finds date to the Stone Age. Nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of humans. Pictures of South Africa Translate Company Gestbook Riseingsouthernstar-Africa Radio Eendrag .......... riseingsouthernstar africa THE RISEING SOUTHERNSTAR OF AFRICA Home Our Site Map South African History The Nine Provinces Wild Life South Africa South African Culture Genocide South Africa Our Top List South Africa Maps Our Petitions Site Weskaap AWB Radio Stations Sam-South African Music South Africa Maps Our South African Maps and Pictures PRETORIA Pretoria is a city in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive ,administrative and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is divided into three sections: pretoria west, east and north. Pretoria is contained within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as one of several constituent former administrations ,among which also Centurion and Soshanguve. Pretoria itself is sometimes referred to as "Tshwane" due to a long-running and controversial proposed change of name, which has yet to be decided, as of 2012. Pretoria is named after Andries Pretorius.Pretoria in South Africa is popularly known as The Jacaranda City due to the thousands of Jacaranda trees planted in its streets, parks and gardens http://visitpretoria.co.za/General/map-of-pretoria View Larger Map JOHANNESBURG Johannesburg , is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa.The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. It claims to be the lightning capital of the world, though this title is also claimed by others. While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on interpretation of South Africa's new post-Apartheid constitution. The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. Johannesburg is served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of Southern Africa. More recently Lanseria International Airport has started international flights, and is situated conveniently on the opposite side of the metropolis. View Larger Map DURBAN Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is also the third largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million, making the combined municipality the biggest city on the east coast of the African continent. Archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. These people lived throughout the area of present day KwaZulu-Natal until the expansion of Bantu farmers and pastoralists from the north saw their gradual displacement,incorporation or extermination. View Larger Map CAPE TOWN Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa after Johannesburg, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is also Africa's most popular tourist destination. Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. View Larger Map PORT ELIZABETH Port Elizabeth is one of the largest cities in South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province, 770 km (478 mi) east of Cape Town. The city, often shortened to PE and nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City", stretches for 16 km along Algoa Bay, and is one of the major seaports in South Africa. Port Elizabeth was founded as a town in 1820 to house British settlers as a way of strengthening the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa. It now forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of over 1.3 million. During the Second Boer War, the port was an important transit point for soldiers, horses and materials headed to the front by railway. While the city itself did not see any conflict, many refugees from the war moved into the city. These included Boer women and children interned by the British in a concentration camp. Following that war, the Horse Memorial was erected to honour the tens of thousands of horses and mules that died during the conflict. View Larger Map PIETERBURG-POLOKWANE Polokwane, meaning "Place of Safety", is a city in the Polokwane Local Municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province, South Africa. It is also often referred to by its former name,Pietersburg. Polokwane is a major urban centre, the biggest and most important north of Gauteng. Polokwane was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.In the 1840s, Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter established Zoutpansbergdorp, a town 100 km to the north west. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes. They founded a new town in 1886 and named it Pietersburg in honour of Voortrekker leader Petrus Jacobus Joubert. The British built a concentration camp at Pietersburg during the Boer War to house almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town officially became a city on April 23, 1992; on February 25, 2005, the government declared the official name of the city as Polokwane, a name that was generally in use by the speakers of Northern Sotho. View Larger Map PORT SHEPSTONE Port Shepstone is situated on the mouth of the largest river on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the Mzimkulu River ,the great home of all rivers. 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Durban, it is the administrative, educational and commercial centre for southern Natal. Port Shepstone was founded in 1867 when marble was discovered nearby and is named after Sir Theophilus Shepstone of the Natal government of the 1880s. William Bazley built a harbour and the first coaster entered the harbour on the May 8, 1880. In 1882 a party of 246 Norwegian immigrants settled here and played a large part in the development of the area. After the opening of the railway to Durban in 1901 the harbour fell in disuse and eventually the river silted up again making it impossible to use. The 27,000 candela lighthouse still stands at the mouth of the Mzimkulu River. View Larger Map EAST LONDON East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa, situated at 32.97°S and 27.87°E in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. East London today has a population of over 400 000, with over 1.4 million in the metropolitan area.The city formed around the only river port in South Africa and was originally known as Port Rex. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, which was elevated to city status in 1914. During the early to mid-19th century frontier wars between the British settlers and the local Xhosa inhabitants, East London served as a supply port to service the military headquarters at nearby King William’s Town, about thirty miles away. A British fort, Fort Glamorgan, was built on the West Bank in 1847, and annexed to the Cape Colony that same year. This fort is one of a series of forts the British built, that include Fort Murray, Fort White, Fort Cox Fort Hare and Fort Beaufort, in the border area that became known as British Kaffraria. View Larger Map BLOEMFONTEIN Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals ,the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital. As the capital of the Orange Free State Republic the growth and maturing of the Republic resulted in the growth of the town. Numerous public buildings that remain in use today were constructed. This was largely facilitated by the excellent governance of the Republic ,which acquired the term model republic ,and the compensation from the British for the loss of the diamond rich Griqualand area.In 1899 the city was the site of the Bloemfontein Conference, which failed to prevent the outbreak of the Second Boer War. The conference was a final attempt to avert a war between Britain and the South African Republic. With its failure the stage was set for war, which broke out on 11 October 1899. View Larger Map KIMBERLEY Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War. Notable personalities such as Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes here, and the roots of the De Beers company can also be traced to the early days of the mining town.In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River, on the farm De Kalk leased from local Griquas, near Hopetown, which was his father's farm. He showed the pebble to his father who sold it. The pebble was purchased from Jacobs by Schalk van Niekerk, who later sold it. It proved to be a 21.25 carat (4.25 g) diamond, and became known as the Eureka. Three years later Schalk van Niekerk sold another diamond also found in the De Kalk vicinity, the Star of South Africa for £11,200. View Larger Map MPUMALANGA Mpumalanga from Eastern Transvaal on 24 August 1995), is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area. In the north it borders on Limpopo, to the west Gauteng, to the southwest the Free State and to the south KwaZulu-Natal. The capital is Nelspruit ,recently renamed to Mbombela. Prior to 1994, Mpumalanga was part of Transvaal Province. The Drakensberg Escarpment divides Mpumalanga into a westerly half consisting mainly of high-altitude grassland called the Highveld and an eastern half situated in low altitude subtropical Lowveld/Bushveld, mostly savanna habitat. The southern half of the Kruger National Park is situated in the latter region. The Drakensberg exceeds heights of 2000m in most places with this central region of Mpumalanga being very mountainous. These regions have alpine grasslands and small pockets of Afromontane Forest. The Lowveld is relatively flat with interspersed rocky outcrops. The Lebombo Mountains form a low range in the far east forming the border with Mozambique. View Larger Map LIMPOPO Limpopo is the northern most province of South Africa. It was named after the Limpopo River; "Limpopo" means "waterfalls" in Zulu and other Nguni languages. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal. The following year, it was renamed Northern Province, which remained the name until 2003, when the name of the province was formally changed to the name of its most important river–on the border with Zimbabwe and Botswana–after deliberation by the provincial government and amendment of the Constitution. A notable consideration for the name was Mapungubwe, the area where the most ancient gold-using civilisation of the province was discovered a few years earlier. The province contains much of the Waterberg Biosphere, a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve. The Waterberg Biosphere, a massif of approximately 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi), is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The massif was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte landforms.The Waterberg ecosystem can be characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld. Within the Waterberg, archaeological finds date to the Stone Age. Nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of humans. View Larger Map Voortrekker str, Pretoria : Hope These Google Maps helped you find the Information of South Africa, and maybe make a dream come true ,to visit South Africa, Thankyou for Visiting our Map Page,Greetings Andy,and have a great day,and visit us soon again on our Website http://riseingsouthernstar-africa.de.tl Start Now Sam-South African Music SAM SAM-SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC BLOG ON GOOGLE In April 2014 the Google Blogger was openened ,through the high visit of friends and visitors, Online around the world and Thankyou to our supporters AND FRIENDS. We support and promote our friends that was at that time playing in some of the local upcoming bands, and give our other local musicians a way through which they could share their music to their South African fans, and hopefully internationally. Read more Information On SAM and Dj.Night Hawk... Style: “Dance and Disco music with South African boere and Afrikaanse Music ” Best known for: “soft and Loving music from South Africa ‘South African Boerer Music’ (to share with my friend on Facebook and Friends around the world on Radio Eendrag).” Tune of the year: “(Afrikaanse Remix)’ Bok Van Blerk,Steve Hofmeyr and many more South African afrikaanse se Singers‘” From: “Germany Limburg.” Breakthrough DJ/ 2014: “Straight to the top! with support of his Fb fan .” 2014 has been an exciting year for Dj Night Hawk, Andy Dezius. In Janaury he secured a headline on facebook and build many websites and blogger to share on the world wide web and had the South African Boere Volk and friends supporting him all the way and supporting his Facebook Profile to support the South African White People, ‘Go Hard’ received more than two million views on his blogger and website. This was followed by 'Many ways that he had supported the White People of South Africa. DJ Night Hawks ,Andy Dezius career began when he was spotted by many of his Facebook Friends to go so far and open a South African Music group,blogger and Homepage to share with his friends and the world wide web ,and they supported him all the way . DJ Night Hawk took the aspiring under his wings. “He brought it into a music show on facebook by shareing youtube videos and his fan and friends love it.” “I’m really happy . It’s an honour to share my Website.” Read more SAM-SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC South African Music is a South African Homepage based with a Online Music Radio Station Radio Eendrag , from South Africa that is stationed in Cape Town , and is also a South African Music Time shareing Homepage to share with People all around the World for Young and Old, It was founded in March 2014 in Germany. SAM-South African Music homepage is looking for South African Music Artists ,to be added to their homepage ..Please inbox Andy Or at our Contact page .. or leave a message in our gestbook ..Thankyou . If you are a South African band .. Singer or Music Artist would like to be added..greetings SAM-SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC. Read more What do we Advitise and what do we share with our Friends We support and promote our friends that was at that time playing in some of the local upcoming bands, and give our other local musicians a way through which they could share their music to their South African fans, and hopefully internationally. We have also opened a new Radio Eendrag blogger on Google We welcome ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FANS and hope you to follow us on Radio Eendrag.. google blog http://radio-eendrag.blogspot.de/ Read more Read more Radio Eendrag Playlist 2014 RSS Live now: 1 min. ago Fredi Nest - S My - Meer En Meer 1h. 38min. ago Down The Mississippi 17h. 8min. ago Theuns Jordaan - Vreemde Stad - Sonvanger 1d. 7h. 1min. ago Unknown Artist - Unknown Album (8/24/2009 10:45:21 Am) - Track 3 1d. 22h. 