Search Results

Advertisements South African Tours suite of properties can help you achieve your business goals by reaching millions of users worldwide. Unlock New Opportunities with South African Tours Germany At South African Tours, we connect your brand with a global audience passionate about South Africa, Wildlife Safaris, South Africa Cuisines & Foods, Traffic & Brakeing News. Transport to get around & Places of Attractions and much more to enjoy. With a reach of over 15 million users across our platforms and an additional 6 million through email and social media, we can help you achieve your business goals with tailored partnership solutions. Our Story Placing content with South African Tours means working with the best of the best in international English news sites. Their writers are superbly skilled at understanding the goals of each content piece. A smooth process, responsive staff, and high-quality traffic to our site - definitely a worthwhile investment for our business.Our audience may have different reasons for reading South African Tours but what connects them is the spirit of adventure, a desire to travel, a need to experience the world and a curiosity of wanting to know more. That is why we advertise for you. Banners, video and interactive solutions To enhance your campaign or increase the longevity of your products and services exposure, your marketing teams can consider: Tactical banner advertising Targeted social media Branded video Podcasts Surveys/Quizzes A FEW OF OUR ADVERTISE BANNERS & PARTNERS WE SHARE WITH YOU. Camping in South Africa This is probably the best place in South Africa for birding enthusiasts who are particularity interested in birds of prey. Caravanning and camping in South Africa is part of our history. From the days of the Voortrekkers, we have been packing …Start new topics, discuss, talk, chat, joke with other campers. Comment or give suggestions, advice and help on caravan parks, camp sites, holiday resorts, destinations, businesses, products, road conditions, vehicles, caravans and much more... View More Daily Horoscopes Astrology.com is the leading astrology media brand. With personalized readings and a vast library of astrology information, our site has the most to offer for beginners, learners, and professionals alike. Astrology.com offers cutting edge content, fresh daily horoscopes, detailed astrology reports, and a hyper-personalized subscription service, Astrology+ . Coming from a team who loves astrology as much as you do, Astrology+ is the first service to offer real-time transit notifications, birth chart analysis, live Q&As, and personalized moon reports—all in one place! Recognized by Digiday for Best Overall Design, with authenticity at the core of our ethos, we are proud to represent professional astrologers of all practices and backgrounds—making our site perfectly attuned for both the astro-curious and astro-serious. View More South African Cuisine & Foods South Africa, often referred to as the “Rainbow Nation “, offers a vibrant tapestry of cultures, each contributing to the country’s unique and diverse culinary landscape. From the fragrant spices of Cape Malay cooking to the hearty, rustic flavors of Afrikaner dishes, South African cuisine is a testament to the country’s rich cultural heritage and history. Here are 50 Traditional South African Foods View More Truck Stops in South Africa A.C. Braby (Pty) Ltd is the largest and longest established specialist business directory publisher in Southern Africa having been in continuous operation for 115 years. Brabys has local operations throughout Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands and publishes a large range of specialist business directories which is invaluable for business to business communication and promotional opportunities. With expansion came diversification. Brabys now produces tourist guides, tourist maps, town and city brochures, and official publications. Calendars and diaries are also in the expanded portfolio of the company's activities. The internet offering Brabys.Com is the most comprehensive online business directory for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. It is the premier guide for information on businesses, community, government, recreation and entertainment and, with the enhanced search fields, is searchable by business type, business name, telephone and a helpful dialing/postal code search. Brabys.Com online mapping is highly sophisticated with well developed new electronic offering, featuring a comprehensive coverage of South Africa including distance charts. The acquisition of Ananzi, South Africa's top search engine and promoting Brabys.Com has resulted in increased usage of the directories and thus entrenched Brabys leading position in online directories. View More Blue Train in South Africa About the Blue Train Treat yourself with an unforgettable experience aboard one of South Africa’s leading luxury trains. This 5 star, 54 hour experience offers you around-the-clock butler service, 2 lounge cars (smoking and non-smoking), an observation car, carriages with gold-tinted picture windows and fully carpeted and soundproofed suites, all with en-suite bathrooms. Situated behind the train’s engine is the Club car, where you can enjoy a Cuban cigar served after dinner while sipping on cognac, or any drink of your choice. If a game of backgammon, chess or cards is not for you, browse our library selection, enjoy the big screen or get lost in thought gazing up at the star-lit African sky. Afternoon High Tea and after-dinner drinks are served in the Lounge car, situated in the middle of the train. When not in use as a Conference car, the Observation car serves as an extension of the Lounge Car. Dine with friends or enjoy a romantic dinner for two in the elegant Dining car. You can also choose to dine in the privacy of your own suite. Our on-board chefs prepare dishes of the highest standard, regularly refreshing the menu and using only the freshest local ingredients. There is something to suite every taste, including Halaal, Kosher, gluten-free of vegan. Simply notify us at the time of reservation and our chefs will prepare a meal suited to your needs. Dinner is elegant, with the dress code being formal. Tasteful background music compliments the evening. The Dining car can accommodate 42 guests in a sitting, with 2 sittings when needed. View More Hotels & Resturants 1 Best Value of 745 South Africa Hotels with Restaurants "Impeccable dining experience and very professional staff from housekeeping, restaurant staff, rangers, trackers... everyone will make your stay feel special!" "The rooms were amazing, the housekeeping was incredible, the restaurant was amazing (during one lunch, we got to see elephants playing in the lake in front of it, as well as buffalos, giraffes and impalas)." Visit hotel website View More Global Weather Reports In study after study AccuWeather has been proven as the most statistically accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings. Our over 100 expert meteorologists plus designers, writers, developers all collaborate to bring the weather forecast to life for our Better Communication AccuWeather’s foundation of Superior Accuracy is further enhanced and expanded with the best communication, wording, detail and displays ensuring that important weather forecasts, warnings, news and information are more useful than other sources and easily understood. users, partners and corporate clients. Focus on Impact AccuWeather’s forecasts and warnings focus on the impact to people and businesses, so they can make the best weather-impacted decisions. A storm producing 2-3 inches of snow may prove insignificant in one geography and bring another to a complete standstill. View More Fomula One News Start lights How does the F1 weekend work? What’s F1 Sprint? And why is it called Formula 1? You’ve got questions – we’ve got answers... Who races in F1? Extreme g-forces. Daring decisions made in the blink of an eye – and at 370km/h. Dramatically battling to be the best, Formula 1 drivers are more like fighter pilots than sportspeople. Only 20 get the chance to compete, and they push themselves – and their incredible machines – to the very limit. Who are the F1 teams? Formula 1 is a team sport. It needs to be to change all 4 tyres on a car in under 2 seconds! F1 teams design and build their cars and get them ready to race. Each has their own history. Each has their own unique approach. All want to be the fastest. But who should you root for? F1 Explains F1 doesn't stop at the chequered flag. Presented by Katie Osborne and Christian Hewgill, our F1 Explains podcast brings big-name guests from the sport together to answer fan questions about Formula 1. View More Frankfurt Airport Departure & Arrivals Frankfurt Airport’s parking facilities are very busy. Therefore, we ask all passengers to pre-book a parking space online in advance, well before the date of their journey. If a booking for the desired parking period is no longer possible, we recommend traveling by public transport. FRA is excellently linked to the railway network of Deutsche Bahn. The airport is also well served by …Frankfurt Airport (German : Flughafen Frankfurt Main [ˈfluːkhaːfn̩ ˈfʁaŋkfʊʁt ˈmaɪn] ) (IATA : FRA, ICAO : EDDF), is Germany's main international airport by passenger numbers,[7] located in Frankfurt , Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airport.[8] The airport is operated by Fraport and serves as the main hub for Lufthansa , including Lufthansa City Airlines , Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa Cargo as well as Condor and AeroLogic . It covers an area of 2,300 hectares (5,683 acres) of land[9] and features two passenger terminals with capacity for approximately 65 million passengers per year; four runways; and extensive logistics and maintenance facilities. View More Breaking World News Daily The BBC is the world’s leading public service broadcaster We’re impartial and independent, and every day we create distinctive, world-class programmes and content which inform, educate and entertain millions of people in the UK and around the world. We do this across: A portfolio of television services, including the UK’s most-watched channel BBC One and our multi award-winning channels for children, as well as national and regional television programmes and services across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales Ten UK-wide radio networks, providing the best live music broadcasting in the UK, as well as speech radio which informs, educates and entertains. We also have two national radio services each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and local radio stations across England and the Channel Islands, providing an invaluable and unique service to listeners across the UK Our digital services including BBC News, Sport, Weather CBBC and CBeebies, iPlayer and BBC Sounds, BBC Red Button and our vast archive BBC World Service television, radio and online on more than 40 languages Established by a Royal Charter , the BBC is principally funded through the licence fee paid by UK households. Our role is to fulfil our mission and promote our Public Purposes . Our commercial operations including BBC Studios, the BBC’s award-winning production company and world-class distributor, provide additional revenue for investment in new programming and services for UK audiences. The BBC’s Board ensures that we deliver our mission and public purposes which are set out in the Charter. The Executive Committee is responsible for day-to-day management. We are regulated by Ofcom . View More World Wide Traffic Reports Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered the practice of managing traffic by analyzing data not just from road sensors, but also from vehicles. This breakthrough approach enabled INRIX to become one of the leading providers of data and insight into how people move around the world. INRIX delivers innovative products for the automotive and transportation industries such as real-time parking and traffic information and solutions that facilitate the safe testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles. We also provide new insights to a variety of other industries that can make better business decisions by understanding how people move throughout the day. At INRIX, we see a world of possibilities enabled by making transportation more intelligent. View More All About South Africa The country of South Africa occupies the southern tip of the African continent and is bordered by five countries including Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana. Within South Africa lies the independent kingdom of Lesotho. South Africa is divided into nine regions or provinces . South Africa boasts 3 capital cities: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial). The national currency is the South African Rand. South Africa is a popular destination for European and North American travelers. Tourists from most part of Europe and all from North America do not require visas. View More Traveling to South Africa Encountering Africa’s iconic Big 5 (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo) is a major item on any safari goer’s bucket list. South Africa is one of the very few places on Earth where you’re able to tick off all five in one day. Easily Combine Bush, Beach & Vine Cape Town’s gorgeous coastline offers its visitors sun-kissed beaches, while the famous Cape Winelands will delight any gourmet. Superb infrastructure and daily domestic flights make combining a Kruger safari with a beach holiday a piece of cake. World-class Service & Amenities Experience culinary excellence from award-winning chefs in Cape Town, the Winelands, and Kruger’s private reserves and concessions. Plus enjoy top-notch service and amenities like spas, gyms and art galleries in each location. Fantastic Logistics Daily commercial flights link all the major cities, chartered airplanes can get you to safari lodges with their own private airstrips, and a self-drive holiday along the beautiful Garden Route is made safe and easy thanks to well-maintained road networks. View More South African Music News Dylan Tori Unveils ‘Daydreamer’ – South African singer-songwriter Dylan Tori unveils his latest ballad, ‘Daydreamer’ – a powerful, piano-driven track that explores the creative struggle and the pursuit of hope amidst the fast pace and complexities of modern life. Following his previous bootscoothin’ boogie single, ‘Dance A Little More ’, Dylan Tori’s ‘Daydreamer’ powerfully captures the tension between the passionate pursuit of artistic expression and the overwhelming realities of today’s world. With evocative lyrics that resonate deeply with creatives and dreamers everywhere, Dylan Tori reminds us that even in a chaotic and often indifferent environment the human spirit relentlessly yearns for connection, purpose, and unity. Originally conceived on guitar, ‘Daydreamer’ underwent a transformative evolution in the studio. Renowned producer and artist Mark Beling reimagined the track with a sophisticated, piano-driven arrangement enriched by subtle string layers. This innovative production not only deepens the emotional resonance of Dylan’s soulful vocals but also enhances the song’s universal message of hope and renewal. Dylan Tori adds: “’Daydreamer’ is incredibly personal. It’s about the struggle of finding meaning amid global uncertainty and the everyday pressures that challenge our creative spirit. I wrote this song to remind all of us that even when the world seems overwhelming, our dreams and our hope can light the way forward. I hope it inspires every listener to embrace that shared journey towards a better, more united world.” View More Visting Maps in South Africa On the 27th of July 2023 South African Tourism unveiled Siya Kolisi as the new Global Brand Advocate. In an exciting event hosted at Hotel Sky in Sandton the well curated event saw some of South Africa’s most exceptional figures in sports, arts and culture converge for robust conversation about excelling as South African’s. It was also an opportune moment to launch “The Best Of Us” visual content piece that features Siya Kolisi and South Africa’s beautiful landscapes and people. South Africa is a country like no other. It is the ideal destination for those seeking a unique sensory/spiritual reawakening, a place that leaves its visitors feeling inspired, enriched and rejuvenated. South Africa gives travellers the opportunity to reconnect with real life South Africa offers a diversity of options to suit every traveller that will excite and revive you, that will suit your pocket, that will answer your every need and desire. South Africa is a welcoming, friendly and fun destination, with people known for warmth, hospitality and authenticity. So... Come to South AfricaThe We Do Tourism campaign is aimed at each and every South African! It is about each of us seeing the value of tourism, understanding how it impacts our lives, and how we can play a role in growing it. View More South Africa Rainbow Nation Rainbow nation" is a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa after South Africa 's first democratic election in 1994. The phrase was elaborated upon by President Nelson Mandela in his first month of office, when he proclaimed: "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world. The term was intended to encapsulate the unity of multi-culturalism and the coming-together of people of many different nations, in a country once identified with the strict division of white and black under the Apartheid regime.[2] In a series of televised appearances, Tutu spoke of the "Rainbow People of God". As a cleric, this metaphor drew upon the Old Testament story of Noah's Flood and its ensuing rainbow of peace. Within South African indigenous cultures, the rainbow is associated with hope and a bright future. The secondary metaphor the rainbow allows is more political. Unlike the primary metaphor, the room for different cultural interpretations of the colour spectrum is slight. Whether the rainbow has Isaac Newton 's seven colours, or five of the Nguni (i.e. Xhosa and Zulu ) cosmology, the colours are not taken literally to represent particular cultural groups. View More The Big Five of South Africa 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 Radio SAM Broadcasting Studios 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! View More Our Partners

Explore the Wonders of South Africa! Discover the Untamed Wilderness Welcome to South Africa South Africa is a country rich in wildlife and history, making it a popular destination for travelers. From the famous Kruger National Park to the Robben Island, there are plenty of places visit and explore. Other must-see destinations include the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, and the Apartheid Museum. Whether you're interested in nature, culture, or history, South Africa has something for everyone. Read More 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... View More My Story 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 View More WILDLIFE IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK SOUTH AFRICA View More What We Share 01 THINGS TO DO IN SOUTH AFRICA South Africa is a country full of amazing things to do and see. From the stunning beaches of Cape Town to the wildlife of Kruger National Park, there is something for everyone. Take a cable up Table Mountain, go a safari, or visit the historic Robben Island. Whatever your interests, South Africa is sure to leave you with unforgettable memories. 02 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA Discover the beauty of South Africa with our exciting adventure tours. From breathtaking safaris to stunning beaches, our tours offer an unforgettable experience. Book now and don't miss out on the adventure of a lifetime! 03 TOP WILDLIFE PHOTOS IN SOUTH AFRICA The Kruger National Park is a wildlife photographer's paradise. With its vast landscapes and diverse range of animals, it offers endless opportunities to capture stunning shots. From majestic elephants to elusive leopards, the park is home to some of the most iconic species in Africa. Explore the park's many trails and lookout points capture the perfect shot and create unforgettable. 04 PLACES TO VISIT IN SOUTH AFRICA South Africa is a country full of breathtaking landscapes and unique experiences. From the stunning beaches of Cape Town to the wildlife reserves of Kruger National Park, there is something for everyone. Take a trip the top of Table Mountain for panoramic views of the city or explore the vibrant culture of Johannesburg. Don't forget to visit the historic Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned 18 years. Africa is a must-visit destination for any traveler seeking adventure and beauty. THE HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA THE VOORTREKKER MONUMENT THE FIRST SETTLERS THE SOUTH AFRICAN FLAG ANGLO ZULU WAR THE BATTLE OF BLOOD RIVER THE GREAT TREK THE VOORTREKKERS THE DAY OF THE VOW THE ANGLO BOERE WAR View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More Sep 21, 2024 Exploring the Rich Wildlife of South Africa: A Journey into the Country's Diverse and Exclusive Reserves Imagine embarking on a safari adventure where at every turn, you encounter some of the most magnificent and rare wildlife that South... 2 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Latest Adventures Embark on an unforgettable adventure through the Kruger National Park in South Africa with our tours. Witness the beauty of the wild game in their natural habitat and experience the thrill of spotting the Big Five. Book your safari tour today and create memories that will last a lifetime. Wild life View More View More 30+ Safari Parks Explored 4+ Cultural Experiences 1000+ Wildlife Sightings 50+ Happy Travelers GAUTENG KWA ZULU NATAL EASTERN CAPE FREE STATE MPUMALANGA LIMPOPO NORTHERN CAPE NORTH WEST WESTERN CAPE View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More NINE PROVINCES THE NINE PROVINCES IN SOUTH AFRICA EVERY THING ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA TO DISCOVER SOUTH AFRICAN ART PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT SAFARI TOURS SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH AFRICAN FOODS AND RECIPES HIKEING IN SOUTH AFRICA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK CAMPING IN SOUTH AFRICA MAPS OF SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL DOCUMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL GUIDE PLACES TO VISIT IN SOUTH AFRICA View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More View More SAFARI TOURS WILDLIFE & SOUTH AFRICA VIDEOS BIG FIVE GAME BANKNOTES WILDLIFE PROJECTS WILDLIFE PARKS BIG 5 GAME Wildlife and South Africa Südafrika: Kapstadt, Safari und Garden Route mit Sarazar | ARD Reisen ARD Reisen Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Search video... Now Playing Südafrika: Kapstadt, Safari und Garden Route mit Sarazar | ARD Reisen 29:32 Play Video Now Playing South Africa - Country of hope | Travelvideo 02:44 Play Video Now Playing Most Amazing Kruger National Park Wildlife Sightings of 2022 10:51 Play Video Here are some of the top videos of South Africa that you might enjoy watching: 1. "The Beauty of South Africa" by Expedia 2. "Cape Town, South Africa" by Destinations 3. "Kruger National Park" by National Geographic4. "South in 4K" by Around The World 4K 5. "Johannesburg, South Africa" by The York Times. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

HISTORY & PLACES A history of the South African Constitution 1910-1996 … The New Constitution was negotiated between May 1994 and October 1996 in the country's first democratically elected … dispensation was not new, and was in fact as old as SouthAfrica itself. The Constitution was not a product solely of negotiation in the Constitutional Assembly. Experiences in other parts ofthe world played a role in its development, and many of its provisions are the realisation of years of struggle and are imbued with historical significance. Thehistoryof this constitutional development spans nine decades between two major milestones, both peace treaties that ended … Click Here uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) in exile … Introduction Following British victory in theSouth African War , the Union ofSouthAfrica was forged in 1910 under the British Commonwealth. The Union brought together the defeated independent Boer … handicaps”¦ Whilst Botswana accepts that we are part ofthe Southern African economic complex and that the harsh fact ofhistory and geography cannot be obliterated, for obvious reasons, we have to maintain normal friendly relations with South … A brief history on South African prisons and prisoners … Introduction In 1948 the National government was voted into power and instituted apartheid. This lead to an increase in the number of people being incarcerated due to petty and severe apartheid laws. Between the 1960s and the unbanning ofthe liberation … Act and other security legislation such as the Internal Security Act , the Sabotage Act and the Terrorism Act . Thehistoryofthe Pretoria Central Premises There are six prisons on one premise each built at different times. The first prison … The Trotskyist Groups in South Africa - A Retrospective View by Baruch Hirson (Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line: Revolutionary History: Volume 4, No. 4, 1993, South Africa) … THEHISTORYoftheSouth African Trotskyists during the 1930s and into the next decade was never made available or discussed with new recruits. … Deployment of Racism in South Africa by Rooha Variava … Contents Chapter 1: Theoretical Debates and Methodological Controversies Chapter 2: Questions Method Chapter 3: The Constitution of Black as ‘Other’ Chapter 4: The Black as Uncivilized Chapter 5: The Management of Blacks Chapter 6: The Blacks; Political … origin: racial attributes. In MacCrone's analysis, for example, racism is interpreted in psychologistic terms, and its history and practice are seen as the product ofthe irrational and tradition-bound psychology ofthe Afrikaner. Positing the … South African Defence Force (SADF) … Early years ThehistoryoftheSouth African Defence Force (SADF) can be traced to the 1660s. When Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape in 1652, he had with … Book 6: Negotiation, Transition and Freedom - Bibliography … From the book: Book 6: Negotiation, Transition and Freedom commissioned by The Department of Education African National Congress. Address to the Nation by ANC President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, on the Assassination of Martin Thembisile (Chris) Hani , 10 April 1993. Online: http:www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/1993/sp930410.html Alexander, N. An Ordinary Country. Issues in the Transition from Apartheid to Democracy in … ‘Wash Me Black Again’: African Nationalism, the Indian Diaspora, and Kwa-Zulu Natal, 1944-1960 by Jon Soske … ‘Wash Me Black Again’: African Nationalism, the Indian Diaspora, and Kwa-Zulu Natal, 1944-1960 Jon Soske Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department ofHistory University of Toronto 2009 ABSTRACT My dissertation combines a critical historyofthe Indian diaspora’s political … Webinar Programme: Red Lives. Convenor: Arianna Lissoni … Dawood Seedat: The Communist who insisted that there was 'no middle road to freedom’ by Goolam Vahed Department ofHistory University of KwaZulu-Natal - vahedg@ukzn.ac.za One ofthe most remarkable figures ofthe Communist Party of … Bibliographical note and further reading … From the book: A Documentary Historyof Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai For the serious researcher investigating any aspect ofthe … Chapter 5 - The Indian Tobacco Workers Strike of 1920: A Socio-Historical Investigation by Evangelos A. Mantzaris … From: Labour Struggles in SouthAfricaThe Forgotten Pages 1903 - 1921 by Evangelos A. Mantzaris The struggle of tobacco workers in SouthAfrica is a topic much neglected by historians and social scientists alike. In Johannesburg and … in Cape Town in 1906, which resulted in the workers establishing the first socialist-oriented co-operative society in thehistoryofSouth African Labour is the best example of this militancy. 1 In this paper we will examine the struggles ofthe … Address on Accepting an Honarary Doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow, 30 April 1999 … It is indeed a very special honour to receive not one Honorary Doctorate but two, and not from one prestigious institution of learning but two! I will always cherish this association with the great intellectuals of a renowned tradition of scientific endeavour. I will do so knowing that it is no personal … the imposed divisions of centuries to live out together the consequences ofthe profound but simple fact that, complex as history may have made our society, we are one people with one destiny. In doing so they are opening the way to knowledge in … THE FIRST SETTLERS 1497 - 1699 1497 24 December, A flotilla of three Portuguese ships under the command of Capt Vasco da Gama sailed up the eastern seaboard of southern Africa, and moored overnight in the lee of a … Stavenisse , reached the bay. The following day it managed to sail over the sand bar at its entrance, thereby becoming thefirst ship to moor in the Bay of Natal. Timeline: Durban 1700 - 1899 1736 A hunting party headed by Hermanus Hubner journeyed … hippo tusks, buffalo hides, cattle and grain. 7 August, At a meeting with Fynn and Farewell, Shaka granted the English settlers an area about Port Natal of about 6500 km² in extent. Upon his return, on 24 August, Farewell hoisted the Union … THE GREAT TREK Great Trek 1835-1846 … TheGreatTrek 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. … December 16 and the Construction of Afrikaner Nationalism … The date, December 16, holds a special significance in South African history. On this day in 1838, the Voortrekkers fought a … abolition of slavery that sparked a unique event that would transform the former Dutch colonists into a new ‘volk’ – theGreatTrek ). The British outlawed slavery in 1834. Without slaves, the burghers could not survive as farmers, and the Dutch Cape … BATTLE OF BLOOD RIVER December 16 and the Construction of Afrikaner Nationalism … The date, December 16, holds a special significance in South African history. On this day in 1838, the Voortrekkers fought a battle for survival against Dingaan’s Zulu army, and were victorious. Later, the day was commemorated as part ofthe Afrikaner nationalist project. This article traces some ofthe main events that make up the history ofthe Afrikaner … Dundee … TheBattleofBloodRiver Heritage Site in KwaZulu-Natal represents a unique way of Historic storytelling because there are 2 separate … Political changes from 1750 to 1820 … Britain takes control ofthe Cape Once revolutionary armies of France invaded Holland in 1795, the British feared that the French would take … Under the directive of Andries Hendrik Potgieter, the trekkers attacked the Ndebele group. The Voortrekkers won thebattle against the Ndebele warriors and the Ndebele moved north of Limpopo. A group of trekkers led by Piet Retief split from … ANGLO ZULU WAR The Prince Imperial of France dies in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 … Joseph Napoleon, who studied in England at the Royal Military Academy and joined the British forces, was killed in the Anglo-ZuluWar when he and a British reconnaissance party were attacked by about forty Zulus in the vicinity of Itelezi Mountain and … Prince Eugene Napoleon is killed during Anglo-Zulu War … Joseph Napoleon, who studied in England at the Royal Military Academy and joined the British forces, was killed in the Anglo-ZuluWar when he and a British reconnaissance party were attacked by about forty Zulus in the vicinity of Itelezi Mountain and … Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here ANGLO BOER WAR Small Title First Anglo Boer War … Causes of the War The First Anglo-Boer is also known as the First Transvaal War of Independence because the conflict arose between the … (ZAR). The Boers had some help from their neighbours in the Orange Free State. There were several causes of the First Anglo-BoerWar. The expansion of the British Empire. Problems within the Transvaal government. The British annexation of the … Second Anglo-Boer War - 1899 - 1902 … 'South African War ( a.k.a. the Anglo-BoerWar) remains the most terrible and destructive modern armed conflict in South Africa’s history. … both Black and White'. - Gilliomee and Mbenga (2007). The Causes A number of interrelated factors led to the Second Anglo-BoerWar. These include the conflicting political ideologies of imperialism and republicanism, the discovery of gold on … SIENER VAN RENSBURG Small Title … Jacobus Hercules de la Rey was the sixth child of Adrianus Johannes and Adriana (van Rooyen). He was born near Winburg on 22 October 1847. After the Battle of Boomplaats, the British confiscated their farm … War I and openly expressed his desire for the restoration of the Boer republic. On August 2nd many burghers congregated at SienervanRensburg's house where the seer told them he had seen a vision of a world on fire, bulls fighting, and blood pouring from a … GENERAL DE LA REY Small Title General De la Rey releases General Lord Methuen after his wounds are treated … Towards the end of the Second South African War (Anglo-Boer War 2), GeneralDeLaRey released General Lord Methuen after his wounds were treated. After only travelling 29 kilometres Methuen's party was … General De la Rey protests British mistreatment of women and children … diseases and in many instances, death. The scorched earth policy had been implemented by March 1901. On 16 August 1901, DelaRey, a Boer general, had protested against the inhumane conditions to which women and children in the camps were being exposed. This … THE VOORTREKKERS Small Title The Battle - Andries Pretorius and his men advance … After the fall of Port Natal Port Natal Andries Pretorius arrived from Graaff-Reinet. On 25 November 1838 Pretorius took over leadership as Commandant-General of theVoortrekkers in Natal. He immediately re-organised theVoortrekkers and started to prepare a retaliatory attack on the Zulu. … Timeline of Land Dispossession and Segregation in South Africa 1800-1899 … The nineteenth century was a period of several events whose socio-political and economic impact profoundly changed South Africa and the African continent. Colonial conquest and rapid land dispossession was accelerated during this period. Conversely, fierce resistance was launched by African people in response to their loss of land, livestock and political power. As voortrekkers moved away from the Cape Colony to escape British rule, they fought, seized and occupied land while … Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here 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 Built to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. The idea to Build a Monument in Honour of God, was first discussed on 16 December 1888, when President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic attended the Day of the Covenant Celebrations at Blood River in Natal. However, the movement to actually Build such a Monument only started in 1931 when the Sentrale Volks Monument Komitee (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 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 the then-prime minister D. F. Malan. The total construction cost of the Monument was about £ 360,000, most of which was contributed by the South African Government. SOUTH AFRICAN FLAGS This article lists the flags of the various colonies and states that have existed in South Africa since 1652, as well as other flags pertaining to South Africa, including governmental, military, police and provincial flags. Historical flags (1652–1928) See also: South Africa Red Ensign Many flags were used in South Africa prior to political unification in 1910. The original Dutch East India Company colony at the Cape of Good Hope (1652–1795) flew the Dutch flag, with the VOC logo in the centre. This flag was also flown during the period of Batavian Republic rule (1803–06). The Boer Republics , i.e. the Orange Free State (1854–1902), the South African Republic (1857–1902), Stellaland (1882–85), Goshen (1883–85), the Nieuwe Republiek (1884–88), and the Klein Vrystaat (1886–1891) had their own flags. Several derived from the Dutch flag. The British colonies that existed in the 19th century flew the British flags, and from the early 1870s some, i.e. Natal , Cape Colony , and later the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal , added their own colonial flag badges. The Union of South Africa, formed in 1910, initially used a red ensign defaced with a badge depicting the Union coat of arms. The first South African national flag, introduced in 1928, superseded it. SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURE Guest Houses and Art Galleries. The spectacular Swartberg Pass , is one of the most dramatic and scenic Mountain Passes in SouthAfrica! (This Pass starts just outside Town.) HISTORY Founded in 1762, Prince Albert's History is deeply rooted in South … was voted the Western Cape winner in the prestigious: ' kykNET Kwêla & Rapport - ‘Town of the Year’ , competition. ART AND CULTURE The Town reflects a rich blend of cultures, including influences from the early Khoisan People , Dutch Settlers The culture of South Africa is one of the most diverse in the world. The country boasts of an impressive eleven official languages and other several recognized languages, with each of the group having its own vibrancy and culture. A substantial majority of the South Africans still live in the rural areas where cultural traditions have survived. However, urbanization and adoption of new technology across the country have led to the decline in the traditional cultures. English and other foreign languages are slowly replacing the native languages. SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES South Africa is a diverse country with a rich cultural heritage. One of the fascinating aspects of this heritage is the presence of numerous tribes across the nation. These tribes have played a significant role in shaping the country’s history, culture, and social fabric. Let’s explore some of the notable tribes in South Africa: Zulu The Zulu tribe is one of the largest and most prominent ethnic groups in South Africa. With an estimated population of over 11 million, the Zulu people have a rich and powerful history. Known for their warrior culture and vibrant traditions, the Zulu tribe has a strong sense of identity and community. Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here South Africa’s top 10 incredible attractions 1) Table Mountain Sitting at 1,085m above sea level, you’re guaranteed incredible sunset views of Cape Town and surrounds on the new 7 Wonders of the World – the magnificent Table Mountain. ... 2) Cradle of Mankind ... 3) Robben Island ... 4) The Cape Winelands ... 5) The Drakensberg Mountains ... 6) The Kruger National Park ... 7) Soweto ... 8) Blyde River Canyon ..