9min. ago Vrystaat Limousine.mp3 2d. 12h. 26min. ago Unknown Artist - Unknown Album (12/20/2008 9:15:29 Pm) - Track 5 3d. 1h. 47min. ago Boerevry 3d. 16h. 33min. ago Hanne 4d. 5h. 41min. ago Take On Me.mp3 4d. 20h. 32min. ago Daar Gaan Sy 5d. 9h. 18min. ago From This Moment 5d. 9h. 57min. ago 12tonight.mp3 6d. 19min. ago Bonnie Tyler - Greatest Hits - It`s A Heartache 6d. 14h. 58min. ago Kimberley Se Trein 7d. 4h. 27min. ago Reik Na Die Sterre.mp3 7d. 19h. 50min. ago Kalahari Kinders 8d. 11h. 14min. ago Tiny Bubbles.mp3 9d. 2h. 4min. ago Stampie Boude.mp3 9d. 18h. 6min. ago Michael Lindt - Sal Vir Altyd Bly - Horison Van My Droom 10d. 9h. 11min. ago Wie Stoot So 11d. 26min. ago Take On Me.mp3 11d. 14h. 13min. ago Dreams 12d. 3h. 48min. ago Yeppa.mp3 12d. 18h. 22min. ago Livin On A Prayer 13d. 8h. 51min. ago Bonnie Tyler - Bitterblue - Bitterblue 14d. 3min. ago Bobby Van Jaarsveld - Vat My Saam - Vat My Saam 14d. 15h. 44min. ago Kaptein Span Die Seile 15d. 5h. 41min. ago 03 Robbie Williams Something Beautiful.mp3 15d. 21h. 19min. ago Rabbedoe.mp3 16d. 12h. 3min. ago Dreams 17d. 1h. 51min. ago Jaloers Bokkie.mp3 17d. 17h. 9min. ago Ons Soek Net Country.mp3 18d. 6h. 59min. ago Boerenooi 18d. 21h. 34min. ago Vrystaat Limousine.mp3 19d. 11h. 24min. ago Kaptein Span Die Seile 20d. 1h. 40min. ago 9 To 5 20d. 8h. 15min. ago Michael Lindt - Sal Vir Altyd Bly - Horison Van My Droom 20d. 17h. 41min. ago Take Me Back 21d. 9h. 30min. ago Kniee Lam 22d. 47min. ago Ken Jy Die Land Waar Die Boervolk Woon 22d. 16h. 22min. ago Abba - Sos 23d. 6h. 40min. ago Droomvrou 23d. 22h. 8min. ago Macarena 24d. 13h. 35min. ago On The Wings Of A Nightingale.mp3 25d. 3h. 9min. ago 13boys Of Summer.mp3 25d. 17h. 11min. ago Stampie Boude.mp3 25d. 21h. 46min. ago Liefde Is My Nooi Se Naam 25d. 21h. 49min. ago Macarena 25d. 22h. 2min. ago Maria - 25 Gatswaai Treffers - Everlasting Love 25d. 22h. 3min. ago Moeder Se Gebede 25d. 22h. 26min. ago Tina Turner - Privare Dancer 25d. 22h. 38min. ago Tina Turner - The Best 26d. 5h. 41min. ago Because Its Lovedon Kelly 26d. 8h. 8min. ago Die Lewe Sonder Jou 26d. 18h. 54min. ago Skommel Daai Ding.mp3 27d. 8h. 1min. ago Do You Speak English 27d. 22h. 2min. ago Vier Woorde.mp3 28d. 11h. 32min. ago Steve Hofmeyer - Dis Hoe Dit Is 29d. 22min. ago Ramkat.mp3 29d. 13h. 56min. ago Im Alive 30d. 2h. 39min. ago 8 01 Heidi.mp3 30d. 16h. 7min. ago Macarena Mambo 30d. 23h. 8min. ago Cascada - Perfect Day - What Hurts The Most (yannous Candelight Mix) 31d. 4h. 49min. ago 54 5de Straat.mp3 31d. 18h. 28min. ago Sonja Herholdt Harlekyn.mp3 32d. 7h. 8min. ago Boesmanland 32d. 20h. 5min. ago Dana Winner - Sproetjies 33d. 8h. 58min. ago Bette Davis Eyes 33d. 22h. 19min. ago Unknown Artist - Unknown Album (8/24/2009 10:45:21 Am) - Track 3 34d. 5h. 1min. ago Its Raining Man 34d. 11h. 40min. ago Artist - Title - Ge Korsten-sonder Jou We have also opened a new Music blogger on Google We welcome ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FANS and hope you to follow us on SAM-South African Music google blog http://sam-southafricanmusic.blogspot.de/ Read more Radio Eendrag is Searcing for Top Djs.All over the World .To give a Live Steam ,World Wide .Ülease Contact Radio Eendrag ,We will be Happy if you are Interested to Broadcast for us.We are looking for Top Djs around the world .Become a Team Member. See More SAM-SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC SAM-SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC has added a new Homepage .This page is about Dj Night Hawk as a Music Share Programm.Dj.Night Hawk also shares Radio Eendrag Live and there Auto Dj that run 24/7 World Wide , on 8 Blogs in Germany and 8 Website and Homepages, to share with Friends and Fans. Dj.Night Hawk also shares Youtube Video on a Friday Night for 1 Hour Music Videos to share with Facebook Members And Friends.and soon will share many more Music as for Video,Music and Picture ,Welcome to Dj.Night Hawk. Read more WE NEVER SLEEP WE ARE 24/7 If not live on the Chanel then as Auto Dj....This is what we call Interainment. If you Love our Homepages ,Blogs or Groups on Facebook ,Follow us and Advitise with us.We are here to share with our friends world wide and your Friends and Family.We stand what we do .South African Music is not Known yet all over the world yet .It Great Music and songs. Read more BACK TO TOP

Welcome to Southernstar-Africa! Discover South Africa's Rich History My Story Read More I Was Born On the 15 November 1960 in Germany and was Brought up in South Africa,Have Three of my Own Children and One child that I brought up as my Own Child,Two staying In South Africa and Two Staying with me in Germany. My Nick Name is Andy,and have a Profile on Facebook My Face book Profile Andy Willi Dezius | Create your badge I Speach - English / German and Africans , and also read and wright the 3 Languages , I am at the moment a Truck Driver in Germany. To my Profiles , here are a few things to tell you about me , I was Born in Germany, and was brought up in South Africa. My Homepages are about South Africa and South African Music, I have had Goodtimes and also Bad times when I lived in South Africa. I created this Homepage to Remember me , of my life , and the Wonderfull things I got to see in my Life . And to share it with people and friends on the Internet , So I say thankyou to WIX .com in Germany, and people who supported me to with my Homepage, the southernstar-africa.de.tl..... WELCOME -WELKOM-WILLKOMMEN TO MY WEBSITE ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA Get to Know Us Southernstar-africa is a Homepage and Website based on South Africa,The Life and Culture and Wildlife and as Well of our Lives ,when we were still Liveing in South Africa .This Homepage has Information on South African History,on the Wildlife and the Big Five Game of South Africa. You Can find Pictures ,Links ,News,Recipes,Joke ,South African Ghost Stories and many other things that mite Intrest you,and also for School Projects,Some Pages are not for childrens View. You will find link banner on top of the webpages,at the bottom of the website,and on the left side of the page,you will also see alot of pages are link to other sites ,on the Net,and as well linked to partner and our own websites and Homepages... Featured Project 此語言尚未有已發佈之文章 文章發佈後將於此處顯示。 All Videos All Videos 播放影片 分享 整個頻道 此影片 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr 複製連結 複製的連結 Search videos 搜尋影片... 現在播放中 South Africa Travel Documentary - Road trip along the Garden Route | Highlights [4K] 34:58 播放影片 現在播放中 10 Best Places to Visit in South Africa - Travel Video 11:41 播放影片 現在播放中 SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL | The 15 BEST Places To Visit In South Africa (+ Travel Tips) 17:51 播放影片 現在播放中 HIGH UP in the East Cape Drakensberg: So Many INSANE Mountain Passes! | Drakensberg pt.1 24:30 播放影片 South African History A brief history of South Africa Africa is considered to be the cradle of mankind. There is evidence that some of the earliest people lived in southern Africa. Modern humans have lived here for more than 100 000 years. The hunter-gatherer San roamed widely over the area and the pastoral Khoi-Khoi wandered in the well-watered parts where grazing was available. Within the last millennium great changes have taken place in the southernmost part of Africa. Tribes from central Africa moved southwards into the eastern and central parts of the area known today as South Africa. By the 13th century iron-age people had settled in the northern part of the Kruger National Park area. They traded widely - artifacts from as far away as China have been found amongst the ruins of their settlements. Pastoralists, these people also cultivated the land and had mastered the techniques of mining and metallurgy. Among the archeological finds from this area there are some remarkable golden animal figures. By the middle of the 17th century trading ships from Europe were sailing the seven seas and the Dutch East India Company sent out Jan van Riebeeck and a small group of men to build a fort and set up a halfway station for the ships going to the trading posts in the East. Originally they bartered with the Khoikhoi, but soon conflict arose about cattle theft and grazing grounds. Within 10 years after the establishment of the victualling post at the Cape the first farmers had been given land to cultivate and before the turn of the century some settlers began to migrate north and east. Slaves from Africa and the East were imported to carry out the strenuous labour. Diseases like smallpocks diminished the Khoisan population and a mixed- race group consisting of descendants of the Khoisan, slaves, excites and white colonists was formed. The newcomers brought Christianity and Islam to the Cape. The colonists, mainly of Dutch, German and French Huguenot descent began to lose their sense of identification with Europe and the Afrikaner nation came into being. By the end of the 18th century these migrant farmers had come into contact with the Xhosa speaking inhabitants of the Eastern Cape and skirmishes between them ensued. In 1806 when the Napoleonic wars were raging in Europe the Cape became a British colony. Some 5000 British settlers were placed on the eastern frontier in 1820 in an unsuccessful effort to provide a buffer against the Xhosas. In 1857 a mass starvation occurred amongst the Xhosa as a result of a prophecy that the whites would return to the sea if the blacks would slaughter their cattle and destroy their crops. During the early 19th century the great Zulu warrior king, Shaka, had risen to power. The resulting conquests had caused what was known as the mfecane and large parts of the interior were denuded of inhabitants. Into these parts now moved the white farmers who had become dissatisfied with British rule and the emancipation of slaves in 1834. A group of these Voortrekkers moved east into the area today known as KwaZulu-Natal. After several battles between the Zulus and the Trekkers the British, fearing conflict to spread, annexed Natal where they already had a small settlement. The Trekkers then established themselves in two republics, the Orange Free State and the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek between the Orange and the Limpopo rivers. By the middle of the 19th century the small refreshment post at the Cape had grown into an area of white settlement that covered the whole of what is today the Republic of South Africa. During the latter half of the 19th century vast deposits of diamonds and gold were discovered in South Africa resulting in the founding of Kimberley and Johannesburg. This had a dramatic economic and political effect, eventually leading to the Anglo-Boer War between Britain and the two Boer republics [1899-1902]. Many blacks had hoped that the British victory would result in franchise rights for them, but when the Union of South Africa consisting of the four former colonies came into being in 1910 they were barred from parliament and repressives measures to entrench white power soon followed. In an act of unity the African National Congress [ANC] was founded in Bloemfontein in 1912 and protests against these laws ensued. The period after the First World War was marked by strike action and the formation of unions. In the 1930's black Cape voters were removed from the common voters' roll, laws were passed to stem black urbanization and force municipalities to segregate black Africans and white residents. The 1940's saw South Africa participating in World War II under the premiership of Smuts. Strong opposition to the war by the Afrikaners resulted in more support for Malan and the subsequent rise to power of the Nationalist Party. Meanwhile in 1944 the ANC Youth League was formed with Nelson Mandela as its secretary. The result being an almost 50 year long conflict between this organisation and the Nationalist Party. After the war came a time of rapid industrialisation, but skilled work remained with the whites. In 1948 the Nationalist Party gained power which they would not relinquish until 1994. Separate Development [Apartheid] became the official government policy. The result was an increase of unity amongst resistance groups which included black, coloured, Indian and white organisations. In 1961 South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. By the end of that year Umkhonto we Sizwe [The Spear of the Nation] started with acts of sabotage and the UN had called upon its members to institute economic sanctions against South Africa. Mandela, Sisulu and other leaders of the resistance groups were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island. In 1976 the youth of Soweto marched against unacceptable educational conditions, police fired at them and violence broke out. A state of emergency was declared. By the late 1980's under increasing international pressure the government had no option but to start negotiations with Mandela. In 1990 Mandela was set free and in 1993 after further negotiations an interim constitution was agreed to by 21 political parties. In 1994 the first democratic election was held and Mandela became president. Recent Projects 此語言尚未有已發佈之文章 文章發佈後將於此處顯示。 14 Prominent figures in South Africa's History 8 Major Historical Events 5 Projects Completed 2 Ongoing Projects Nine Provinces in South Africa WESTERN CAPE - NORTHERN CAPE - MPUMALANGA - NORTH WEST - KWA ZULU NATAL - LIMPOPO - ORANGE FREE STATE - GAUTENG - EASTERN CAPE South Africa is officially known as the Republic of South Africa and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa, South Africa borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland, and surrounds the independent country of Lesotho; Exploring South Africa has a coastline that stretches more than 2500 kilometers and spans two oceans; namely the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. South Africa covers an area of over 1 210 000 km², making it the 25th-largest country in the world. Whatever type of holiday you enjoy, South Africa can accommodate you! Young or old, whether you are looking for adventure, in the form of bungee jumping or wildlife big 5 safaris; or if you just want to relax and soak up the sun on one of the many blue flag beaches and stunning game lodges, South Africa offers it all! South African Flora is particularly rich in plant biodiversity; plant lovers will find more than 20,000 different plants species - approximately 10% of all the known plant species on Earth are found within South Africa's borders, most commonly associated with South Africa are the Protea family of fynbos. An abundance of wildlife roams in the many game parks in South Africa; the most famous and well known of which is the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga – the “Big 5” can be spotted there if you are lucky! South Africa is also blessed with a large variety of birdlife, and may beautifully coloured birds. Instagram Call Email a.dezius@gmail.com Follow Southernstar-Africa Info Facebook Instagram Twitter Blogger Our Main Website in Germanys Riseingsouthernstar- Africa Link Our Homepage has 180 sites on 4 homepages to visit,3000 pictures and over 150 linked website on all 4 homepages and Bloggers on South Africa with alot of Information ,linked to 4 homepages that was build up from our team,it took 2 years of hard work to set these Homepages on the web,for viewer to see ,and share around the World... BACK TO TOP