THE BATTLE OF BLOOD RIVER The Battle of Blood River is a significant event in South African history. It took place on December 16, 8, between the Voortrekkers, led by Andries Pretorius, and the Zulu army, led by King Dingane. The Voortrekkers emerged victorious, and the battle has since been commemorated as a public holiday known as the Day of Reconciliation. THE FULL STORY 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 . Estimations of casualties amounted to over 3,000 of King Dingane 's soldiers dead, including two Zulu princes competing with Prince Mpande for the Zulu throne. Three Voortrekker commando members were lightly wounded, including Pretorius. The year 1838 was the most difficult period for the Voortrekkers from when they left the Cape Colony, till the end of the Great Trek. They faced many difficulties and much bloodshed before they found freedom and a safe homeland in their Republic of Natalia. This was only achieved after defeating the Zulu Kingdom, at the Battle of Blood River, which took place on Sunday 16 December 1838. This battle would not have taken place if the Zulu King had honoured the agreement that he had made with the Voortrekkers to live together peacefully. The Zulu king knew that they outnumbered the Voortrekkers and decided to overthrow them and that led to the Battle of Blood River. In January 1840 Prince Mpande finally defeated King Dingane in the Battle of Maqongqe and was subsequently crowned as new king of the Zulu by his alliance partner Andries Pretorius. After these two battles, Dingane's prime minister and commander in the Battle of Blood River, General Ndlela , who had also been Mpande’s personal protector, was strangled to death by Dingane for high treason. Background The carronade used during the battle on an improvised carriage Andries Pretorius brought with him from the Cape. 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. The accompanying request for the surrender of Trekker muskets at the entrance was taken as normal protocol when appearing before the king. While the Trekkers were being entertained by Dingane's dancing warriors/soldiers, Dingane suddenly accused the visiting party of witchcraft and ordered his men: "Bulalani abathakathi" (Kill the sorcerers...). Dingane's soldiers bludgeoned Retief's party to death. Immediately after the UmGungundlovu massacre, Dingane sent out his impis (regiments) to attack several Trekker encampments at night time, killing an estimated 500 men, women, children, and servants, most notably at Blaukraans . Help arrived from farmers in the Cape Colony, and the Trekkers in Natal subsequently requested the pro-independence Andries Pretorius to leave the Cape Colony, in order to defend the Voortrekkers who had settled in Natal. After the Battle of Blood River, the Dingane-Retief treaty written by Jan Gerritze Bantjes was found on Retief's bodily remains,[9] providing a driving force for an overt alliance against Dingane between Prince Mpande and Pretorius. War strategies of the generals On 26 November 1838, Andries Pretorius (1798–1853) was appointed as Commander of 64 wagons and 464+ heavily armed Boer combatants directed against Dingane at UmGungundlovu with Jan Gerritze Bantjes (1817–1882) as his war secretary. By December 1838, Prince Mpande and 17,000 followers had already fled from Dingane, who was seeking to assassinate Mpande. In support of Prince Mpande as Dingane's replacement, Pretorius' strategy was to target Dingane only. To allow Prince Mpande to oust King Dingane through military might, Pretorius had first to weaken Dingane's personal military power base in UmGungundlovu. Dingane's royal residence at UmGungundlovu was naturally protected against attack by hilly and rocky terrain all around, as well as an access route via Italeni passing through a narrow gorge called a defile . Earlier on 9 April 1838, a Trekker horse commando without ox wagons, thereafter called the "Flight Commando", had unsuccessfully attempted to penetrate the UmGungundlovu defense at nearby Italeni valley, resulting in the loss of several Trekker lives. Trekker leader Hendrik Potgieter had abandoned all hope of engaging Dingane in UmGungundlovu after losing the battle of Italeni, and subsequently had migrated with his group out of Natal. To approach UmGungundlovu via the Italeni defile with ox wagons would force the wagons into an open column, instead of an enclosed laager as successfully employed defensively at Veglaer on 12 August 1838. The military commander during Dingane's attack on Veglaer was Ndlela kaSompisi . The highly experienced general Ndlela had served under Shaka , and was also prime minister and chief advisor under Dingane. Ndlela with his 10,000 troops had retreated from Veglaer, after three days and nights of fruitless attempts to penetrate the enclosed Trekker wagon laager. General Ndlela personally protected Prince Mpande from Dingane's repeated assassination plans. King Dingane desired to have his half brother Mpande, the only prince with children, eliminated as a threat to his throne. Prince Mpande was married to Msukilethe, a daughter of general Ndlela. General Ndlela, like Pretorius the promoter of Prince Mpande, was responsible for Dingane's UmGungundlovu defense during the Trekkers' second attack attempt under Pretorius in December 1838. Given general Ndlela's previous defense and attack experience at Italeni and Veglaer during April 1838 and August 1838 respectively, Ndlela's tactical options were limited. Proven UmGungundlovu defense tactics were to attack Trekker commandos in the rocky and hilly terrain on the narrowing access route at Italeni, thereby neutralising the advantages mounted riflemen had over spear-carrying foot soldiers.[11] Ndlela had to let Pretorius come close to UmGungundlovu at Italeni and lure the Trekkers into attack. Ndlela was not to attack the Trekkers when they were in a defensive wagon laager position, especially not during the day. The problem for Pretorius was that he had somehow to find a way to make Dingane's soldiers attack him in a defensive laager position at a place of his choice, far away from UmGungundlovu and Italeni. On 6 December 1838, 10 days before the Battle of Blood River, Pretorius and his commando including Alexander Biggar as translator had a meeting with friendly Zulu chiefs at Danskraal , so named for the Zulu dancing that took place in the Zulu kraal that the Trekker commando visited. With the intelligence received at Danskraal, Pretorius became confident enough to propose a vow to God, which demanded the celebration, by the commando and their posterity, of the coming victory over Dingane. The covenant included that a church would be built in honour of God, should the commando be successful and reach UmGungundlovu alive in order to diminish the power of Dingane. Building a church in Trekker emigrant context was symbol for establishing a settled state. After the meeting with friendly Zulu chiefs at Danskraal, Pretorius let the commando relax and do their washing for a few days at Wasbank till 9 December 1838. From Wasbank they slowly and daily moved closer to the site of the Battle of Blood River, practising laager defence tactics every evening for a week long. Then, by halting his advance towards UmGungundlovu on 15 December 1838, 40 km before reaching the defile at Italeni, Pretorius had eliminated the Italeni terrain trap. Location and preparation On Saturday, 15 December 1838, after the Trekker wagons crossed the Buffalo River 10 km SW of the actual battle site and still 80 kilometres (50 mi) from their target UmGungundlovu, an advance scouting party including Pretorius got news of a large Zulu force in rugged terrain to the east trying to lure the Boers into a trap as had been the case in April the same year with fatal consequences. While Cilliers wanted to ride out and attack, Pretorius declined the opportunity to engage Dingane's soldiers away from their base as had been the trap at Italeni valley. Instead, Pretorius decided on a fortified laager on the terrain of his own choosing in the hope that general Ndlela would attack Pretorius on his terms rather than the other way around. As the site for the defensive wagon laager, Pretorius chose a defensible position close to a vertical 8m descent into a deep hippo pool in the Ncombe River providing excellent protection on two sides. The wide-open area to the front of the laager provided absolutely no cover for an attacking force. The battle was set with the laager protected on two flanks. As usual, the ox-wagons were drawn into the typical protective enclosure or laager. Movable wooden barriers and ladders which could be quickly opened for cavalry were fastened between the wagon wheels to prevent intruders, with two smoothbore, short barrel artillery pieces positioned at the corners. Andries Pretorius had brought a 6-pound naval carronade with him from the Cape, mounted on a gun carriage improvised from a wagon axle, and named Grietjie. The other ordnance piece is unknown in the original, but the reproduction depicts a 4-pound smoothbore cannon by then obsolete in most European armies. Both were used to fire devastating grapeshot . As evening approached, a thick mist settled over the wagon site above which the sky was clear. According to Afrikaner traditions, the Zulu were afraid to attack at the night due to superstitions and the eerie glow of lamps which the Boers hung on sjamboks [whip-stocks] around the laager. Whether or not there is any truth in this, historian S.P. Mackenzie has speculated that the Zulu held back until what they perceived as the necessary numbers had arrived. Some of the Zulus only arrived near sunrise by following the tracks of the wagons. Due to some recent heavy rains the Ncombe River was swollen making crossing the river difficult. During the night of 15 December, six Zulu regiments, an estimated 20,000 (or more) Zulu soldiers led by Dambuza (Nzobo), crossed the Ncome River and started massing around the encampment, while the elite forces of senior general Ndlela did not cross the river, thereby splitting the army in two. Battle On 16 December, dawn broke on a clear day, revealing that "all of Zululand sat there", according to one Trekker eyewitness. General Ndlela and his crack troops, the Black and White Shields, remained on the other side of the river, observing Dambuza's men at the laager from a safe position across the hippo pool. According to the South African Department of Art and Culture: In ceremonies that lasted about three days, izinyanga zempi, specialist war doctors, prepared izinteleze medicines which made warriors invincible in the face of their opponents. This could partly help explain why Dambuza's forces were sitting on the ground close to the wagon laager when the Trekkers first saw them. An artist's impression of the Battle of Blood River. Dambuza's regiments repeatedly stormed the laager but could not break through. The attackers were hindered by a change introduced during Shaka's rule that replaced most of the longer throwing spears with short stabbing spears. In close combat the stabbing spear provided obvious advantages over its longer cousin. A Zulu eyewitness said that their first charge was mown down like grass by the Boer muskets. As Bantjes wrote in his journal: Sunday, December 16 was like being newly born for us - the sky was clear, the weather fine and bright. We hardly saw the twilight of the break of day or the guards, who were still at their posts and could just make out the distant Zulus approaching. All the patrols were called back into the laager by firing alarm signals from the cannons. The enemy came forward at full speed and suddenly they had encircled the area around the laager. As it got lighter, so we could see them approaching over their predecessors who had already been shot back. Their rapid approach (though terrifying to witness due to their great numbers) was an impressive sight. The Zulus came in regiments, each captain with his men behind (as the patrols had seen them coming the day before) until they had surrounded us. I could not count them, but I was told that a captive Zulu gave the number at thirty-six regiments, each regiment calculated to be "nine hundred to a thousand men" strong. The battle now began and the cannons unleashed from each gate, such that the battle was fierce and noisy, even the discharging of small arms fire from our marksmen on all sides was like thunder. After more than two hours of fierce battle, the Commander in Chief gave orders that the gates be opened and mounted men sent to fight the enemy in fast attacks, as the enemy near constantly stormed the laager time and again, and he feared the ammunition would soon run out. With the power of their firearms and with their ox wagons in a laager formation and some effective tactics, the Boers fought off the Zulu. Buckshot was used to maximise casualties. Mackenzie claims that 200 indigenous servants looked after the horses and cattle and helped load muskets, but no definite proof or witness of servants helping to reload is available. Writing in the popular Afrikaans magazine Die Huisgenoot , a Dr. D.J. Kotze said that this group consisted of fifty-nine "non-white helpers and followers" instead of the commonly stated two hundred. After two hours and four waves of attack, with the intermittent lulls providing crucial reloading and resting opportunities for the Trekkers, Pretorius ordered a group of horsemen to leave the encampment and engage the Zulu in order to induce the disintegration of their formations. The Zulu withstood the charge for some time, but rapid losses led them to scatter. The Trekkers pursued their fleeing enemies and hunted them down for three hours. Cilliers noted later that "we left the Kafirs lying on the ground as thick almost as pumpkins upon the field that has borne a plentiful crop." Bantjes recorded that about 3,000 dead Zulu had been counted, and three Trekkers were wounded. During the chase, Pretorius was wounded in his left hand by an assegaai (Zulu spear). Of the 3,000 dead Zulu soldiers, two were princes, leaving Ndlela's favourite Prince Mpande as frontrunner in the subsequent battle for the Zulu crown. Four days after the Battle of Blood River, the Trekker commando arrived at King Dingane's great kraal UmGungundlovu (near present-day Eshowe ), only to find it deserted and in ashes. The bones of Retief and his men were found and buried, where a memorial stands today. Up to this day 16 December is a public holiday in South Africa; before 1994 it was known as "the Day of the Vow ", "the Day of the Covenant" and "Dingaan's Day"; but today it is "the Day of Reconciliation " Aftermath The conflict between Dingane and the Trekkers continued for one more year after the Battle of Blood River. The idea of a decisive victory may have been planted in Pretorius' mind by a Zulu prisoner, who said that most of Dingane's warriors had either been killed or fled. The same prisoner led some of the Trekker party into a trap at the White Umfolozi River , eleven days after the battle at Ncome River. This time the Zulu were victorious. Only when Dingane's brother, Mpande , openly joined the Trekker side with his sizeable army, was Dingane finally defeated in January 1840. Following the Battle of Maqongqe in January 1840, the forces of Mpande did not wait for Pretorius' cavalry to arrive, and they attacked the remaining regiments of Dingane, who were again under the command of General Ndlela. Ndlela strayed from normal fighting tactics against Mpande, sending in his regiments to fight one at a time, instead of together in ox horn formation. Maquongqe Dingane had to flee Natal completely, but before he did so, he had Ndlela slowly strangled by cow hide for high treason, on the grounds that he had fought for Mpande, with the same disastrous result for Dingane as at Ncome-Blood River. Dambusa, Dingane's other general, had already been executed by Mpande and Pretorius when he fell into their hands before the battle. Pretorius approved and attended the crowning of Zulu King Mpande in Pietermaritzburg . They agreed on the Tugela River as the border between Zululand and the Republic of Natalia . Legacy Popular Afrikaner interpretations of the Battle of Blood River (bolstered by sympathetic historians such as George Theal ) played a central role in fostering Afrikaner nationalism . They believe that the battle demonstrated God's intervention and hence their divine right to exist as an independent people. This is stated in the official guidebook of the Voortrekker Monument (unveiled during the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek on 16 December 1949) that Afrikaners were a nation of heroes exemplifies the conclusions drawn from such events. From the Day of the Vow, Afrikaners consider the site and the commemoration of the day as sacred. Historian S.P. Mackenzie doubts the reported number of Zulu deaths. He compares Zulu casualties at Ncome to battles at Italeni , Isandlwana , and Rorke's Drift . Mackenzie acknowledges that the casualty count was not impossible. Yet, in a similar victory on 15 October 1836 by Trekkers under Hendrik Potgieter over some 9,000 Matabele , the latter suffered only 350 casualties. In 1879, 600 British soldiers with breech-loading rifles caused 2,000 Zulu casualties, perhaps 1,000 killed over three hours before being overrun Ncome/Blood River monument Laager at the Blood River Memorial A church, called "the Church of the Vow ", was built in the Natal town of Pietermaritzburg in 1841, where Pretorius settled on the farm "Welverdient" (English: "Well-earned"), a gift from the Trekkers. A monument was erected on the site of the battle in 1947, consisting of an ox wagon executed in granite by the sculptor Coert Steynberg . In 1971 a laager of 64 ox wagons cast in bronze (by Unifront Foundry in Edenvale – Fanie de Klerk and Jack Cowlard) was erected, and unveiled on 16 December 1972. A stone representation at the Voortrekker Monument of the Laager formed at the Battle of Blood River The Ncome monument on the east side of the river commemorates the fallen Zulu warriors. While the Blood River Memorial is associated with Afrikaner nationalism, the Ncome monument was intended as a symbol of reconciliation—but has become connected with Zulu nationalism. At 16 December 1998 inauguration of the most recent version of the monument, the Zulu politician and then Minister of Home Affairs , Mangosuthu Buthelezi , apologised to the Afrikaner nation for the death of Piet Retief and the subsequent suffering. At the same time Buthelezi also noted the suffering of the Zulus during Apartheid . He stressed that South Africans needed to consider the day as "a new covenant which binds us to the shared commitment of building a new country." Today two complexes mark the battle site: the Ncome Monument and Museum Complex east of the Ncome River, and the Blood River Monument and Museum Complex to the west. Ndlela monument South Africa's ex-president, Jacob Zuma , attended the official inauguration of the Ndlela monument in Eshowe, Kwazulu-Natal. President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2019 speech On the Day of Reconciliation 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the Voortrekkers as invaders and the Zulu army as "Freedom Fighters". Dirk Hermann, managing director of the trade union Solidarity , criticised this historical claim as inaccurate and as a "criminalisation of Afrikaner history", and emphasised the reconciliatory message of politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi . December 16, 1838 Short Introduction of the Battle Battle of Blood River, (December 16, 1838), battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekker Boers in South Africa. Its proximate cause was a clash over land rights in Natal and the massacre of Voortrekkers by the Zulu king Dingane. Context In the early 1800s the British colonized the Cape, sending Boer farmers in South Africa looking for areas outside of British rule. These people became known as Voortrekkers (Afrikaans: “Early Migrants”). The Voortrekker migration initially faced little resistance and eventually reached Natal, an area primarily occupied by the Zulu people. Conflict between the Voortrekkers and the Zulu began with negotiations over the proposed purchase of land in Natal. In November 1837 the Voortrekkers met with Dingane, the king of the Zulu. Dingane reportedly granted the Voortrekkers land between the Tugela River and the Mzimvubu River in the south, on the condition that they retrieve cattle stolen by the rebel chief Sikyonela. Piet Retief, leader of the Voortrekkers, agreed to this, and he and his men completed the task that was asked of them. They also took additional horses, cattle, and guns from Sikyonela and his people to supplement the Voortrekkers’ supplies. Dingane demanded that Retief deliver this additional booty to him, and Retief responded with a letter that invoked a previous Voortrekker military success over the Ndebele. Dingane interpreted this thinly veiled threat as evidence of a Voortrekker plot against him. When the Voortrekkers arrived with the cattle and horses they had retrieved, Dingane pretended to welcome them with open arms. He is said to have granted a treaty for the land but planned to kill the Boers before they could settle there. Dingane invited Retief and his men to a farewell celebration that would take place the next day, asking them to leave their weapons behind as a sign of respect. Ignoring the warnings of fellow Voortrekkers who suspected that treachery was afoot, Retief arrived the next day with approximately 69 followers to partake in celebrations. After traditional dances and celebrations, Dingane commanded his people to kill the Voortrekkers. Chaos commenced, and all the Voortrekkers present were killed, including Retief. Dingane then moved against the rest of the Voortrekker population, which had encroached into Zulu territory. With approximately 15,000 men, he marched to the foot of the Drakensberg mountains, where the Voortrekkers had built their laagers (encampments). The Zulu wiped these camps out swiftly, killing a number of women and children in the process. The Voortrekkers responded by marching on the Zulu capital of Mgungundlovu with a force under commandants Dirk Uys and Andries Potgieter. Along the way, they were attacked by the Zulu at Ithaleni, and Uys and many of his men were killed. Exhausted, the remaining Voortrekkers prepared for defeat. The Zulu attacked again on August 12, 1838, but this time the Voortrekkers were able to hold their own. The three-day engagement ended in a Zulu defeat, and the Voortrekkers’ spirits were lifted. Andries Pretorius took command of the Voortrekker forces and led them into Zululand on the offensive. Battle of Blood River, or Battle of Ncome River Monument marking the site of the Battle of Blood River in South Africa. The monument features 64 bronze wagons arranged as they were during the battle on December 16, 1838. A museum on the site provides the Voortrekker view of the battle, while across the Ncome River the Ncome Museum offers the Zulu perspective. Andries Pretorius took command of the Voortrekker forces and led them into Zululand on the offensive. Knowing that they were outnumbered, the Voortrekkers abandoned their plan of a direct assault on the Zulu capital. With the odds against them, the Voortrekkers made a vow to the Christian God: if they won the coming battle, they would build a church and celebrate the day as a holiday. According to Boer tradition, this ritual was performed each night until they reached the Zulu. When news arrived that the Zulu were approaching, the Voortrekkers took a position near the Ncome River. The site was strategically advantageous, as it was protected by a ravine to the south. On December 15, 1838, the Zulu attempted to cross the Ncome, but only half of the 15,000 men were able to, perhaps because of misty weather conditions. The next morning, the Zulu attacked, despite the fact that half their force remained on the other side of the river. The Voortrekkers were able to check the charging Zulu forces with their guns and cannons. After running out of ammunition, Pretorius sent 300 men on horseback to split the remaining Zulu army. The Zulu retreated at nightfall. Seeing that the Ncome River was red with the blood of fallen Zulu warriors, the Boers gave it the Afrikaans name Bloedrivier (Blood River). Aftermath Pretorius and the Voortrekkers arrived at Mgungundlovu on December 20, 1838, only to discover that it had been destroyed. Near the capital, on KwaMatiwane hill, the Voortrekker troops found the remains of Retief and his men. Retief was supposedly found with the treaty ceding land to the Voortrekkers still intact on his person, although contemporary historians question the veracity of this claim. Dingane fled to Swaziland, only to be killed by local chiefs. The Voortrekkers, intent on keeping their vow, built a church in Pietermaritzburg (named after their two fallen leaders, Retief and Gerrit Maritz). December 16 was celebrated as “Dingane’s Day” until 1910, when it was renamed “Day of the Vow.” After the end of apartheid in 1994, December 16 was renamed the “Day of Reconciliation” and is meant to foster a sense of national unity and racial harmony. Pietermaritzburg South Africa Written and fact-checked by Article History Pietermaritzburg Town hall in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Pietermaritzburg, city, capital of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It lies in the Msunduzi River valley, at the base of a tree-covered escarpment inland from Durban. Boers from the Cape Colony founded it in 1838 after a victory over the Zulus at Blood River and named it to honor their dead leaders Piet Retief and Gerrit Maritz. The British took control in 1843 and built Fort Napier (now a historical monument). Pietermaritzburg was incorporated in 1854 and was the capital of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) province from 1856 to 1994. It was co-capital with Ulundi of KwaZulu-Natal from 1994 to 1995, when Ulundi was designated the capital. This was reversed in 2004, when Pietermaritzburg was once again declared the capital of the province. Pietermaritzburg is known as the “City of Flowers” for its azaleas and roses and because it is the site of one of the country’s National Botanical Gardens. Butterflies for Africa, a butterfly conservation centre, is also in Pietermaritzburg. Other attractions are Alexandra Park, Wylie Park, the Bisley Nature Reserve, Queen Elizabeth Park, and many recreational facilities. At an elevation of 2,218 feet (676 meters), the city is a gateway to KwaZulu-Natal’s many game reserves and mountain resorts. Pietermaritzburg shares with Durban the University of KwaZulu-Natal (1910). There are many well-preserved late 19th-century government buildings in the city, such as the historic Old Supreme Court building, now home to the Tatham Art Gallery. Other cultural attractions include the Natal Museum; the Msunduzi Museum, which includes the Voortrekker Complex; and the KwaZulu-Natal Railway Museum. Pietermaritzburg is a growing business and industrial center. Its industries include the manufacture of furniture, footware, and aluminum ware and the processing of wattle extract. It has excellent highway and rail connections to Durban. Pop. (1996) urban agglom., 378,126; (2001) mun., 553,223. Natal historical province, South Africa Also known as: Terra Natalis Written and fact-checked by Article History historic provinces of South Africa Major Events: Battle of Blood River Battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift South Africa Act Great Trek Key People: Louis Botha Sir Theophilus Shepstone Andries Pretorius John Colenso Piet Retief Related Places: South Africa KwaZulu-Natal Hluhluwe Game Reserve Saint Lucia Game Reserve Natal, former province of South Africa. It was the smallest of the four traditional provinces and occupied the southeastern part of the country. The Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama sighted the coast along what is now Durban on Christmas Day in 1497 and named the country Terra Natalis, after the Portuguese word (“Natal”) for Christmas. The Portuguese maintained a trading settlement farther north at Delagoa Bay from the 1540s. The interior of Natal had been occupied since the 16th century by the Nguni branch of the Bantu-speaking peoples. In the 1820s and ’30s the Zulu clan of the Nguni, under the successive leadership of Dingiswayo (1807–17), Shaka (1817–28), and Dingane (1828–40), developed highly trained regiments and new fighting tactics that enabled the Zulus to establish a powerful kingdom north of the Tugela River . Shaka launched devastating military campaigns south of the Tugela River that disrupted or destroyed the peoples in that area. Those not killed or conscripted by the Zulus fled to other regions or went into hiding, leaving much of the region temporarily depopulated. In the meantime, the British had established a trading post at Port Natal (now Durban) in 1824, and that same year they signed a treaty with Shaka ceding them Port Natal and about 50 miles (80 km) of coastline to a depth of 100 miles (160 km) inland. The British made little attempt to develop the interior, which continued to be decimated by the Zulus. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

Siener van Rensburg Nicolaas Pieter Johannes ("Niklaas" or "Siener") Janse van Rensburg (3 August 1864 – 11 March 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 Boers . Consequently, his nickname became "Siener" (Afrikaans for "seer "). Van Rensburg's visions were typically wrapped in a patriotic, religious format, and have been interpreted by believers as predictions of future events. During the Boer War he became a trusted companion, if not advisor to General de la Rey and President Steyn . The extent of his influence with these figures is disputed,[2] [3] though the devoutly religious de la Rey seemed to have considered him a prophet of God Early life Van Rensburg was born on the farm Palmietfontein in the Potchefstroom district, the son of Willem Jacobus Janse van Rensburg and Anna Catharina Janse van Rensburg. He only received 20 days of formal school training at the Rooipoort farm school, and spent much of his youth as a cattle herder. He could never write, but assisted by his mother, he learnt to read from the Bible. He never read anything else. At age 16, he participated in a government expedition against the rebellious tribal leader Mabhogo . He contracted and survived malaria on the expedition and afterwards settled near Wolmaranstad in the then western ZAR . At age 21 he was an elected elder for the Hervormde Kerk , perhaps due to his scriptural knowledge. He married Anna Sophia Kruger in 1884. Boer war Van Rensburg and his brother Pieter were commandeered to participate in the second Anglo-Boer War under General Sarel P. du Toit. Van Rensburg however remained unarmed and never fired a shot. His contribution was to be a stream of visions and prophesies for the duration of the war. As the seer would later explain, he believed that a nightly visitor woke him only a day before the outbreak of the war, with a message that his work was dedicated to God. Following this vision, van Rensburg was beset with a fear that would not dissipate. When this disturbed state continued into their sojourn in Kimberley, his superiors sent him home. Experiencing no relief, he returned to the Siege of Kimberley , where he believed a new vision had revealed to him the defeat and loss of life that the war would bring about. Shortly afterwards, possibly at Graspan , his disturbed state lifted permanently as a soldier was wounded on his side, as, according to van Rensburg, another vision had forewarned. Van Rensburg then travelled with general Piet Cronjé but escaped the encirclement by British forces at Paardeberg . Subsequently, he travelled with different commandos, where a number of apparently accurate predictions established his reputation. A report of his visions attracted the attention of General de la Rey, who recruited Van Rensburg for his On 7 December 1900, General de Wet found himself cornered against the Caledon River , which was in flood, while British forces were assailing his position. When his surrender appeared imminent, a message from De la Rey was delivered by a Boer scout. Van Rensburg had allegedly foreseen the situation and the message outlined an escape route, which was duly followed, leaving the pursuers to flounder in the torrent which De Wet had just traversed. De la Rey, also hard pressed by his enemy, dispatched Van Rensburg to accompany President Steyn to Roodewal, De Wet's safe retreat in the northern Free State. Here Van Rensburg advised them to wait upon two horsemen which he described, who arrived the next day with a message from acting President Schalk Burger . On 13 September 1901, van Rensburg found himself in the camp of Commandant Roux at Rietkuil near Vredefort . Sensing imminent danger, he advised those present, who had just retired for the day, to depart from the camp at once. Roux was slow to take heed, and his men even more so, as scouts had not observed enemy units. Van Rensburg, his wife and children escaped on a cart, shortly before the greater part of the camp was captured in a surprise attack. LIST OF PREDICTIONS Prophecies from 1899 until his death in 1926: Fulfilled: * The outcome of the Boer War. * The Great ‘Flu epidemic of 1918. * England’s loss of all her colonies. * Independence for Ireland. * The atomic disaster at Chernobyl on April 26 1986. * Lady Di’s death The divorce and tragic death of “a beautiful English Lady in a car accident who would be mourned by the whole world.” * Civil war in Bosnia. * Dr HF Verwoerd, former Prime Minister, will die at the hand of a close friend. * The release of Nelson Mandela by ex-President FW de Klerk. * The Necklace Murders by blacks against blacks * South Africa will be governed by a black government. Not fulfilled yet (scan the topics and read what you wish) * Japan will be destroyed by earthquakes. * Ethnical violence in Russia and Europe Actually, this does seem to be in formation. Muslims in Europe already are changing the population profile. They represent a different religion and a race (Arab) within Europe. Whatever they protest about, will affect the countries they are in. I expect them to turn Europe against Israel, which has been the object of their wrath for thousands of years. * Racial violence will explode worldwide at the turn of the century and start World War III, in which Germany and America will fight side by side. * Laser weapons?: It is a chilling experience to read about his predictions in 1920 of this coming Third and Final War at the beginning of the 21st century when the armies of the world will use what he called “terrible electrical rays that sow death and destruction from above and below, and soak the earth in blood”. *** This could be an EMP attack, which knocks out the electrical grid over countries. The old prophet described the events on the battlefields of the world in such detail as though he himself had been an eye-witness. In 1918 Rensburg prophesied: “I see there will be a time when the whole world will be ploughed under. This will be the beginning of the Third – and last – World War and everything will be in confusion. Then I saw a snake lying on the ploughed land. I could not see its head or tail. Flight from the enemy In January 1901 Van Rensburg had a vision indicating the flight of three Boer women, who were soon found and rescued by his host Willem Bosman. Days after rejoining De la Rey's commando he had visions of members of his own family being captured, and asked for leave to assist them.The Van Rensburg family fled from their farmhouse as British forces approached, but the wagon train carrying the elderly, women and neighbours was surprised and captured by traitors the following morning. Van Rensburg's parents, eldest daughter Hester and four younger children were subsequently interned at the Mafeking concentration camp. Van Rensburg, his wife, eldest son Willem and two daughters travelled with a group which managed to evade their pursuers, and Van Rensburg once again joined De la Rey's commando. Upon meeting his wife again in mid October 1901, they found their farmhouse destroyed. Van Rensburg's ominous premonition concerning their daughters, Anna and Maria, was confirmed when news arrived that they and two relatives had died during an outbreak of measles in the concentration camp. Closing stage of war Van Rensburg was present when Commandant Van Aardt's company returned from the action at Yzerspruit on 25 February 1902. Van Aardt was in a despondent state as his brother was missing in action . Van Rensburg however assured him that his brother was neither dead nor captured, but alive, though in great pain. The wounded soldier was returned to camp the same evening, carried on the horse of a burgher who found him. Before the Battle of Tweebosch , Van Rensburg gave a number of predictions indicating how the enemy would approach along the Harts River , and when he deemed them most vulnerable. He also envisaged how the victory would enhance De la Rey's reputation. Methuen 's force collapsed in the face of De la Rey's sudden attack on 7 March 1902, and Methuen was captured. On 17 March 1902, President Steyn, in the company of De Wet and Hertzog , arrived at Zendelingsfontein, De la Rey's headquarters near Klerksdorp, to consult De la Rey's physician about an eye ailment. Van Rensburg was once again dispatched to guard the president. Around the 23rd he had a vision of English troops arriving, but the president was unwilling to heed his warning, until De la Rey intervened urgently on Van Rensburg's behalf. The president departed for the safety of the Molopo River on the evening of the 24th. British troops arrived at Zendelingsfontein during the early hours of the 25th and captured two of De la Rey's adjutants. Gaining entry to General Kemp 's war council in the bushveld region, he soon warned them against attacking a retreating enemy, which would leave them vulnerable to encirclement. At the subsequent Battle of Hart's River on 31 March 1902, some British units did fall back, though some Canadians stood their ground until overpowered by burgher forces. Kemp, though partially or grudgingly heeding the seer's visions, was generally reluctant to give him credit. World War I rebellion When the Union of South Africa came out in support of the Allied Powers in World War I , Van Rensburg allied with the rebels . The rebellion received a fatal blow even before it started, when the influential general Koos de la Rey was killed at a police road block on 15 September 1914. De la Rey, when killed, was en route to General J. G. C. Kemp , who subsequently organised the rebellion in western Transvaal. On 2 November, Kemp addressed a public meeting at Vleeskraal, near Schweizer-Reneke , with the locally influential Van Rensburg at his side. Van Rensburg also addressed the assembly, and assured them that his visions indicated they had little to fear. 610 men then joined the rebel cause, and with conscription imminent, the number of rebel volunteers grew to 1,800. General Kemp decided on a company of 720 men, mostly farmers, which included Van Rensburg and his son. They departed immediately on a journey to join Manie Maritz in German South-West Africa . After a desert trek and much hardship they linked up with Maritz's company on 29 November. Rebels under De Wet and Beyers were rounded up by South African forces in the days that followed. Returning to South Africa, Maritz and Kemp engaged government forces at Nous, Lutzputs and finally at Upington , on 3 February 1915. Van Rensburg's son Willem was mortally wounded in the Upington clash, and the whole rebel force captured, with the exception of Maritz who fled via German South-West Africa to Angola, and thence to Portugal. Van Rensburg, like his comrades, received a prison sentence. He however served about a year, first in Boksburg, then in the Old Fort, Johannesburg . Post-war years After his release Nicolaas van Rensburg returned to his farm Rietkuil, near Wolmaranstad . Some of his visions were then recorded by reverend Dr Rossouw. Van Rensburg's daughter Anna Badenhorst also recorded a set of visions up to his death at age 61. The latter set is considered to be difficult to interpret and not very coherent. With the outbreak of World War II , the collections of visions were considered inflammatory. Distribution was prohibited and some copies seized on orders of prime minister Jan Smuts . Upon Anna's death her handwritten documents were transferred to Lichtenburg museum's archives, where they were rediscovered in 1991. The farm and van Rensburg family cemetery are located 11 km from Ottosdal , in the North West Province . Visions His mother commented on his visual hallucinations as a toddler, and said that these seemed to disturb him. General Hertzog described him as someone continuously distracted by a maze of imagery and symbolism. 700 visions have been documented. Van Rensburg interpreted his hallucinations as visions that were usually connected to the welfare of the Boere, the Netherlands and Germany. For example, a vision of the sisal plant was interpreted as a portent of an important meeting, assembly or parliament. Van Rensburg's visions have been described by some as predictions of local events, such as the death of general Koos de la Rey and the political transition of South Africa. Van Rensburg and his followers have also interpreted his visions as being connected to international events, such as the start of World War I and the rise of Communism . He did not interpret all of his visions, and some have been posthumously applied to more recent events as prophecies. Reitz's assessment Boer soldier Deneys Reitz 's account of the Boer War contains a colourful objective account of one of the seer's predictions (shortened):[4] ... a prophet, a strange character, with long flowing beard and wild fanatical eyes, who dreamed dreams and pretended to possess occult powers. I personally witnessed one of the lucky hits while we were congregated around the General's cart. Van Rensburg was expounding his latest vision to a hushed audience. It ran of a black bull and a red bull fighting, until at length the red bull sank defeated to its knees, referring to the British. Arms outstretched and eyes ablaze, he suddenly called out: See, who comes?; and, looking up, we made out a distant horseman spurring towards us. When he came up, he produced a letter from General Botha , hundreds of miles away. General de la Rey opened it and said: "Men, believe me, the proud enemy is humbled". The letter contained news that the English had proposed a peace conference. "Coming immediately upon the prophecy, it was a dramatic moment and I was impressed, even though I suspected that van Rensburg had stage-managed the scene. Of the general's sincerity there could be no doubt as he firmly believed in the seer's predictions." Contemporary relevance The Suidlanders , an ethnonationalist Afrikaner survivalist group, are heavily influenced by the prophecies of Van Rensburg Videos von siener van rensburg visions Siener van Rensburg Biography 11:40 Siener van Rensburg - The History of South Africa YouTubeJoshua Wolvaardt 8,4Tsd. Aufrufe7. Juli 2023 14:54 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part1: Who was Siener van Rensburg YouTubeStories from South Africa 28,4Tsd. Aufrufe4. März 2022 25:11 The Afrikaans Prophet, Siener Van Rensburg YouTubeWishpicker 69,8Tsd. Aufrufe24. Mai 2019 Beste Videos 15:06 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 6: Visions from January 1915 YouTubeStories from South Africa 3,8Tsd. Aufrufe18. Apr. 2022 16:48 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part4: Visions from March and July 1914 YouTubeStories from South Africa 7Tsd. Aufrufe23. März 2022 16:16 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 15: Visions from April 1916 YouTubeStories from South Africa 1,7Tsd. Aufrufe22. Aug. 2022 15:06 In Video von 0:00 suchenIntroduction to Visions Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 6: Visions from January 1915 3,8Tsd. Aufrufe18. Apr. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 16:48 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part4: Visions from March and J… 7Tsd. Aufrufe23. März 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 16:16 In Video von 00:54 suchenVision 207 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 15: Visions from April 1916 1,7Tsd. Aufrufe22. Aug. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 14:37 In Video von 00:10 suchenWho was Siener van Rensburg? Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part3: Visions of Siener by CP Ni… 10,7Tsd. Aufrufe15. März 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 40:04 Boer Prophet Siener van Rensburg - Visions recorded by Anna Badenh… 1,6Tsd. Aufrufe9. März 2023 YouTubeStories from South Africa 17:30 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 14: Visions from March 1916 1,8Tsd. Aufrufe30. Juli 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 1:46 The End of Siener van Rensburg Visions Translations 1,6Tsd. Aufrufe5. Jan. 2024 YouTubeStories from South Africa 26:14 In Video von 00:38 suchenVision 271 Boer Prophet Siener van Rensburg - Visions recorded by Anna Badenh… 2,1Tsd. Aufrufe11. Okt. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 9:22 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 7: Visions from February til… 3,1Tsd. Aufrufe22. Apr. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 11:40 In Video von 00:10 suchenIntroduction to Siener van Rensburg Siener van Rensburg - The History of South Africa 8,4Tsd. Aufrufe7. Juli 2023 YouTubeJoshua Wolvaardt 12:34 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 12: Visions from January 19… 1,8Tsd. Aufrufe19. Juli 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 14:54 In Video von 0:00 suchenIntroduction to Siener van Rensburg Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part1: Who was Siener van Rens… 28,4Tsd. Aufrufe4. März 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 10:26 Siener Nicolaas Van Rensburg's Visions about England 35,7Tsd. Aufrufe26. Juli 2018 YouTubeBen Hashem 25:11 In Video von 03:52 suchenThe Prophet's Visions The Afrikaans Prophet, Siener Van Rensburg 69,8Tsd. Aufrufe24. Mai 2019 YouTubeWishpicker 10:42 After WW3 - The State of the World //Siener van Rensburg 11,1Tsd. Aufrufe18. März 2020 YouTubeGentle Lion Bold Lamb 13:56 Siener van Rensburg in a Nutshell 5,8Tsd. AufrufeVor 4 Monaten YouTubeStories from South Africa 40:28 South Africa`s future....Same prophecy, different people 60,7Tsd. Aufrufe2. Feb. 2022 YouTubeKykso 6:17 In Video von 00:20 suchenIntroduction to Siener van Rensburg How World War 3 will Unfold //Siener Van Rensburg 66,2Tsd. Aufrufe10. Dez. 2019 YouTubeGentle Lion Bold Lamb 12:32 In Video von 00:08 suchenSiener van Rensburg's Life Siener van Rensburg 66,2Tsd. Aufrufe4. Nov. 2018 YouTubeUncle Nubby 2:33 Siener van Rensburg Prophecies and Predictions for 2024 65Tsd. Aufrufe5. Mai 2022 TikTokjacques_pieters1 17:28 In Video von 00:17 suchenThe Visions of Siener van Rensburg Boer Prophet Siener van Rensburg - Visions recorded by Anna Badenh… 2,2Tsd. Aufrufe15. Sept. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 4:58 In Video von 02:08 suchenLack of Interest in Siener's Visions Boer Prophet Siener van Rensburg - What is Happening? 6,1Tsd. Aufrufe20. Jan. 2023 YouTubeStories from South Africa 12:03 Dr. Servaas Rossouw oor Siener van Rensburg 30Tsd. Aufrufe11. Mai 2020 YouTubeStories from South Africa 8:40 In Video von 00:42 suchenRecording Almost 400 Visions Boer Prophet Siener van Rensburg - Visions recorded by Anna Badenh… 3,6Tsd. Aufrufe7. Sept. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 10:39 In Video von 00:49 suchenVision 228 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 16: Visions from May 1916 1,5Tsd. Aufrufe25. Aug. 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 10:53 In Video von 00:51 suchenVision 158 Boer Prophet: Siener van Rensburg - Part 13: Visions from February 1… 1,4Tsd. Aufrufe25. Juli 2022 YouTubeStories from South Africa 51:58 Siener van Rensburg en die Bybel 22,2Tsd. Aufrufe22. März 2018 YouTubeBoerierol 7:16 Duitsland kom help - Andre van den Berg 46,2Tsd. Aufrufe29. Apr. 2020 YouTubeStories from South Africa

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,623 km2 (7,576 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. 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. To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, respectively. To the north is Zimbabwe and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve. History Sabi Game Reserve (1898–1926) Sabi Game Reserve was initially created to control hunting and to protect the diminishing number of animals in the area. The reserve was located in the southern one-third of the modern park. James Stevenson-Hamilton became the first warden of the reserve in 1902. Singwitsi Reserve, named after the Shingwedzi River and now in northern Kruger National Park, was proclaimed in 1903. During thefollowing decades all the native tribes were removed from the reserve and during the 1960s the last were removed at Makuleke in the Pafuri triangle. In 1926, Sabi Game Reserve, the adjacent Shingwedzi Game Reserve, and farms were combined to create Kruger National Park. During 1923, the first large groups of tourists started visiting the Sabi Game Reserve, but only as part of the South African Railways' popular "Round in Nine" tours. The tourist trains travelled the Selati railway line between Komatipoort on the Mozambican border and Tzaneen in the then northern Transvaal. Kruger National Park Kruger National Park was proclaimed in 1918 and a commission established to pursue its planning and development. The first secretary of the commission was Johannes Andries (Dries) de Ridder, a civil servant. Warden James Stevenson-Hamilton retired on 30 April 1946, after 44 years as warden of the Kruger Park. He was replaced by Colonel J. A. B. Sandenbergh of the South African Air Force. In 1959, work commenced to completely fence the park's boundaries. Work started on the southern boundary along the Crocodile River and in 1960 the western and northern boundaries were fenced, followed by the eastern boundary with Mozambique. The purpose of the fence was to curb the spread of diseases, facilitate border patrolling and inhibit the movement of poachers. The Makuleke area in the northern part of the park was forcibly taken from the Makuleke people by the government in 1969 and about 1500 of them were relocated to land to the south so that their original tribal areas could be integrated into the greater Kruger National Park. Pride of lions on a tourist road In 1996 the Makuleke tribe submitted a land claim for 198.42 km2 (19,842 ha), namely the Pafuri or Makuleke region in the northernmost part of the park. The land was given back to the Makuleke people, however, they chose not to resettle on the land but to engage with the private sector to invest in tourism. This resulted in the building of several game lodges from which they earn royalties. In the late 1990s, the fences between the Kruger Park and Klaserie Game Reserve, Olifants Game Reserve, and Balule Game Reserve were dropped and incorporated into the Greater Kruger Park with 400,000 ha (4,000 km2) added to the Reserve. In 2002, Kruger National Park, Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique were incorporated into a peace park, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Gate Registration & Indemnity Forms Download, print and complete the Gate Registration & Indemnity Form before you arrive at the park. To be handed to the gate official with a form of identification for all SA, SADC and International visitors (eg. ID or Passport). All drivers must present a valid South African or International Driver’s License with a Passport. |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park Addo Elephant National Park Augrabies Falls National Park Bontebok National Park Camdeboo National Park Garden Route National Park (Tsitsikamma Section) Garden Route National Park (Wilderness Section) Golden Gate National Park Karoo National Park Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Kruger National Park Mapungubwe National Park Marakele National Park Mokala National Park Mountain Zebra National Park Namaqua National Park Tankwa Karoo National Park West Coast National Park Location and geography The park lies in the northeast of South Africa, in the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. Phalaborwa, Limpopo is the only town in South Africa that borders the Kruger National Park. It is one of the largest national parks in the world, with an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi). The park is approximately 360 km (220 mi) long, and has an average width of 65 km (40 mi). At its widest point, the park is 90 km (56 mi) wide from east to west.To the north and south of the park two rivers, the Limpopo River and the Crocodile respectively, act as their natural boundaries. To the east, the Lebombo Mountains separate it from Mozambique. Its western boundary runs parallel with this range, roughly 65 km (40 mi) distant. The park varies in altitude between 200 m (660 ft) in the east and 840 m (2,760 ft) in the south-west near Berg-en-Dal. The highest point in the park is here, a hill called Khandzalive. Several rivers run through the park from west to east, including the Sabie, Olifants, Crocodile, Letaba, Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers. Climate The climate of the Kruger National Park and lowveld is subtropical/tropical, specifically a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). Summer days are humid and hot. The rainy season is from September until May. The Kruger National Park website lists September and October as the driest periods, culminating at the beginning of the rainy season late in October. Because the park spans 360 kilometres or 220 miles from north to south, climate can vary throughout the park. Skukuza in the southern part of the park is about 2 to 3 °C (3.6 to 5.4 °F) cooler throughout the year than Pafuri in the north, with significantly more rainfall. Vegetation Plant life consists of four main areas, which correspond roughly to the four quadrants of the park. The main veld types are determined by the rainfall gradient (400 to 750 mm per annum) and geological substrates. Shrub mopane veld Shrub mopane covers almost the entire northeastern part of the park. Red bush-willow and mopane veld This area lies in the park's western half, north of the Olifants River. The two most prominent species here are the red bush-willow (Combretum apiculatum) and the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane). Thorn trees and red bush-willow veld This area lies between the western boundary and roughly the centre of the park south of the Olifants River. Combretums, such as the red bush-willow (Combretum apiculatum), and Acacia species predominate while there are a great number of marula trees (Sclerocarya caffra). The Acacias are dominant along the rivers and streams, the very dense Nwatimhiri bush along the Sabie River between Skukuza and Lower Sabie being a very good example. Knob-thorn and marula veld South of the Olifants River in the park's eastern half, this area provides the most important grazing land. Species such as red grass (Themeda triandra) and buffalo grass (Panicum maximum) predominate while the knob-thorn (Acacia nigrescens), leadwood (Combretum imberbe) and marula (Sclerocarya caffra) are the main tree species. Local vegetation communities Several smaller areas in the park carry distinctive vegetation. The Pretoriuskop sourveld and Malelane mountain bushveld receive relatively high rainfall. Here sickle bush and silver cluster-leaf (Terminalia sericea) are prominent. The sandveld communities northeast of Punda Maria are equally distinctive, with a wide variety of unique plant species. The bush-clad hills along the Levuvhu River also shelter an interesting floral diversity and some near-endemic species. Mammals Mammals Male lion Leopard Cheetah African bush elephant crossing a road A pair of white rhinoceros Hippopotamus in Kruger NationalPark, December 1995 All the big five game animals are found at Kruger National Park, which has more species of large mammals than any other African game reserve (at 147 species). There are webcams set up to observe the wildlife. Kruger supports packs of the endangered African wild dog, of which there are thought to be only about 400 in the whole of South Africa. Birds Harlequin quails (C. delegorguei) are irruptive migrants and late summer breeders in the grassy plains. They are plentiful nomads after good rains, but almost absent during dry years. Yellow-billed oxpeckers (B. africanus) are obligatory symbionts of large mammal herbivores. After an absence of over 80 years, they made an unaided comeback starting in 1979. A fairly uniform aggregate of bird species is present from the southern to central areas of the park, but a decline in diversity is noticeable in the mopane-dominated flats northwards of the Olifants. Most species breed in summer when rains sustain most vegetable and animal food, but the larger birds of prey conversely breed during the dry winter, when their prey is most exposed. Out of the 507 species of birds found at Kruger, 253 are residents, 117 non-breeding migrants, and 147 are nomads. Constituting the southern lowveld, the park's avifaunal affinities are mainly with the tropical north. Some representatives of this group are the African openbill, hooded vulture, Dickinson's kestrel, white-crowned lapwing, brown-necked parrot, Senegal coucal, broad-billed roller, trumpeter hornbill, Böhm's spinetail, tropical boubou, Meves's starling and scarlet-chested sunbird. Some 30 waterbird and wader species are dependent on the rivers or associated dams, including the African finfoot, white-backed night heron, white-crowned lapwing and water thick-knee. Other species are limited to riparian thicket or forest, including African goshawk, crested guineafowl, Natal spurfowl, Narina trogon, Pel's fishing owl, bearded scrub robin, terrestrial brownbul and black-throated wattle-eye. This habitat is often reduced by drought or floods or the understorey is opened up by elephant. Some of the larger birds require large territories or are sensitive to habitat degradation. Six of these birds, which are by and large restricted to Kruger and other extensive conservation areas, have been assigned to a fanciful grouping called the "Big Six Birds". They are the lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, saddle-billed stork, kori bustard, ground hornbill and the reclusive Pel's fishing owl, which is localized and seldom seen. The 2011 aerial survey found 22 martial eagle nest sites, the 2015 survey an additional 17, while the 2020 survey found 70 nest locations in all, though the activity of these has yet to be determined. There are 25 to 30 breeding pairs of saddle-billed storks in the park, besides a handful of non-breeding individuals. In 2012 178 family groups of ground hornbills roamed the park and 78 nests were known, of which 50% were active. A 2013 study estimated that 904 pairs of white-backed vulture, 78 pairs of lappet-faced vulture and 60 pairs of white-headed vulture breed in the park. Other vertebrates Kruger is inhabited by 114 species of reptile, including black mambas, African rock pythons, and 3,000 Nile crocodiles. As yet, knowledge of the densities and distributions of the reptiles, especially on smaller spatial scales, is limited by sampling bias and a strong dependence on the park's public infrastructure is evident. 34 species of amphibians are found in the park, as well as 49 fish species. A Zambezi shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull shark, was caught at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers in July 1950. Zambezi sharks tolerate fresh water and can travel far up rivers like the Limpopo. Invertebrates A seasonally fluctuating biomass of arthropods is observed in response to the summer rainfall regime and the mostly deciduous vegetation, as shown by sampling during 11 months in grassland near Satara Camp. 219 species of butterfly and skipper are native to the park.The fastest and most robust of these belong to the genus Charaxes, of which 12 species have been recorded. Genera Papilio and Acraea are also well-represented, with about 10 and 15 species respectively The total number of Lepidoptera species in the park is unknown but could be in the order of 7,000, many of which range widely in African savanna. The mopane moth in the northern half of the park is one of the best known, and communities outside the park have at times been given permits to harvest their caterpillars. The park has a high diversity of termites and 22 genera are known to occur, including the mound-building genera Macrotermes, Cubitermes, Amitermes, Odontotermes and Trinervitermes. A new species of woodlouse, Ctenorillo meyeri, has been discovered inside termite nests, east of Phalaborwa and near Mopani Rest Camp. It is the first instance of a termitophilous species from the family Armadillidae. Many species of mosquito occur in the park, including the Culex, Aedes and Anopheles genera which target mammals. A. arabiensis is the most prevalent of the 9 or more Anopheles species in the park, and their females transmit malaria. As of 2018, 350 species of arachnids, excluding ticks and mites, are known from Kruger. These are mostly true spiders, including 7 species of baboon spider, but also 9 scorpion and 7 pseudoscorpion species, 18 solifugid species (sun and roman spiders), 2 species of harvestmen and 1 species of tailless whip scorpion. Road Conditions Please take care when travelling to/from our Parks. Below are links to websites and Twitter feeds that will provide you with information regarding national road conditions, for your convenience. Websites Trans African Concessions (TRAC) N4 – For visitors travelling to the Kruger National Park via the N4 Toll Route AA – Road Conditions & Distance Calculator SANRAL – The South African National Roads Agency Twitter @netstartraffic – Provides traffic information on Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town. @TomTom_SA – Road/traffic information and updates, provided by TomTom SA. @N3Route – The N3 Toll Route from Cedara (Hilton) to Heidelberg, SA. Traffic updates, road safety and more. @TRACN4route – TRAC operates the N4 toll route between Pretoria in SA and Maputo in Mozambique. For help, info and traffic updates. @EWNTraffic – Eyewitness News’ traffic feed (Gauteng). @itrafficgp – SANRAL traffic updates (Gauteng) SANParks takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information/updates provided on the websites or Twitter feeds listed on this page. Threats Threats The park's ecosystem is subject to several threats, including intensive poaching, urban development at its borders,[45] global warming and droughts, animal overpopulation. and mining projects. Light pollution produced by rest camps and nearby towns affects the biodiversity of Kruger National Park. In particular, it alters the composition of nocturnal wildlife and the hunting behaviour of predators. In 2022 it was announced that Nkosi City, an R8 billion development is planned near the western border of the park. Floods or raising of the walls of the Massingir and Corumana dams in Mozambique could potentially damage, by silting, the pristine gorges of the Olifants and Sabie rivers respectively. The Olifants River Gorge has a deep, single thread, pool-rapid structure which is home to many crocodiles, besides hippos and fish. The fish population of the Olifants has already been diminished by hundreds of dams in its upper reaches. Anti-poaching measures Rhinoceros poaching in Southern Africa Kruger is not exempt from the threat of poaching that many other African countries have faced. Many poachers are in search of ivory from elephant tusks or rhino horns, which are similar in composition to human fingernails. The park's anti-poaching unit consists of 650 SANParks game rangers, assisted by the SAPS and the SANDF (including the SAAF). As of 2013, the park is equipped with two drones borrowed from Denel and two Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopters, donated by the RAF to augment its air space presence.Automated movement sensors relay intrusions along the Mozambique border to a control center, and a specialist dog unit has been introduced Buffer zones have been established along the border with Mozambique, from where many poachers have infiltrated the park, as an alternative to costly new fences. The original 150 km long fences were dropped in 2002 to establish the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. The national anti-poaching committee oversees all activities and coordinates interested parties. Poachers Kruger's big game poachers operate with night vision instruments and large caliber rifles, fitted with suppressors and sophisticated telescopic sights. They are mostly Mozambique citizens who initiate their carefully planned incursions from the border region of South Africa and Mozambique. In 2012, about 200 poachers were apprehended, while about 30 were killed in skirmishes. In July 2012, a Kruger game ranger and policeman were the first to die in an anti-poaching operation, while other employees reported intimidation by poachers. A Kruger personnel strike affected some anti-poaching operations, and some employees have been directly implicated.Rangers in and around the park have been pressured or blackmailed by poaching syndicates to provide intelligence on the whereabouts o rhinos and anti-poaching operations. In December 2012, Kruger started using a Seeker II drone against rhino poachers, which was loaned to the South African National Parks authority by its manufacturer Denel Dynamics, South Africa. In June 2019, a Helix surveillance aircraft system was deployed on night missions in the park, and apprehended half a dozen suspected poachers. Other threats to poachers include the dangerous nature of the park itself. In February 2018, a poacher was believed to have been trampled by elephants and then eaten by lions, leaving rangers to later find only a human skull and a pair of trousers, alongside a loaded hunting rifle. In December 2021, two accused poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park's Skukuza after they were discovered in possession of unauthorized rifles and ammunition. Rhino Poachers make no distinction between white and black rhinos, but losses of black rhinos are low due to their reclusive and aggressive nature.Rhino horn fetches between $66,000 and $82,000 per kilogram, and the CITES ban has proved largely ineffectual against the trade in rhino horn.The second horn is sometimes also hacked from the skull to obtain about 100 ml of moisture that is sold locally as traditional medicine Muti. Poaching rhino horn escalated in the 21st century, with 949 rhinos killed in Kruger in the first 12 years, and more than 520 in 2013 alone. A memorandum of agreement is seen as a necessary milestone in stemming the tide between South Africa and Vietnam, in addition to the one with China . while negotiations have not yet started with Thailand. The amount of rhino horn held in storage is not publicly known. Since 2009, some Kruger rhinos have been fitted with invisible tracing devices in their bodies and horns which enable officials to locate their carcasses and to track the smuggled horns by satellite. Kruger experienced significant elephant poaching in the 1980s .Due to international and national efforts, including a worldwide ban on ivory sales beginning in 1989, the poaching was abated for many years, but a sharp rise in 2014 has continued and the numbers of elephants poached per year in the park is growing at an alarming rate. Following approval by CITES, 47 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from Kruger were auctioned on 6 November 2008. The sale fetched approximately US$6.7 million which was allocated to increased anti-poaching measures. The intention was to flood the market, crash prices and make poaching less profitable. But instead, the legal sale was followed by "an abrupt, significant, permanent, robust and geographically widespread increase" in elephant poaching, as subsequent research showed. The latest Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), summit voted down proposals for further one-off ivory sales from stockpiles for having led to increases in poaching across the continent. Across the continent the African elephant population decreased 30% in the period between 2007 and 2014. Other It is foreseen that the placement of wire traps to procure meat would eventually become the most challenging form of poaching. A scheme has been proposed to reward adjacent communities with the proceeds of game sales in return for their cooperation in game preservation. The larger communities include Bosbokrand, Acornhoek, Hazyview, Hoedspruit, Komatipoort, Malelane, Marloth Park, Nelspruit and Phalaborwa. Communities along the northern boundary have complained about a number of issues that affect them, including livestock killed by escaped predators. In 2021 and 2022 there were cases of poisoning of carcasses near Punda Maria, evidently to obtain the body parts of scavengers. See also South Africa portal Abel Chapman Battle at Kruger Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park Hemmersbach Rhino Force Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Kruger National Park in the 1960s (a timeline of events) List of protected areas of South Africa Makuleke Sabi Sand Game Reserve SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary Skukuza External links Kruger National Park at Wikipedia's sister projects Media from Commons Travel information from Wikivoyage Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: Kruger National Park official website Webcams in the Kruger

WILDLIFE PANARAMA What kinds of monkeys live in South Africa & Other Species If you visit South Africa, it’s only natural to ask yourself the above question. I mean, who doesn’t want to see monkeys!? Luckily, there are quite a few species you should be able to find. So, keep reading to learn how to identify each monkey, ape, and primate, and learn some fun and interesting facts. Pictures and range maps are also included! COMMON Snakes Found in South Africa! If so, you have come to the right place. In the article below, I have listed the MOST COMMON snakes you can expect to see. Unfortunately, there are so many snakes that live in South Africa that it would be impossible to list each one. You’ll see that the snakes in South Africa are very different from each other. They range from venomous species to snakes that use constriction to immobilize their prey. In addition, certain snakes are common to find living around people. MONEYS 4 Types of Monkeys Found in South Africa! Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus Also known as the Vervet, Common Vervet, Desert Tumbuli, or Yellow Monkey. Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 42-60 cm (17-24 in) long with 49-75 cm (19-30 in) tails. Males are larger, and you can easily identify them by their bright blue scrotums. They have black faces. Their fur coats are shades of gray that grow brown towards the back. Keep your food hidden! Vervet Monkeys are bold and frequently steal food from households. These cheeky monkeys live in South Africa in woodlands, savannahs, and mountainous regions. Their behavior is incredibly similar to humans, with some individuals showing traits such as anxiety and alcoholism. Vervet Monkeys spend as much time among the trees as they do on the ground. When foraging the forest floor, they gather in groups of 10-40 individuals. Then, after a long day, they climb back up to the highest branches to rest. Note that these monkeys are highly territorial and will scream aggressively at any intruders! For example, if a Vervet spots a predator lurking around, it will bellow an alarm call to inform others of the danger. Mohol Bushbaby Galago moholi Also known as the Southern Lesser Galago. Identifying Characteristics: Adults are about 15 cm (6 in) long with a tail of 23 cm (9 in). They have notably large and rounded eyes. Their ears, hands, and feet are also proportionally large. Their wooly coats range from gray to brown. Some have stripes and markings on their bodies. Mohol Bushbabies are some of the cutest primates in South Africa! Don’t blink, or you’ll miss them! These fast little critters sprint and leap through the tangle of branches, using their long tails for balance. What they lack in size, they make up for with an array of adaptive abilities. Mohol Bushbabies are equipped with large eyes to help them see in the dark of night. Also, their twitchy ears can detect the faintest sounds from the insects they feed on. Finally, their tongues are narrow enough to reach deep into cracks where bugs hide. These primates eat fruits, nuts, and tree sap if they can’t find prey. Check out our LIVE bird camera from South Africa HERE! At night it’s common to see Mohol Bushbabies visiting the feeder. 🙂 Interestingly, Mohol Bushbabies got their name because their cries sound like that of a human infant! Family units of 2-5 mark their territories with urine to keep outsiders from trespassing. Adult females and their children sleep together in tree hollows, while adult males sleep alone. They tend to bite and spit when threatened, so try not to startle them. Chacma Baboon Papio ursinus Also known as the Cape Baboon. Identifying Characteristics: One of the longest monkeys. Adult bodies are 50 to 115 cm (20 to 45 in), and tails are 45 to 84 cm (18 to 33 in). They are also one of the heaviest monkeys. Adult males average 31.8 kg (70 lb). Females are considerably smaller. Generally dark gray or brown. There is a patch of rough hair on the nape of its neck. Males DO NOT have a mane, unlike baboon species that live farther north in Africa. Chacma Baboons are the most common monkey in South Africa! You can find them in a wide variety of habitats, including woodland, savanna, steppes, and sub deserts (arid habitats that have just enough rainfall to allow vegetation to grow). They are adaptable and live in both humid and dry environments. It is rare to find only ONE Chacma Baboon, as this species is very social. They live in large troops that can number up to 100 individuals. Communication is done via facial expressions, vocalizations, body movements, and touch. Infanticide is more common among these primates than other baboon species, as new dominant males will kill other infants sired by the previous male. Chacma Baboon Range Map Leopards are the main predator of Chacma Baboons. One study showed that they made up 20% of leopard kills! African wild dogs, lions, Spotted hyenas, Nile crocodiles, and African rock pythons also consume these monkeys when given the chance. But male Chacma Baboons are pretty intimidating themselves with large and sharp canine teeth, and they are often able to drive away potential predators. Blue Monkey Cercopithecus mitis Also known as the Diademed Monkey. Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 50-65 cm (20-26 in) long. Look for a white patch of fur on their necks. They also have round, furry cheeks. Contrary to their name, Blue Monkeys have grayish or olive coats. Look for Blue Monkeys in South Africa high among the tree canopy. They prefer shaded areas with high humidity and nearby water sources. Blue Monkeys are occasional allies and share territory with Red-tailed Monkeys. On the other hand, they avoid Baboons and Chimpanzees, who sometimes prey on them. Blue Monkeys function in groups of 10-15. An alpha male acts as the leader of several subgroups consisting of females and their children. Females can be aggressive towards one another, especially when defending their food. Roughly half of their diets are fruits, but they also eat flowers, leaves, and slow-moving invertebrates. Blue Monkeys rarely leave the safety of treetops, so don’t expect to come across one at ground level. However, sometimes, they bask in the early morning sun from lower bare branches. Puff Adder Bitis arietans Also known as the African Puff Adder and Common Puff Adder Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 100-150 cm (39-59 in) long. They are commonly gray to dusty brown, with yellow chevrons on their backs. There are two dark bands on the head, one on the crown and one between the eyes. Male Puff Adders are usually larger than females. Puff Adders are one of the most dangerous snakes in South Africa. This ill-tempered native snake roams savannas, grasslands, and – to the great misfortune of inhabitants – densely populated areas. The Puff Adder gets its name from how it inflates itself when threatened. Instead of moving away, it will hiss a warning to intruders before inflating and striking. Its distinctive chevron pattern in yellow, white, and brown colors allows the Puff Adder to blend into its surroundings. This camouflage is particularly useful for its lifestyle as an ambush predator. Be careful where you wander because this highly-venomous, fast-striking snake seems to come out of nowhere. The Puff Adder’s venom contains a cytotoxin that can kill a healthy adult human within a day. Their potent venom and tendency to loiter around footpaths make this snake one to avoid. Watch your step! Cape House Snake Boaedon capensis Also known as the Brown House Snake and Common House Snake Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 60 cm (24 in) on average, but they can grow up to 120 cm (47 in). They are various shades of yellow and brown, but some individuals are brick red. You will notice two white lines on the head: one from the back of the eye to the tip of the mouth and the other from the nose to the back of the head. The belly is creamy white, with stripes running along the body. The Cape House Snake is frequently seen in grassy and suburban areas, but it doesn’t stop there. As its name suggests, it has a habit of appearing in houses unannounced, especially at night! Luckily, these snakes are harmless to humans. They slowly drag themselves around at night to catch unsuspecting rodents, lizards, and birds. Without venom to paralyze their prey, Cape House Snakes constrict their prey with strong muscles along their bodies. The Cape House Snake is popular among exotic pet owners due to being low-maintenance. However, owners should be careful to keep these snakes separated. In captivity, they breed up to six times per year as opposed to two times in the wild. Boomslang Dispholidus typus Also known as Common African Tree Snake, Kivu Boomslang, and Kivu Large Green Tree Snake Identifying Characteristics: Adults are usually 100-160 cm (39-63 in) long. Coloration varies greatly, allowing these snakes to camouflage in different terrains. Generally, males are light green, scaled with black and blue, and females are brown. Boomslangs have an egg-shaped head and notably large eyes. This slender snake in South Africa makes its home in low-lying trees. In fact, its common name Boomslang means “tree snake” in Afrikaans and Dutch. Be careful within this species’ range because the next vine you pull might become a deadly encounter! This snake’s venom is highly potent, causing bleeding and death for humans, even in small doses. However, compared to front-fanged snakes, which release large amounts of venom at once, rear-fanged snakes like the Boomslang inject small amounts of venom in quick succession. When confronted, the Boomslang will freeze and then swing its head from side to side before quickly attacking. Fortunately, Boomslangs won’t attack humans except as a last resort. If you are bitten, seek immediate treatment. Victims might get a false sense of safety because the venom is slow-acting, but many people have died from internal bleeding hours later. Cape Cobra Naja nivea Also known as Yellow Cobra and Black Spitting Cobra Identifying Characteristics: Their typical length is between 120-140 cm (47-55 in), but some have been recorded to grow up to 188 cm (74 in). Male Cape Cobras are slightly larger than females. Their colors vary, ranging from bright yellow, dark brown, and reddish black to speckled. Juveniles have dark bands from the throat to the belly for their first two years. The Cape Cobra is found along savannas, shrublands, and deserts. Although it’s mostly a terrestrial snake that hunts on land, this venomous species is surprisingly agile near water or atop trees. Be extra careful if you find yourself within Cape Cobra territory. Among snakes in South Africa, it’s considered one of the most dangerous because its venom targets the respiratory and nervous systems. Seek immediate treatment if bitten because victims have been reported to die within an hour. Like most snakes, the Cape Cobra prefers to flee than fight. However, it can strike without notice if it feels trapped. Be especially wary during this cobra’s mating period in September and October, when it’s more aggressive than usual. Spotted Bush Snake Philothamnus semivariegatus Also known as Spotted Green Snake and Variegated Green Snake Identifying Characteristics: They are typically 60-130 cm (24-51 in) long. Spotted Bush Snakes have small heads, golden yellow eyes, and blue tongues. The upper half of the body can be yellow, green, or blue, while the tail-end is brown. You might also find black spots or stripes. You might encounter the Spotted Bush Snake in South Africa in forested areas or suburban gardens. These beautifully-patterned snakes have keeled, or ridged, belly scales, allowing them to easily climb walls, trees, and bushes. Curiously, they’re fantastic swimmers as well! Often misidentified as the more dangerous Green Mamba, Spotted Bush Snakes are non-venomous and harmless to humans. Instead, they’re patient hawk-eyed hunters, staying completely still before swiftly attacking lizards, geckos, and frogs in daylight. Spotted Bush Snakes are alert, nervous animals and will immediately flee upon sensing danger. They don’t have established territories and are noted to travel far and wide in pursuit of their prey. So if you find one astray in your home, leave a window open, and it’ll leave soon! Stripe-bellied Sand Snake Psammophis subtaeniatus Also known as Western Yellow-bellied Sand Snake Identifying Characteristics: Their average length is 70-140 cm (28-55 in). As its common name suggests, it has prominent stripes along the body from head to tail. The belly is yellow. Look for a slender head and large eyes. Try not to blink, or you might miss seeing one of the fastest snakes in South Africa! Stripe-bellied Sand Snakes are swift enough to successfully hunt birds, lizards, rodents, and even other snakes. But thankfully, it poses no threat to humans. The Stripe-bellied Sand Snake frequents arid habitats such as savannas and rocky hillsides. Here, it indulges in one of its favorite pastimes– basking in the sun! Consequently, it’s most active during the hottest hours of the day. Interestingly, they share a trait commonly seen in house geckos. If a predator catches its tail, the snake snaps it off and slithers away to nearby shrubs and trees for safety. The tail grows back, but it’s usually less colorful and shorter than before. Black Mamba Dendroaspis polylepis Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 200-450 cm (79-177 in). Its coloring is usually brown, olive green, or yellow. Black specimens with purplish scales are very rare. Juveniles are usually gray or green, but they darken with age. In small woodlands and rocky outcrops of sub-Saharan South Africa lurks what many consider the world’s deadliest snake. The Black Mamba is named after the inky coloring of the inside of its mouth, something you should hope never to see! It likes to nest in burrows, so stay alert around suspicious holes. The fatally potent venom of the Black Mamba targets the nervous system and the heart. Difficulty breathing can occur within 10 minutes. If you get bitten, it’s a race against time, so get medical attention immediately! In addition to their highly toxic venom, Black Mambas are terrifyingly fast. They can move 16 kph (10 mph) for short distances and even lunge at prey or attackers. Contrary to popular belief, these snakes are rather shy and will choose to escape when given a chance. They raise their heads, spread their cobra-like neck hoods, and hiss loudly as a warning to would-be attackers. So the best thing to do if you encounter the Black Mamba is to slowly back away, making sure it doesn’t feel cornered. Red-lipped Snake Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia Also known as Common Herald Snake, White-lipped Herald Snake, Savanna White-lipped Snake, Black-templed Cat Snake Identifying Characteristics: This snake can grow to 70-100 cm (28-39 in) long. Coloration is usually olive green or gray on the back, sometimes speckled white. Its head is notably black. True to its name, it has a bright red (sometimes orange or yellow) upper lip most prominently displayed when it feels threatened. The head is broad and triangular, while the tail is short. You’ll find Red-lipped Snakes near marshlands, bogs, and lowland forests in South Africa. They also gravitate towards the suburbs, so you might bump into one in your backyard after an evening rain. Most active during the night, these land snakes prey on amphibians such as toads and frogs. Their venom is mild, effective only on their chosen prey, and harmless to huans. They also have a mild and shy demeanor. Don’t test your luck, though. Red-lipped snakes have a trigger-happy temper when provoked. So even though its venom isn’t dangerous, its bite is still painful! Interestingly, the Red-lipped Snake got its other common name, the Herald Snake, from a newspaper story. It was first mentioned in the Eastern Cape’s Herald newspaper! Southern African Python Python natalensis Also known as Lesser African Python, South African Rock Python, Natal Rock Python Identifying Characteristics: On average, this large snake is 280-460 cm (110-181 inches) long, with rare specimens reaching 600 cm (236 inches). Females are much heavier than males. Its broad head is marked by an arrow shape on the crown. The coloration is dark brown speckled with gray, with a white underside. This species is one of the largest snakes in South Africa. It regularly grows longer than four meters (13 feet), and some rare individuals reach a staggering six meters (20 feet) long! Look for the Southern African Python in woodlands and savannas, close to water sources such as lakes, streams, and rivers. This python’s main diet consists of warm-blooded