WELCOME Our Site Map Grow Your Vision Welcome to the Sitemaps ,their are a lot of Sites below were you can view on South Africa. If one of the sites intrest you ,just click on VIEW MORE Button , It will take you to one of our Main site.So Enjoy South Africa. The Great Trek The Voortrekker Monument The Battle of Bloodriver The First Boere War White Genocide South Africa South African Culture South African Culture Part 2 South African Tribes Bank Notes and Coin South African Sport South African Poems and Jokes Ghost Story South Africa Gauteng Mpumalanga Nine Provinces of South Africa Wildlife South Africa The Big 5 Safari Tours Kruger National Park South African Animal Gallery Wildlife Projects History of South Africa About Southernstar-Africa Maps South African Foods Western Cape Northern Cape Free State KwaZulu Natal North West Limpopo Eastern Cape Radio SAM Broadcasting Studios The 11 languages of South Africa South African Maps South Africa Maps Part 2 Projects South Africa Southernstar-Africa School Projects Extra Sites and Links Grow With Partners Our Services South African Blog Our Radio Stations Jokes and Poems Easy Blog Hiking in South Africa Camping in South Africa Tourist Attraction South African Art Travel Tips South Africa South African Rugby 11 Languages Groups Forum Member Book a Room Partner Links Raiseing Southernstar Africa Gauteng The name Gauteng is derived from the Sotho-Tswana gauta, Gauteng Sotho pronunciation: [xɑ́.ú.ˈtʼè.ŋ̀] khow-oo-T'EH-ng; Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; Zulu : eGoli or iGoli [îːˈgóːlì] ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa . Situated on the Highveld , Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa . Although Gauteng accounts for only 1.5% of the country's land area, it is home to more than a quarter of its population (26%). Highly urbanised, the province contains the country's largest city, Johannesburg , which is also one of the largest cities in the world. Gauteng is the wealthiest province in South Africa and is considered the financial hub of not only South Africa but the entire African continent; VIEW MORE Mpumalanga "Eastern Transvaal" redirects here. For the rugby team formerly known as "Eastern Transvaal", see Falcons (rugby team) . For the team formerly called "South Eastern Transvaal" representing Mpumalanga, see Pumas (Currie Cup) . Mpumalanga (/əmˌpuːməˈlɑːŋɡə/ ) is a province of South Africa . The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages . Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique . It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela NINE PROVINCES SOUTH AFRICA VIEW MORE 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. 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. VIEW MORE South African Endangered Wildlife Wild Life South Africa - Kruger National Park - Wildlife Animal History Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 square kilometres 7,523 sq mi in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 kilometres 220 mi from north to south and 65 kilometres 40 mi from east to west. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926. VIEW MORE Big Five Even though you know that Africa and South Africa are so much more than the Big Five, the familiar images soon begin playing in your mind: lions roaring; elephants trumpeting; buffalos lurking in long grass; rhinos standing stately under a thorn tree; leopards prowling in the gathering darkness. You’ve seen the Big Five in books and you’ve seen them on TV. But it’s time to come and see them for yourself. The real thing. In person. And there’s no better place for this than South Africa, which offers the most exciting, memorable and exhilarating experience of your life – coming face to face with the Big Five. Origin of the name How did these five animals – the lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard – come to be called the Big Five? It was originally a hunting term used by the so-called ‘great white hunters’ in the hunting heyday of the 19th and early 20thcenturies, when professional hunters bagged as many trophies as possible in as short a time as possible. Considered a rite of passage for seasoned travellers, everybody from American presidents to European royalty and heads of state came to Africa to shoot a large, dangerous animal. The Big Five quickly became known as the most dangerous animals to hunt on foot, and the name stuck – although now ‘shooting’ is done through a camera lens. VIEW MORE 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. VIEW MORE Kruger National Park Where nearly 2 million hectares of unrivaled diversity of life forms fuses with historical and archaeological sights – this is real Africa. The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa. Truly the flagship of the South African National Parks, this enormous and magnificent park is one of the most popular public-entry game parks in the world. Few visitors leave South Africa without visiting the Kruger National Park or one of the private reserves along its borders but it is also frequented by locals in their own vehicles, as you can drive yourself around and stay overnight in one of the many public rest camps . There are also a few exclusive private lodges that have been granted concessions within the Kruger National Park. Kruger has 12 main rest camps, 5 bushveld camps, 2 bush lodges and 4 satellite camps. The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa. Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, this national park is unrivalled in the diversity of its life forms and a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies. Kruger is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. VIEW MORE South African Animal Gallery Welcome to Delta Rain, we hope you will join us for an unforgettable African experience. We provide quality, exciting and affordable mobile and mokoro safaris in the Okavango delta, throughout Botswana and further through southern Africa. Delta Rain is based at our own camp 'Sitatunga' located close to Maun Botswana. WHAT IS MAMMALMAP? The aim of MammalMAP is to update the distribution records of all African mammal species. Through collaborations with professional scientists, conservation organisations, wildlife authorities and citizen scientists across Africa, we consolidate all reliable and identifiable evidence (camera trap records, photographs) of current mammal locations into an open-access digital database. The database software automatically generates online distribution maps of all recorded species which are instantly visible and searchable. VIEW MORE Wildlife Projects Wildlife Backgrounds and Glitters Riseingsouthernstar-africa Wallpaper This site is dedicated to providing free animal print wallpaper for royalty free use. Animal wallpapers come in all different patters, including Zebra, Leopard, Cheetah,Snakeskin,and Land Scapes almost any animal print you want you can find here to download for your computer desktop wallpaper for free.. Wallpapers are one of the best things you can use to customize your desktop well. In one way or the other, it somehow influences our mood as we look at it, it may inspire you to do better or just help you relax for a while. In any ways, these wallpapers can help in personalizing your desktop background... VIEW MORE History South Africa 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. 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. VIEW MORE The Great Trek The Great Trek (Afrikaans : Die Groot Trek was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial administration. The Great Trek resulted from the culmination of tensions between rural descendants of the Cape's original European settlers, known collectively as Boers , and the British Empire . VIEW MORE Trekboers making camp (1804) by Samuel Daniell . Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape of Good Hope area was populated by Khoisan tribes The first Europeans settled in the Cape area under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company (also known by its Dutch initials VOC), which established a victualling station there in 1652 to provide its outward bound fleets with fresh provisions and a harbour of refuge during the long sea journey from Europe to Asia In a few short decades, the Cape had become home to a large population of "vrijlieden", also denoted as "vrijburgers" (free citizens), former Company employees who remained in Dutch territories overseas after completing their contracts. The Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa . The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk . On 8 July 2011, the Voortrekker Monument was declared a National Heritage Site by the South African Heritage Resource Agency . The idea to build a monument in honour of the Voortrekkers was first discussed on 16 December 1888, when President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic attended the Day of the Covenant celebrations at Danskraal in Natal . However, the movement to actually build such a monument only started on 4 April 1931 when the Sentrale Volksmonumentekomitee (SVK; Central People's Monuments Committee) was formed to bring this idea to fruition. Construction started on 13 July 1937 with a sod-turning ceremony performed by the chairman of the SVK, Advocate Ernest George Jansen , on what later became known as Monument Hill. On 16 December 1938 the cornerstone was laid  by three descendants of some of the Voortrekker leaders: Mrs. J.C. Muller (granddaughter of Andries Pretorius ), Mrs. K.F. Ackerman (great-granddaughter of Hendrik Potgieter ) and Mrs. J.C. Preller (great-granddaughter of Piet Retief ). The monument was inaugurated on 16 December 1949 by Prime Minister D. F. Malan .[citation needed ] The total construction cost of the monument was about £ 360,000, most of which was contributed by the South African government. A large amphitheatre , which could seat approximately 20,000 people, was erected to the north-east of the monument in 1949. VIEW MORE Battle of Blood River The Battle of Blood River 16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Ncome River , in what is today KwaZulu-Natal , South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius , and an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Zulu . The trekkers—called Voortrekkers after 1880—had to defend themselves after the betrayal murder of chief Trekker leader Piet Retief and his entire entourage, and ten days later the Weenen/Bloukrans massacre where "not a soul was spared. Dingane had agreed that, if Retief could recover approximately 700 head of cattle stolen from the Zulus by the Tlokwa , he would let them have land upon which to establish farms. On 6 February 1838, two days after the signing of a negotiated land settlement deal between Retief and Dingane at UmGungundlovu , written by Jan Gerritze Bantjes (1817–1887) which included Trekker access to Port Natal , which the British also had interest in, Dingane invited Retief and his party into his royal residence for a beer-drinking farewell. VIEW MORE 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 southern part of the African continent was dominated in the 19th century by a set of epic struggles to create within it a single unified state. British aggression into southern Africa was fuelled by three prime factors: first, the desire to control the trade routes to India that passed around the Cape; second, the discovery in 1868 of huge mineral deposits of diamonds around Kimberley on the joint borders of the South African Republic (called the Transvaal by the British), Orange Free State and the Cape Colony, and thereafter in 1886 in the Transvaal of a major gold find, all of which offered enormous wealth and power; and thirdly the race against other European colonial powers, as part of a general colonial expansion in Africa. VIEW MORE 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," 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: VIEW MORE South African Culture South African Languages We're not called the rainbow nation for nothing. South Africa has 11 official languages, and scores of unofficial ones. English is the most commonly spoken language in official and commercial public life but only the fifth most spoken home language.The country's democratic Constitution, which came into effect on 4 February 1997, recognises 11 official languages, to which the state guarantees equal status. The South African National Seal with its symbols on the original South African Coat of Arms places the white South African nation alongside the other Great Israel Nations of the West and identifies them as THE ANCIENT TRIBE OF JUDAH. The Coat of Arms heraldry aligned with thesc scriptures gives Judah’s latter-day geographical location as South Africa. Since this latter-day discovery, the White South Africans can easily be identified as the Biblical tribe of Judah whose ultimate destination was skillfully guided by the Creator and their identity concealed for it only to be revealed long after their arrival on theAfrican continent. VIEW MORE South african Culture Part 2 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. Die Vlaglied / The Song of the Flag Another flag song, this time abut the former South African flag called "Die Vlaglied" / "The Song of the Flag" which was composed by CJ Langenhoven, the composer of the former South African National Anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" / "The Call of South Africa".Afrikaans music was primarily influenced by Dutch folk styles, along with French and German influences, in the early twentieth century. Zydeco-type string bands led by a concertina were popular, as were elements of American country music, especially Jim Reeves. Bushveld music based on the Zulu were reinterpreted by such singers as Marais and Miranda. Melodramatic and sentimental songs called trane trekkers (tear jerkers) were especially common. In 1979 the South African Music scene changed from the Tranetrekkers to more lively sounds and the introduction of new names in the market with the likes of Anton Goosen, David Kramer, Koos du Plessis, Fanie de Jager, and Laurika Rauch. Afrikaans music is currently one of the most popular and best selling industries on the South African music scene. VIEW MORE South Africa Tribes South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Therefore, there is no single culture of South Africa. The oldest art objects in the world were discovered in a South African cave. Dating from 75,000 years ago, these 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. One of the defining characteristics of our species is the making of art (from Latin 'ars' meaning worked or formed from basic material). VIEW MORE Banknotes and Coin The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) released the upgraded Mandela banknotes and fourth decimal coin series on 3 May 2023. The upgraded banknotes and fourth decimal coin series have new designs and enhanced security features that utilise the latest technological advancements to protect the integrity of our currency and maintain public trust. The upgraded banknotes continue to pay homage to South Africa's first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, with his portrait featured on the front of all five denominations while the Big 5 animals are depicted as a family. The fourth decimal coin series is based on the theme of deep ecology, which celebrates the interconnectedness of humans and other living organisms as an integral part of the environment. VIEW MORE South African Sport The most popular sports in South Africa are soccer, rugby and cricket in South Africa" Other sports with significant support are hockey,swimming, athletics, golf, boxing, tennis and netball. Sports in South Africa have a passionate following, although they remain largely divided along ethnic lines.Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in South Africa, particularly amongst blacks who constitute the majority of the population. The national football team is nicknamed Bafana Bafana (meaning the boys, the boys). South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first one hosted in Africa.Cricket is the second most popular sport in South Africa, and is traditionally the sport of the Anglo-African and Indian South African communities, although it is now followed by members of all races. The national cricket team is nicknamed The Proteas. 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 VIEW MORE VIEW MORE Western Cape - CAPE TOWN 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. Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa . It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley . The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa . It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley . It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park , part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and an international park shared with Botswana . It also includes the Augrabies Falls and the diamond mining regions in Kimberley and Alexander Bay . Free State The Free State is one of the nine provinces of South Africa and is centrally located. It represents 10.6% of the total land area of the country. The Free State is one of the nine provinces of South Africa and is centrally located. It represents 10.6% of the total land area of the country. It boasts wide horizons, blue skies, mountains and goldfields. The province covers an area of 129 464 km2 and is roughly the size of Nicaragua. In 2011, the province had a population of 2.7 million with four district municipalities and one metropolitan municipality. The Free State is situated on the flat, boundless plains in the centre of South Africa. It borders most of the other provinces, the exceptions being Limpopo and the Western Cape. To the east, it has an international boundary with Lesotho nestling in the hollow of its beanlike shape, and the escarpment separates it from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu ) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, Rough and ready, smart and sophisticated, rural and rustic: there’s no doubt that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is eclectic. It’s a region where glassy malls touch shabby suburbs, and action-packed adventurers ooze adrenaline while laid-back beach bods drip with suntan lotion. Mountainscapes contrast with flat, dry savannahs, while the towns’ central streets, teeming with African life, markets and noise, are in stark contrast to the sedate tribal settlements in rural areas. Here, too, is traditional Zululand, whose people are fiercely proud of their culture. North West North West, a province in South Africa, is a hidden gem known for its breathtaking landscapes. North West, a province in South Africa, is a hidden gem known for its breathtaking landscapes. From the rugged mountains of the Magaliesberg to the rolling hills of the Bushveld, visitors will love its natural beauty. Its area is also home to a rich cultural heritage, with several traditional villages offering visitors the chance to learn about the customs and traditions of the local communities. North West is also known for its wildlife. Several game reserves and parks offer unforgettable game drives and safaris, where visitors can spot the Big Five and other exotic animals. With its stunning landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and abundant wildlife, North West is an ideal destination for travelers seeking an authentic South African experience. Limpopo Limpopo is a land of spectacular natural beauty in South Africa, boasting stunning landscapes of rugged mountains, rolling savannahs, and wild bushveld. It is home to several game reserves and national parks, including Kruger National Park, one of the largest and most diverse game reserves in Africa. The region is also rich in culture and history, with many traditional villages and archaeological sites to explore. Visitors can experience the vibrant local culture, taste delicious local cuisine, and enjoy a wide range of adventure activities, such as hiking, wildlife safaris, and hot air balloon rides. The 11 languages of South Africa South Africa’s constitution recognises 11 official languages: Sepedi (also known as Sesotho sa Leboa ), Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. South Africa’s constitution recognises 11 official languages: Sepedi (also known as Sesotho sa Leboa ), Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. For centuries South Africa’s official languages were European – Dutch, English, Afrikaans. African languages, spoken by at least 80% of the people, were ignored. In 1996 South Africa’s new constitution gave official protection to all of the country’s major languages.South Africa has about 34 historically established languages. Thirty are living languages, and four extinct Khoesan languages. SEND Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape of South Africa is a unique and captivating destination, offering a range of experiences for visitors to the region. Nature lovers will be amazed by the beauty of the Wild Coast, with its rugged coastline, unspoiled beaches, and breathtaking views. Game reserves such as the Addo Elephant National Park offer visitors the opportunity to see some of the region's most iconic wildlife, including elephants, lions, and rhinos. At the same time, birdwatchers will enjoy exploring the region's many wetlands and estuaries. Aside from this, guests can explore the region's rich cultural heritage, with ancient rock art sites such as the Cederberg Wilderness Area and the Bhisho Massacre Monument, which commemorate the historic struggle against apartheid. With its stunning natural landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and diverse range of activities, the Eastern Cape is a destination that offers something for everyone. Radio SAM Broadcasting Studios 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, VIEW MORE South African Maps Here are some places you can visit in South Africa 1 2 : Cape Town Kruger National Park Stellenbosch Knysna Namaqualand Johannesburg Hermanus Blyde River Canyon Each of South Africa’s regions truly has its own distinct personality, offering a captivating blend of cosmopolitan cities, enthralling animals, rich history and remote wilderness. From the bustling streets of Cape Town and the wild-game viewing in Kruger National Park to the charming valleys of the Winelands, every place here enchants. VIEW MORE South African Maps Part 2 PRETORIA Pretoria is a city in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, South Africa Maps PRETORIA Pretoria is a city in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive ,administrative and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is divided into three sections: pretoria west, east and north. Pretoria is contained within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as one of several constituent former administrations ,among which also Centurion and Soshanguve. Pretoria itself is sometimes referred to as "Tshwane" due to a long-running and controversial proposed change of name, which has yet to be decided, as of 2012. VIEW MORE About Southernstar-Africa Hi, thanks for dropping by! We are a school project organization that aims to educate children about the history of South Africa We are a school project organization that aims to educate children about the history of South Africa. Our focus is on the people who shaped the country's past and present. Our team consists of passionate educators who are dedicated to providing the best learning experience for the children. We provide various services such as interactive workshops, field trips, and educational materials. Join us in exploring the rich history of Southernstar-Africa VIEW MORE South African Poems and Jokes The poetry of South Africa covers a broad range of themes, forms and styles.This article discusses the context that contemporary poets have come from and identifies the major poets of South Africa, their works and influence. The South African literary landscape from the 19th century to the present day has been fundamentally shaped by the social and political evolution of the country, particularly the trajectory from a colonial trading station to an apartheid state and finally toward a democracy. Primary forces of population growth and economic change which have propelled urban development have also impacted on what themes, forms and styles of literature and poetry in particular have emerged from the country over time. South Africa has had a rich history of literary output. Fiction and poetry specifically has been written in all of South Africa's eleven official languages While it has been recorded that literature by black South Africans only emerged in the 20th century, this is only a reflection of published works at the time, not of the reality that black South Africans were writing and reciting in oral forms. The first generation of mission-educated African writers sought to restore dignity to Africans by invoking and reconstructing a heroic African past. SEND Grow With Partners Use this website to find other interesting web sites related to South Africa and the subject matter of this Homepage. Additional useful links to web sites of interest are listed in sections on pages where they are relevant. Should you choose one of these links you will be leaving the Southernstar - Africa Homepage. Southernstar-Africa is not responsible for the content or reliability of web sites linked from this site, and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time, and we have no control over the availability of linked pages. You are Welcome to copy pictures of the Wild Life Animals.Please do not Copy the codes,of this website of my Gest book ,it is copyright 2024,Designed by A Dezius,what the Picture Grafics and colour layouts concirns. VIEW MORE Projects South Africa Stay updated with our latest projects and historical insights. Project South Africa is assigning resources to tasks we add, and what we do about South Africa, with Information about South Africa. VIEW MORE Ghosts South Africa Cape Town – The Castle of Good Hope turns 350 this year – and to mark the occasion, the Independent Media group will take readers on an intriguing journey of discovery, with South Africa’s oldest existing building as its focal point. Cape Town – The Castle of Good Hope turns 350 this year – and to mark the occasion, the Independent Media group will take readers on an intriguing journey of discovery, with South Africa’s oldest existing building as its focal point. Over the years, the Castle has been many things to different people, a place of pleasure and pain. To the first white settlers it was a refreshment station for ships from their home country. To the indigenous people it eventually became a symbol of dispossession – of land, livestock and, ultimately, dignity. But back to the Castle… Perhaps appropriately, it had its origins in something that was commonplace along the southernmost tip of Africa: a violent storm… followed by a shipwreck. On March 25, 1647, a Dutch Indiaman, De Nieuwe Haerlem, on its way to Holland from the East Indies, ran aground in the vicinity of present-day Milnerton – and although there were no casualties, its sinking was destined to change the course of history. A junior merchant named Leendert Janszen was instructed to stay behind with about 60 crew to look after the cargo while fellow crew members boarded other ships in the fleet and continued their journey to Holland. While waiting to be picked up, Janszen and other members of the party grew vegetables, caught fish and bartered fresh meat from indigenous inhabitants. It proved to be a trial run for something more permanent. VIEW MORE Our Services KRUGER NATIONAL PARK Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 square kilometres 7,523 sq mi in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 kilometres 220 mi from north to south and 65 kilometres 40 mi from east to west.The big five are among the most dangerous, yet most popular species for big game hunters to hunt.Safari Club International, an organization dedicated to trophy hunters, offers a trophy for hunting all five species, called the "African Big Five Grand Slam," along with 14 other Grand Slams for other species. VIEW MORE 03 First-Rate Materials We have strict standards when it comes to what we produce and never compromise on quality. This is especially true when it comes to the first-rate materials we use. Our customers deserve the highest level of products on the market, and we work tirelessly to maintain those standards. BACK TO TOP