animals like monkeys, large birds, and even young antelopes. If warm-blooded prey isn’t abundant, it will eat fish and even small crocodiles. As with the rest of the python family, it kills by constriction and swallows its prey whole. Although they’re non-venomous, they’re big enough to kill and eat humans on rare occasions! Thankfully, Southern African Pythons are not aggressive and usually don’t bother people. Instead, they prefer basking lazily in the sun while submerged in shallow waters. Gaboon Viper Bitis gabonica Also known as Gaboon Adder, Forest Puff Adder, Butterfly Adder, Whisper, Swampjack Identifying Characteristics: Their typical size is 80–205 cm (31-81 in) long. Females are heavy and stout, while males have longer tails in proportion to their body length. You’ll see faded, rectangular blotches down the snake’s back, with yellowish hourglass-shaped marks along the gaps. The Gaboon Viper boasts the longest fangs of any snake in South Africa! Incredibly, they can grow up to 6 cm (2.3 in) long. This is one snake you definitely want to steer clear of! Interestingly, its fangs aren’t the only unusual thing about this species. It also has the highest venom yield of any snake worldwide because of its hunting style. Unlike most vipers, it doesn’t release once it engages in a bite, injecting massive amounts of venom into its prey. Watch your step because this nocturnal viper has near-perfect camouflage. It’s practically invisible amid fallen leaves on the forest floor and can remain motionless for hours hunting small birds and mammals. The Gaboon Viper’s venom can be fatal in large doses or cause severe necrosis in the bite area. Fortunately, bite incidents are rare. These snakes are normally non-aggressive, sluggish, and are only encountered in dense rainforests. Olive Whip Snake Psammophis mossambicus Also known as Olive Grass Snake, Olive Sand Snake Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 100-180 cm long (39-71 in) on average. It’s mostly olive-brown, but some specimens are black. There are dark-edged scales along the neck and body. The underside is yellow. This snake in South Africa is a common resident of grasslands and swamplands. You might find the Olive Whip Snake prowling near water sources during the day, so keep a keen eye out! Be alert around trees and shrubs, too, because it’s an adept climber. The Olive Grass Snake is not nearly as venomous as the Black Mamba, but it often gets mistaken for one. This is due to its size and tendency to lift its forebody off the ground to an impressive height. Its food sources are also similar to the Black Mamba: lizards, rodents, frogs, and fellow venomous snakes. Despite its weight, the Olive Grass Snake moves incredibly fast. And while it prefers a speedy retreat when sensing danger, it may choose to lunge and bite. Fortunately, its venom is mild for humans. Brown Forest Cobra Naja subfulva Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 200-275 cm (79-108 in) long on average. They are mostly brownish yellow on the head, darkening to pitch black on the tail. There are light-colored spots all over the body. Other notable characteristics are black stripes under the eyes and a band of small black dots near the throat. Brown Forest Cobras are mostly limited to savanna woodlands in South Africa. This highly alert and intelligent cobra leaves its lair when the sun is out. If it’s not busy basking in the heat, it goes hunting for its usual lunch: birds and small mammals. Thankfully, snakebite incidents are rare because Brown Forest Cobras live far away from human civilization. Even if you encounter them, their first instinct is to flee. Nonetheless, stay back as their venom can cause tissue damage, difficulty breathing, and even death if left untreated. Horned Adder Bitis caudalis Also known as Horned Puff Adder, Horned Viper, Sidewinding Adder, Common Single-horned Adder Identifying Characteristics: Adults are 30-51 cm (12-20 in) long. Body coloration appears in shades of brown, gray, yellow, and red. Males have more vibrant colors, while females are significantly larger. Horned Adders are one of the smallest snakes in South Africa, but they are fierce when disturbed. This species owes its common name to the prominent horn-like scale above each eye. Horned Adders inhabit scrublands and semi-deserts because their repetitive sidewinding motion is efficient in sandy terrain. As an ambush predator, this adder will bury itself into the sand just deep enough for its eyes to poke out. Then, it uses its black-tipped tail to lure prey in the form of geckos, rodents, and birds. Horned Adders are most active at dusk. In the daytime, they enjoy the shade of rocks and bushes. The venom, containing mild cytotoxins, has been known to cause serious pain and skin ulcers. Listen carefully for angry hisses as you might accidentally cross paths with a Horned Adder already in striking position! Twig Snake Thelotornis capensis Also known as Cape Twig Snake, Savanna Vine Snake, Southern Bird Snake, Cape Twig Snake Identifying Characteristics: These are slender snakes with very long tails, measuring 100-168 cm (39-66 in) in total length. Look for a flattened bluish-green head, keyhole-shaped pupils, large black fangs, and a reddish-black tongue. Body coloration is brown or gray with blotches. As the name suggests, you might mistake this snake in South Africa for a twig! Twig Snakes hang perfectly still on branches of low shrubs, waiting for passing chameleons, frogs, and birds. They are patient predators and can maintain this posture for hours. When disturbed, they inflate their necks like a balloon as a scare tactic. Take great care when trekking through coastal forests and woodlands. Its coloration allows it to blend in with the bark and branches of trees. Although it’s unassuming, the Twig Snake is venomous and very dangerous. The Twig Snake’s venom is a slow-acting poison that can cause profuse bleeding and hemorrhage. One German herpetologist named Robert Mertens died 18 days after being bitten by his pet Twig Snake. So, get quick medical treatment for a bite even if you don’t have immediate symptoms. Mole Snake Pseudaspis cana Identifying Characteristics: Adults grow up to 207 cm (81 in) long. Colors are commonly gray, red, or black on the body. The belly is white, speckled with dark spots. Juveniles are light brown with white zig-zags or spots. They use their small heads, pointed snouts, and narrow necks to hunt underground. Look for Mole Snakes in South Africa in scrublands and mountainous regions. You are most likely to find one near rodent burrows where it spends the day foraging for its next meal. In fact, this species was named after the Golden Moles it loves to feast on. A curious quirk of this muscular snake is that it’s viviparous. So instead of laying eggs as most reptiles do, the Mole Snake will give birth to live babies. Incredibly, a single mole snake can give birth to up to 95 babies at once! Mole Snakes may be non-venomous, but you should still be careful if handling one. With strong, very sharp teeth, they can inflict deep wounds that need stitches. In addition, they’re extremely aggressive. They are often mistaken for Cape Cobras because of their short tempers and notorious ferocity. Common Slug-Eater Duberria lutrix Identifying Characteristics: Adults grow to only about 40 cm (16 in). Typically, they have black-striped green or brown backs, white and yellow bellies, and gray sides. Common Slug-Eaters are non-venomous snakes endemic to the damp grasslands of Southern South Africa. True to their name, they feed on a specialized diet of snails and slugs. They have a calm demeanor, and they pose no danger to humans. This snake is known to hunt its prey down by following slime trails. Once it locates a meal, it quickly swallows the soft body before the snail or slug can secrete foul, defensive mucus. In the case of snails, Common Slug-eaters are known to bash the hard shell against a rock to break it open. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

GAUTENG Gauteng Some of South Africa’s largest cities are in Gauteng, including Johannesburg and Pretoria. This province is the economic hub of South Africa. Gauteng is the smallest but wealthiest of South Africa’s provinces . It is the most densely populated of the provinces. The province borders the Free State Province , Limpopo , Mpumalanga and the North-West Province. Towns and Cities The main cities are Johannesburg, Pretoria, Centurion, Midrand, Germiston, Roodepoort, Krugersdorp, Kempton Park and Vereeniging. The main towns include Heidelberg, Magaliesburg, Soweto and Vanderbijlpark. Gauteng (/xaʊˈtɛŋ/ khow-TENG , Sotho: [xɑ́.úˈtʼèŋ̀] ; Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; Zulu : eGoli or iGoli [îːˈɡóːlì] ) 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 the most populous province in South Africa , with more than a quarter (26%) of the national population; the provincial population was approximately 16.1 million, according to mid-year 2022 estimates. Highly urbanised, the province contains the country's largest city, Johannesburg . Gauteng is the wealthiest province in South Africa and is considered the financial hub of South Africa; the financial activity is mostly concentrated in Johannesburg. It also contains the administrative capital, Pretoria , and other large areas such as Midrand , Vanderbijlpark , Ekurhuleni and the affluent Sandton . The largest township, Soweto, is also found in this province. Politically, it is the closest contested province between the ANC and the DA in South Africa. Etymology The name Gauteng is derived from Sotho-Tswana gauta, meaning 'gold'. There was a thriving gold industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg . In Sesotho , Setswana and Sepedi the name Gauteng was used for Johannesburg and surrounding areas long before it was adopted in 1994 as the official name of the province. History A snippet of text showing the Sesotho word "Gaudeng" (modern Gauteng) in Jacottet's A practical method to learn Sesuto: with exercises and a short vocabulary , published in 1906 Gauteng was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first multiracial elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially called Pretoria –Witwatersrand –Vereeniging (PWV) and was renamed "Gauteng" on the 28th of June 1995, the same day two other provinces were renamed. The term "PWV" describing the region existed long before the establishment of a province by that name,with the "V" sometimes standing for "Vaal Triangle " rather than Vereeniging. At the Sterkfontein caves, some of the oldest fossils of hominids have been discovered, such as Mrs. Ples and Little Foot . Events in this area were not written down until the 19th century; information from before that time is lost or difficult to confirm. The first records are from the early 19th century, when settlers originating from the Cape Colony defeated chief Mzilikazi and started establishing villages in the area. The city of Pretoria, established in 1855 as the capital of the South African Republic , witnessed rapid growth until the discovery of gold in the Witswatersrand area in 1886, which led to the founding of Johannesburg.[12] [15] Despite slower development compared to Johannesburg, Pretoria maintained significance, notably due to its pivotal role in the Second Boer War . The nearby town of Cullinan gained international acclaim in 1905 when the largest diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan Diamond , was mined there. Many events crucial to the anti-apartheid struggle happened in present-day Gauteng, such as the Freedom Charter of 1955, Women's March of 1956, Sharpeville massacre of 1960, the Rivonia Trial of 1963 and 1964, the little Rivonia Trial of 1964, the Soweto Uprising of 1976 and Sharpeville Six of 1984. The Apartheid Museum documents this era. Law and government Gauteng is governed by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature , a 73-person unicameral legislature elected by party-list proportional representation . The legislature elects one of its members as Premier of Gauteng to lead the executive, and the Premier appoints an Executive Council of up to 10 members of the legislature to serve as heads of the various government departments. The provincial government is responsible for the topics allocated to it in the national constitution , including such fields as basic education, health, housing, social services, agriculture and environmental protection. The most recent election of the provincial legislature was held on 8 May 2019 , and the African National Congress (ANC) won 50.19% of the vote and a 37-seat majority in the legislature. The official opposition is the Democratic Alliance , which won 27.45% of the vote and 20 seats. Other parties represented are the Economic Freedom Fighters with eleven seats and the Freedom Front Plus with three seats. The Inkatha Freedom Party and African Christian Democratic Party hold one seat each.[16] Premier David Makhura of the ANC was re-elected as premier on 22 May 2019, at the first meeting of the legislature after the general election.Makhura resigned from the position on 6 October 2022 and Panyaza Lesufi of the ANC was elected to replace him. In the 2024 South African general election , held on 29 May, the ANC received 34% of the vote, while the DA received 28%. The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa , which has seats in Pretoria and Johannesburg, is a superior court with general jurisdiction over the province. Johannesburg is also home to the Constitutional Court , South Africa's highest court, and to a branch of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court . Geography The undulating hills that form part of the rural areas in the province just north of Johannesburg. Although Gauteng is a heavily urbanised province, much of its area is extensively cultivated for agriculture. Gauteng's southern border is the Vaal River , which separates it from the Free State . It also borders on North West to the west, Limpopo [10] to the north, and Mpumalanga [10] to the east. Gauteng is the only landlocked province of South Africa without a foreign border. Most of Gauteng is on the Highveld , a high-altitude grassland (circa 1,500 m or 4,921 ft above sea level). Between Johannesburg and Pretoria , there are low parallel ridges and undulating hills, some part of the Magaliesberg Mountains and the Witwatersrand . The north of the province is more subtropical , due to its lower altitude and is mostly dry savanna habitat. Witwatersrand area Further information: Witwatersrand In the southern half of Gauteng, the Witwatersrand area is an older term describing a 120 km wide oblong-shaped conurbation from Randfontein in the West to Nigel in the East, named after the Witwatersrand , a geologically and economically important series of low ridges and their associated plateau that greater Johannesburg developed on. This area is also often referred to simply as "Witwatersrand", "the Rand" or "the Reef" (archaic, after the gold reefs that precipitated the development of the area), and was the "W" in PWV, the initial name for Gauteng. It has traditionally been divided into the three areas of East Rand (governed by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality ), Central Rand (approximately today's Johannesburg Municipality ) and West Rand Climate The climate is mostly influenced by altitude. Even though the province is at a subtropical latitude, the climate is comparatively cooler, especially in Johannesburg , at 1,700 m (5,577 ft) above sea level (Pretoria is at 1,330 m or 4,364 ft). Most precipitation occurs as brief afternoon thunderstorms; however, relative humidity never becomes uncomfortable. Winters are crisp and dry with frost occurring often in the southern areas. Snow is rare, but it has occurred on some occasions in the Johannesburg metropolitan area Cities and towns Cities and towns See also: List of cities and towns in Gauteng Alberton Atteridgeville Benoni Boksburg Bronkhorstspruit Brakpan Carletonville Centurion Cullinan Edenvale Ga-Rankuwa Germiston Hammanskraal Heidelberg Henley on Klip Johannesburg Kempton Park Krugersdorp Mabopane Mamelodi Magaliesburg Meyerton Midrand Nigel Parkhurst Pretoria Randburg Randfontein Roodepoort Rosebank Sandton Soshanguve Soweto Springs Tembisa Vanderbijlpark Vereeniging Administrative divisions Gauteng municipalities Main article: List of municipalities in Gauteng The Gauteng Province (as of May 2011) is divided into three metropolitan municipalities and two district municipalities . The district municipalities are in turn divided into six local municipalities : District municipalities Sedibeng District Emfuleni Lesedi Midvaal West Rand District Merafong City Mogale City Rand West City Metropolitan municipalities Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (Pretoria ) Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality The former Metsweding district consisting of Nokeng Tsa Taemane and Kungwini in the North of the province was incorporated into Tshwane in 2011. Demographics Population density in Gauteng <1 /km² 1–3 /km² 3–10 /km² 10–30 /km² 30–100 /km² 100–300 /km² 300–1000 /km² 1000–3000 /km² >3000 /km² Dominant home languages in Gauteng Afrikaans English Ndebele Xhosa Zulu Pedi Sotho Tswana Swati Venda Tsonga No language dominant As of the 2022 census , Gauteng had a population of 15,099,422, an increase of 23.0% from the last census in 2011 . Despite being the smallest province by area, it has the highest population of any South African province, with 24.3% of the total South African population. As of 2022, there are 5,318,665 households in Gauteng. The population density is 831/km2. The density of households is 155.86/km2. About 22.1% of all households are made up of individuals. The average household size fell slightly between the 2011 census and 2022 census, from 3.1 to 2.8 persons. The province's age distribution was 23.6% under the age of 15, 19.6% from 15 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.3 males. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE Languages Languages According to the 2022 census , in Gauteng, the most spoken languages at home were: Zulu : 23.1% of residents, Sesotho : 13.1%, Sepedi : 12.6%, Setswana : 10.4%, English : 9.2%, Afrikaans : 7.7%, Xitsonga : 7.0%, IsiXhosa : 6.7%, IsiNdebele : 3.1%, Tshivenda : 2.4%, SiSwati : 0.9%, South African Sign Language : 0.02%, Other languages: 4.3%. Religion 86.1% of residents are Christian, 4.3% have no religion , 1.6% are Muslim, 0.1% are Jewish, and 0.7% are Hindu . 6.0% stated Traditional African religions as their faith. Educational Attainment 8.4% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 11.2% have had some primary, 5.5% have completed only primary school, 34.3% have had some high education, 28.0% have finished only high school, and 12.6% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 40.6% of residents have completed high school. Economic Status 56.1% of housing units have a telephone and/or mobile phone in the dwelling, 41.5% have access to a phone nearby, and 2.3% have access that is not nearby or no access. 82.8% of households have a flush or chemical toilet. 84.2% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week and 2.6% have no rubbish disposal. 47.2% have running water inside their dwelling, 83.6% have running water on their property, and 97.5% have access to running water. 73.2% of households use electricity for cooking, 70.4% for heating, and 80.8% for lighting. 77.4% of households have a radio, 65.7% have a television, 15.1% own a computer, 62.1% have a refrigerator , and 45.1% have a mobile phone. 25.8% of the population aged 15–65 is unemployed. The median annual income of working adults aged 15–65 is R 23 539 ($3,483). Males have a median annual income of R 24 977 ($3,696) versus R 20 838 ($3,083) for females. According to the 2022 census , in Gauteng, the most spoken languages at home were: Zulu : 23.1% of residents, Sesotho : 13.1%, Sepedi : 12.6%, Setswana : 10.4%, English : 9.2%, Afrikaans : 7.7%, Xitsonga : 7.0%, IsiXhosa : 6.7%, IsiNdebele : 3.1%, Tshivenda : 2.4%, SiSwati : 0.9%, South African Sign Language : 0.02%, Other languages: 4.3%. Religion 86.1% of residents are Christian, 4.3% have no religion , 1.6% are Muslim, 0.1% are Jewish, and 0.7% are Hindu . 6.0% stated Traditional African religions as their faith. Educational Attainment 8.4% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 11.2% have had some primary, 5.5% have completed only primary school, 34.3% have had some high education, 28.0% have finished only high school, and 12.6% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 40.6% of residents have completed high school. Economic Status 56.1% of housing units have a telephone and/or mobile phone in the dwelling, 41.5% have access to a phone nearby, and 2.3% have access that is not nearby or no access. 82.8% of households have a flush or chemical toilet. 84.2% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week and 2.6% have no rubbish disposal. 47.2% have running water inside their dwelling, 83.6% have running water on their property, and 97.5% have access to running water. 73.2% of households use electricity for cooking, 70.4% for heating, and 80.8% for lighting. 77.4% of households have a radio, 65.7% have a television, 15.1% own a computer, 62.1% have a refrigerator , and 45.1% have a mobile phone. 25.8% of the population aged 15–65 is unemployed. The median annual income of working adults aged 15–65 is R 23 539 ($3,483). Males have a median annual income of R 24 977 ($3,696) versus R 20 838 ($3,083) for females. Life expectancy Life expectancy Gauteng is the province with the second highest life expectancy in the country in 2019 with females having a life expectancy of 69 years and males having a life expectancy of 64 years. Urban conurbation Historically described as the PWV complex, the urban conurbation of Gauteng, referred to as the Gauteng City Region, contains the major urban populations of Johannesburg (7,860,781 as of 2011), Pretoria (1,763,336), Vereeniging (377,922), Evaton (605,504) and Soshanguve (728,063), coming to an urban population of over 11 million. Thomas Brinkhoff lists a "Consolidated Urban Area" in Gauteng as having a population of 13.1 million as of January 2017. The future governmental plans for the region indicate the gradual urbanisation and consolidation towards the creation of a megalopolis that connects these metros. The GCRO is a collaboration between the Universities of Johannesburg and Witwatersrand, the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Provincial Government, and SALGA-Gauteng. The GCRO's purpose is to collect information and create a database on the Gauteng City Region to provide to government, lawmakers and civil society an informed understanding of the fastest urbanizing region in Southern Africa. Economy Main article: Economy of Gauteng Gauteng is considered the economic hub of South Africa and contributes heavily in the financial, manufacturing, transport, technology, and telecommunications sectors, among others. It also plays host to a large number of overseas companies requiring a commercial base in and gateway to Africa . Gauteng is home to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange , the largest stock exchange in Africa. Some of the largest companies in Africa and abroad are based in Gauteng, or have offices and branches there, such as Vodacom , MTN , Neotel , Microsoft South Africa and the largest Porsche Centre in the world. Although Gauteng is the smallest of South Africa's nine provinces—it covers a mere 1.5% of the country's total land area, the province is responsible for a third of South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP). Gauteng generates about 10% of the total GDP of sub-Saharan Africa and about 7% of total African GDP. Gauteng has the highest GDP and GDP per capita of all South Africa's provinces. Gauteng is also the province with the most taxpayers and the highest average taxable income per taxpayer according to the South African Revenue Service . Transport Sandton Gautrain Station in August 2010 SANRAL , a parastatal, is responsible for the maintenance, development and management of all national road networks in South Africa.. SANRAL is responsible for instituting the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, which was met with a lot of opposition due to the tolling of Gauteng motorists. Many important national routes run through Gauteng such as the N1 , N3 , N4 , N12 , N14 and the N17 . Johannesburg is quite dependent on freeways for transport in and around the city. The R21 , R24 , R59 , M1 and M2 all run through Johannesburg while the R80 connects Pretoria Central to Soshanguve. The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project led to a large decrease in traffic congestion when construction finished 2011–2012. Cape Town , for the first time in decades, is now the most congested city in South Africa. PUTCO , the largest commuter bus operator in South Africa, services the Gauteng area extensively. The bus rapid transit system Rea Vaya also serves to transport people from Johannesburg's southern neighbourhoods into and around the CBD . In an interview, Parks Tau stated that by 2040, Johannesburg will be dominated by pedestrians and public transport as opposed to the use of private transport or informal transport, such as minibus taxis. Gautrain and Metrorail both service the province's public transport sector where trains are concerned and Gautrain offers a bus service that transports commuters to and from various train stations and predetermined bus stops. Metrorail trains are considered one of the most cost-effective methods of transportation in and around Gauteng. The O. R. Tambo International Airport , Rand Airport , Lanseria International Airport , Wonderboom Airport and Grand Central Airport are located in Gauteng. There is a large informal transport sector in Gauteng, consisting of thousands of minibus taxis , which many of the urban and rural population makes use of. However, it is noted that taxis are often unsafe as their drivers ignore the rules of the road and the vehicles are often not roadworthy . The City of Johannesburg stated that: "major initiatives are under way to completely reform the taxi industry and provide more comfort and safety to customers." In March 2017, it is reported that Gauteng alone has 4,7 million registered vehicles under the "GP" abbreviation via the eNatis system. Education University of Pretoria 's Old Arts Building Gauteng is a large center of learning in South Africa, and it has many universities and educational institutions of higher learning. Universities Monash University South Africa Campus Tshwane University of Technology University of Johannesburg Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University University of Pretoria University of South Africa University of the Witwatersrand Vaal University of Technology Colleges African Leadership Academy CTI Education Group Damelin Lyceum College Midrand Graduate Institute Rabbinical College of Pretoria St Augustine College of South Africa Milpark Education Stadio In 2002, the Gauteng Department of Education founded an initiative called Gauteng Online in an attempt to get the entire province to utilize a wide assortment of electronic and telecommunications systems. In 2007, this initiative was handed over to the Gauteng Department of Finance. In the 2013 national budget speech, it was announced that the Gauteng Department of Education would be granted over R 700 million to improve education and to alleviate issues concerning the overcrowding in schools, a shortage in teaching staff and transport for poor pupils. In 2017/2018, the Gauteng Provincial government spent R 42.4 billion on education which accounted for 38% the province's total expenditure. Conservation Although Gauteng province is dominated by the urban areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria, it has several nature reserves. Gauteng is home to the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes the Sterkfontein caves and the Wonder Cave Kromdraai . Johannesburg is home to the largest human-made urban forest in the world. Botanical gardens Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden Johannesburg Botanical Garden Pretoria National Botanical Garden Nature reserves Rietvlei Nature Reserve Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve Groenkloof Nature Reserve Dinokeng Game Reserve Private and municipal reserves Kromdraai Conservancy Krugersdorp Nature Reserve Rietvlei Nature Reserve Wonderboom Nature Reserve Provincial reserves The Maropeng visitors centre at the Cradle of Humankind Main article: Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs There are 5 provincial reserves managed by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs: Abe Bailey Nature Reserve Alice Glockner Nature Reserve Marievale Bird Sanctuary Roodeplaat Nature Reserve Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve Sport Loftus Versfeld Stadium, one of Gauteng's various stadia and venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Gauteng is home to many stadiums and sporting grounds, notably Soccer City , Ellis Park Stadium , Odi Stadium , Loftus Versfeld Stadium , Lucas Moripe Stadium , Giant Stadium , Orlando Stadium , Johannesburg Stadium , the Wanderers Stadium and SuperSport Park . Several teams from Gauteng play in the country's top-level association football (more commonly referred to as soccer) league, the Premier Soccer League (PSL), including Mamelodi Sundowns , SuperSport United , Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates . The national squad Bafana Bafana 's home stadium is Soccer City in Johannesburg. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup , the first ever world cup held by an African nation, Gauteng's stadia hosted many games. The first ever FIFA world cup match on African soil took place at Soccer City on 11 June 2010. Along with Soccer City, Loftus Versfeld Stadium and Ellis Park Stadium hosted matches in Gauteng. Rugby , or more accurately rugby union , is a popular sport in South Africa, and in Gauteng in particular. Two rugby teams from Gauteng participate in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby championship: the Pretoria -based Bulls , and the Johannesburg -based Lions (previously the Cats). Three Gauteng-based teams play in the country's domestic competition, the Currie Cup : the Blue Bulls from Pretoria, the Golden Lions from Johannesburg and the Falcons from the East Rand . In 1995, South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup and proceeded to win the tournament at Ellis Park Stadium on 24 June 1995. The events surrounding the world cup formed the basis of the story for the movie Invictus . Many South African universities take part in the Varsity Rugby league. Of these, the Gauteng universities include the University of Pretoria, the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand. Cricket is also widely popular among all cultural groups in the country, and is the only sport to feature in the top two among all of South Africa's major ethnic/racial groups. The Highveld Lions represent both Gauteng and North West in the country's three domestic competitions—the first-class SuperSport Series , the List A one-day MTN Domestic Championship and the Twenty20 Standard Bank Pro 20 Series . Many marathons take place in Gauteng, such as the Gauteng Marathon, the Arwyp Medical Centre 15 km Nite Race and the Trisport Joburg City Triathlon. Gauteng's favourable weather conditions throughout the year make it an ideal hub for sports and other out door activities. This makes golf , horse racing and swimming very popular. The Vaal River facilitates water sports in the forms of jet skiing, water skiing and motor boating.[82] Adventure sports are also quite popular in Gauteng, particularly skydiving, paragliding and hang-gliding. The amusement park Gold Reef City is situated in Gauteng,as is the Johannesburg Zoo [84] and the Pretoria Zoo . Botanical gardens in the province include the Pretoria and Walter Sisulu national botanical gardens maintained by the South African National Botanical Institute as well as the Johannesburg and Manie van der Schijff botanical gardens. The Ticketpro Dome and the Gallagher Convention Centre , which are both popular events and expos venues, are also located within Gauteng. The province also has a Formula One racetrack, the Kyalami Circuit . The most recent F1 race at the venue was in 1993. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

Brief history of South Africa and why it has three capital cities Tracing the historical tapestry of South Africa reveals a complex narrative of migration, colonization, struggle, and rebirth. This story is not only about the diverse peoples and cultures that have shaped the nation but also about its unique political landscape, epitomized by its having three capital cities: Cape Town, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein, with the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg. This arrangement, a testament to the country’s multifaceted history, serves as a symbol of its ongoing quest for unity and balance. In the article below, World History Edu delves into the brief history of South Africa and the rationale behind its three capital cities. Early History The history of South Africa begins long before the arrival of Europeans, with its indigenous peoples—the San and Khoikhoi (collectively Khoisan), Zulus, Xhosas, and various other groups—each with their distinct cultures and societies. The first significant European contact came in 1652 when the Dutch East India Company established a supply station at what is now Cape Town, marking the beginning of European colonization. Colonial Era Over the centuries, the Cape Colony expanded, displacing the indigenous Khoisan and later, through the Great Trek in the 1830s, encountering and often clashing with other African groups. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1886 drew British interest, leading to the Anglo-Zulu War and the Anglo-Boer Wars, reflecting the tension between the British Empire and the Afrikaner (Dutch-descended) settlers, known as Boers. Union of South Africa The British victory in the SecondAnglo-Boer War ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902, leading to the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. This union merged the Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange Free State . It was a significant moment, symbolizing the unity of English and Afrikaner populations under a single national identity, albeit within a framework that entrenched white minority rule over the majority black population. Apartheid Era The National Party’s electoral victory in 1948 ushered in the era of apartheid, a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination that severely restricted the rights of the majority black inhabitants, while consolidating power within the white minority. Apartheid, meaning “apartness” in Afrikaans, was formalized in 1948, institutionalizing racial segregation and discrimination. Laws defined racial groups and controlled the movement and rights of non-white South Africans. Image: An apartheid sign, written in both Afrikaans and English. Resistance to apartheid was met with harsh repression, symbolized by events such as the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 and the Soweto Uprising in 1976. International pressure and internal dissent, including from Nelson Mandela ’s African National Congress, eventually led to negotiations to end apartheid. Apartheid in South Africa: Origin and Meaning Did you know…? South Africa stands out in Africa as one of the few countries never to have experienced a coup d’état. This distinction can be attributed to its long history of regular electoral processes, which have been in place for more than a century. The nation’s political stability is also rooted in its foundation, composed of four traditional colonies: Cape Province, Natal, the Orange River Colony, and Transvaal. These regions coalesced to form a unified state, navigating through complex political landscapes without resorting to military takeovers. End of Apartheid and Beyond The release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 marked the beginning of the end for apartheid. Subsequent negotiations led to the first multiracial elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress, making Mandela the country’s first black president. South Africa embarked on a path of reconciliation and reconstruction, addressing the inequalities and divisions of the past. Nelson Mandela’s role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa The apartheid regime began to crumble in the late 1980s under internal and international pressure. Image: A photo of Alan Paton, a staunch South African anti-apartheid activist. Why Three Capitals? At the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, there was significant debate over the location of the capital. Each region had its own preferred city, reflective of its historical, political, and economic importance. Pretoria – Chosen as the administrative capital, it was significant to the Boers and housed the Union Buildings, the official seat of the South African government and the office of the president. Cape Town – Became the legislative capital, hosting the Parliament of South Africa. Its historical significance as the initial point of European settlement in South Africa made it a logical choice. Bloemfontein – Selected as the judicial capital, it was central and had historical importance to the Afrikaner people. The Supreme Court of Appeal is located here. This arrangement was a strategic move to appease various factions within South Africa by distributing power and acknowledging the country’s multifaceted identity. It must also be noted that South Africa’s unique arrangement of having three capital cities is recognized by the United Nations. Following the transition to a non-racial democracy in 1994, discussions emerged about consolidating governmental functions in Pretoria or establishing a new capital, akin to Washington D.C. or Brasilia, to symbolize a break from colonial and apartheid pasts. Proposals by some ANC (African National Congress) leaders to build a new capital aimed to shed the remnants of oppression and start anew. However, the idea of a single or new capital faced resistance due to the desire to maintain the established balance and recognition of the symbolic and practical importance of each capital. Moreover, the government faced pressing challenges, such as improving infrastructure, education, health, and sanitation, which took precedence over the monumental task of relocating the capital. By distributing the main branches of government across different cities, South Africa aimed to promote unity and prevent any single region from dominating the country’s political landscape. Johannesburg: South Africa’s Economic Heartbeat The Constitutional Court’s placement in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest and economically most powerful city, in the post-apartheid era, added a fourth dimension to the country’s governance landscape. Image: The city of Johannesburg. While not a capital city, Johannesburg’s significance cannot be overlooked. It is the economic powerhouse of South Africa, home to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and major international companies. The Constitutional Court, South Africa’s highest court on constitutional matters, is also located here, underscoring the city’s importance despite it not being a capital. Did you know…? Bloemfontein, established as the capital of the Orange Free State in 1854, was selected as the judicial capital due to its central location, which symbolically and practically positioned it as the heart of the country’s legal system. The city’s name, meaning “fountain of flowers” in Dutch, reflects its pleasant aesthetic and central role. Pretoria’s history as a center for foreign embassies, governmental departments, and as the site where the peace treaty ending the First Boer War was signed, underscored its importance. Its proximity to Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub, further solidified its status as a key city in the nation’s governance. Cape Town’s role as the legislative capital is rooted in its deep historical significance. As a crucial stopover on the spice trade route from the 15th century and later as a way-station established by the Dutch East India Company in the 1650s, Cape Town has been at the forefront of South Africa’s history. Serving as the capital of the British Cape Province since 1840, its selection maintained continuity with its long-standing administrative role. Historical Place In South Africa District Six Museum Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa The District Six Museum is dedicated to the history of District Six, an area destroyed during the Apartheid. Peta Stamper About District Six Museum The District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa is a museum which serves as a memorial to and celebration of District Six, immersing visitors in what was a thriving community destroyed during the Apartheid. Today, the District Six Museum offers guided tours of District Six (often with ex-residents) but note these must be booked in advance. Other exhibitions are located at the District Six Museum Homecoming Centre; specifically sports exhibitions on local and international football, focusing on apartheid and its effects on the sport and the lives of the people that played it. District Six Museum history The District Six Foundation was established in 1989 and shortly after joined by the museum in 1994. Together, the institutions formed a memorial to the forced movement of around 60,000 inhabitants of varying backgrounds during South Africa’s Apartheid in the 1960s. The museum itself had been an old Methodist church. The area of District Six was originally populated by freed enslaved people after abolition in 1833, and made up a tenth of Cape Town’s population. The neighbourhood was a community of former slaves, artisans, merchants as well as immigrants and Malay people brought by the Dutch East India Company . As part of the apartheid movement, however, Cape Town declared the district a ‘whites only’ area in 1966, and demolition began soon afterwards. By 1982, over 60,000 people had been forcibly relocated to the bleak Cape Flats area, around 25 kilometres away. District Six Museum today Today, you can walk the museum floor covered by a large map of the district and accompanied by hand-written notes from former inhabitants about where they used to live. The museum’s collections also features old traffic signs, exhibits that explain historical events and explore the lives of families living in the area that was demolished. Additionally, the District Six Museum offers programmes to help develop the district: the museum is dedicated to constructing new housing, environmental planning as well as supporting cultural activities such as music and literature. Getting to the District Six Museum If using public transport around Cape Town, then buses 103, 104 and 111 all stop at Lower Buitenkant just a minute’s walk from the District Six Museum. The 102 and 113 buses stop along Darling Street nearby. For those driving, the museum is located