Hello Welcome to our website dedicated to South Africa! Here you will find a wealth of information about the country's rich history, diverse culture, and stunning wildlife. Browse through our many pages to discover all that South Africa has to offer. My Story I was Born in Germany and Brought up in South Africa , Most of my Life I Spent in South Africa. Why ? My Perants Immigrated to South Africa in 1964 South Africa is a country of great diversity, with a rich and culture. My blog is dedicated to sharing my experiences of living and working in this beautiful country. From the bustling cities to the stunning natural landscapes, there is so much to explore and discover. Join me on journey as I share my insights and stories about life in South Africa. What Did I do with my life in South Africa ? In South Africa, I visited several schools, when I was Younger and worked on many Projects and Jobs. I also stayed at in many Provinces as well in Citys and Towns, and did alot of sightseeing and Places I Visited in South Africa and Around the World. What Laugauges do I Speak - Read and Write : AFRIKAANS - GERMAN - ENGLISH Coat of Arms Dezius Place I Lived in South Africa Gauteng Pretoria - Centurion - Maintainviw - Hercules - Hillbrow - Malvern - Brixton - Berea - Baspfontain - Johannesburg - Boksburg - Benoni. Kwazulu Natal Ammanzentotti - Richards Bay -Ilovo Beach - Pamula Limpopo Pietersberg - Tzaneen - Warm Baths - Loius Trichard Western Cape - Capetown Fish Hoek MY FAMILY HISTORY DEZIUS HISTORY View More ABOUT DEZIUS View More Decius - Dezius AKA Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius Born: 201 AD Birthplace: Budalia, Pannonia, Serbia Died: 251 AD Location of death: Abrittus, Moesia Cause of death: War Gender: Male Religion: Pagan Race or Ethnicity: White Occupation: Royalty Nationality: Ancient Rome Executive summary: Roman Emperor, 249-51 AD Roman emperor, the first of the long succession of distinguished men from the Illyrian provinces, was born at Budalia near Sirmium in lower Pannonia in AD 201. About 245 the emperor Philip the Arab entrusted him with an important command on the Danube, and in 249 (or end of 248), having been sent to put down a revolt of the troops in Moesia and Pannonia, he was forced to assume the imperial dignity. He still protested his loyalty to Philip, but the latter advanced against him and was slain near Verona. During his brief reign Decius was engaged in important operations against the Goths, who crossed the Danube and overran the districts of Moesia and Thrace. The details are obscure, and there is considerable doubt as to the part taken in the campaign by Decius and his son (of the same name) respectively. The Goths were surprised by the emperor while besieging Nicopolis on the Danube; at his approach they crossed the Balkans, and attacked Philippopolis. Decius followed them, but a severe defeat near Beroë made it impossible to save Philippopolis, which fell into the hands of the Goths, who treated the conquered with frightful cruelty. Its commander, Priscus, declared himself emperor under Gothic protection. The siege of Philippopolis had so exhausted the numbers and resources of the Goths, that they offered to surrender their booty and prisoners on condition of being allowed to retire unmolested. But Decius, who had succeeded in surrounding them and hoped to cut off their retreat, refused to entertain their proposals. The final engagement, in which the Goths fought with the courage of despair, took place on swampy ground in the Dobrudja near Abritum (Abrittus) or Forum Trebonii and ended in the defeat and death of Decius and his son. Decius was an excellent soldier, a man of amiable disposition, and a capable administrator, worthy of being classed with the best Romans of the ancient type. The chief blot on his reign was the systematic and authorized persecution of the Christians, which had for its object the restoration of the religion and institutions of ancient Rome. Either as a concession to the senate, or perhaps with the idea of improving public morality, Decius endeavored to revive the separate office and authority of the censor. The choice was left to the senate, who unanimously selected Valerian (afterwards emperor). But Valerian, well aware of the dangers and difficulties attaching to the office at such a time, declined the responsibility. The invasion of the Goths and the death of Decius put an end to the abortive attempt. Contact I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect. a.dezius@gmail.com Places I Work in South Africa "I've had the pleasure of working in some amazing places in South Africa. From bustling cities to serene countryside, each location has its own unique charm and character. I've gained valuable experience and made lasting connections in my time there and I'm excited to see where my career takes me next." Gordon Verhoef and Krause - Painter and Sandblasting Company on Post Office Towers South African Prison Service - as Warden and Trademan Subcontractor On Chrome Carrier - Truckdriver Interlink - for South African Platium - Coal - Mines Shoprite fresh market - Truck Driver to warehouses and stores Chamberlains Hardware - Deliveries to shores and customers S-press - Deliveries with all kinds of goods that we transported Spedition Menke and Frankenbach - On the Auto carriers MY TRUCKER WEBSITES View More View More Places I Have Visited in South Africa Gauteng Alberton Atteridgeville Benoni Boksburg Bronkhorstspruit Brakpan Carletonville Centurion Cullinan Edenvale Ga-Rankuwa Germiston Hammanskraal Heidelberg Henley on Klip Nigel Parkhurst Pretoria Randburg Randfontein Roodepoort Rosebank Sandton Soshanguve Soweto Springs Tembisa Vanderbijlpark Vereeniging Winterveldt Johannesburg Kempton Park Krugersdorp Mabopane Mamelodi Magaliesburg Meyerton Midrand Limpopo Capricorn Blouberg Lepele-Nkumpi Molemole Polokwane Mopani Ba-Phalaborwa Greater Giyani Greater Letaba Greater Tzaneen Maruleng Sekhukhune Elias Motsoaledi Ephraim Mogale Fetakgomo Tubatse Makhuduthamaga Vhembe Makhado Musina Collins Chabane Thulamela Waterberg Bela-Bela Lephalale Modimolle–Mookgophong Mogalakwena Thabazimbi Kwazulu Natal Mpumalanga Amajuba District Newcastle Dannhauser eMadlangeni Uthukela (Ladysmith ) Emnambithi/Ladysmith Indaka Umtshezi Okhahlamba Imbabazane Zululand (Ulundi ) Ulundi Nongoma Abaqulusi uPhongolo eDumbe uMkhanyakude (Mkuze ) Jozini Hlabisa Umhlabuyalingana Mtubatuba The Big 5 False Bay Harry Gwala District (Ixopo ) Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Ubuhlebezwe Greater Kokstad Umzimkhulu King Cetshwayo [formerly uThungulu] uMhlathuze Umlalazi Nkandla Mbonambi Ntambanana Mthonjaneni uMzinyathi (Dundee ) Msinga Nqutu Umvoti Endumeni uMgungundlovu (Pietermaritzburg ) Msunduzi uMshwathi uMngeni Richmond Mkhambathini Mpofana Impendle iLembe (kwaDukuza ) KwaDukuza Ndwedwe Mandeni Maphumulo Ugu (Port Shepstone ) Ray Nkonyeni uMdoni uMuziwabantu Umzumbe Ehlanzeni Bushbruckridge Mbombela Nkomazi Thaba Chweu Umjindi Gert Sibande Albert Luthuli Dipaleseng Govan Mbeki Lekwa Mkhondo Msukaligwa Pixley ka Seme Nkangala Delmas Dr JS Moroka Emalahleni Highlands Steve Tshwete Thembisile Western Cape North West Central Karoo Beaufort West Bergrivier CoastPiketberg Bitou RoutePlettenberg Bay Breede Valley Cape Winelands Worcester Cape Agulhas Overberg Bredasdorp Cederberg Coast Clanwilliam City of Cape Town Cape Town Drakenstein Cape Winelands Paarl George Garden Route Hessequa Garden RouteRiversdale Kannaland Local Municipality Mossel Bay Garden Route Oudtshoorn Overstrand Overberg Hermanus Prince Albert Karoo Saldanha Bay West Coast Vredenburg Stellenbosch Cape Winelands Stellenbosch Swartland West Coast Malmesbury Swellendam Overberg Swellendam Theewaterskloof Overberg Caledon Witzenberg Cape Winelands Worcester Beaufort West City of Cape Town Cape Town Garden Route George Overberg Bredasdorp . West Coast Beaufort West Knysna Garden Route Knysna Laingsburg Central Karoo Laingsburg Cape Winelands Ashton Matzikama West Coast Vredendal Bojanala Platinum Moretele Madibeng Rustenburg Kgetlengrivier Moses Kotane Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Naledi Mamusa Greater Taung Kagisano-Molopo Lekwa-Teemane Ngaka Modiri Molema Mahikeng Ratlou Tswaing Ditsobotla Ramotshere Dr Kenneth Kaunda JB Marks Matlosana Maquassi Hills Cities and towns Mahikeng Klerksdorp Rustenburg Potchefstroom Brits Orkney Lichtenburg Bloemhof Christiana Coligny Koster Letsopa Ledig Mogwase Ottosdal Schweizer-Reneke Stilfontein Ventersdorp Vryburg Wolmaransstad Zeerust Mmakau Mothibistad Reivilo Eastern Cape Northern Cape Port Elizabeth and the western region The Central Eastern Cape and East London The Eastern Cape Drakensberg The Wild Coast region Addo Elephant National Park East London Grahamstown The Grahamstown Festival Port Elizabeth Port St Johns Qunu and the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre Nelson Mandela and the Qunu connection Free State Frances Baard Sol Plaatje Dikgatlong Magareng Phokwane John Taolo Gaetsewe Moshaweng Ga-Segonyana Gamagara Namakwa District Richtersveld Nama Khoi Kamiesberg Hantam Karoo Hoogland Khâi-Ma Pixley ka Seme Ubuntu Umsobomvu Emthanjeni Kareeberg Renosterberg Thembelihle Siyathemba Siyancuma ZF Mgcawu Kai !Garib Dawid Kruiper !Kheis Tsantsabane Kgatelopele Fezile Dabi District Moqhaka Ngwathe Metsimaholo Mafube Thabo Mofutsanyana District Setsoto Dihlabeng Maluti-a-Phofung Nketoana Phumelela Mantsopa Lejweleputswa District Masilonyana Tokologo Tswelopele Matjhabeng Nala Xhariep District Letsemeng Kopanong Mohokare Kimberley Upington Douglas Barkly West Colesberg De Aar Jan Kempdorp Kathu Kuruman Postmasburg Prieska Springbok Victoria West Warrenton Orania Carnarvon Garies Griekwastad Groblershoop Hartswater Keimoes Kakamas Pofadder Port Nolloth Strydenburg Sutherland Vanderkloof My Radio Stations Blogs Websites Projects I worked on , as a Hobby and free time.Links to share with young and old. 12 years of my work to share with you and passion with others. From Radio Station with Top Music to blogs and homepages, let my creativity share and inspire and maybe intrest you on my Projects and hobbies. enjoy if you like and let me No, Thankyou an GREETING FROM Andreas from Germany. 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. 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 Germany Zeno Fm: https://www.zeno.fm/player/radio-sam-germanymasterinputstation?fbclid=IwAR2hz5yAvSPjEUAlnYvSiAQApVFD1F8gaugxw9V5bLXOCK87L-xGIPG7Sl4 Radio SAM Blogger: https://radio-sam-germany-music.blogspot.com/ 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/ https://radio-top-ten-germany.blogspot.com/ https://radio-top-ten.de.tl/ https://zeno.fm/radio-top-ten-germany/ https://radio-springbokk.de.tl/Tuisblad.htm https://zeno.fm/radio-springbok https://radio-springbok-germany.blogspot.com/ https://radio-springbokk.de.tl/ https://radio-sam-oldies-rock.de.tl/Home.htm https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-oldies-rock https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-country-germany/ https://radiosamcountry.de.tl/Home.htm https://sam-live-germany.de.tl/ https://sam-live-germany.de.tl/Livestream.htm https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-live/ https://radiosamlive.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/215924126998460 https://radio-sam-music-charts.page.tl/Home.htm https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-music-charts/ https://radio-sam-music-charts.page.tl/Home.htm View More 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: 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/ https://onlineradiobox.com/de/saminternationalmusic/?cs=de.saminternationalmusic&played=1 https://radio-sam-international-music.blogspot.com/ https://radiosaminternationalmusic.de.tl/ https://radiosaminternationalmusic.de.tl/Home.htm https://zeno.fm/radio-international-music/ https://radio-international-music.page.tl/ https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-international-music/ https://radio-sam-music-club.de.tl/Home.htm https://radio-sam-germany.de.tl/ https://radio-sam-music.blogspot.com/ https://radio-sam-music.de.tl/Home.htm https://zeno.fm/radio-sam-germany-master-input-station/ https://onlineradiobox.com/de/samgermany/?cs=de.samgermany&played=1 https://radio-afrikaans-stereo.blogspot.com/ https://radio-afrikaans-stereo.page.tl/Tuis.htm# https://radio-afrikaans-stereo.page.tl/ https://zeno.fm/radio-afrikaans-stereo/ Our Radio Bloggers https://radio-sam-international-music.blogspot.com/ https://radio-afrikaans-stereo.blogspot.com/ https://afrikaanse-mense-europa.blogspot.com/ https://radio-sam-germany-music.blogspot.com/ https://radiosam-music-club.blogspot.com/ https://dj-nighthawk-entertainment.blogspot.com/ https://mrptv-livesouthafrica.blogspot.com/ https://radio-eendrag-germany.blogspot.com/ https://djnighthawkgermany.blogspot.com/ https://radio-sam-broadcaster.blogspot.com/ https://radio-voortrekker-stereo-germany.blogspot.com/ https://radio-springbok-germany.blogspot.com/ https://radiosamlive.blogspot.com/ https://radio-sam-germany-music.blogspot.com/ https://radio-top-ten-germany.blogspot.com/ Countries I Visited Around the World Europe / World wide - Countries and Regions Narobi Mombasa Switzerland France Belguim Holland - Amsterdam - Hoek van Holland Germany South Africa View More Decius - Dezius: Name Meaning Decius Family History Decius Name Meaning Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. Similar surnames: Darius , Debus , Lucius , Deus , Denis , Declue , Deis , Deiss , Decoux Decius Mus Addressing the Legions Overview Around 1616 Peter Paul Rubens engaged in a large tapestries series project about the heroic Roman consul Decius Mus. This panel, which is a small sketch or modello for the larger composition, depicted the first episode of that story, which normally consisted of seven or eight scenes. In his History of Rome, Livy describes an episode in the war between the Romans and the Samnites, the inhabitants of the plains of Latium (south-central Italy), against their Roman rulers in 340 BC. The Roman forces led by co-consuls Decius Mus and Titus Manlius were outnumbered and in danger of defeat when an apparition visited them both at night and declared that victory would come to the army whose leader lost his life. Decius Mus, thus, vowed that he would sacrifice himself to ensure Roman victory. In the Gallery’s painting, Rubens depicts Decius Mus recounting the apparition to his soldiers the following morning. With his right arm raised and left hand holding the commander’s staff, he strikes a powerful pose that conveys the gravitas of the vision as his men listen with rapt attention. The soldiers hold the signa, or legionary standards, of the Roman republic—the Roman eagle, or Aquila; the open palm, a symbol for virtue; and the standard inscribed SPQR, the symbol of the Roman Republic—and lend historical legitimacy to scene. Rubens maintained an abiding fascination with Greco-Roman antiquity throughout his career. This interest manifested in his fidelity to ancient literary and pictorial sources and in the subject matter he chose. The lion-scalp trim on Decius Mus’s boots, his armor with its torso-molded breastplate ornamented with griffins, and even the lappets on his skirt adorned with alternating lion and human heads were all drawn from historic sources. Rubens was profoundly influenced by the ancient philosopher Justus Lipsius’s writings about the great Stoic philosopher, Seneca, who hailed Decius Mus a model for military and political leadership due to his constancy, virtue, and nobility. Rubens underscored these Stoic ideals by placing Decius Mus on a marble dais whose square shape emblematized fortitude. The Emperor Decius 249-251 Gaius Messuis Quintus Decius (201-251) was a native of the middle Danube region, either Illyricum or Pannonia (modern Hungary). In 248,while possibly a prefect of Rome, Decius was appointed by Emperor Philip to restore order along the lower Danube, an area which was under attack by the Goths and where Roman troops where in revolt. After a successful restoration of the region, his troops urged him to accept the imperial title and challenge Philip. With the support of his troops he then marched to northern Italy where he defeated and killed Philip near Verona in September of 249. After defeating Philip, he also killed Phillips sons. Soon after his defeat of Philip, the Senate named Decius emperor and granted him the title of Trajunus. Return to "Roman Empire" Chronology Return to "Early Church" Chronology Because of the political instability, military and economic crisis, and the social upheavals in the Roman Empire during the third century, one of Decius’ main objectives was to restore the stability of the empire’s past. In early AD 250, in an effort to unite the Empire against the threat of the Gothic invasion in the Balkans and the Sassanian Persians in the East and also as an attempt to restore the old virtues of Rome, Decius commanded that all citizens of the empire demonstrate their loyalty to the state gods and his divine reign through public sacrifice. Decius then set up sacrificial commissions in all cities and villages to supervise the execution of the sacrifices and to deliver written certificates to all citizens who performed the sacrifices. A citizen’s refusal was regarded as a threat to the religious unity of the Roman Empire and a denial of the general goodwill to the sovereign. Consequently, any citizen who refused to perform the sacrifices was subject to arrest, imprisonment, and execution. Although it is debated whether or not this was a strategic attack against the Christian community, Decius’ enforcement of the edict initiated the first general persecution of Christians in the empire’s history. Previous to Decius’ time, Christian persecutions had been spontaneous and local. Roman Emperors, beginning with Nero, were threatened by the rapid expansion of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. For this reason, Christians often became victims of urban riots and were made scapegoats for disasters and local troubles, as was the case of Nero’s persecution of Christians blaming them for the great fire of Rome in AD 64. By the time of Decius, the Christian community was no longer a small association of uneducated lower class citizens but had become a cross-section of Roman society including members on all levels of the social scale. Because of this, Christianity posed a much greater threat than in earlier years. However, Decius’ persecutions had a devastating impact on the Christian community. Many Christians recanted their faith and performed the sacrifices, others purchased false certificates to evade persecution, and many others fled. Those who refused to perform the sacrifices were imprisoned, tortured, and executed, including bishops Fabian of Rome, Babylos of Antioch, and Alexander of Jerusalem. As Christian persecution increased, crisis on the Danubian frontier in AD 250 prevented the end of the religion. In late AD 250, Decius followed his son Herennuis’ campaign to the front and led an attack against the Goths and defeated Kniva, the king of the Goths, but Decius’ army was severely checked. Soon after, Decius suffered a major defeat at Beroea and was forced to flee for safety. By early spring AD 251, because of Decius’ military diversion at the Danubian front, Christian persecution abated and had ended in Carthage and Rome. The faithful Christians readmitted the apostates and restored steadfast faith and zeal to the entire Christian community. In midsummer of AD 251, Decius led another attack against the Goths and was defeated and killed at Abrittus in the Dobrudja, becoming the first Roman emperor to die in battle against foreign invaders. Decius’ successors Trebonianus Gallus and Valerian continued his persecution of Christians but never reached the same level of general persecutions. Decius: The Years 249-251 Messalla 07/01/2020 Roman history , The Crisis of the Third Century (238-284) , The Roman Empire Bust of Decius (Capitoline Museums, Rome). After defeating Philippus Arabs at Verona in September of 249, Gaius Messius Quintus Decius had become the new ruler of the vast Roman Empire. The new emperor built the thermae Decianae or Baths of Decius on the Aventine Hill in Rome and was possibly also responsible for construction of the obscure Porticus Decii. His decision to have the Colosseum restored, which had been damaged in a fire, may have been an attempt to bolster his popularity. The people still remembered Philippus’ spectacular Ludi Saeculares of the previous year and expected much the same from Decius. From the beginning, Decius’ rule was insecure and threatened by internal and external factors. The rebellion by Jotapianus in Syria soon faltered and the man’s head was brought to Decius to prove it, but the mysterious Silbannacus may still have been stirring up trouble in Germania before he too was taken care of. A much more serious development was that a Germanic tribe known as the Franks had appeared on the Rhine border not too long ago. The Franks were banging on Rome’s door and would soon strike deep into the heart of the Empire. Their brethren the Alemanni were a threat as well, and so were the Goths, Carpi, Sarmatians and other tribes on the Danube border. View of the Colosseum. Decius must have kept a wary eye on the Persians too. They had made peace with Philippus, but Philippus was dead and King Shapur needed little encouragement to stage a new invasion. Finally, Decius soon had to deal with a new enemy, an enemy that was not even human. It is quite possible that early in Decius’ reign, the epidemic that is known as the Plague of Cyprian spread from Ethiopia to the Roman province of Egypt. From there it would find its way to other provinces and ultimately Rome and claim tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives. In these precarious circumstances, the new emperor needed as much support from the immortal gods as he could get. The Edict Early in his rule, Decius issued an Edict which ordered the entire free population of the Roman Empire to sacrifice to the ‘ancestral gods’ on his behalf. Although the text of the edict itself has been lost, we can reconstruct it fairly well. This is in large part thanks to so-called libelli which have been found in Egypt and which date from June and July of 250. A libellus was basically a receipt which proved that the holder had respected the Edict and had made the required sacrifices. Provincial and local authorities set up sacrificial committees and summoned families to sent representatives to sacrifice on behalf of the whole family. They were required to appear before the committees and make a libation, burn some incense or sacrifice an animal and eat from the meat. Christ as the Good Shepherd. The obligation to sacrifice to the ‘ancestral gods’ was rather vague, perhaps deliberately. The 50-70 million inhabitants of the Empire, most of them Roman citizens since Caracalla’s Constitutio Antoniniana of 212 , did not necessarily have to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. They could also pick local favourites. Jews were likely exempted from the Edict, as it was clear that these staunch monotheists would never sacrifice to ‘gods’ (plural). Christians, on the other hand, were not exempted, and the Edict would prove to be extremely problematic for them. Already in about 112, the governor of Pontus and Bithynia, Plinius the Younger, was told that there were certain rites that true Christians would never perform, such as invoking the traditional gods and offering incense or wine to images of (divine) emperors.The church father Tertullianus (ca. 155-240) concurred. In his Apologeticus, he cites Plinius’ observations and concludes more than once that Christians categorically do not sacrifice. The Apologeticus was written in 197 , and in 249, little more than 50 years later, many Christians likely still felt the same. This must certainly have been true for the Church authorities, the patriarchs and bishops. So how did the Christian communities in the Empire respond to Decius’ Edict? There will certainly have been Christians who saw no problems with offering a little incense for the emperor’s wellbeing, but other must have experienced a deep spiritual crisis. Some openly refused and were lynched, executed or locked up, others fled and waited for the storm to pass. There were also Christians who simply bribed the provincial and local authorities to obtain their libelli without ever having made a sacrifice. And then there were those who lapsed and made a token sacrifice, albeit dejected and half-heartedly. We cannot how many people were in each of the categories mentioned, but we may reasonably assume that the number of deadly victims of the Decian persecution cannot have been more than a few hundred.[3] Most victims were likely from the eastern provinces, for the simple reason that this part of the Empire had the largest Christian populations. Saint Babylas in the church of San Babila in Milan. While later Christian writers tended to exaggerate the Decian persecutions and the number of martyrs, we should beware not to underestimate the seriousness of the event. Decius’ Edict was in any case without precedent and his persecution does seem to have hit the administration of the Church very hard. The bishop of Rome, Pope Fabianus (236-250), was executed or died in prison on 20 January 250. In 251, bishop Alexander of Jerusalem passed away in prison as well. Saint Babylas, the patriarch of Antiochia, was imprisoned and died in captivity in 253. The bishop of Carthage, the same Cyprianus who gave his name to the aforementioned Plague of Cyprian, went into hiding (he would later die a martyr’s death in 258), while patriarch Dionysius of Alexandria fled to the desert of Libya. Rome, Jerusalem, Antiochia, Carthage and Alexandria were all cities with sizeable Christian populations. Although there is no evidence that Decius specifically targeted Christians with his Edict, the fact that provincial and local authorities went after bishops and patriarchs may have been an attempt ‘to bite the head off the snake’. The events regarding Fabianus, Alexander, Babylas, Cyprianus, Dionysius, and certainly their deaths, imprisonments or flights may be considered historical. Another famous victim of the persecution was the Christian teacher Origenes, who may have corresponded with Decius’ predecessor Philippus. However, there are plenty of stories about alleged martyrs that need to be taken with a pinch of salt. The historicity of saints such as Minias , Reparata , Fusca and Maura is problematic, while the tale of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus is pure fiction. War against the Goths The emperor Trajanus crosses the Danube (plaster cast from Trajan’s column). In the summer of 250, Decius named his eldest son Herennius Etruscus his Caesar. As is attested by numerous coins, he also began styling himself Trajanus, after the famous Roman emperor (98-117) who had conquered Dacia. Decius had good reasons for doing so, as hostile tribes had once again crossed the Danube. They invaded the province of Moesia Inferior and began pillaging their way to Thrace further to the south. The invaders were most likely Goths (‘Scythians’ in Zosimus’ account), although these may have been joined by bands of Carpi and Sarmatians. Decius and his son hastened to the region to intercept them. The emperor was going to follow in Trajanus’ footsteps, as his illustrious predecessor had campaigned here as well. The most detailed account of the Gothic and Roman campaigns is given by the sixth century historian Jordanes, who was himself of Gothic descent. It should be noted that he wrote some 300 years after the facts, but there is not good reason to reject his base narrative. The Goths were led by their king Cniva, who decided to split his army into two smaller forces. The first column probably attacked the city of Marcianopolis (now Devnya in Bulgaria), which had been named after Trajanus’ sister. The attack was likely unsuccessful. According to Jordanes, the second column comprised 70.000 men, a number that is no doubt inflated. This part of the army was commanded by the king himself. Cniva first attacked Novae, which was defended by the governor of Moesia Inferior, Trebonianus Gallus (Legio I Italica was stationed here). Gallus managed to repel the Gothic attack, so Cniva decided to march further south and advanced on Nicopolis, a city founded by the great Trajanus himself. Map of Moesia Inferior and Thrace (source: Ancient World Mapping Center. “À-la-carte”; CC BY 4.0 ). History of Villa Decius By now the emperor had arrived in Moesia, along with his