near the waterfront just off the motorways 1 and 2 at exits 3 and 2. Apartheid Museum Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg tells the story of South Africa’s apartheid regime and how it eventually fell. Antara Bate About Apartheid Museum The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg chronicles the history of apartheid in South Africa and the struggle for human rights which ended this regime of racial segregation. Apartheid Museum history From 1948, when the National Party came to power, until 1994 South Africa had a series of racially discriminatory laws which oppressed certain races, particularly anybody of non-white descent. People were categorised according to their race and those who were not white were treated as second class citizens. This was the period known as the Apartheid. The Apartheid Museum opened in 2001 and is acknowledged as the pre-eminent museum in the world dealing with 20th century South Africa, at the heart of which is the apartheid story. The Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid. An architectural consortium, comprising several leading architectural firms, conceptualised the design of the building on a seven-hectare stand. The exhibits have been assembled and organised by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, filmmakers, historians and designers. They include provocative film footage, photographs, text panels and artefacts illustrating the events and human stories. The museum is registered as a Public Benefit Company with an independent board of trustees. Apartheid Museum today Through its twenty-two exhibition areas, comprising original artefacts, information panels and multimedia presentations including films, the Apartheid Museum provides an in-depth insight into life under the apartheid regime. It also looks at the gradual campaign against the apartheid and the struggle for equal rights led by Nelson Mandela, the country’s eventual president. The exhibits include permanent exhibits, temporary exhibits and a specific Mandela exhibit dedicated to the influential figure. The sheer volume of information can make it an overwhelming experience; particularly distressing is a small chamber in which hang 131 nooses, representative of the 131 government opponents who were executed under antiterrorism laws. Getting to the Apartheid Museum The museum is located 8km south of the city centre, just off the M1 freeway. The site is less than half an hour away from central Johannesburg by bus. Robben Island Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa Dutch for ‘seal island’, Robben Island is one of the world’s most famous prisons and is best known as the home to not one but three former South African presidents, Kgalema Motlanthe, Jacob Zuma and for 18 of his 27 years of incarceration, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. About Robben Island Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa was a notorious prison, best known for its internment of political prisoners during South African apartheid. Its most famous prisoner – prisoner 466/64 – was Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist who would later become the country’s president. History of Robben Island Robben Island was used as a prison as far back as the 17th century, when the Dutch settled on the mainland. Since then, it has been used as a World War Two military base to protect the city of Cape Town (resulting in the construction of artillery batteries, fortifications, and an airstrip) and a 19th century hospital for the seriously ill, such as patients with leprosy. However, whatever its other uses, Robben Island was used as a prison in one measure or another until the 20th century. Even in its time as a hospital Robben Island was prison-like, its isolation ensuring that diseases could not be spread to the mainland. Furthermore, prisoners were kept here even whilst it housed the hospital. From 1961, the South African government used Robben Island as a prison, housing many political prisoners. In all, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for almost 27 years, many of them at Robben Island, together with many other anti-apartheid activists. Robben Island’s prison closed in 1996. Robben Island today Today, Robben Island is a UNESCO World Heritage historic site and a museum. A visit to Robben Island is by way of a standardised 3.5 hour guided tour (time includes two 30min ferry rides). In addition to touring the maximum security prison buildings, the tour includes a 45 minute guided bus ride around the island and interaction with a former Robben Island prisoner. There is also a small penguin colony on the island. A visit to Robben Island provides a fascinating insight into the island’s history and that of South Africa. It is worth noting however that tours can get fairly crowded, so book ahead. There are also exhibits at the Nelson Mandela Gateway museum, worth seeing, especially if you can’t make it to the Island. Getting to Robben Island Located 7.2 miles from the mainland (8.2 miles from Cape Town), the only way to get to Robben Island is by ferry. This departs from Nelson Mandela Gateway, Clock Tower Precinct at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town – visitors disembark and re-embark at Murray’s Bay Harbour situated on the east coast of the Island. The ferry is included in the price of the ticket. Constitution Hill About Perched above Johannesburg, Constitution Hill offers a captivating glimpse into South Africa's past. This former prison complex is now home to the Number Four museum, the Women's Gaol museum, and the Old Fort museum. Once called The Fort, it gained notoriety for its harsh treatment of political prisoners and common criminals. Notable figures like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were once held here. Exploring this site provides a thought-provoking experience that sheds light on the country's history. Mentioned on articles The story of the tumultuous history of South Africa and its remarkable transition to democracy can be told nowhere, as it is at Constitution Hill. Constitutional hill is the birthplace of the Constitutional Court of South Africa-the nation’s highest court in constitutional affairs and a National Heritage of the Johannesburg CBD. Once South African leaders of the political activists, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi included, had been detained in an environment of poverty and violence, the site became a place of unity and democracy, a home for the Women’s Gaol, the Number Four Museum and the Old Fort Museum. Constitution Hill, a once notorious prison under the Apartheid regime, is now the location of the South Africa’s Constitutional Court. With the prison complex still intact, you will be able to learn more about the lives of political prisoners and South Africa’s turbulent history in a visual and engaging way. You will be able to enter the Constitutional Court (if there aren’t any formal proceedings underway), soak up the atmosphere and marvel at the impressive artworks and artefacts contributed by famous artists and activists. Attractions such as the Apartheid Museum, Gold Reef City and Constitution Hill offer snapshots into these important Jo'burg attributes, while other sites like Nelson Mandela Square and the Mandela House remind locals and visitors about the monumental impact Mandela had on the city. However, Johannesburg doesn't just focus on the past. Since apartheid, the city has evolved into a vibrant urban center, thanks in part to its trendy fashion boutiques, hip music, bohemian art and array of international cuisine. Overlooking the city of Johannesburg, Constitution Hill is a former prison, which provides fascinating insight into South Africa's history. At the site, you can explore provocative exhibits at the Number Four museum, the Women's Gaol museum, and the Old Fort museum. Together, the precinct was once known as The Fort, and it forged a reputation for its brutal treatment of political prisoners, Rissik Street Post Office (1897) About Rissik Street Post Office (1897) was once the tallest building in the city, symbolizing institutional power. Today, it stands as a charred remnant of its former grandeur. After being abandoned by postal services in 1996, there were attempts to sell it to a Malaysian hotel developer for R35-million, but the deal collapsed. This historic landmark holds great significance in Johannesburg's history and heritage. Highlighted reviews Mentioned on articles When the post office was built it was the tallest building in the city and an imposing marker of institutional power. It now stands as a burnt shell of it’s former self. Two years after the already poorly maintained building was deserted by postal services in 1996 it was almost sold for R35-million to a Malaysian hotel developer but the deal fell through. Dutch architect Sytze Wierda played a massive role in shaping both Pretoria and Johannesburg as the appointed designer and engineer under president Paul Kruger. His most notable work is the Rissik Street Post Office. The building as it is today is not the original since most of it burned down during a massive fire in 2009. If for any reason none appear click here for some troubleshooting tips. If you would like to post a comment and need assistance click here. Irrelevant and inappropriate comments will be removed by the moderator. The Rissik Street Post Office, built in 1897 (and declared a national monument in 1978), remains a fine example of Victorian architectural finesse. Hillbrow Tower About Hillbrow Tower, the tallest structure in Johannesburg standing at 269 meters, is owned by Telkom and serves as a microwave tower. It offers panoramic views of the city and its surroundings. Menu and popular items Garden Mentioned on articles The Hillbrow Tower is a tall tower located in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa. At 269 m, it has been the tallest structure and tower in Africa for 40 years, and it was also the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere until 1978, when surpassed by the 270m Mount Isa Chimney in Queensland, Australia. Construction of the tower began in June 1968 and was completed three years later, in April 1971. Hillbrow Tower is a 269m stunning tower that was known to be South Africa’s tallest structure and tower for 40 years. This was also ranked as the first Grey area of South Africa where blacks and whites could live together. Hillbrow Tower is also considered to be one of Johannesburg’s two iconic towers that are used to identify the Johannesburg skyline and many famous events also took place here in 2012 and 2013. The Hillbrow Tower is the highest structure in Johannesburg, and is probably the city's most recognisable landmark. The Hillbrow Tower was previously known as the JG Strijdom Tower. It was built over three years, between June 1968 and April 1971, and is 269m high. This is the highest structure of Johannesburg, 269 metres, and is owned by Telkom and is used as a microwave tower. Big Hole Complex During a visit to the Big Hole in Kimberley, South Africa you will not only see the largest man made hole in the world but also the largest diamond display in the world. Various displays will introduce you to the world of diamond mining and all aspects of diamonds as well as the history of diamonds in South Africa. On show is also the Old Town witch will give you an idea of what Kimberley looked like more than 100 years ago. We have various shops on the site where you could buy curios as well as diamonds and jewellery. Also available is a coffee shop and bar to quench your thirst and hunger. We are fully wheelchair friendly. Open every day of the year from 08:00 to 17:00 Guided tours on offer. The Honoured Dead Memorial he Honoured Dead Memorial is a provincial heritage site in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated at the meeting point of five roads, and commemorates those who died defending the city during the 124 day Siege of Kimberley in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. In 1986, it was described in the Government Gazette as Cecil John Rhodes commissioned Sir Herbert Baker (Baker & Masey Architects – Herbert Baker & Francis Edward Masey) to design a memorial…which commemorates those who fell during the Kimberley Siege. Rhodes sent Baker to Greece to study ancient memorials – the Nereid Monument at Xanthus greatly influenced his design. The monument is built of sandstone quarried in the Matopo Hills in Zimbabwe and is the tomb of 27 soldiers. It features an inscription that Rhodes specifically commissioned Rudyard Kipling to write. The Long Cecil gun that was designed and manufactured by George Frederick Labram, who died on 9 February 1900, in the workshops of De Beers during the siege is mounted on its stylobate (facing the Free State). It is surrounded by shells from the Boer Long Tom. The memorial was dedicated on 28 November 1904. It was vandalised in 2010 when brass fittings were broken off parts of the gun. Nationales Frauendenkmal The National Women's Monument[1] (Afrikaans : Nasionale Vrouemonument) in Bloemfontein , South Africa , is a monument commemorating the roughly 27,000 Boers who died in British concentration camps during the Second Boer War . The Monument is a Provincial Heritage Site[1] in the Free State . The monument was designed by a Pretoria architect, Frans Soff, and the sculpting was done by Anton van Wouw . It consists of an obelisk about 35m in height and low, semi-circular walls on two sides. A central bronze group, sketched by English activist Emily Hobhouse and depicting her own experience of 15 May 1901, is of two sorrowing women and a dying child in the Springfontein camp. The monument was unveiled on 16 December 1913, attended by about 20,000 South Africans. Thirteen years later, Emily Hobhouse's ashes were ensconced at the foot of the monument. Also beside the monument are the graves of Christiaan de Wet , Rev. John Daniel Kestell, President of the Orange Free State Martinus Steyn , and his wife. Historical Landmarks to Visit in South Africa Boulders Beach Boulders Beach, near Cape Town, is famous for its colony of adorable African penguins. It is a fun place to visit because you can see these cute birds up close as they waddle and swim. The beach is named after the large granite boulders that protect it from big waves. This special spot combines nature and history, making it a must-see for everyone visiting South Africa. Cradle of Humankind Just next to Johannesburg is the Cradle of Humankind, which remains an important place to study ancient humans. These huge sites contain a great number of limestone caves, which hold old human bones. You can catch really cool tours there about how humans have changed over time. Montecasino Montecasino is located in Johannesburg, which looks like an old Italian village. There is fun to be found there, with things like theatres, shops, and even a bird park. Although Montecasino is not ancient, it brings one a taste of history through its beautiful architecture and cobblestone streets. It is a place to have the best exploration, a lot of fun, and learn a bit about Italian culture in South Africa. Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria honours the pioneers who left the Cape Colony during the Great Trek. This huge granite building is surrounded by a circular wall with pictures showing their history. The monument also offers amazing views of the city and nearby areas. Castle of Good Hope The Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town is the oldest colonial building in South Africa. The Dutch East India Company built it in the 17th century as a supply station for ships travelling to the East. Today, it has military and historical exhibits, and visitors can explore its impressive architecture and history. Isandlwana Battlefield The Isandlwana Battlefield in KwaZulu-Natal is where one of the most important battles in South African history took place. In 1879, Zulu warriors defeated British forces in a surprising victory. Guided tours of the battlefield tell the story of this historic event and its impact. Nelson Mandela Capture Site As the name suggests, this famous site marked the history of Nelson Mandela’s arrest in 1962. You will find it near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal. The site has an iconic sculpture of Mandela and a historic museum where the story of his life and legacy is narrated. It’s a powerful reminder of the struggle of this amazing leader against apartheid and a journey towards freedom. Union Buildings The Union Buildings in Pretoria are where the South African government and the President’s office are located. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, these famous buildings are surrounded by beautiful gardens and offer amazing views of the city. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated here as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Freedom Park Freedom Park in Pretoria shows the spirit of South Africa’s fight for freedom. The park has a memorial, museum, and garden to honour those who gave their lives for the country’s freedom. Visitors can think about the nation’s history and appreciate the progress made. Tips When Visiting Historical Sites Plan Ahead: Check opening times and consider purchasing tickets online to avoid long lines. Guided Tours: Join guided tours with experts for cool stories and facts. Pack Snacks and Water: Historical sites can be big, so stay hydrated and energized. Wear Comfortable Shoes: You’ll be walking a lot, so comfy shoes are a must! Respect the Site: Follow the rules, don’t touch displays, and keep the area clean. Take Photos: Capture moments, but be considerate of places where taking photos is prohibited. Bring a Notebook: Jot down cool facts and what you have learned to share with others. Ask Questions: Don’t be shy. Asking questions can make your visit more interesting! Conclusion South Africa’s historical landmarks offer a profound journey through time, from ancient human origins to modern struggles for freedom. Each site, from Boulders Beach to Freedom Park, tells a unique story that has shaped the nation. Whether marvelling at the Cradle of Humankind or reflecting at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, these landmarks provide an enriching experience for history enthusiasts and curious travellers, offering deep insights into South Africa’s rich and diverse heritage. So, pack your bag with a guide of Travel bacpack and embark on an unforgettable journey through South Africa’s storied past. Absolute Best Places to Visit in South Africa ( & Tips) If you are reading this because you searched for the best places to visit in South Africa, then it probably means that you already know that South Africa is one of the most remarkable countries in the world and that you are considering a trip there. Go for it! South Africa is one of the most beautiful destinations you’ll ever visit! South Africa is so special and unique that it’s often called The World in One Country. And so it is! S-A is like a perfect mix of the very best of the entire world in one place. At the same time, it’s like no other place on Earth… In this article, you can find a list of the very best places to see in South Africa. 17 incredible destinations in South Africa that are worth a trip from the other side of the world. Find out! Disclosure: This article is sponsored by South African Tourism. It’s not a secret that South Africa is our absolute favorite country in the world, so we are really excited to be working with them to inspire you to discover this incredible country. All opinions and enthusiasm about South Africa are, of course, our own. We fell in love with South Africa the first time we visited it many years ago and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way too. It’s a place that captures your heart forever. Camps Bay and Twelve Apostles Mountain Range near Cape Town Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in South Africa. This is in no way a complete list, but it should give you a good idea of what to expect and where to go when visiting for the first time. It’s the list of the very best things to do and places to see in South Africa. I ranked this list by putting my own favorites on top. So if you are limited in time, I suggest that you start with the top of the list and work your way down. At the bottom of this article, you can also find the map indicating all the main tourist attractions in South Africa mentioned in this post. Find out! TIP: If you are not sure how to plan your trip, please check our South Africa 2 week itinerary that covers most of the must-see places in South Africa. Please note that it’s a very complete itinerary, but it doesn’t leave much extra time to explore deeper. If you want to visit every place from this list, you’ll need at least 3 weeks and it will be rushed. If you want to see all the best places in South Africa mentioned in this article AND have some time to explore somewhat deeper, you’ll probably need at least a month… These are the best places to visit in South Africa: Cape Town If there is one place you absolutely have to see in South Africa, it’s Cape Town. It was the oldest European establishment in South Africa (1652) and is therefore often referred to as the Mother City. It’s difficult to describe in just a few words what Cape Town is all about. You really have to experience it in order to be able to appreciate the mingle of African and European cultures, a mix of tradition and modern, and the unique blend of city life and nature… If South Africa is the world in one country, then Cape Town is the world in one city. Absolutely not to be missed when visiting South Africa! Here are some of the main places you have to see in Cape Town: Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Table Mountain, Signal Hill & Lion’s Head, Robben Island, Bo-Kaap area, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Two Oceans Aquarium, and also the city center with its local markets, shops, restaurants, and museums. TIP: If the gondola to the top of Table Mountain is open, go there first. It often gets closed due to high winds, so don’t leave it for the last day. Cape Town is an absolute must-see in South Africa Cape Peninsula Together with Cape Town, Cape Peninsula is one of the most impressive regions of South Africa. This is one of those places that you really don’t want to miss! The absolute highlights of the Cape Peninsula include Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point and the stunning 12 Apostles coastline from Camps Bay to Hout Bay and further south along Chapman’s Peak Drive. Not to be missed is Simon’s Town with Boulder’s Beach penguin colony (yes, you can see wild penguins in South Africa!) and also an ocean walkway from Muizenberg to Kalk Bay via St. James beach is really nice. Groot Constantia wine region in Cape Peninsula has spectacular scenery and some of the best wines in South Africa. Also, in Hout Bay you can take a boat to see a seal colony – it’s called Duiker Island, but most people just refer to it as Hout Bay Seal Island. This is a very popular tourist attraction, so you may want to book in advance. For a more unique experience, you can even go snorkeling with the seals. TIP: One day is hardly enough to see the highlights of Cape Peninsula. So if you can, try to spend at least a few days in this area. I recommend at least a week for Cape Town and Cape Peninsula, with 3-4 days being an absolute minimum. Cape Peninsula is one of the most beautiful places in the world The Garden Route Another absolutely amazing region, the Garden Route is one of those places you really have to see in South Africa as well. This +-200km stretch between Mossel Bay and Stormsrivier is one of the most scenic routes in the world, but you have to take the time in order to truly appreciate it. You could drive the Garden Route in just half a day, but you won’t see much just by sitting in the car. So ideally you take at least a couple of days to explore this area. Some of the nicest places along the Garden Route are Storms River and Tsitsikamma National Park, Robberg Nature Reserve, Plettenberg Bay, the whole area around Knysna (don’t miss the Heads and the Featherbed Private Nature Reserve!), Wilderness, and the beautiful coastline along the entire route. Oudtshoorn, famous for its ostrich farms and Cango Caves, is a bit out of the way from the rest, but it’s also considered as part of the Garden Route. Well worth a visit. TIP: If you are traveling with kids or if you just love wildlife, don’t miss Monkeyland and Birds of Eden (both just next to each other). Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve is a great place for a family-friendly safari along the Garden Route and Knysna Elephant Park is one of the best ethical places to interact with elephants in South Africa. Tsitsikamma National Park along the Garden Route Blyde Canyon & Panorama Route Blyde River Canyon is one of the most beautiful natural landmarks of South Africa. It’s also one of the largest canyons in the world. Due to its proximity to several main entrances of Kruger National Park, Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve and the whole Panorama Route make a very popular day trip in the area. Together with Kruger NP, Blyde River Canyon is one of the most popular tourist attractions in northern South Africa. Start your day with breakfast at the famous Harrie’s Pancakes in Graskop. Then head north to the Pinnacle, God’s Window, and Wonder View. Further highlights of the Panorama Route include Lisbon Falls and Berlin Falls, also Bourke’s Luck Potholes, and Lowveld viewpoint. But the most impressive of them all is the Three Rondavels viewpoint. The scenery here is simply spectacular! Three Rondavels was one of the first places we visited just after arrival in South Africa and that image stayed with us forever. It was here that we fell in love with this amazingly diverse country and realized that it has so much more to offer than we ever imagined… Don’t miss if you are visiting Kruger NP and have a day to spare! If you have more time, you can also consider a visit to the Echo Caves or a small museum-town called Pilgrim’s Rest. Blyde River Canyon along the Panorama Route Hermanus Hermanus is my husband’s favorite place in South Africa, one we always wish we had stayed longer at… The town itself isn’t that special, but its coastline is second to none! Grab a picnic and explore the beautiful coastal walking path. The bay near Hermanus is known as the best place to see whales and dolphins in South Africa and it definitely lives up to its reputation! You can take a whale watching boat tour and get really close to these majestic animals, but you can usually also see them from ashore. Both experiences are very different and each special in their own way. I really recommend both – taking the boat tour and also walking the coastal route in Hermanus and watching whales and dolphins from the shore. Please note that whales are not always around. The best time to see whales in Hermanus is between June and December, but some years they arrive earlier or leave later, so you just never know. We have been on many whale-watching tours all over the world, but nowhere did we see so many whales from so close by as in Hermanus. There were tens of whales just meters away from our boat… We also saw hundreds of dolphins while walking along the coast. It sure is one of the best places to go whale – and dolphin-watching in the world. TIP: Nearby Gansbaai is also a beautiful place with a stunning coastline and a good chance to see the whales. It’s not as well known and therefore much less visited than Hermanus, but it’s a perfect place to visit for those who have more time in the area and looking to discover some off-beat hidden gems. Hermanus coastline – can you spot the dolphins? South Africa Wine Region: Stellenbosch and Franschhoek South Africa has become world-famous for its wines and the best region to see the wineries and taste some wines is the beautiful area between Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek. This wine region is just a short drive from Cape Town and is therefore really easy to visit, even if you only have limited time in South Africa. Stellenbosch and Paarl are bigger towns and I’m not sure if they are worth a visit, but the nearby wineries and the surrounding scenery is a must. We loved the quaint little Franschhoek town with its white buildings, hilly landscapes, and a very cozy atmosphere. Such a beautiful region – a place you have to see in South Africa! TIP: Don’t drink and drive! If you are staying in Cape Town, you can visit the wine region with an organized day tour. Here is one of the best-rated and most complete wine region tours from Cape Town that I was able to find. Franschhoek – Stellenbosch wine region Agulhas – Southernmost Tip Of Africa Cape Agulhas, the Southernmost place in Africa, is so far from every other landmark in South Africa and main tourist routes that it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. But what a beautiful and unique place it is! Standing at this point where two oceans meet you truly feel like you’ve reached the end of the world… The best way to visit Cape Agulhas is by making a stop there on your way from Cape Town to the Garden Route (or vice versa). We once did it in a day, just stopping there when driving from Knysna to Cape Town, but it was a really long drive. TIP: I suggest that you break the drive and either stay in Cape Agulhas or in the area around Hermanus or Gansbaai for one night. Cape Agulhas, the place where Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean Drakensberg Another wonderful region a bit off the beaten tourist path in South Africa is the Drakensberg mountains. The Dragon Mountain is a +-200km mountain range between the Kingdom of Lesotho and KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa, a few hours drive from Durban. The region is known for its incredible vistas, countless waterfalls, mountain streams, rock pools, caves, and tranquil scenery pretty much undisturbed by human development. The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in South Africa and if you visit here in the winter (July) as we did, be prepared for the freezing cold temperatures at night. Theoretically, you could visit the Drakensberg region just for a day, but ideally, you spend at least a couple of days here. There is a wide range of outdoor activities available, such as hiking or golf to mention just a few… TIP: If you stay close to the Underberg area (we stayed at this hotel), you can pop over the border and visit Lesotho for a day (day tours are available too). Drakensberg mountain range Addo Elephant National Park If you are looking for a malaria-free family-friendly safari experience in Africa, Addo Elephant National Park is one of the very best places to do that. South Africa’s third-largest National Park is located in the southern part of the country, close to Port Elizabeth and just a few hours drive from the Garden Route. As the name suggests, Addo Elephant NP is a perfect place to see wild elephants. This park is home to over 600 elephants and they are all around. Many other African animals live here as well and if you are really lucky, you may even get to spot The Big 5… TIP: You can easily explore the park on a self-drive safari. But – as always – a guided open-jeep safari tour will give you a very different experience. If you come here for a few days and have your own car, I suggest you do both – visit the park on your own but also book at least one safari ride. Elephants in Addo Elephant National Park iSimangaliso Wetland Park Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, iSimangaliso Wetland Park has a lot to more to offer than it looks at first sight. It’s not that widely known and definitely not one of the main tourist attractions in South Africa, but it’s well worth a trip. iSimangaliso Wetland Park has it all: beautiful scenery, unique landscapes, white-sand beaches, snorkeling, diving, and lots of wildlife. You can expect to see rhino, zebra, buffalo, troop baboons, wildebeest, and even elephants, to name just a few… One of the main reasons tourists visit this area is to see hippos in the wild. iSimangaliso Wetland Park is a paradise for water-loving animals and is, therefore, one of the best places to see hippos and crocodiles in South Africa. TIP: You can visit the park by car, but if you really want to get close to the hippos and the crocodiles in a safe way, it’s best to book St. Lucia estuary boat tour. The boat tour takes just two hours, so you can spend the rest of the time self-driving and exploring the park. The safest way to see hippos is from a boat Pilanesberg National Park Just over 2 hours drive from Johannesburg, Pilanesberg National Park is probably one of the easiest and best-accessible places for a wildlife safari in South Africa. Pilanesberg Game Reserve is set in an extinct volcanic crater, where the soil is rich with grasslands, perfect for wildlife. A man-made lake, Mankwe Dam, is used as a drinking waterhole – a perfect place to see African animals. Wildlife here includes zebras, lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and many other species. Because the park is rather small, it’s quite easy to find the animals, even if you come here just for a few hours. TIP: You can visit Pilanesberg National Park as a day trip from Johannesburg, but if you have some time to spare, stay a few days. If you like places like Las Vegas in the US, don’t miss the nearby Sun City with entertainment for young and old. From luxury resorts and casinos, waterparks and golfing, to outdoor activities, wildlife viewing, and even hot air balloon safari – this area truly has it all. Can you imagine going on a hot-air balloon safari?! Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park One can never have too many safari experiences in Africa, right? So if you are visiting St.Lucia/Durban area, then I really recommend a day trip to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. This park is not as well known as Kruger and the other National Parks mentioned above, but it’s just as beautiful and offers amazing wildlife viewing. Africa’s Big 5 live here and, of course, many other animals. TIP: You can visit this park on a self-drive safari or take a guided safari tour from Durban. If you want to make the best of your short time, you can also opt for a tour that combines Hluhluwe and iSimangaliso Wetlands, mentioned above. Rhinos in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park West Coast National Park Just an hour drive north of Cape Town, West Coast National Park is the locals’ favorite, so if you come in a warm season, expect it to be busy. This park has beautiful beaches, stunning coastlines, scenic hiking trails, wildlife, and lots of wildflowers. Springtime (August – September) is the best time to see the flowers and the park might be even busier than usual. West Coast National Park is considered a real jewel. It’s not a must-see in South Africa if you are short on time, but if you are staying in Cape Town and have a day to spare, definitely check it out! TIP: There aren’t many facilities here; it’s all about nature. So if you come for a day, make sure to bring some food and plenty of water. Postberg Flower Reserve in West Coast National Park in spring Durban Durban is considered one of the cities that you should see in South Africa. We found that there were better ways to spend our time in South Africa than visiting its cities… so we didn’t stay in Durban longer than necessary. Just in case you wonder, Cape Town is a whole other story, one city you have to see. Nevertheless, if you are traveling in this area, you shouldn’t miss Durban. One of the best things to do here is go to the beach and stroll the Golden Mile, visit UShaka Marine World or Durban Botanic Gardens. Durban is also a good base for a day trip to the earlier mentioned Hluhluwe-iMfolozi NP and iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and also to the Drakensberg mountains. A really interesting thing to do in Durban is also this Shakaland and Zulu culture day trip . TIP: If you are short on time, fly from Durban to Port Elizabeth or Cape Town – it will save you lots of driving. Durban UShaka Pier Johannesburg The largest city in South Africa, Johannesburg’s history goes back to the 19th century. It’s hard to believe that this bustling city with a population of 1 million started as a gold-mining settlement. If you want to learn about South Africa’s long part to democracy, then don’t miss Soweto township (go with a guide! ) which was once home to Nelson Mandela and also Desmond Tutu. Must-see in Johannesburg is the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill, a former prison complex. Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and tens of thousands of others were imprisoned here at some point in South Africa’s turbulent history… Johannesburg skyline Namaqua National Park & Namaqualand Namaqualand and Namaqua National Park, close to the Namibian border, are so far from all the other tourist attractions in South Africa that you’ll hardly ever see it mentioned as one of the best places to visit in the country. It’s actually more of a hidden gem of South Africa. Come spring and the dusty valleys are transformed into a magical wildflower wonderland. The whole area is covered in colorful flower carpet, attracting local visitors and international tourists alike. If you are visiting South Africa in August-September and feel like getting off the beaten path, you may want to include this unique region in your itinerary. Namaqua National Park in spring Best places to visit in South Africa South Africa Travel FAQ Here are some of the popular questions our readers ask about visiting South Africa: When is the best time to visit South Africa? South Africa is a year-round destination and every season has something to offer. The best time to see wildlife in Kruger National Park is the dry season between May and October. Whereas the best time to visit Cape Town and the Garden Route is between September – November and from March to May. What is the most beautiful place in South Africa? South Africa is huge and there are so many beautiful places to see. But if you have to choose just one area to visit, we recommend Cape Town and Cape Peninsula. Is South Africa safe for tourists? South Africa is not the safest place to visit in the world and the crime rate is quite high. That being said, if you are cautious, aware of your surroundings, and do not take unnecessary risks, crime against tourists is really not that common. We visited South Africa several times, also with kids, and we never experienced any problems. Is South Africa expensive? No, South Africa is not an expensive destination. The biggest cost or the trip is the flight to get there. Accommodation, food, and activities are quite cheap in South Africa. But – as everywhere in the world – a lot depends on the choices you make and mostly on the accommodations that you choose. How much time do you need in South Africa? 2 weeks is the minimum time if you want to see the most beautiful places of South Africa. If you have about 10 days, spend 3 days in Kruger NP and fly to the south of the country for the rest of the trip. If you have 1 week or less, it’s best to concentrate on just one area – either Kruger NP and surroundings or Cape Peninsula and the Garden Route. TIP: When planning a trip to South Africa, make sure to also check our South Africa itinerary. It contains most of the highlights of South Africa from this list and shows you how to see all the best places in just two weeks. Check it out – it will help you plan a trip of a lifetime! And if you are traveling with a family, check out this guide for more info on what to expect and where to go when visiting South Africa with kids. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

ADVERTISEING WITH SOUTH AFRICAN TOURS Sign in Why South African Tours ? Audience Capabilities Ad and Content Experiences South African Tours Ad Express Nobody knows South African Tours like we do Grow your business by advertising on South African Tours . For over 2 years, South African Tours has been on a mission to make everyone a better traveler. Today, our audience remains as engaged as ever. By partnering with us, you’re not just tapping into a massive, impassioned community—you’re making sure your brand message is heard. Audience Use our extensive 1P data to reach the right audience on and off South African Tours . Media Scale your creative across our site with standard, high-impact, and native units. Content South African Tours , our in-house branded content studio, to tell your story. Reach Target our audience off-platform—across social channels, third-party sites, connected TV, and email. Effectiveness Measure success with proprietary insights tools and bespoke research studies. Tap into an engaged community of South African Tours travelers We use proprietary data signals to understand and segment our audience. Ads that drive action, everywhere Supercharge your campaign with South African Tours targeted ad experiences. To reach even more travelers, amplify your campaign across the web and social media. Explore and create with South African Tours South African Tours in-house branded content studio, creatively translates global insights into brand stories that resonate with over 200 hundred global travelers, wherever they are. Discover South African Tours Discover South African Tours state of the art advertising platform Take total control of advertising with South African Tours Ad Express, an intuitive, automated platform that allows you to create, manage, and optimize campaigns with ease. Discover South African Tours Ad Express Let's get started! Click Here Discover South African Tours Connect to your customers — and reach millions of new ones Want to reach 3491 travelers who are planning and booking their travel? Create your own ad campaign with the flexibility to choose your audience, budget and more. Why advertise with South African Tours ? Reach Engage a new audience and turn browsers into customers — 491 monthly active users in over 190 countries, to be exact. Trust Align your brand with 2 years of expertise: South African Tours is the world’s large travel guidance Website, and consumers regularly look to us for credible travel advice. Data Leverage our extensive data intelligence and get a real-time understanding of our audience, helping you target your consumer. Flexibility View the true impact of your brand’s campaign on South African Tours , and optimize performance with a click of a button. unique visitors reached every month of users turn to us to explore local things to do in trust for consumers searching for travel information Feel good about your advertising, by advertising on South African Tours . Set up your campaign in 4 simple steps Step 1 Tailor your campaign Define your audience by leveraging robust targeting options, including device, location, retargeting, and more. Step 2 Set your budget Select a budget and choose the campaign start and end dates. Step 3 Create your ad Upload your existing ads or build an ad that leverages our platform. Easily add third-party tags to track their success. Step 4 Learn and optimize Monitor your campaigns via an easy-to-use, analytics dashboard, and make changes to improve performance whenever you wish.

SOUTH AFRICAN ART & CULTURE South African art has always taken on the unique flavour of the country, from the 4 000-year-old cave paintings of the San Bushmen – the richest collection of rock art in Africa – to the homegrown conceptual art movement that sprang up as apartheid came to an end in the 1990s. The San Bushmen, Africa’s oldest hunter-gatherers, lived in the massive Drakensberg range of mountains from 4 000 years ago until they were driven out by colonialists in the 19th century. Over that time, they created a vast body of art on the walls of caves and rock shelters – the largest and most concentrated group of rock paintings in sub-Saharan Africa. This rich collection prompted Unesco to inscribe the Drakensberg as a mixed natural and cultural world heritage site in 2000. The paintings, Unesco said, “represent the spiritual life of the San people” and are “outstanding both in quality and diversity of subject”. “The San people lived in the mountainous Drakensberg area for more than four millennia, leaving behind them a corpus of outstanding rock art, which throws much light on their way of life and their beliefs,” Unesco said. “The authenticity of the paintings, and their shelter and cave settings, as a reflection of the beliefs of the San peoples, are without question.” Colonial art ‘Elephants Charging over Quartos Country During the early colonial era, white South African artists tended to concentrate on depicting what they saw as a “new world”, in accurate detail. Artists such as Thomas Baines travelled the country recording its flora, fauna, people and landscapes – a form of reporting for those back in the metropolis. Towards the end of the 19th century, painters Jan Volschenk and Pieter Hugo Naude and the sculptor Anton van Wouw began to establish a locally rooted art. Their work – the first glimpse of an artistic vision that engaged with life as lived in South Africa – marked the moment the country began to acquire its own national identity, with the 1910 Union of South Africa marking the formal end of the colonial era. The 20th century and apartheid ‘An extensive view of farmlands In the first decades of the 20th century, the Dutch-born painter JH Pierneef brought a coolly geometric sensibility to the South African landscape; he also, in a way that fed into Afrikaner nationalist ideology, found it bereft of human inhabitants. By the 1930s, two women artists, Maggie Laubscher and Irma Stern, brought the techniques and sensibilities of post-impressionism and expressionism to South African art. Their bold colour and composition, and highly personal point of view, rather scandalised those with old-fashioned concepts of acceptable art. Yet younger artists such as Gregoire Boonzaier, Maud Sumner and Moses Kottler were rejoicing in this new spirit of cosmopolitanism. Irma Stern Museum: www.irmastern.co.za The apartheid years (1948-1994) witnessed a great diversity in South African art – ranging from landscape painting to abstract art. There was engagement with European and American currents, but also a fiercely local sense of what it meant to be an artist in this country during troubled times. Inevitably, black artists were largely neglected. It was left to white artists, endowed with training, resources and supportive galleries, to build a corpus of South African art. After World War II, returning soldiers and some immigrants brought European ideas to the local art world. In the 1940s, Jean Welz, for instance, born in Austria in 1900, brought a detailed, nuanced and sophisticated style to still lifes, portraits, nudes and landscape paintings. Maurice van Essche, born in Belgium in 1906, applied the modernist techniques of his teacher Matisse to specifically African subject matter. Impact of African forms Meanwhile, African forms themselves began to have an impact on the work of white artists. An awareness of art forms ranging from those of the ancient Egyptians to San Bushman rock art increasingly influenced South African artists from the 1950s onwards. Walter Battiss, for one, had developed an interest in rock art long before he became an artist in the 1930s. Until his death in 1982, Battiss returned repeatedly to the motifs and styles of San rock art. In Symbols of Life (1967), for instance, San-type figures and patterns become stylised into a kind of symbolic alphabet. Walter Battiss: walterbattiss.co.za Other artists found different ways of interacting with the visual stimuli of Africa, whether by adapting its outward forms or finding ways to incorporate its textures into the work. Alexis Preller, for instance, created fantastically detailed canvases influenced by the European surrealists of the 1920s and 1930s. Beginning in the late 1940s, Preller painted African scenes and themes such as The Kraal and Hieratic Women, but these were not realistic portraits of African life: instead, they were reinvented by Preller’s startling visual imagination. Cecil Skotnes, by contrast, took a leaf from Picasso’s book – the European art revolution instigated by the great Spaniard had, in part, been generated by his appreciation of African masks. Skotnes became South Africa’s master of the woodcut, bringing European modernism into fruitful collision with African styles. Meanwhile, a host of white artists were engaging with the South African landscape in interesting ways – though such formalism was increasingly criticised during the struggle against apartheid for its detachment from the political situation. Emerging black artists By contrast, black artists such as Gerard Sekoto and George Pemba concentrated on depicting their realities and environments in a direct, though forcefully expressionist, manner. From the 1930s onward, Sekoto portrayed urban African life in places such as Sophiatown and District Six, vital and tumultuous hotspots of an emerging though unacknowledged black culture. In Sekoto’s works of the early 1940s, such as Street Scene, bustling African figures are placed in the context of their often denuded environment, while Yellow Houses (the first work by a black artist bought by the Johannesburg Art Gallery), reduces the human presence, focusing instead on the environment itself. In Song of the Pick, naturalism gives way to severe stylisation: a rank of workers wield picks in unison, forming a powerful image of African labour; a white overseer’s figure is dwarfed, even threatened, by this phalanx of diggers. In 1947, Sekoto left for Paris. Illness and intermittent impoverishment meant that his work never again reached the heights it had in South Africa. George Pemba, by contrast, stayed in the township of Motherwell near Port Elizabeth, living into his 90s and patiently continuing to paint despite the lack of public acclaim. His often naively styled work focused on the simple lives of poor black people, humbly and sometimes humorously evincing their fundamental humanity, though he also treated themes such as the story of the Xhosa prophetess Nongqawuse of the 19th century. Increasingly, and inevitably, black artists began to give voice to a political sensibility that left behind the realist depiction of township life. Lack of resources meant that many had to rely on media other than oil-painting, but making a virtue of necessity gave added force to their work. Dumile Feni (known as Dumile), for instance, became a master of drawing, often in ballpoint pen. Dumile’s sense of anger and despair fed into work of extraordinary power; his distorted figures seemed to have been physically deformed by the very forces of society. Called “the Goya of the townships”, he painted his own version of Picasso’s Guernica, a cry of pain at human suffering. Dumile went into exile in 1968 and died in New York in 1991. Black artists such as Azaria Mbatha and John Muafangejo also made striking use of the accessible and relatively cheap medium of the linocut. In the 1980s and 1990s, artists such as William Zulu, Vuyile Cameron Voyifwa, Cyprian Shilakoe and others extended linocut work into what has become practically a subgenre of its own. Gerard Sekoto Foundation: www.gerardsekotofoundation.com George Pemba: www.georgepemba.co.za District Six Museum: www.districtsix.co.za Dumile Feni: www.dumile.org.za The outsiders’ view Meanwhile, the idiosyncratic Jackson Hlungwane, discovered by the mainstream community only late in his life, produced a vast body of sculpture in wood and built environments expressing his own highly individual religious world. It contains a multitude of creatures both mythical and real, as well as a large cast of characters. In this he has something in common with another “outsider artist”, Helen Martins, who obsessively peopled her small-town home – known as the Owl House – with sculptures of concrete and found objects, up to her suicide in 1976. Yet South Africa’s most successful “outsider” artist is perhaps the Russian emigre Vladimir Tretchikoff, who developed a distinctive style in which arch sentimentality was rendered with virtuoso formal exactitude. Tretchikoff had considerable commercial acumen, turning paintings such as The Dying Swan and Chinese Girl (also known informally as The Blue Lady) into prints and selling millions around the world. To the post-modern eye, Tretchikoff’s work, long scoffed at as the peak of kitsch, now has a distinctive ironic charm. From the 1960s on, many South African artists responded to developments in American and British art. The severe yet sensual work of Cecily Sash showed the impact of post-painterly abstraction and later “op art”; the playful surfaces of Helmut Starke and Kevin Atkinson opened the dialogue with pop art. A wide range of styles and modes were now available to South African artists, and the likes of Judith Mason and Andrew Verster extended the traditions of oil painting into personal expressions of life, society and the world around them. Apartheid in crisis: 1970s and 1980s As the apartheid state became more repressive in the 1970s and 1980s, many artists faced the harsh realities of South African life, sometimes obliquely, sometimes head-on. In the early 1980s, for instance, Paul Stopforth made a series of works dealing with police torture – the cause of the death of resistance heroes such as Bantu Steve Biko. And Robert Hodgins satirised figures of power in paintings that turned leaders into sinister but laughable echoes of Alfred Jarry’s mad king Ubu. In paintings, lithographs and sculpture, Norman Catherine developed the playful sensibilities of Walter Battiss into a disturbing private menagerie of threatening and threatened theriomorphs and larger-than-life human figures. The crowded collages, pastels and charcoals of Helen Sebidi spoke of the struggle of human life; her figures seem to battle upwards, towards the picture plane, as though they were drowning. William Kentridge used expressionist drawings and highly developed personal metaphors, symbols and characters to expose the hypocrisies and ironies of white South African life. More recently, he has employed his powerful drawing technique in “animated” films and installations, and the set design of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Penny Siopis tackled femininity and history in dense, allusive paintings, and in installations, photographs and other conceptual works. In the 1980s, “resistance art” was increasingly recognised as a genre of expression directed at the white elite’s oppressive exercise of power. For example, trade union posters and T-shirts used imagery that had something in common with the Russian constructivists as well as African art. And anonymous artists placed images of state violence (or bewildering dream reflections) at traffic intersections. Judith Mason: www.judithmason.com Steve Biko Foundation: www.sbf.org.za Norman Catharine: www.normancatherine.co.za William Kentridge – Art21 Feature: www.pbs.org/art21/artists/william-kentridge Conceptual art of the 1990s Conceptual art in South Africa seemed to come into its own in the 1990s. Events such as the two Johannesburg Biennales (1995 and 1997) contributed to a new dialogue between local artists and currents from other countries. Media such as video, performance and installation took the place of painting. Jeremy Wafer, for instance, used photography, earth, and fibreglass sculpture to tackle issues such as borders and boundaries. The complex installations of Sue Williamson used found and reworked materials to speak of memory and history. Sandile Zulu made paintings out of the unpredictable marks of fire on surfaces, or created sculptural tableaux from natural materials. Even refuse was turned into suggestive assemblages and collages by Moshekwa Langa. Steven Cohen made drag into a form of sculpture-performance that addressed identity and marginality, while Kendell Geers interrogated the very process of artmaking itself. Other artists put a conceptual spin on traditional artforms: Jane Alexander, for example, took sculpture into new realms with disturbing figures that place the human form in extremis or subject it to frightening transformations, while Jo Ractliffe worked with photography to investigate personal and familial memory, death, decay and love. Hentie van der Merwe also used photographs, taken or found, to talk about the body in an age of HIV/Aids. Kendell Geers: kendellgeers.com Crafts: the reinvention of tradition traditional Ndebele beadwork. While the “high art” continues to blossom in South Africa, the market for crafts has expanded to include every possible form of traditional artwork. There is a host of work in traditional media on the market. Artists are constantly developing the repertoire of African crafts – from intricate and near life-size beaded wire sculpture to tableware, ornaments and embroidered cloth, to stunning costume jewellery, welded cast-iron objects, folk painting and more. At the same time, the status of the traditionally anonymous maker of craft works is changing: “folk art” has made inroads into “high art”. For example, in the 1990s the work of late ceramicist Bonnie Ntshalintshali went well beyond the confines of traditional African pottery, yet her exquisite creations could conceivably still be used at the dinner table. The Ndebele tradition of house-painting exploded with the advent of commercial paints, giving rise to artists such as Esther Mahlangu, whose adaptations of the highly coloured geometric designs adorned everything from cars to aeroplanes. Notwithstanding the appearance of celebrity “folk artists”, ordinary craft continues to thrive – the main examples being beadwork, pottery, basketry and wooden carving. South African Art 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. South African Art Origins and Historical Importance: Blombos cave South African Art 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. Indigenous people South African Art 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. “I don’t know how one actually would define obscenity. I’m sure the definition is different according to the age one is living in”. – Jane Alexander 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 BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

South African films This is a chronology of major films produced in South Africa or by the South African film industry . There may be an overlap, particularly between South African and foreign films which are sometimes co-produced; the list should attempt to document films which are either South African produced or strongly associated with South African culture. Please see the detailed A-Z of films currently covered on Wikipedia at Category:South African films . Afrikaans Movies Afrikaans Movies Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Search video... Now Playing The Millennium Menace (1999) (HD 1080p) 01:22:41 Play Video Now Playing Klein Karoo 2 ( Movie ) #Tim Theron #Leandie du Randt #Nicole Fortuin #Bennie Fourie 01:37:37 Play Video Now Playing Platteland Full Movie 02:01:29 Play Video 1911 The Great Kimberley Diamond Robbery Adventure English South Africa's first dramatic feature. 1916 De Voortrekkers Harold Shaw Dick Cruickshanks , Goba Historical epic South Africa's Afrikaner The Birth of a Nation depicts Boer pioneers' northward expansion An Artist's Dream Denis Sanbry Dick Cruickshanks Romantic drama Animation 1919 Allan Quatermain Lisle Lucoque Ray Brown, George Taylor Adventure 1931 Sarie Marais Joseph Albrecht Billy Mathews Afrikaans First South African film with sound 1948 Die kaskenades van Dr. Kwak Pierre de Wet Pierre de Wet, Gert van den Bergh, Paula Styger ComedyAfrikaans 1949 African Jim Donald Swanson Daniel Adnewmah, Dolly Rathebe , The African Inkspots, Sam Maile, Dan Twala Kom saam, vanaand Afrikaans Sarie Marais Francis Coley Johann Nell, Helen Faul, Anna Cloete AfrikaansRemake of 1931 film of the same title 1950s Zonk! 1951 Alles sal Regkom Pierre de Wet Al Debbo Daar doer in die bosveld J amie Uys ComedyAfrikaans The Magic Garden Song of Africa 1952 Altyd in my drome Pierre de Wet Al Debbo Musical comedy Afrikaans 1955 Matieland! Pierre de WetSteyn de Jager, Wynona Cheyney, Frederik Burgers Romantic comedy Afrikaans 1956 Come Back, Africa Lionel Rogosin Bloke Modisane , Miriam Makeba DocumentaryEnglish, Fanakalo , Afrikaans , Zulu Die Wildeboere J.O.O. OlwagenRiaan Fouche, Valerie Ferreira Romantic comedy Afrikaans 1960s6 Doodkry is min Jamie Uys Jan Bruyns, Sann de Lange, Tommie Meyer Drama Afrikaans Written by Jamie Uys 1962 Lord Oom Piet Jamie Uys , Bob Courtney, Madeleine Usher Comedy English/Afrikaans 1963 The Anatomy of Apartheid Antony Thomas Documentary English Kimberley Jim Emil Nofal Jim Reeves , Madeleine Usher , Clive Parnell Musical comedy English Death Drums Along the River Lawrence Huntington Richard Todd , Marianne Koch , Albert Lieven Crime adventure English English-West German co-production by Harry Alan Towers 1965 Dingaka Jamie Uys Ken Gampu , Stanley Baker , Juliet Prowse , Bob Courtney Drama Afrikaans, English All the Way to Paris Jamie Uys Jamie Uys , Joe Stewardson , Emil Nofal ComedyEnglish Ride the High Wind / African Gold David Millin Darren McGavin , Maria Perschy Coast of Skeletons Robert Lynn Richard Todd , Dale Robertson , Heinz Drache Crime adventureEnglish-West German co-production by Harry Alan Towers Sandy the Seal Robert Lynn Marianne Koch , Heinz Drache Animal dramaEnglish-West German co-production by Harry Alan Towers The Second Sin David MillinGert van den Bergh , John Hayter, James WhiteActionEnglish The Naked Prey Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde, Ken Gampu , Patrick Mynhardt Adventure English, Afrikaans , Nguni languages Co-produced with U.S. 1966 1967 Kruger Miljoen eIvan Hall Ge Korsten, James White, Bob Courtney Action, War Afrikaans, English maybe a musical as well??? After You, Comrade Jamie Uys Seven Against the Sun David Millin Gert van den Bergh, John Hayter, Brian O'Shaughnessy Drama, WarEnglish The Cape Town Affair Robert D. Webb Claire Trevor , James Brolin , Jacqueline Bisset Drama, Thriller EnglishRemake of 1953 film Pickup on South Street The Jackals Robert D. WebbVincent Price , Diana Ivarson, Robert Gunner Adventure, Western English Remake of 1948 film Yellow Sky 1968 Oupa for Sale Richard Daneel Arthur Swemmer, Bill Brewer, Wena Naudé ComedyAfrikans, English Die Ruiter in die nag (Rider in the Night) Jan Perold Johan van Heerden, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Willie van Rensburg Drama, War English, Afrikaans Dr Kalie I van Hall Siegfried Mynhardt, Willie de Groot, Wena Naudé English, Afrikaans Majuba: Heuwel van Duiwe David Millin Anthony James, Kerry Jordan, Reinet Maasdorp War English, Afrikaans 1969 Dirkie (Lost in the Desert) Jamie Uys Wynand Uys, Jamie Uys, Pieter Haup fleisch Adventure Afrikaans, English Danie Bosman: Die verhaal van die Grootste Komponis Elmo De Witt Franz Marx, Min Shaw, Siegfried Mynhardt Drama Music Afrikaans Writer was Gilbert Gibson and producer Tommie Meyer Geheim van Nantes Dirk de Villiers Pieter Hauptfleisch, Nic de Jager, Leonie Ross Drama, Romance Afrikaans Producer was Tommie Meyer and writer was AP du Plessis Katrina Jans Rautenbach Katinka Heyns , Jill Kirkland , Don Leonard Drama, RomanceEnglish, Afrikaans 1970s Satan's Harvest George Montgomery, Tippi Hedren, Matt Monro Action Lost in the Desert Jamie Uys Wynand Uys , Jamie Uys, Pieter Hauptfleisch Adventure English, Afrikaans VickiI van Hall Sandra Britz , Leonie Ross , Johan Esterhuizen Romance Afrikaans Filmed in South Africa - Durban , Margate ; Rhodesia Shangani Patrol David Millin Brian O'Shaughnessy , Will Hutchins War Filmed in Rhodesia Stop Exchange Howard Rennie Arthur Swemmer, Charles Vernon, Ian Yule Comedy English 1972 Kaptein Caprivi Albie Venter Will Sealie, Norman C. Smith, Ken Hare Adventure, War Afrikaans, English Leatherlip Stuart Pringle Tim Hughes, Evon de Meistre, Bill Brewer, Tony Jay, Richard Loring, Eben Nel Adventure English Pikkie Sias Odendaal Leonora Nel, Pietie Meyer, Gabriel Bayman Drama Afrikaans Producer was Tommie Meyer and writer Beverley Peirce Those Naughty Angels Neil Hetherington Family Adventure English 1973 Aanslag op Kaprivi I van Hall Will Sealie, Ken Hare, Jannie Hanzen War Afrikaans Mr Kingstreet's War John Saxon , Tippi Hedren War Die Voortrekkers David Millin History, War Afrikaans Snip en Rissiepit Elmo de Witt Rod Alexander, Rika Sennett, Pieter Haupt fleisch Drama, Romance Afrikaans 1974 Animals Are Beautiful People Jamie Uys Paddy O'Byrne Comedy-documentary English Boesman and Lena Ross Devenish Athol Fugard Dans van die Flamink Ivan Hall Rod Alexander , Gaby Gertz , Anele Jonker , Sandra Britz Afrikaans Dooie Duikers deel nie Marius Wyers Funeral for an Assassin Ivan Hall Vic Morrow Crime English Ongewenste Vreemdeling Pens en Pootjies Dirk de Villiers , Joe Stewardson Al Debbo , Marié du Toit , Don Leonard , Joe Stewardson ComedyAfrikaans No Gold for a Dead Diver Harald Reinl Horst Janson , Monika Lundi , Hans Hass Jr, Marius Weyers , Sandra Prinsloo Adventure English West German co-production 1975 Dingetjie is Dynamite Tobie Cronje Eendag op 'n Reëndag Jans Rautenbach Katinka Heyns, Regardt van den Bergh, Mees Xteen, Mrga van Rooy, Jana Cilliers Drama, Romance Afrikaans My Liedjie van Verlange Will Roberts Will Roberts, Barry Trengove, Zuna Viljoen, Nerina Ferreira, Sann de Lange Drama, Music Afrikaans Based on the radio serial by C.F. Beyers-Boshoff Vreemde Wêreld Jürgen Goslar Sandra Prinsloo , Marius Weyers , Wolfgang Kieling Thriller Afrikaans West German co-production 1976 e'Lollipop Muntu Ndebele , Norman Knox Springbok Tommie Meyer Eckard Rabe , Percy Sieff, Sybel Coetzee Drama Afrikaans Jan Scholtz was the writer Albino Jürgen Goslar Trevor Howard , Christopher Lee , James Faulkner , Sybil Danning , Horst Frank Thriller , War English Filmed in Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War Killer Force Val Guest Telly Savalas , Peter Fonda , Christopher Lee , Maud Adams , O. J. Simpson Thriller English 1977 Karate Olympiad / Kill or Be Killed I van Hall James Ryan (actor) Tigers Don't Cry Peter Collinson Anthony Quinn , Simon Sabela [fr ], John Phillip Law Forty Days Franz MarxPiero von Arnim, Ben Kruger, Annelisa Weiland Comedy, Drama Funeral for an Assassin Ivan HallVic Morrow, Peter van Dissel, Gaby Getz Drama English, Afrikaans Night of the Puppets Daan Retief Zoli Marki, Anna Cloete, Leonie Ross Plekkie in die Son William Faure Jana Cilliers, Regardt van den Bergh, Eckard Rabe Drama Afrikaans Grensbasis 13 Elmo De Witt Danie Joubert War Based on the opening skirmishes of the South African Border War 1980s The Gods Must Be Crazy Jamie Uys N!xau , Sandra Prinsloo , Marius Weyers , Louw Verwey Comedy English, Afrikaans, Juǀʼhoan , Ungwatsi Kiepie en Kandas Jan Scholtz Marigolds in August Ross Devenish Winston Ntshona , John Kani , Athol Fugard Drama English Entered in 30th Berlin International Film Festival 1981 Kill and Kill Again Ivan Hall James Ryan , Anneline Kriel Martial arts film My Country My Hat David Bensusan Regardt van den Bergh Nommer Asseblief Henk Hugo 1983 Siener in die Suburbs Francois Swart Marius Weyers , Louis van Niekerk, Sandra Prinsloo DramaAfrikaans Funny People II Jamie Uys Wolhaarstories Bromley Cawood Leon Schuster Geel Trui vir 'n Wenner Franz Marx Ben Kruger , Ray Storm , Claudia Turgas , Deon van Zyl , Dulsie van den Bergh 1984 Flashpoint Africa Francis Megahy Gayle Hunnicutt , Siegfried Rauch , James Faulkner Adventure English Boetie Gaan Border Toe Regardt van den Bergh Arnold Vosloo , Eric Nobbs, Frank Dankert Comedy, War Afrikaans You're in the Movies Emil Nofal Alain D. Woolf, Alan Field, Hal Orlandini Comedy English, Afrikaans 1985 Boetie Op Manoeuvres Regardt van den BerghArnold Vosloo, Janie du Plessis, Ian RobertsComedy, WarAfrikaans, English Jantjie Kom Huis Toe Dirk de VilliersCedwyn JoelWarAfrikaansFirst direct-to-television film released by SABC King Solomon's Mines J. Lee Thompson Richard Chamberlain , Sharon Stone , Herbert Lom , John Rhys-Davies Master Harold...and the Boys Michael Lindsay-Hogg Matthew Broderick , John Kani , Zakes Mokae DramaWritten by Athol Fugard , adapted from his 1982 play of the same title Nag van Vrees Jim Murray , Stanley Roup Skating on Thin UysPieter-Dirk Uys Pieter-Dirk UysComedy Vyfster: Die Slot Sias Odendaal Patrick Mynhardt Wie Die Laaste Lag Koos Roets You Gotta Be Crazy Emil Nofal Bill Flynn , Amanda Forrow 1986 Jock of the Bushveld Gray Hofmeyr Jocelyn Broderick , Michael Brunner Family film; based on the novel Liewe Hemel Genis William Egan Mountain of Hell David Bensusan Outlaw of Gor John Cardos Place of Weeping Darrell Roodt You Must Be Joking! Elmo De Witt Rina Hugo , Carike Keuzenkamp , Kallie Knoetze , Janine Pretorius , Leon Schuster , Mike Schutte Hidden Camera 1987 Across the Rubicon Lionel FriedbergPieter-Dirk Uys DocumentaryEnglish An African Dream John SmallcombeKitty Aldridge, John Kani , Dominic Jephcott DramaEnglish Kill Slade Bruce MacFarlane Murphy's Fault Robert Smawley No Hard FeelingsCharles Norton Nukie Sias Odendal , Michael Pakleppa Glynis Johns, Steve Railsback, Ronald FranceEnglish Operation Hit Squad Tonie van der Merwe Platoon Leader Aaron Norris Tony Pierce, Robert F. Lyons, Michael DudikoffVietnam War dramaEnglish Die Posman Anthony Wilson Skeleton Coast John Cardos Ernest Borgnine , Robert Vaughn , Arnold Vosloo Mercenary war dramaEnglish Tenth of A Second Darrell Roodt Tusks Tara Erica Moore 'n Wereld Sonder Grense Frans Nel Scot Scott WarAfrikaansGarnered controversy for its depiction of the South African Border War White Ghost Beau Davis Action, Adventure, WarEnglish You Must Be Joking! Too Leon Schuster , Lizz Meiring Hidden Camera Saturday Night at the PalaceRobert DaviesBill Flynn, John Kani , Paul SlabolepszyDramaEnglish Vengeance CopsIvan HallChris du Toit, Helga van Wyk, Dawid van der WaltAction, Crime Shaka Zulu 1988 Alien from L.A. Albert Pyun Accidents Gidi Amir Action/Thriller Act of Piracy John "Bud" CardosGary Busey , Belinda Bauer, Ray Sharkey Any Man's Death A Private Life (Jack & Stella) Francis Gerard Bill Flynn, Jana Cilliers Fiela se Kind Katinka Heyns Shaleen Surtie-Richards , Dalene Matthee Laser Mission Robbie Simpson Last Samurai Paul Mayersburg Let the Music Be Frans Nel Love Me Leave Me Alan Birkinshaw , Charles Marriott Lucky Strikes Back Joe Stewardson Lucky Dube The Most Dangerous Woman Alive Chris Marnham Mapantsula Oliver SchmitzThomas Mogotlane, Marcel van Heerden, Thembi MtshaliCrime, DramaScreened at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival Nightslave John Parr Lynda Marshall, Dominique Moser, Denis SmithHorrorEnglish Options Camilo Vila Out on Bail Brian Hessler , Gordon Hessler Paradise Road (Traitors) Jan Scholtz Quest for Love Helen Nogueira Jana Cilliers, Sandra Prinsloo Red Scorpion Joseph Zito Dolph Lundgren , T. P. McKenna , M. Emmet Walsh ActionEnglish Space Mutiny David Winters Cameron Mitchell Sci Fi Considered one of the best spoofs on Mystery Science Theater 3000 [1] [2] Terminal Bliss Jordan Alan Thrilled to Death Chuck Vincent Van der Merwe P.I. Regardt van den Bergh Anneline Kriel , Regardt van den Bergh Whispers Robert Bergman You're Famous Yehuda Barkan Hidden Camera Israeli co-production The Zambezi Kid Denis Scully 1989 A Dry White Season Euzhan Palcy Donald Sutherland , Janet Suzman , Zakes Mokae DramaEnglish Africa Express Bruce McFarlanePatrick Dollaghan, Karen Mayo-Chandler, Russel SavadierEnglish Passing Through: Woni Spotts, The First Black Woman to Travel to Every Country and Continent (1989 film)Nolan DavisWoni SpottsEnglish The Emissary Jan Scholtz[3] Ted Le Plat, Terry Norton, Robert Vaughn , André Jacobs , Patrick Mynhardt , Hans Strydom , Ken Gampu , Brian O'Shaughnessy , and Peter Krummeck [3] [4] [5] [6] ThrillerEnglishMade entirely in South Africa. Killer Instinct David Lister Joanna Weinberg Lambarene Gray Hofmeyr The Gods Must Be Crazy II Jamie Uys Have You Seen Drum Recently? Jürgen Schadeberg Miriam Makeba The Native Who Caused all the Trouble Manie van Rensburg Odd Ball Hall Jackson Hunsicker Oh Schucks.... It's Schuster! Leon Schuster Leon Schuster Okavango (Wild Country) Wayne Crawford , Danie Odendaal , Percival Rubens On the Wire Elaine Proctor Prey for the Hunter John Parr That Englishwoman Dirk de Villiers Veronica Lang Voices in the Dark Vincent Cox Lucky Dube Warriors from Hell Ronnie Isaacs Windprints David Wicht Marius Weyers 1990s TitleDirectorCastGenreLanguageNotes 1990 Agter Elke Man Franz MarxSteve Hofmeyr , Dulcie van den Bergh , Illse Roos, Annelize van der RystDramaAfrikaansA follow-up film to the South African TV series of the same name Circles in a Forest Regardt van den Bergh Ian Bannen , Brion James , Joe Stewardson Drama Nag van die 19de Oh Shucks! Here Comes UNTAG Leon Schuster Leon Schuster 1991 A.W.O.L. The Angel, the Bicycle and the Chinaman's Finger American Kickboxer Frans NelJohn Barrett, Keith Vitali , Brad Morris, Gavin Hood , Ted Le PlatAction, DramaEnglish 1992 Jock of the Bushveld Road to Mecca Sarafina! Darrell Roodt Leleti Khumalo , Whoopi Goldberg , Miriam Makeba , John Kani English Sweet 'n Short Leon Schuster Leon Schuster 1993 Friends Elaine Proctor Entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival There's a Zulu On My Stoep Leon SchusterLeon Schuster To the Death Darrell Roodt John Barrett, Michel Qissi, Robert Whitehead, Michelle BestbierActionEnglishSequel to American Kickboxer 1994 Ipi TombiTommie Meyer Jan-Michael Vincent , Henry Cele , O'Neil JohnsonDrama, MusicEnglishMovie of musical written by Bertha Egnos and Gail Lakier Redemption: Kickboxer 5 Kristine PetersonMark Dacascos , James Ryan, Geoff Meed, Greg LatterActionEnglishFinal installment of the original Kickboxer franchise. 