son and his army. Cniva therefore withdrew into the Balkan Mountains (Haemus Mons) and advanced on Philippopolis, which was defended by the governor of Thrace, Titus Julius Priscus. Decius gave chase, but his army was ambushed near Beroea and almost annihilated. The emperor fled north with the few survivors, took refuge with Gallus and began raising a new army. In the meantime, Cniva could focus on taking Philippopolis. The city was captured and sacked, and the fourth century historian Ammianus Marcellinus suggests that 100.000 people were killed. This is no doubt an exaggeration and even Ammianus himself seemed sceptical of the claim, but the city was certainly thoroughly pillaged. Somehow Titus Julius Priscus had managed to strike a deal with Cniva, as he was not killed and – likely with Gothic support – even proclaimed himself emperor. Perhaps Cniva hoped to get away with his loot while Decius focussed on defeating his rival for the throne. As it turned out, Priscus was swiftly murdered, probably by his own men. With Priscus out of the way, Decius succeeded in cutting off the Gothic retreat. The final confrontation took place near Abritus in 251. The battle was probably fought in June, and – if we follow Zosimus’ account – likely involved a number of large skirmishes. The emperor managed to rout two Gothic warbands, but did not realise that he was being lured into the marshes. There Decius was defeated and killed, along with Herennius Etruscus and most of his soldiers. The emperor’s body was never recovered. His Gothic campaign had ended in disaster and Decius became the first Roman emperor to be killed in battle against a foreign enemy. Some sources claim that he had been betrayed by Trebonianus Gallus, who was said to have refused to come to the emperor’s aid. The story sounds like mere gossip, but it was easy to blame Gallus, as the troops in the region soon proclaimed him the new Augustus. While Decius was in the Danube region fighting the Goths, a certain Julius Valens Licinianus had revolted against him in Rome, in 250 or 251. This revolt had been quickly crushed, and now that Decius was dead, the Senate had little choice but to recognise Gallus as the new emperor, along with Decius’ other son, Hostilianus. Gallus’ son Volusianus became a Caesar. The death of an emperor on the battlefield marked the darkest day of the Crisis of the Third Century so far. But even darker days were soon to follow. Jost Ludwig Dietz came to Kraków from Hungary in 1508. Who could have expected then that that young lad would soon become one of the most influential persons in the city? That he would leave a remembrance that would shape the image of Kraków to the same extent as the Royal Wawel Castle. Justus Ludovicus Decius- as this is how the Alsatian started to be called in Poland – was a protégé of his compatriot, Jan Jacob Boner, a royal banker, the founder and manager of the largest commercial empire in contemporary Europe – the Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines. Through his positions as secretary, bookkeeper and trusted deputy, Decius quickly became a consummate diplomat, practised financier and a highly positioned royal dignitary. A secretary of King Sigismund the Old since 1520, and soon his advisor and the principal of crown mints, due to many talents, literary and historical dissertations, many journeys and scientific predilections, he enjoyed the respect and friendship of the most outstanding European humanists. He knew Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. He also maintained close contacts with the Habsburg court. Already by 1519 he had obtained noble status from the King, and somewhat later he was received to the House of Tęczyński. In 1528 Justus Decius purchased parts of Przegorzały and Wola Chełmska villages near Kraków in order to build a suburban villa following the example of a fashionable paradis terrestiare in the environs of Florence and Rome – estates that were meeting places and places of rest and philosophical debate. He employed three Italian architects for the designing and construction of building: Giovanni Cini of Siena, Zenobius Gianotti of Rome and Filippo of Fiesole. Located on the picturesque eastern slope of Sowiniec, surrounded by an extensive renaissance garden, the palace was completed in 1535. Soon it became the venue for meetings of representatives of different cultures and nationalities, the exchange of opinion and for creative confrontation between various convictions. After the death of the patron of the house, in 1545, the estate was inherited by his son, Justus junior, known as the leading dissenter in the capital of the Republic of Poland. The Arcadian estate in the Wola district, already known as Wola Justowska, was again full of guests. Those followers of religious innovation, the disciples of Luther and Calvin, found an atmosphere of tolerance and freedom at Villa Decius, and who knows, perhaps even an idyllic foretaste of eternity . In 1590 Sebastian Lubomirski, the founder of the fortune of his House, bought the estate. He rebuilt the palace to meet the needs of his family. In 1630 a new storey, with a large impressive hall heightened the Villa. Two alcove towers were added and linked by a three-story arcade loggia. Most probably the renaissance treatise of Sebastiano Serlio inspired the change. Matteo Trapoli – the personal architect of the Lubomirskis, supervised the reconstruction works. The first outbuilding of the Villa, known today as the Łaski House , also comes from that period. The Lubomirskis were gradually becoming one of the first aristocratic Houses of the Republic of Poland and the small palace finally turned out to be too little. Therefore they moved to new much grander residences at Wiśnicz and Łańcut. The eighteenth century was less favourable to Villa Decius. The estate often changed owner, and these did not always husband it appropriately. Under the Sanguszkos who presumably renovated the building and introduced changes into the interior, the whole second floor collapsed. Despite the size of the catastrophe, Andrzej Morzkowski – provincial royal official in Barcice – purchased the estate. Later, this time fortunately, the Villa passed into the hands of the Wielowiejskis. The first of the three great ladies to reside at Villa Decius in the nineteenth century came from the Wielowiejski family. Already in the 1820s Joanna Ledóchowska née Wielowiejska transformed the destroyed and walled up Villa into a summer residence in accordance with her likes and Zeitgeist. The garden underwent the most significant change, it was converted into an English landscape park following the contemporary fashion. Such surroundings gave the Villa a romantic and somewhat enigmatic touch. In the 1840s Henrietta Kuczkowska née Ankwicz took an interest in the estate. She came back to Poland after many years spent in Rome, where her parents kept open house, inviting the distinguished notables of the Polish emigré community. It is no secret that Miss Henrietta Ankwicz was the muse and the youthful beloved of Adam Mickiewicz, who portrayed her as Ewa in the third part of Dziady . After she had come back to Poland at the side of her second husband, Kazimierz Kuczkowski, Henrietta tried to maintain intimate contacts with the aristocracy paying no heed to their difficult financial situation. However, due to that carefree attitude the Villa underwent yet another costly reconstruction. An impressive front staircase appeared, the towers received balconies, an attic was added over the loggia. Once again the Villa was embellished, yet eventually the married couple went into debt. They tried to save the situation by selling off the palace furniture and Gobelin tapestry, and by selling licenses for tree felling in the Wolski grove. In the end, a Viennese banker, J. G. Schuller, purchased the declining estate for more than a million zlotys. In the 1870s Villa Decius once again recovered its former splendour due to Marcelina Czartoryska, the Villa’s last aristocratic owner. The daughter of Michał Radziwiłł and Emilia née Worcelli, she was raised in Vienna, where she began her musical studies under Carl Czerny. She took lessons from Frederic Chopin in Paris, becoming with time one of the best performers of his works. In Paris she befriended many personalities from among the eminent Polish émigré community, as well as French literary and artistic circles. Her guests included such figures as Charles Gounod, Paul Delaroche, and Eugene Delacroix. In 1867 the Duchess returned to Poland for good and took up residence in Kraków at Villa Decius. Her house soon became the leading salon in the city, the mainstay of patriotism and Polish character. A fire at the residence in 1882 forced Czartoryska into a temporary removal to the city centre. Soon, after the reconstruction of the Villa supervised by Tadeusz Stryjeński, the Duchess returned to the palace in the Wola district. That restoration gave Villa Decius its neo-renaissance form and its current layout of rooms. Moreover, she added the impressive wooden stairway leading from the hall on the ground floor to higher storeys which still exists today. With the death of Duchess Czartoryska in 1894, the halcyon days of Villa Decius came to an end. During the First World War it was used as army quarters. Later the Villa was changed into a tenement building. The Second World War deepened the devastation of the building – the Villa housed the Nazi police headquarters. After the war the building housed successively a school for auditors of co-operatives, a boarding school and a tuberculosis ward of the Dr. Anka Hospital. In the 1970s the building fell into complete ruin and it was hard to imagine that it would ever come back to life. Nevertheless, in 1996 Villa Decius once again opened wide its doors. Restored due to the efforts of the City of Kraków, the Villa regained its former splendour. Willa Decjusza. Architektura i dzieje – Zbigniew Beiersdorf (plik PDF) Decius Last Name Facts Where Does The Last Name Decius Come From? nationality or country of origin The last name Decius is held by more people in Haiti than any other country or territory. For other possible spellings of Decius click here . How Common Is The Last Name Decius? popularity and diffusion The surname is the 153,186th most frequent family name worldwide, held by around 1 in 2,538,187 people. Decius occurs mostly in The Americas, where 98 percent of Decius reside; 89 percent reside in Caribbean and 89 percent reside in Gallo-Caribbean. It is also the 189,934th most frequent first name globally, held by 1,594 people. The surname is most commonly held in Haiti, where it is carried by 2,552 people, or 1 in 4,186. In Haiti Decius is most common in: Artibonite, where 39 percent live, Ouest, where 31 percent live and Nord, where 14 percent live. Apart from Haiti this last name exists in 11 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 9 percent live and Germany, where 2 percent live. Decius Family Population Trend historical fluctuation The frequency of Decius has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Decius surname rose 2,822 percent between 1880 and 2014. Decius Last Name Statistics demography In The United States those bearing the Decius last name are 17.82% more likely to be registered with the Democrat Party than the national average, with 71.05% registered to vote for the political party. Decius earn somewhat more than the average income. In United States they earn 6.45% more than the national average, earning $45,932 USD per year. Peter Paul Rubens Decius Mus Relating His Dreams, ca. 1617 Oil on panel transferred to canvas (1773) in turn transferred to masonite (c. 1954-55), 80.7 x 84.5 cm Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, 1957.14.2 (1394) Catalog Entry by Peter C. Sutton The story of Decius Mus is told by Livy (8.6, 9-10). Publis Decius Mus (the Elder) was a consul and commander of the Roman legions fighting the Latins at Capua. He and his fellow commander, Titus Manlius, both had a dream informing them that one of the two armies engaged in the conflict would have to sacrifice its commander to the gods of the underworld and to Mother Earth, but as a consequence the opposing army would be completely defeated. Each general conveyed the dream to his officers. After consulting a soothsayer who performed a sacrificial offering to the gods, it was determined that Decius Mus must make the ultimate sacrifice. At the command of the highest priest, Decius covered his head with a toga and consecrated himself to the infernal gods with a solemn and dreadful vow. He then threw himself into battle and was killed. Fulfilling the prophecy, the Romans attacked with renewed strength and routed their enemy. In the present sketch, which is the first in a series of five modelli for tapestry designs, Decius Mus wearing a bright red cloak stands on a pedestal to address five of his officers whose ensigns and standards bristle against the sky. Closest to the dais, the young warrior in shadow wears armor over a dark red tunic and has a green cloak over his shoulder. The soldier with his back to the viewer wears a leopard skin over a blue tunic. The soldier on the far right wears an elaborately decorated helmet and bright red cloak and carries a labarum. An eagle hovers above Decius, and at the base of his pedestal is a still life consisting of his helmet, complete with a gilded relief of the Roman wolf with Romulus and Remus in a circular decoration, his shield with an apotropaic head encircled with radiating bolts of lightning, and weapons. The other four modelli for the series depict the interpretation of the animal sacrifice by the soothsayer, the modello for which is in the Oskar Reinhardt Collection, Winterthur (Held 1980, no. 2); the consecration of Decius Mus by the high priest, present location unknown (a copy is in Munich; Held 1980, #3); the death of Decius Mus, in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (Held 1980, no. 3a); and the obsequies of Decius Mus, in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich (Held 1980, no. 4). A series of cartoons in the princes of Liechtenstein collection now in Vienna were executed after the modelli and have been variously attributed to either or both Rubens and his pupil, Anthony van Dyck. Rubens was a descendant of a famous tapestry manufacturer (Hendrick Pype, called Pypelinckx, d. 1580) and in 1630 married the daughter of a prominent tapestry dealer; thus, he was closely allied with this flourishing Flemish industry. The Decius Mus series