1995 Cry, The Beloved Country Darrell Roodt James Earl Jones , Richard Harris , Charles S. Dutton EnglishBased on novel of the same name by Alan Paton Soweto Green: This is a 'Tree' Story David Lister John Kani , L. Scott Caldwell , Sandra Prinsloo , Casper de Vries Comedy, RomanceEnglish, Zulu, Afrikaans 1996 Anna 1997 Danger Zone Billy Zane , Robert Downey Jr. US and CAN Jump the Gun Panic Mechanic Leon Schuster 1998 African Violet Paljas Katinka Heyns 5 MNET All-Africa Film Awards, South African submission to 70th Academy Award for Best Foreign Film The Sexy GirlsRussell ThompsonJamie Bartlet, Tina Schouw, Ivan Lucas, Denise Newman, Peter Butler, Sylvia Esau, Nazley EssopThrillerEnglishApollo Film Festival 2001: Best Feature Film 1999 Aces Africa After the Rain Ross KettlePaul Bettany, Louise Lombard, Ariyon BakareDrama, Romance Millennium Menace Leon SchusterLeon Schuster, Desmond DubeComedyEnglish, Afrikaans The Man Who Would Kill Kitchener François Verster DocumentaryBiography of Fritz Joubert Duquesne . 1999 NTVA Silver Stone & Stone Craft Award A Reasonable Man Gavin Hood Gavin Hood, Nigel Hawthorne , Janine EserCrime drama thriller 2000s Angels in a Cage Jeremy Crutchley , Sylvaine Strike Apostles of Civilised Vice Zackie Achmat Hijack Stories Oliver Schmitz Tony Kgoroge , Rapulana Seiphemo Screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival Inside Out Long Night's Journey into Day: South Africa's Search for Truth & Reconciliation Glory Glory Paul Johannsen , Steven Bauer , Amanda Donohoe , Gideon Emery , Ana Alexander 2001 Mr Bones Leon Schuster Leon Schuster, David Ramsey , Faizon Love , Robert Whitehead , Jane Benney ComedyHighest-grossing film in South Africa on release. Diamond Cut Diamond Darrell Roodt Gary Daniels , Nick Boraine , Gideon Emery 2002 Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony Documentary Promised Land The Sorcerer's Apprentice David Lister Robert Davi , Kelly Le Brock , Gideon Emery A Lion's Trail François VersterDocumentary 2003 Adrenaline Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony God Is AfricanAkin OmotosoDramaEnglish Red Water Charles Robert Carner Lou Diamond Phillips , Kristy Sawnson , Gideon Emery Stander Bronwen HughesThomas Jane, David O'Hara, Dexter Fletcher, Ashley Taylor, Marius WeyersAction, Biography, CrimeEnglish State of Denial Wooden Camera 2004 Boy called Twist Kim Engelbrecht Cape of Good Hope Mark Bamford Debbie Brown , Eriq Ebouaney , Nthathi Moshesh , Gideon Emery Drum Taye Diggs A Case of Murder Clive Morris Steve Hofmeyr , Candice Hillebrand , Gideon Emery , Anthony Fridjhon , Ben Kruger , Nicky Rebello , Ramalao Makhene Forgiveness Zane Meas , Arnold Vosloo , Quanita Adams Gums and Noses Craig FreimondComedyEnglish Max and Mona Oh Shucks, I'm Gatvol! Leon Schuster Leon Schuster, Alfred Ntombela , Gerry the Clown , Bill Flynn The Story of an African Farm David Lister Yesterday Darrell Roodt , Leleti Khumalo Nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards Vadertjie Langbeen Hotel Rwanda Terry George Don Cheadle , Sophie Okonedo , Joaquin Phoenix History, DramaEnglish, French, KinyarwandaNominated for 3 Oscars, 18 wins & 38 nominations 2005 34 SouthMaganthrie PillayAz Abrahams, Rassol Hendriks, Ricardo Marnewick, LeeAnn Sayster, Marguerita Freeks, Stephan Roach, Oscar PetersenRoad MovieEnglish1st film to be directed by a black woman in South Africa. Opened at Pan African Film Festival, Sound Design by Albert Edmund Lord III EngagementCaroline Nicou Romantic comedy In My Country Mama Jack Leon Schuster Leon Schuster Red Dust Straight Outta BenoniTrevor ClarenceBrendan Jack, Gavin Williams, Colin Moss, Brett Goldin , Danny K ComedyEnglish The Flyer Revel FoxMarcel van Heerden, Ian Van Der Heyden, Craig Palm, Kim Engelbrecht Adventure, DramaEnglish Tsotsi Gavin Hood Presley Chweneyagae , Ian Roberts , Zola , Terry Pheto Afrikaans, English, Sotho, Tsotsitaal, Tswana, ZuluWon Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards U-Carmen eKhayelitsha Mark Dornford-May Won Golden Bear at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival 2006 Angels in the Dust Louise HogarthCon Cloete, Marion Cloete DocumentaryEnglish Bunny Chow J ohn Barker David Kibuuka, Kim Engelbrecht , Kagiso Lediga , Joey Yusef Rasdien, Jason Cope ComedyEnglishAlso billed as Bunny Chow Know Thyself and Bunny Chow: Know Thyself Don't Touch Number Ten Faith Like Potatoes Regardt van den Bergh Frank Rautenbach , Hamilton Dlamini Inspirational/Docu-Drama Son of Man Mark Dornford-May Running Riot Koos RoetsBill Flynn , Paul Slabolepszy Comedy Sekalli le Meokgo (Eng: Meokgo and the Stickfighter)Teboho MahlatsiMduduzi Mabaso, Terry PhetoDramaShort film 2007 Anner House Big Fellas Counting Headz: South Afrika's Sistaz in Hip Hop Vusi Magubane & Erin Offer Documentary Footskating 101 Ouma se Slim Kind Quinne Brown Poena is koning Tengers Michael Rix Animation 2008 50 Years! Of Love? Karin Slater , Steven Bartlo Documentary English Bakgat! Hansie Jerusalema Mr Bones 2: Back from the Past Gray Hofmeyer Leon SchusterComedyHighest-grossing film in South Africa on release. Skin Triomf Michael RaeburnLionel Newton, Vanessa Cooke, Eduan van Jaarsveldt, Paul LuckhoffDramaEnglish, AfrikaansBased on the novel by Marlene van Niekerk The World Unseen Shamim Sarif Lisa Ray , Sheetal Sheth Drama 2009 District 9 Neill Blomkamp Sharlto Copley Science fiction Nominated for Best Film at the 82nd Academy Awards Invictus Clint Eastwood Morgan Freeman , Matt Damon Drama non-fiction Jozi Shirley Adams Oliver Hermanus Denise Newman DramaEnglishReceived Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress Award at the South African Film and Television Awards The Chameleon 2010s Bakgat! 2 The Cradock Four David ForbesMatthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto, Sicelo MhlauliDocumentaryA France-South Africa coproduction about the Cradock Four ; winner of best South African documentary at the 2010 Durban International Film Festival Egoli: Afrikaners is PlesierigBromley CawoodDavid Rees, Darren Kelfkens, Leandie du Randt , Christine Basson, Shaleen Surtie-Richards DramaEnglish, AfrikaansAlso known as Egoli: The Movie; based on the long-running South African TV show, Egoli: Place of Gold Five Roads to Freedom: From Apartheid to the World Cup Robin Benger & Jane Thandi Lipman Documentary I now pronounce you Black and White Oliver RodgerTyrel Meyer, Tina Jaxa, Nik RabinowitzComedy, RomanceEnglish JakhalsdansDarrell Roodt Theuns Jordaan, Elizma Theron, Janke Bruwer DramaAfrikaans Schuks Tshabalala's Survival Guide to South Africa Gray HofmeyrLeon Schuster, Alfred Ntombela, Sean Higgs ComedyEnglish, Afrikaans The Unforgiving Al OrrRyan Macquet, Craig Hawks, Claire OppermanHorrorEnglish Long StreetRevel FoxSannie Fox, Roberta Fox, David Butler LieflingBrian WebberLika Berning, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Elize Cawood MusicalAfrikaans Eternity Life, Above All Oliver Schmitz Drama Northern SothoWinner of Best Feature Film at the 5th annual South African Film and Television Awards Spud Donovan MarshJohn Cleese , Troye Sivan Comedy, DramaEnglish Visa/Vie Elan GamakerMélodie Abad, David Isaacs, Keren Tahor Comedy, RomanceFrench, English, Xhosa 2011 Beauty (Skoonheid) Oliver Hermanus Deon Lotz , Charlie Keegan DramaAfrikaans, EnglishCompeted in the Un Certain Regard at Cannes ; awarded Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Film at the 2012 South African Film and Television Awards The Bang Bang Club Steven Silver Taylor Kitsch , Ryan Phillippe , Malin Åkerman DramaEnglishco-produced with Canada Getroud Met RugbyAfrikaans How To Steal 2 Million Charlie VundlaJohn Kani , Hlubi Mboya, Menzi Ngubane, Terry Pheto , Rapulana Seiphemo The Imam and I Khalid ShamisDocumentaryEnglishPartly animated documentary about the director's maternal grandfather and anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron LuckyAvie Luthra Sihle Dlamini, Jayashree Basavaraj DramaEnglish, Hindi, Zulu Man on GroundAkin OmotosoDramaEnglish, Zulu, Southern Sotho, Yoruba Mad CowMichael Wright, Michael J. RixEnglish Paradise Stop Jann Turner Rapulana Seiphemo, Kenneth Nkosi, Vusi KuneneComedyEnglish, Northern Sotho Night Drive Platteland Sean ElseAfrikaans 'n Saak van Geloof Diony KempenRobbie Wessels, Lelia Etsebeth, Riana NelDramaAfrikaans Skeem Timothy Greene Wandile Molebatsi, Kurt Schoonraad, Lilani Prinsen Comedy, CrimeEnglish State of ViolenceKhalo MatabaneFana Mokoena, Presley Chweneyagae, Neo NtlatlengDrama TokoloshKevin SinghGerald Beddeker, Willem Stephanus Beyers, Andrew DevadasHorrorEnglish Viva Riva! Djo Tunda Wa Munga Patsha Bay , Manie Malone, Diplome AmekindraDrama, ThrillerFrench, Lingala 2012 Adventures in Zambezia Wayne ThornleyJeremy Suarez , Abigail Breslin , Jeff Goldblum , Leonard Nimoy , Samuel L. Jackson Animation, Adventure, FamilyEnglishWon the Best South African Feature Film at the Durban International Film Festival in 2012. Won Best Animation at the South African Film and Television Awards and Best Animation at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards . Nominated for Best Music Score at 2013 South African Film and Television Awards and nominated for Best Music in an Animated Feature Production and best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production at the 2013 Annie Awards in California. Safe House Daniel Espinosa Denzel Washington , Ryan Reynolds Action thriller filmEnglishAmerican made film entirely filmed and set in Cape Town. Dredd 3D Pete Travis Karl Urban , Lena Headey , Olivia Thirlby Combat CoppositesOliver RodgerRob van Vuuren , Siv Ngesi ComedyEnglish Semi SoetJoshua RousAnel Alexander, Nico Panagiotopoulos, Sandra VaughnRomanceAfrikaans Mad BuddiesGray HofmeyrLeon Schuster, Kenneth Nkosi, Alfred NtombelaComedy Otelo Burning Sara Blecher Jafta Mamabolo Thomas Gumede, Sihle XabaDramaEnglish, Zulu Material Craig FreimondRiaad Moosa , Vincent Ebrahim Comedy, DramaEnglish Agter Die LigteNicholas Costaras, Joe Niemand Afrikaans Pretville Klein Karoo Regardt van den BerghTim Theron, DonnaLee Roberts , Hykie BergRomanceAfrikaans, English Sleeper's WakeBarry BerkDeon Lotz ThrillerEnglish Die Wonderwerker Katinka HeynsElize Cawood, Marius Weyers, Anneke Weidemann BiographyAfrikaans Verraaiers (Traitors)Paul EilersGys de Villiers, Viljie Maritz, Andrew Thompson WarAfrikaans Wolwedans in die skemer Jozua MalherbeRolanda Marais, David Louw, Gérard Rudolf, Desiré Gardner, Lelia Etsebeth, Jacques Bessenger ThrillerAfrikaans 2013 Angel of the Skies Christopher-lee dos Santos Nick van der Bijl, Ryan Dittmann, Jason Glanville, Brad Backhouse, Lillie Claire, Adam Boys,War, DramaEnglishNominated for Best Wardrobe and Makeup at 2014 SAFTA awards. As Jy Sing André OdendaalBobby van Jaarsveld , Leah van Niekirk, Bok van Blerk , Karlien van Jaarsveld, Katlego Maboe Comedy, Drama, MusicalAfrikaans Die Ballade van Robbie de Wee Darrell Roodt Neil Sandilands, Marno van der Merwe DramaAfrikaans Fanie Fourie's Lobola Henk PretoriusEduan van Jaarsveldt, Zethu Dlomo, Jerry Mofokeng Comedy, RomanceZulu, English, Afrikaans Four Corners Ian Gabriel Brendon Daniels , Jezriel Skei, Lindiwe Matshikiza Crime, ThrillerAfrikaans, EnglishAlso known as Die Vier Hoeke iNumber Number Donovan MarshSdumo Mtshali, Presley Chweneyagae, Israel Makoe , Owen Sejake Action, Crime, DramaReceived Best Director, Best Screenwriter and Best Editor Awards at the 2015 South African Film and Television Awards . Also known as Avenged Khumba Anthony SilverstonJake T. Austin , Steve Buscemi , Loretta Devine , Laurence Fishburne , Richard E. Grant Animation, Adventure, FamilyEnglishWon Best Animation at the Zanzibar International Film Festival and at the Africa Movie Academy Awards . Won Best Music Composition of a Feature Film and Best Animation at the 2014 South African Film and Television Awards . Won Best Feature at the Annecy Animation Festival 2013 A Lucky ManGordon ClarkLevi du Plooy, Jarrid Geduld, Keenan ArrisonDocumentary Drama Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Justin Chadwick Idris Elba , Naomie Harris , Tony Kgoroge History, DramaAfrikaans, English, XhosaNominated for Golden Globe Awards and Critics' Choice Awards Musiek vir die AgtergrondSalmon de JagerJohn-Henry Opperman, Lizelle de Klerk, Brümilda van Rensburg , Ian Roberts , Neil SandilandsDrama, Music, RomanceAfrikaans, English Of Good ReportJahmil X.T. QubekaMothusi Magano, Petronella TshumaThrillerAfrikaans[14] To the Power of AnneRobert Anthony HaynesAnne Power, Ryan Flynn, Wim VorsterEnglish Shotgun GarfunkelJohnny BarbuzanoBryan van Niekerk, Asher Mikkel Stoltz, Eduan van JaarsveldtEnglish Jimmy in PienkHanneke SchutteLouw Venter, Terence Bridget, Gys de Villiers, Tinarie van Wyk LootsComedyAfrikaans Spud 2: The Madness ContinuesDonovan MarshJohn Cleese , Troye Sivan Comedy, DramaEnglish Zulu Jérôme Salle Orlando Bloom , Forest Whitaker , Tanya van Graan CrimeEnglishco-produced with France 2014 Faan se TreinKoos RoetsWillie Esterhuizen, Deon Lotz , Marius Weyers , Cobus Rossouw, Anel Alexander DramaAfrikaans, English Hollywood in my HuisCorne van RooyenChristia Visser , Edwin van der Walt, Nicola HanekomComedy, Family, RomanceAfrikaans, English KonfettiZaheer Goodman-BhyatLouw Venter, Nico Panagio, Casey B. Dolan, Kim Engelbrecht, Casper de Vries Drama, ComedyAfrikaans, English Leading Lady Henk PretoriusKatie McGrath , Bok Van Blerk , Gil Bellows Romantic ComedyEnglish, Afrikaans Love the One You Love Jenna Cato Bass Francis Chouler , Nelson Das Neves, Chiedza Mhende Comedy, Drama, Mystery, RomanceEnglish, Xhosa Pad na jou hartJaco SmitIvan Botha , DonnaLee Roberts Adventure, RomanceAfrikaans Spud 3: Learning to FlyJohn BarkerJohn Cleese , Troye Sivan , Caspar Lee Comedy, DramaEnglish The Two of Us Ernest NkosiDramaZuluAlso known as Thina Sobabili: The Two of Us Die WindpompEtienne FourieRoland Reed, Leandie du Randt, Marga van Rooy, Ian Roberts , Etienne Fourie Drama, Fantasy, RomanceAfrikaans 2015 Abraham (2015 film) Jans RautenbachDJ Mouton, Chantel PhilipusDramaAfrikaansMusic Riku Lätti Assignment Laszlo BeneNick Boraine , Jonathan Pienaar, Sandi Schultz, David Dennis Drama, ThrillerEnglish AyandaSara BlecherFulu Mugovhani, Sihle Xaba DramaEnglish Bond of Blood Christopher-lee dos Santos Marno van der Merwe, Sarah Kozlowski, Damian BerryDrama, FaithEnglish Ballade vir 'n Enkeling Quentin KrogArmand Aucamp, Jacques Bessenger, Zak Hendrikz DramaAfrikaans Chappie Neill BlomkampHugh Jackman , Sigourney Weaver , Sharlto Copley , Dev Patel Action, Sci-Fi, ThrillerEnglish Dis ek, Anna Sara BlecherCharlene Brouwer, Marius Weyers , Nicola Hanekom, Izel Bezuidenhout, Morne VisserDramaAfrikaans Dis Koue Kos, SkatEtienne FourieSean Cameron Michael , Frank Opperman , Anna-Mart van der Merle, Deon Lotz Comedy, Drama, RomanceAfrikaans The Endless River Oliver Hermanus Nicolas Duvauchelle , Crystal-Donna Roberts , Darren Kelfkens, Denise NewmanDramaEnglishCo-produced with France Hear Me Move Scottnes L. SmithNyaniso Dzedze, Wandile Molebatsi, Makhaola Ndebele Drama The Jakes Are Missing Neal Sundstrom, Denny Y. Miller, FigjamMampho Brescia, Pop Jerrod, Mpho Sebeng, Jody Abrahams, Nomzamo Mbatha Comedy, RomanceEnglish Last Ones Out Howard FyvieGreg Kriek, Christia Visser, Tshamano SebeAdventure, Drama, ThrillerEnglish Necktie YouthSibs Shongwe-La MerBonko Cosmo Khoza, Sibs Shongwe-La Mer, Colleen Balchin DramaEnglish, Zulu, Afrikaans 'n Pawpaw Vir My Darling Koos RoetsDeon Lotz , Deirdre Wohlhuter, Jana Nortier ComedyAfrikaans Die Pro Andre VeltsEdwin van der Walt , Reine Swart DramaAfrikaansBased on a novel by Jeanne Goosen Somer SonClinton LubbeReynald Slabbert, Juanita de Villiers, Bok van Blerk, Hanna Grobert, Reine Swart Romantic ComedyAfrikaans Strikdas Stefan NieuwoudtLeandie du Randt, Gys de Villiers, Kaz McFadden ComedyAfrikaans Tell Me Sweet Something Akin OmotosoThomas Gumede, Maps Maponyane Romance, ComedyEnglish TreurgrondAndre FrauensteinSteve Hofmeyr , Erica Wessels , Shaleen Surtie-Richards DramaAfrikaans TrouvoeteDarrell Roodt Lika Berning, Bouwer Bosch, Charlie Bouguenon, Paul du Toit, Stefan Ludik RomanceAfrikaans While You Weren't LookingCatherine StewartTerence Bridgett, Tina Jaxa DramaEnglish, Xhosa, Afrikaans 2016 AlchemistDavid SikhosanaDramaEnglish Alison Uga Carlini Alison Botha, Christia Visser, Zak Hendrikz, Francois Maree, De Klerk Oelofse Documentary, DramaEnglish Blood and Glory Sean ElseCharlotte Salt, Andre Jacobs, Josh Myers, Nick Cornwall, Greg Kriek, Deon Lotz Drama, WarAfrikaans, EnglishAlso known as Modder en Bloed Dora's Peace Konstandino Kalarytis Khabonina Qubeka , Danny Keogh , Hlubi Mboya , Ronnie Nyakale, Paballo Koza Action, Crime, DramaEnglish, Zulu Free State Salmon de JagerNicola Breytenbach, Andrew Govender, Leleti Khumalo , Deon Lotz , Mangesh Desai, Paul Ellers Drama, Family, RomanceAfrikaans, English Happiness is a Four-Letter Word Thabang MoleyaRomance, DramaEnglishBased on the Commonwealth Prize -winning novel by Nozizwe Cynthia Jele Jonathan: Die MovieSalmon de JagerRikus de Beer, Beáte Opperman, Paul Eilers, Brümilda van Rensburg ComedyAfrikaans Jou Romeo Andre WeltsRuan Wessels, Elani Dekker, Christopher van der Westhuizen, Row-Lean, Ruan Blum RomanceAfrikaans Kalushi Mandla DubeThabo Rametsi, Thabo Malema, Welile Nzuza Biography, Drama, ThrillerEnglishAlso known as Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu Mignon "Mossie" van WykDarrell Roodt Erica Wessels, Paul du Toit, Deanre Reiners, Elzette Maarschalk, Tanika Fourie DramaAfrikaans Mrs. Right GuyAdze UgahDineo Moeketsi, Lehasa Moloi, Thapelo Mokoena, Tau Maserumule, Thando Thabethe RomanceEnglish My Father's War Craig GardnerEdwin van der Walt, Stian Bam, Erica Wessels, Fumani Shilubana DramaEnglish Nobody's Died Laughing Willem OelofsonPieter-Dirk Uys , Desmond Tutu , Vincent Ebrahim , Charlize Theron , F. W. de Klerk DocumentaryEnglishA documentary about the life of actor, comedian, and activist Pieter-Dirk Uys Noem My Skollie Daryne JoshuaDann-Jacques Mouton , Sandi SchultzDramaAfrikaansEnglish title: Call Me Thief Shepherds and Butchers Oliver Schmitz Steve Coogan , Andrea Riseborough , Robert Hobbs, Deon Lotz , Garion Dowds DramaEnglish, AfrikaansBased on the novel by Chris Marnewick Sink Brett Michael InnesAnel Alexander , Shoki Mokgapa, Jacques Bessenger, Amalia Uys , Asante Mabuza, Diaan Lawrenson DramaAfrikaansBased on the novel 'Rachel weeping' by Brett Michael Innes Sy Klink soos Lente Corne van RooyenAmalia Uys , Stiaan Smith, Bennie Fourie, James Cunningham, William Dunster, Bouwer BoschRomance, ComedyAfrikaans, English Twee Grade van Moord Gerrit SchoonhovenSandra Prinsloo , Marius Weyers , Shaleen Surtie-Richards DramaAfrikaans, English UitvluchtRegardt van den Bergh Albert Maritz, Carel Trichardt, Clara Joubert, Clyde Berning, Jill Levenberg , Stian Bam Drama, RomanceAfrikaans, English Vaya Akin Omotoso Warren Masemola, Harriet Manamela, Zimkhitha Nyoka, Phuti NakeneDramaZulu Verskietende Ster Darrell Roodt Hykie Berg, Deanre Reiners, Jana Strydom , Hannes van Wyk, Hanli Rolfes DramaAfrikaans Vir Altyd Jaco SmitLaré Birk, Ivan Botha , Elize Cawood, Nicky de Kock, Donnalee Roberts RomanceAfrikaans Vir die Voëls Quentin KrogSimoné Nortmann , Francois Jacobs, Lara Kinnear, Bennie Fourie, Elize Cawood, Neels van Jaarsveld, Nicola Hanekom RomanceAfrikaans The Whale CallerZola MasekoAmrainn Ismail-Essop, Sello Maake Ka-Ncube DramaEnglish Wonder Boy for President John Barker Kagiso Lediga , Ntosh Madlingzi, Tony Miyambo, Thishiwe Ziqubu ComedyEnglish Taking Earth Grant HumphreysRonan Quarmby, Brad Richards, Dick Sorenson, Marco Torlage and Barbara Harrison Sci FiEnglishProduced by Digital Forces, Grant Humphreys, Grant Knight , Michael Harrison 2017 AsinamaliMbongeni Ngena Drama, MusicalZuluAdapted from the play of the same name[16] Beyond the River Craig FreimondLemogang Tsipa, Grant Swanby, Israel Sipho Matseke Zulu , Emily Child DramaEnglish, Zulu BypassShane VermootenNatalie Becker , Hakeem Kae-Kazim , Greg Kriek, Deon Lotz ThrillerEnglish Catching FeelingsKagiso Lediga Kagiso Lediga , Pearl Thusi , Andrew Buckland, Akin Omotoso , Precious Makgaretsa Comedy, Drama, RomanceEnglish Finders KeepersMaynard KraakDalin Oliver, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Lise Slabber, Grant Swansby ComedyEnglish Five Fingers for Marseilles Michael MatthewsSesotho High Fantasy Jenna Bass Qondiswa James, Nala Khumalo, Francesca Varrie Michel, Liza Scholtz Comedy Hoener met die Rooi Skoene Koos RoetsLida Botha, Deon Lotz , Lizz Meiring, Dorette Potgieter Comedy, DramaAfrikaans Jagveld (English release title: Hunting Emma)Byron DavisLeandie du Randt, Neels van Jaarsveld, Tim TheronActionAfrikaans Johnny Is Nie Dood NieChristiaan Olwagen Rolanda Marais, Albert Pretorius, Ilana Cilliers, Ludwig Binge, Roelof Storm DramaAfrikaans Kalushi: The Story of Solomon MahlanguMandla DubeThabo Rametsi, Thabo Malema, Welile Ndzunza, Jafta Mamabolo, Louw Venter, Gcina Mhlophe, Fumani Shilubana, Pearl Thusi Biography, Drama, ThrillerEnglish Kampter reinLuhann JansenLouw Venter, Juanita de Villiers, Josias Moleele, Reine SwartComedyAfrikaans, English Keeping Up with the Kandasamys Jayan MoodleyJailoshini Naidoo , Maeshni Naicker, Mishqah Parthiephal , Madhushan Singh ComedyEnglishThe last film produced by Junaid Ahmed (together with Helena Spring) before his death in 2016. KrotoaRoberta DurrantCrystal-Donna Roberts , Armand Aucamp, Jacques Bessenger, Brendan Daniels, Deon Lotz DramaAfrikaans Liewe Kersfeesvader Etienne FourieMila Guy , Morné Visser, Adrienne Pearce , Milan Murray, Dean John Smith, Melt Sieberhagen, June van MerchDrama, ComedyAfrikaans The Little Kings Darrell James RoodtJustin Strydom, Jonathan Taylor, Lisa-Marie Schneider Drama, SportEnglish Meet the Radebes Simon MakwelaLuthuli Diamini, Mary Makhatho, Jolene Martin-Morgan, Nicholas NkunaDrama, ComedyEnglish Last Broken Darkness Christopher-lee dos Santos Sean Cameron Michael , Brandon Auret , Suraya Santos, Jonathan Pienaar , Brendan Murray, Ryan KrugerSci-fi, DramaEnglishWon best screenplay and best lead actor at Boston Sci Fi festival in 2017. Won best cinematography at South African Society of Cinematographers awards. ( SASC Visible spectrum gold award) in 2017. Nominated for best film, best sound design, best lead actress, best lead actor at 2020 South African indie film awards. Won best cinematography at 2020 South African indie film awards. Released theatrically in the USA in 2021 as 'Broken Darkness' by Vertical Entertainment . Oliver Tambo: Have You Heard from JohannesburgConnie Field DocumentaryEnglish Die Rebellie van Lafras VerweySimon BarnardTobie Cronjé, Chantell Phillipus, Cobus Visser, Albert Pretorius, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Lionel Newton DramaAfrikaansAlso known as Lafras Verwey She Is King Gersh KgamediKhabonina Qubeka, Aubrey Poo, Gugu Zulu, Khanyi Mbau, Mandisa Nduna MusicalEnglish Strike a Rock Aliki SaragasPrimose Sonti, Thumeka Magwangqana Documentary TessMeg RickardsChristia Visser, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Brendon Daniels , Dann-Jacques MoutonDramaAfrikaans Van Der MerweBruce LawleyRob van Vuuren , Chanelle de Jager, Reine Swart , Matthew Baldwin, Ian Roberts ComedyAfrikaans, English VaselinetjieCorné van RooyenMarguerite van Eeden , Nicole Bond, Shaleen Surtie-Richards , Royston Stoffels DramaAfrikaans, English Vuil WasgoedMorné du ToitBennie Fourie, Bouwer Bosch, Tim Theron, Nico Panagio, Stiaan SmithCrimeAfrikaans WinniePascale LamcheWinnie MandelaDocumentaryFor this film, Lamche won the Directing Award for World Cinema - Documentary at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival The Wound (Inxeba)John Trengove Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini, Thobani MseleniDramaXhosa, Afrikaans, English The Black Moses Moksh production (production company) | Trevor Shezi (director) TBADramaZulu, Afrikaans, English 2018 AyaKhalid EL-JelailatiDanica De La