was the first of his large tapestry series. It was commissioned on November 9, 1616, by a Genoese businessman, Franco Cattaneo, from the Antwerp tapestry merchants Jan Raes and Frans Sweerts, in a document that specified that Rubens should design the series and be the judge of the quality of the final product—a testament to his expertise in the field. Rubens himself mentioned the tapestries in letters to Sir Dudley Carlton in May 1618. As Emil Kieser (1933) and Wolfgang Stechow (1968) observed, the subject of the history of Decius Mus had never before been depicted in an art cycle. It undoubtedly appealed to Rubens because, as he pictured it, the story was one of unflinching heroic stoicism, valor, and a profound trust in the wisdom of the gods. In all probability the subject was suggested by the learned artist and avowed Stoic to Cattaneo prior to the drafting of the contract in November 1616. Rubens also probably was attracted to the theme by the occasion it presented to display his extensive knowledge of the costumes, customs, and appearances of antiquity. Much of Rubens's time in Italy had been spent researching ancient Roman civilization and its relics. He also had a renowned command of ancient literature. As early as 1608 Rubens had contributed drawings of Roman sculptures to illustrate his brother Philip's book of essays on Roman expressions referring to civilian and military apparel. The Decius Mus series thus offered him for the first time a grand stage on which to display his expertise. It surely is not a matter of chance that, as H. D. Rodee (1967) first observed, Rubens's Decius Mus series is more archaeologically correct than any of the master's other later treatments of Roman history subjects. Even the composition of the present work is derived from ancient Roman examples, namely the allocutio designs of leaders addressing their troops that appear on the Arch of Constantine (see Kieser 1933, p. 126). Rubens later returned to the allocutio composition when he executed The Emblem of Christ Appearing to Constantine in 1622 in his second venture into tapestry design, the Life of Constantine series. As Julius Held observed (1980, vol. 1, p. 25), Rubens surely knew Justus Lipsius's De Militia romana libri quinque (3rd ed., Antwerp, 1602), which discusses the classical allocutio and gives examples of the associations of antique military leaders and military signs. Held (ibid.) further observed that one of the ensigns features a prominent outstretched hand that appears frequently on Roman coins and which Caspar Gevartius in the Pompa Introitus ([Antwerp, 1641-42], p. interpreted as a "symbol of warlike valor and trust." The painting in Vienna corresponds to the present modello in most salient regards, but its major change is the conversion of the design to a more upright, narrower format. Thus in the large version, the left side of the frame is much closer to the figure of the general, his hand almost touches the ensigns, and the figure of the eagle is eliminated. A black chalk drawing in the Albertina, Vienna, no. 8238, was published by Ludwig Burchard and R.A. d'Hulst (Antwerp 1956, no. 81) as an original study by Rubens for the present design but was correctly demoted to a copy by J. Müller-Hofstede (1966, p. 449) and Held (1980, vol. 1, p. 25). Dezius Name Meaning Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. Similar surnames: Darius , Debus , Deus , Denis , Deis , Deiss , Lenius , Dinius , Deziel What does Decius Mundus mean? (Question) What does "Decius Mundus" mean in Latin? This was the name of the Roman who tricked Paulina into having sex with him in Josephus' Antiquities, Book 18. It looks like the characters in Josephus' stories of Paulina and Fulvia have allegorical meanings. In Paulina's story, Decius Mundus fell in love with Paulina, a convert to Anubis' cult, but Paulina was married to Saturninus. So Mundus' female servant Ida paid Anubis' priests to fool Paulina into thinking that Mundus was the god Anubis and into having sex with him. Then in Fulvia's story, three Jewish swindlers tricked Fulvia, a convert to Judaism, into making a Temple donation, which they stole. I see Paulina's name as referring to the apostle Paul, who gathered donations from gentiles for Jerusalem's Church. Ida's name alludes to Judas, as both were involved in payments to or from priests for betrayal. I suppose that "Decius Mundus" means something about "Tenth" and "World", referring to tithing. This is because tithing involved taking a "tenth" of income, and in particular tithing the gentiles or "nations" for Jerusalem's Church as its spiritual "Temple". In the Loeb edition, a footnote points out the similarity of the Mundus and Paulina episode to the older story of the Egyptian king Nectanebus II and Olympias, supposedly fathering Alexander the Great under the appearance of Zeus Ammon. This name derives from the Latin “decem, meaning “ten”, ... Cognates include, Ancient Greek déka ‎(δέκα). Decimus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated D. Although never especially common, Decimus was used throughout Roman history from the earliest times to the end of the Western Empire and beyond, surviving into modern times. The Latin personal name “Decimus”, means “the tenth born, or born in December”, which was originally given to the tenth child of the family or the tenth or youngest between ten members of the same family of the same name. Decimus is the Latin word for tenth, and it falls into a class of similar praenomina including the masculine names Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius, and Nonus, as well as the feminine names Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, Sexta, Septima, Octavia, and Nona. It is generally believed that the name was originally given to a tenth child, a tenth son, or a tenth daughter. However, it has also been argued that Decimus and the other praenomina of this type could refer to the month of the year in which a child was born. Publius Decius Mus (Konsul 340 v. Chr.) Publius Decius Mus († 340 v. Chr. am Vesuv?) war ein Politiker der römischen Republik und gelangte 340 v. Chr. als erster seiner Familie zum Konsulat. Sein Amtskollege war Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus. Im Jahr 352 gehörte er zu einer Kommission (quinqueviri mensarum) zur Bekämpfung der Verschuldung des Volkes.Als Militärtribun soll er 343 v. Chr. das von den Samniten umzingelte römische Heer gerettet haben.340 v. Chr. wurde er Konsul. Durch seinen Opfertod für Rom (Devotio) in der Schlacht am Vesuv gegen die Latiner erlangte er besondere Berühmtheit.Doch dürfte dies nur eine Übertragung vom Sohn auf den Vater sein; seinem gleichnamigen Sohn und Enkel wird in der Überlieferung die gleiche Selbstopferung zugeschrieben. Publius Decius Mus (Konsul 279 v. Chr.) Publius Decius Mus († 279 v. Chr. bei Asculum?) war ein Politiker der römischen Republik und Konsul 279 v. Chr. Er erlitt 279 v. Chr. in der Schlacht bei Asculum eine Niederlage gegen Pyrrhos. Wie sein Großvater und Vater soll er sein Leben in der Schlacht durch devotio geopfert haben.Sehr unsicher ist die Überlieferung, dass er im Jahr 265 v. Chr. Suffektkonsul gewesen sei, was die devotio-Handlung umso mehr unglaubwürdig erscheinen lässt. Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius (* ca. 190 oder 200/201 in Budalia bei Sirmium, heute Sremska Mitrovica, in der römischen Provinz Pannonia inferior; † 1. Hälfte Juni 251 bei Abrittus, heute Rasgrad in Bulgarien) war Kaiser des Römischen Reichs von 249 bis 251, der erste in einer längeren Reihe fähiger Männer aus den illyrischen Provinzen. Allerdings war Decius im Gegensatz zu den meisten späteren „illyrischen Kaisern“ bereits der Aufstieg in den Senat gelungen; seine Familie zählte offenbar zur Reichsaristokratie und er stammte damit anders als viele spätere Herrscher nicht aus einfachen Verhältnissen. Decimus Iunius Brutus Albinus Decimus Iunius Brutus Albinus (* um 81 v. Chr.; † September 43 v. Chr.) war ein römischer Politiker und Soldat. Er war ein langjähriger Offizier und enger Vertrauter Gaius Iulius Caesars, unter dem er Karriere machte. Aus nicht bekannten Gründen schloss er sich der Verschwörung gegen den Diktator an und gehörte zu den prominentesten Caesarmördern. Bald nach dem gelungenen Attentat (15. März 44 v. Chr.) ging er in seine Provinz Gallia cisalpina und verweigerte gegen Jahresende deren Übergabe an den Konsul Marcus Antonius. Von diesem daraufhin in Mutina belagert, wurde er im April 43 v. Chr. von den neuen Konsuln und Octavian (dem späteren Kaiser Augustus) befreit. Er verfolgte den geschlagenen Antonius, doch Octavian vollzog einen politischen Kurswechsel und ließ ihn wie alle Caesarmörder ächten. Auf der Flucht wurde er gefangen und auf Antonius’ Befehl getötet. Decius Vibellius Decius Vibellius war ein kampanischer Ritter aus dem Geschlecht der Vibellier, das vermutlich in Capua angesiedelt war. Er war mit dem Oberkommando über die kampanische Legion betraut, die durch den Konsul Publius Valerius Laevinus um 282 v. Chr. wegen des Pyrrhoskrieges als römische Schutzmacht in die Stadt Rhegion gelegt worden war. Hier missbrauchte er nach einiger Zeit seine Stellung, indem er die Stadt um 280 v. Chr. eigenmächtig in Besitz nahm. Er wurde nach der Einnahme der Stadt, vermutlich durch den Konsul Gaius Genucius Clepsina 270 v. Chr., zusammen mit den restlichen Angehörigen der Legio Campana nach Rom verbracht, wo er sich durch Selbstmord seiner öffentlichen Hinrichtung auf dem Forum entzog. What did your Decius ancestors do for a living? In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the US named Decius. 17% of Decius men worked as a Laborer and 34% of Decius women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Decius were Broker and Saw Dry Works View Census data for Decius | Data not to scale Decius Family Origin Where is the Decius family from? You can see how Decius families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Decius family name was found in the USA, the UK, and Scotland between 1861 and 1920. The most Decius families were found in the USA in 1920. In 1880 there were 9 Decius families living in Pennsylvania. This was 100% of all the recorded Decius's in the USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Decius families in 1880. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Decius surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations. Decius(noun) Emperor of Rome who was proclaimed emperor against his will; his reign was notable for his severe persecution of Christians (201-251) Decius Trajan Decius, was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until they were both killed in the Battle of Abrittus. Decius Roman emperor from 249 to 251; was a cruel persecutor of the Christians; perished in a morass fighting with the Goths, who were a constant thorn in his side all through his reign. Examples from the Web for decius During the battle, Decius devoted himself, as his father had done before. History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2 |Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873. Decius said, "Stretch him thus naked, and beat him with strong clubs." The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church |lfric When Emperor Decius heard of this, he sent a company of four hundred soldiers to capture Christophorus. Mary, Help of Christians |Various They were accused before Decius, and they confessed themselves to be Christians. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages |Sabine Baring-Gould 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

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

OUR PHOTO ALBUM SOUTH AFRICA

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

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 播放影片 分享 整個頻道 此影片 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr 複製連結 複製的連結 Search videos 搜尋影片... 現在播放中 SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL | The 15 BEST Places To Visit In South Africa (+ Travel Tips) 17:51 播放影片 現在播放中 Top 20 Best Places To Visit In South Africa - Travel Video 13:15 播放影片 現在播放中 CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA | 15 Best Things To Do In Cape Town (+ Essential Travel Tips!) 17:41 播放影片 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

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

Welcome to South Africa Welcome to South Africa, a land of diverse cultures, breathtaking landscapes, and unforgettable experiences. From the bustling cities to the tranquil countryside, there's something for everyone to enjoy. We hope you have a wonderful time exploring all that this beautiful country has to offer.South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa , is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans;to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a land of incredible natural beauty and diverse wildlife, making it the perfect destination for a safari adventure. Our safari tours offer a unique opportunity to experience the thrill of seeing majestic animals in their natural habitat, while also enjoying the stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage of this amazing country. Whether you're a seasoned safari-goer or a first-time visitor, our expert guides will ensure that you have an unforgettable experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. What is Our Homepage All About My Life In South Africa School Projects Wildlife & Culture History All About South Africa Travel Tours The Big Five of South Africa are the most famous animals in the country and are a must-see for any wildlife enthusiast. These animals include the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo. They are called the Big Five because they are the most difficult animals to hunt on foot. Today, they are protected and can be seen on safari tours throughout South Africa. The Nine Provinces South Africa is a country divided into nine provinces, each with its own unique culture, history, and attractions. These provinces are Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Western Cape. From the beaches of KwaZulu-Natal to the mountains of the Eastern Cape, there is something for everyone to explore and enjoy in South Africa's diverse provinces. Cape Town is a vibrant city located in the southwestern coast of South Africa. It is known for its stunning beaches, iconic landmarks such as Table Mountain and Robben Island, and diverse culture. Whether you're looking for adventure, relaxation, or a mix of both, Cape Town has something for everyone. BACK TO TOP