Rey, Richard Gau, Charlie Bouguenon, Keketso Montshiwa ThrillerEnglish Baby Mamas Stephina ZwaneSalamina Mosese, Kay Smith, Thembisa Mdoda, Dineo Ranaka ComedyEnglish Cut-Out Girls Nicola HanekomAtlanta Johnson, Keziah Gabriel, Cody Mountain, Meghan Oberholzer Drama, ThrillerEnglish Dominee TienieSalmon de JagerFrank Opperman, Henrietta Gryffenberg, Thapelo Makoena, Carel Nel, Deon Lotz Drama Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story Daryne JoshuaJill Levenberg , Jerrid Geduld, Elton Landrew, Clint BrinkDramaAfrikaans, EnglishAlso known as Ellen: The Story of Ellen Pakkies Farewell Ella Bella Lwazi Mvusi Jay Anstey, Sello Maake Ka-Ncube, Lionel Newton, Katlego Danke, Mary-Anne Barlow, Noluthando MejeDramaEnglish Frank & FearlessGray Hofmeyr Leon Schuster , Themba Ntuli, Kenneth Nkosi, Khanyi Mbau , Jennifer SteynComedy KanarieChristiaan OlwagenSchalk Bezuidenhout, Hannes Otto, Germandt Geldenhuys , Gérard Rudolf , Jacques Bessenger, Beer Adriaanse Drama, Musical, WarAfrikaansAlso known as Canary Mayfair Sara Blecher Ronak Patani, Rajesh Gopie, Wayne Van Rooyen, Jack Devnarain, Kelly-Eve Koopman, Ameera PatelAction, Crime, DramaEnglish Meerkat MaantuigHanneke SchutteAnchen du Plessis, Rika Sennett, Pierre van Pletzen, Themba Ntuli Drama, Science Fiction, FantasyAfrikaansAlso known as Meerkat Moonship Number 37 Nosipho DumisaIrshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, Ephraim Gordon, Danny Ross, Deon Lotz ThrillerAfrikaans RaaiselkindAndre VeltsDiaan Lawrenson, Deon Lotz , Anrich Herbst DramaAfrikaans The Recce Johannes Ferdinand Van ZylGreg Kriek, Christia Visser, Elsabé Daneel, Marius Weyers, Maurice Carpede Drama, WarAfrikaans, EnglishIdlewild International Film Festival 2019, Best Foreign Feature Drama, Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, Best Actor - Feature Sew the Winter to My Skin Jahmil X. T. QubekaEzra Mabengeza, Kandyse McClure , Peter Kurth, Zolisa Xaluva, Bok Van Blerk Action, AdventureAfrikaans, English, Xhosa StroomopIvan BothaDonnaLee Roberts , Simoné Nortmann, Ilse Klink , Chanelle de Jager, Carla Classen, Armand AucampAction, AdventureAfrikaans, English Table Manners Leli MakiDiaan Lawrenson, Renate Stuurman, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Thabo Malema, Fiona Ramsey Comedy, DramaEnglish Thys & TrixQuentin KrogLeandie du Randt , Bouwer Bosch, Brendon Daniels Action, Adventure, ComedyAfrikaans The Tokoloshe Jerome PikwanePetronella Tshuma , Kwande Nkosi, Dawid Minaar, Harriet Manamela , Mandla Shongwe, Yule MasitengHorror, ThrillerEnglish, Zulu When Babies Don't Come Molatelo Mainetje-BossmanMolatelo Mainetje-BossmanDocumentary FeatureKhelobedu, English WonderlusJohan CronjeBeer Adriaanse, Marvin-Lee Beukes, Mila Guy, Edwin Van Der Walt, Simoné Nortmann Comedy, Drama, RomanceAfrikaans 2019 An Act of Defiance Jean van de VeldePeter Paul Muller, Antoinette Louw, Sello Motloung DramaEnglish Ander MensQuentin KrogBennie Fourie, Marlee van der Merwe, Frank Opperman, James BorthwickComedyAfrikaans Back of the Moon Angus GibsonRichard Lunkunku, Moneoa Moshesh, Lemogang Tsipa DramaZulu Bhai's Cafe Maynard KraakMehboob Bawa, Suraya Rose Santos, Siv Ngesi Romantic comedy, MusicalEnglishIn the style of Bollywood Buddha in Africa Nicole Schafer Enock Alu BiographyEnglish, Chinese Mandarin Deep End Eubulus TimothyCarishma Basday, Greg Kriek, Suraya-Rose Santos, Mahendra Raghunath, Robin SinghDrama, Romance, SportEnglish Fiela se Kind (2019)Brett Michael InnesZenobia Kloppers, Luca Bornman, Wayne Smith, Wayne van Rooyen, Cindy Swanepoel, Drikus Volschenk DramaAfrikaans Flatland Jenna Cato Bass Faith Baloyi, Nicole Fortuin , Izel Bezuidenhout DramaEnglish, Afrikaans Griekwastad Jozua MalherbeArnold Vosloo , Alex van Dyk, Tim Theron, Jody Abrahams Crime, DramaAfrikaansDramatisation of a true story The Harvesters Etienne Kallos Brent Vermeulen , Alex Van Dyk, Juliana Venter, Morne Visser DramaAfrikaans, EnglishOriginal title: Die Stropers Kandasamys: The Wedding Jayan MoodleyJailoshini Naidoo, Maeshni Naicker, Madhushan Singh, Mishqah ParthiephalRomance Kings of Mulberry Street Judy NaidooAaqil Hoosen, Shaan Nathoo, Neville Pillay, Rizelle Januk, Thiru NaidooComedyEnglish Knuckle CityJahmil X. T. QubekaBongile Mantsai, Thembekile Komani, Patrick Ndlovu, Faniswa Yisa, Siv Ngesi Drama, CrimeXhosaSouth Africa's entry for the 92nd Academy Awards (2020) in Best International Feature Film category[18] The Last Victims Maynard KraakSean Cameron Michael, Kurt Egelhof, Marno van der Merwe, Ashish Gangapersad, Jacobus Van Heerden, Mark Mulder Drama, Mystery, ThrillerEnglishInspired by true events film, has won 18 awards and 8 nominations around the world from 12 film festivals. The world Premiere was at Pan African Film Festival , Hollywood in 2019. Liewe LisaHendrik CronjeElani Dekker, Hendrik Cronje, Zane Meas, Barbara-Marie Immelman, Albert MaritzRomanceAfrikaans Love Lives HereNorman MaakeThando Thabethe, Lungile Radu, Andile Gumbi , Nomalanga Shozi, Zola NombonaRomanceEnglish Losing Lerato Sanele zuluConnie Chiume , Patrick Mofokeng , Ayanda Borotho , Tshimollo Modupe, Samela Tyelbooi and Kagiso Modupe Drama, Action, CrimeEnglish & AfrikaansNetflix film MatwetweKagiso LedigaAnastasia Augustus, Lungile Cindi, Mbeko Cindi, Karabo Dikolomela, Neo ErasmusAdventure, Comedy, DramaAlso known as Wizard Moffie Oliver Hermanus Kai Luke Brümmer , Ryan de Villiers Drama, Romance, WarAfrikaans, English The Seagull (Die Seemeeu)Christiaan OlwagenSandra Prinsloo , Marius Weyers , Gerben Kamper, Alyzzander Fourie, Deon Lotz DramaAfrikaans SkemersonPhilip RademeyerPietie Beyers, Elize Cawood, Anneke WeidemannDramaOriginal music score by Riku Lätti 8 ( The Soul Collector )Harold HölscherTshamano Sebe, Inge Beckmann, Garth Breytenbach, Keita LunaHorror, Fantasy, PeriodEnglish, TswanaOriginally entitled 8, British Horror Film Festival , UK.Best Feature Film, International Independent Film Awards, Best Narrative Feature, Seattle International Film Festival, Best Feature Film The Story of Racheltjie de BeerMatthys BoshoffStian Bam, Antoinette Louw, Marius Weyers , Sandra Prinsloo , Zonika de Vries DramaAfrikaans 3 Days to Go Bianca IsaacLeeanda Reddy , Lillette Dubey, Jailoshini Naidoo , Kajal Bagwandeen DramaEnglish Zulu Wedding Lineo SekeleoaneNondumiso Tembe, Darren Dewitt Henson, Carl Payne, Pallance Dladla RomanceEnglish 2020s Barakat Amy Jephta Vinette Ebrahim, Joey Rasdien, Mortimer Williams, Quanita Adams , Keeno Lee Hectormade Family dramaAfrikaans, EnglishFirst South African Muslim film My Father the Mover Julia JanschMthuthuzeli Stoan GalelaDocumentaryXhosaWinner of Best Documentary Short at 19th Annual Tribeca Film Festival Parable Beer AdriaanseJane de Wet , Michael Richard, Jay Hlatshwayo, Carla Classen, Thapelo Aphiri, Danny MeakerHorrorEnglishTV film RageJaco BouwerNicole Fortuin , Jane de Wet , Tristan de Beer, Carel Nel, Sihle Mnqwanzana, Shalima Mkongi, David ViviersHorrorAfrikaansTV film Stam Louw Venter Inge Beckmann, Gideon Lombard, Tarryn Wyngard, Niza Jay ThrillerAfrikaans Toorbos Rene van RooyenElani Dekker, Stiaan Smith, Ivan Abrahams, Ira Blanckenberg, Clare Marshall, Gretchen Ramsden DramaAfrikaansSouth Africa's entry for the 93rd Academy Awards (2021) in the Best International Feature Film category[18] Triggered Alastair OrrLiesl Ahlers, Reine Swart , Russell Crous, Cameron Scott, Steven John Ward, Suraya Rose Santos, Paige Bonnin, Kayla Privett, Michael Lawrence Potter Action, HorrorEnglish Die SMSMarshin CupidoChanelle de Jager, Lara Hattingh, Paul du Toit. Francois CoertzeThrillerFirst South African Feature Film directed by a director younger than 21 years old Vergeet My Nie Andre FeltsMarguerite van Eeden , Sean-Marco Vorster, Kenley Swart, Pietie Beyers, Amalia Uys, Fiona Ramsay RomanceAfrikaans, English 2021 Angeliena Uga Carlini Euodia Samson, Tshamano Sebe, Thapelo Mokoena , Colin Moss Comedy dramaEnglishNetflix film Briefly (Vlugtig)Marinus GubitzArno Greeff , Jane de Wet , Ernst van WykPsychological dramaAfrikaansFeature-length adaptation of the 2017 short film Daryn's GymBrett Michael InnesClifford Joshua Young, Carla Classen, Natasha Sutherland , Siv Ngesi , William Harding, Hlubi Mboya, Ayanda SeokaComedyEnglish, Xhosa Gaia Jaco BouwerMonique Rockman, Carel Nel, Alex van Dyk, Anthony Oseyemi HorrorEnglish, Afrikaans Glasshouse Kelsey Egan Jessica Alexander , Anja Taljaard, Hilton Pelser , Adrienne Pearce , Kitty Harris, Brent Vermeulen Dystopian, Sci-fi, ThrillerEnglish Good Life Bonnie RodiniErica Wessels, Sven Ruygrok, Jennifer Steyn , Michele Maxwell, Adam Neill, Leon Clingman, Joe Vaz, Danielle Cagnetta, Kiroshan Naidoo DramaEnglish Good Madam (Mlungu Wam)Jenna Cato Bass Chumisa Cosa, Nosipho Mtebe Thriller dramaEnglish, Xhosa I Am All Girls Donovan MarshErica Wessels, Hlubi Mboya , Deon Lotz , Mothusi Magano Mystery thrillerEnglishNetflix film Indemnity Travis Taute Jarrid Geduld , Gail Mabalane , Andre Jacobs, Louw Venter , Nicole Fortuin , Abdu Adams, Hlomla Dandala Action Kaalgat KarelMeg Rickards Christia Visser , Schalk Bezuidenhout Comedy, RomanceAfrikaans Little Big Mouth Gray Hofmeyr , Ziggy HofmeyrNay Maps, Amanda du-Pont , James Borthwick FamilyEnglishNetflix film Love, Lies and Hybrids Amanda LaneMeghan Oberholzer , Shamilla Miller , Alexander , RomanceEnglishTV film Umakoti WethuNozipho Nkelemba Fulu Mugovhani , Melusi Mbele, Kwanele Mthethwa, Duduzile Ngcobo DramaVenda, Zulu, EnglishShowmax film 2022 1960King Shaft, Michael MutomboZandile Madliwa, Sanda Shandu , Ivy Nkutha, Anele MatotiPeriod dramaEnglish African Moot Shameela Seedat DocumentaryEnglish, French, Portuguese, Swahili Amandla Nerina De Jager Lemogang Tsipa, Thabo Rametsi , I srael Matseke-Zulu DramaEnglish, Afrikaans, ZuluNetflix film Girl, Taken François Verster , Simon Wood DocumentaryEnglishIrish co-production Late Bloomer Amy Jephta Nicole Fortuin , Danny Ross, Monique Rockman, Tankiso Mamabolo, Kate PinchuckShowmax film Silverton Siege [20] Mandla Dube Noxolo Dlamini , Thabo Rametsi , Stefan Erasmus , Arnold Vosloo , Tumisho Masha , Michelle Mosalakae , Elani Dekker Action-thrillerEnglishNetflix film Sodium Day Riaz SolkerComing-of-age The Umbrella Men John Barker Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller , Keenan Arrison , Bronté Snell, Abduragman Adams, June van Merch, Kagiso Lediga , Joey Yusuf Rasdien Crime comedyEnglish, Afrikaans Wild is the Wind Fabian MedeaMothusi Magano , Frank Rautenbach , Chris Chameleon , Mona Monyane , Izel Bezuidenhout, Phoenix Baaitse, Deon Coetzee CrimeEnglishNetflix film You're My Favourite PlaceJahmil X.T. Qubeka Coming-of-age, road movieEnglish, XhosaAlso known as Valedictory 2023 The Honeymoon Bianca IsaacKajal Bagwandeen , Tumi Morake , Minnie Dlamini ComedyEnglish Kings of Mulberry Street: Let Love Reign Judy NaidooShaan Nathoo, Liam Dunpath, Hamish Kyd, Riyaad Nakooda, Kogie Naidoo, Kimberley Arthur FamilyEnglish 2024 Heart of the Hunter Mandla DubeBonko Khoza, Connie Ferguson , Tim Theron, Nicole Fortuin , Masasa Mbangeni, Sisanda Henna, Peter Butler, Deon Coetzee Netflix film See also List of Afrikaans-language films 1898 Pres. Paul Kruger filmed in front of his house in Pretoria, on his way to the council. 1916 De Voortrekkers (first Afrikaans film) 1931 Moedertjie (first full-length film with Afrikaans dialogue) Sarie Marais, musical (first South African film with sound) 1938 Bou van ’n Nasie, documentary (second film with Afrikaans dialogue) 1942 Lig van 'n Eeu, documentary 1944 Donker Spore, drama 1946 Geboortegrond, drama Die wildsboudjie, comedy Die Skerpioen, drama Pikkie se Erfenis, drama 1947 Pantoffelregering, comedy Simon Beyers, drama 1948 Die kaskenades van Dr. Kwak, comedy 1949 Sarie Marais, drama Kom saam, vanaand, musical (first musical in Afrikaans) 1950 Hier's ons weer, comedy 1951 Alles sal regkom, comedy Daar Doer in die Bosveld , comedy (first South African film in colour) 1952 Altyd in my drome, musical Hans-die-Skipper, drama Vyftig-vyftig, comedy Die Leeu van Punda Maria 1953 Inspan, adventure, drama 1954 ’n Plan is ’n Boerdery, romantic comedy Daar Doer in die Stad, drama, comedy 1955 Vadertjie

WILD LIFE VIDEOS Kruger National Park - South African Safari Tours Kruger Park is South Africa's most exciting African safari destination. Steeped in legend and history, the iconic Kruger National Park in South Africa is waiting for you to explore its vast landscapes and spectacular African wildlife. Plan your Kruger National Park safari trip from our recommended Kruger Park safari tours which range from exclusive private safaris to affordable group safaris. Take a journey of exploration to find Africa's Big Five : Elephant, Lion, Rhino, Leopard and Buffalo, you will discover unique wildlife on a real Kruger National Park safari in Africa. Classic Safari Tours Our Classic Kruger Safaris offer you an authentic African safari experience with excellent wildlife sightings. Think 4x4 game drives followed by dinner under the African stars... Safari Lodge This Kruger Park lodging guide introduces you to the best safari accommodation in Kruger Park. You will stay in luxury safari lodges or opulent tented camps. This Classic Kruger Safari is the perfect packaged safari for those looking to unwind in the heart of South Africa's Kruger National Park. Relax on a lounger overlooking a waterhole and enjoy fantastic game viewing without any effort and embark on leisurely game drives in search of the Big Five. Wildlife in the Kruger National Park Wildlife in the Kruger National Park Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Search video... Now Playing Nature Therapy: Kruger National Park (4K) 44:25 Play Video Now Playing Most Amazing Kruger National Park Wildlife Sightings of 2022 10:51 Play Video Now Playing Kruger National Park - Big Cat Season 01:05:53 Play Video Wilde Bees The Kruger National Park is home to a range of wildlife, including the iconic wildebeest. These majestic creatures can often be seen grazing on the grasslands or crossing the rivers in search of food and water. Visitors to the park can witness these incredible animals in their natural habitat and experience the beauty of the African wilderness. Zebra The Kruger National Park is home to a range of wildlife, including the majestic zebra. These beautiful creatures can often be spotted grazing on the grasslands or drinking from the watering holes. A visit to the park is not complete without witnessing the grace and beauty of the zebra in its natural habitat. Lion The Kruger National Park is home to one the largest populations of lions in Africa. These majestic creatures can often be seen lounging in the shade during the heat of the day or on the pro for their next meal. Visitors to the park are in for a treat as they witness these incredible animals in their natural habitat.

Traditional South African foods you need to try: Stunning landscapes, diverse wildlife, dramatic mountain ranges and attractive beaches make South Africa a very inviting holiday destination. The country is also a melting pot of a great diversity of cultures which is why it’s fondly nicknamed ‘The Rainbow Nation’, and it’s this cultural diversity which has had a very strong influence on South African food over the centuries. This in turn has given traditional South African dishes very unique and interesting flavours.South Africa has grown to be one of the top travel destinations in the world, and with good reason—the country offers visitors unparalleled wildlife viewing, stunning scenery, and fascinating history. However, there’s something else South Africa also offers visitors and locals alike—some of the best food you can get on the continent! If you’re planning to visit or move to South Africa, it’s well worth exploring the wide range of local cuisine this country has to offer. Here are some delicious South African foods you shouldn’t miss out on trying! FOOD CULTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA The food culture in South Africa is really big and plays a very important part in South African tourism and local daily life. This is why you should take the time to indulge yourself in South African food culture in order to learn more about the rich diversity of the land itself that provides the food and how together with the local people it all influences the various flavours. When visiting South Africa there are many traditional food dishes one should try, however, there are a few that will stand out and which you will really need to try before you go home. So in order to help you discover the food in South Africa, I have compiled this food guide with an insight into South African cuisine as well as local produce that can sometimes only be found in this part of the world. And if you are really adventurous and brave enough, you might want to try Mopane Worms , which is a very traditional South African food that is more popular in the rural areas. Perfect Biltong Recipe—South African Beef Jerky I must apologise for calling biltong “South African beef jerky”, because this is a far superior product. If you’ve ever tried biltong, you’ll know exactly what I mean—none of that sugary, rubbery stuff-it-in-a-dehydrator rubbish here, please! Like a lot of biltong lovers, I was introduced to this culinary treasure as a child, and the addiction has stuck. I’ve been making my own for a few years, gradually tweaking the recipe and feeding it to people with a “how is it, honestly?”, and plenty of willing feedback. I’m confident that this fool-hardy recipe sticks with the traditional roots of the dried meat, whilst adding a little refined finesse—it does not disappoint. Biltong was originally created by Dutch pioneers in South Africa, “Voortrekkers”, who needed reliable food sources on their long treks across the continent. The method and spice mix hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years, but a few variations have appeared recently, like ‘piri piri’ biltong and the use of additional ingredients like worcestershire sauce and dried chillies. Curing process Opinions vary on curing methods, spice mixes and drying conditions, and there is a lot of misinformation around, so trial and error has been my friend. Some recipes call for several stages of curing and washing off spices, reapplying them, etc—this is not necessary. I don’t like to throw away good spices, so I coat once, leave to cure in the fridge, pat dry, then hang with no additional stages. Why wash off and waste all that good flavour? It’s easy to over-salt biltong, making it almost unbearable to eat in bigger quantities (let’s face it, who’s going to only eat a little biltong?), and too much salt can leave a burning sensation, so many recipes call for the salt to be washed off with a water/vinegar solution. My answer? Use less salt! Vinegar does a perfectly good job of sterilising the meat without mountains of salt. The salt is an excellent flavour enhancer and should definitely be included—just a little less to avoid the need for washing. Temperature and airflow What we’re trying to achieve when drying biltong is to concentrate the flavour of the beef by removing a lot of the moisture, similar to ‘dry aging’. A combination of good airflow and relatively cool temperatures are the key to successful biltong making. Contrary to popular belief, heat is not required to make biltong—neither does it make for a better product. As a perfect example of this, the Italians make a beautiful beef product called ‘Bresaola’, which is very slowly air dried at cold temperatures, so as to achieve an even dryness and texture. Although heat doesn’t add to the quality of the product, it can be used to increase air circulation around the meat, by means of a temperature gradient (heat rises!). Having said that, don’t be tempted to try and make it in the oven—biltong takes several days to dry, and most ovens won’t go low enough to dry the meat slowly enough to avoid cooking it. What you’re looking for is a slow drying process with gentle airflow. Many DIY biltong makers will use a ‘biltong box’ with a fan and a lightbulb in to create good air circulation. The key is to draw air around the meat without the airflow being too strong, to avoid ‘case hardening’, whereby the outside becomes overly tough, and the texture gradient falls off too quickly. How to dry biltong I made my first biltong by hanging it from a piece of wood jammed into a window frame beside a cool window, with a fan on low to circulate air. That’s really all you need to make it. If you want a little more control, you can upgrade to a biltong box or other drying box. I’ve since upgraded to an old fridge with the mechanics removed, holes in the bottom, and a fan drawing air past the meat. The airflow is just enough to draw away moisture, but not too fast so as to avoid over drying the outside of the meat. What you’re looking for is cool conditions with good airflow. Room temperature in most houses is fine, but air flow can be a problem. What you want is a good steady stream of air running past the meat, but not too strong. Try to create these conditions in whatever way you see fit. Just make sure you have a little air flow, or the meat can gather mould—I’m sorry to say this has happened to me in the past! If you want to have complete control over drying conditions, either making or buying a ‘biltong box’ might be the best option for you. You can pick them up pretty cheap online. Doneness—How long does it take to dry? I like my biltong a little tough, but still wet in the middle. Some like theirs tough like old leather. Getting it right is down to trial and error. The easiest way to measure dryness is with your fingers. Thoroughly wash and dry your hands, and squeeze the flattest sides of the meat in with your fingers. If there is any give in the meat, there’s still moisture in the middle. Most likely, what you’re looking for is a really tough consistency with just a little bit of give. Leave it too long and you’ll have some tooth-bustingly tough biltong on your hands. That said, it’s fairly forgiving and a day or two over won’t do too much harm. Wet biltong – a slight crust and still wet in the middle If you’re impatient and can’t wait for your biltong to dry, plan ahead and cut some thinner pieces to hang with the rest—these will keep you going while you wait for the thicker stuff to be ready. If you’re really savvy, you might vary the thickness of slices from thin to thick allow for consistent grazing over the drying process (highly recommended). If you find that you’ve cut your biltong early and it’s wetter than you’d like, use clean fingers to rub a little salt and vinegar on the exposed end and hang it back up. Fat on or fat off? This comes down to personal preference. It’s important to note that, while your biltong will shrink by around half the size when dried, the fat doesn’t shrink at the same rate as the muscle. I like a little fat because it helps carry flavour, but I tend to remove most of it before hanging. Large chunks of fat can be a little unpleasant to deal with when eating biltong. Biltong ingredients Every biltong maker has their own preference on spice mix. If you don’t know what you like, I suggest making a few thinner, quick drying pieces to experiment with. Many home biltong makers add a lot of ingredients to their biltong, thinking that adding more will lead to a better result, but in reality they’re muddying the clarity of the flavour and masking the star of the show—good quality meat! Vinegar Traditionally, brown vinegar has been used to make biltong. It really has a recognisable flavour. Some recipes call for balsamic or cider vinegar. I recommend brown vinegar for the best flavour, with cider vinegar coming in a close second. I’ve used cider vinegar a lot, purely because I have a large batch I made at home. Salt Salt is a brilliant flavour enhancer and preservative. It kills bacteria on the outside of the meat, and helps to draw moisture out. It’s tricky to get the salt quantity right. My recipe uses the smallest amount of salt required to make a safe cure, based on the weight of the meat. My local butcher goes way overboard with salt on their biltong. I sometimes use them in case of emergency biltong shortage, so I’m not sure how to break it to them… Coriander Coriander seed is the signature spice that makes biltong instantly recognisable. It’s best to toast the seeds to release the oils for flavour, but also because the oil suppresses bacterial growth. Black pepper Black pepper and beef are a pair made in heaven. Just don’t overdo it—biting into a lump of peppercorn is not a pleasant experience! You want roughly 1/4 pepper to 3/4 coriander seed for a good balance. In most cases, flies aren’t a problem, but pepper has the added benefit of detering them. Brown sugar Brown sugar has a caramel and molasses flavour that adds complexity to the meat, without masking it. The sugar helps with drying through osmosis, latching onto the water molecules and ‘wicking’ them away. It’s not a traditional ingredient if we’re going full purist, but it balances the saltiness well. Too much sugar is really unpleasant though—you’re walking dangerously close to beef jerky territory and I’d really recommend against it. Biltong is a savoury snack, not a desert! Bicarbonate of soda Some recipes call for the addition of bicarbonate of soda. This might seem a little odd, but it has scientific reasoning. The bicarb neutralises the acid in the vinegar, but also acts as a meat tenderiser. It slows the contraction of the proteins, leaving the final product still dry, but less tough. Bicarb has a pretty unpleasant taste, so it’s important to keep the quantity low. If you’re using a good cut like silverside or toprump, you won’t need it at all. Cutting methods Biltong slices cut with a sharp knife If you’ve ever tried cutting over-dried biltong, you’ll know how tough it can be—tough as old boots! In desperation, I’ve taken to resting a knife on top of some over-dried biltong and hitting it with a camping mallet (not recommended, and not only because I upset the neighbours and smashed the chopping board!). There are a lot of creative, almost ceremonial devices on cutting biltong, but I think nothing beats a good, sharp knife. If you want something a little more fancy, there are biltong cutters (a board with a hinged knife attached), biltong knives (traditional knives made for purpose), hand crank mechanical cutters, and at the high end, expensive elecric cutters, mostly used by butchers and biltong suppliers. Dealing with mould Check your biltong every day for mould. If conditions are particulary humid or hot, there’s a chance you might experience this problem. If you see the first signs of mould appearing—white dots or furry mould—use a clean cloth with some vinegar and dab/wipe it off. Be sure to get it all or it’s likely to spread again. If you’ve not checked for a while and found your biltong totally covered, sadly the best place for it is the bin. Good airflow will help to avoid such catastrophes in future. Storing your Biltong After your biltong has dried to your preferred consistency, you can continue to store it hanging in a well aerated space indefinitely. Shops that sell biltong will often hang it and leave it out, and these are ample storage conditions—just try to make sure none of the pieces are touching. It will continue to dry slowly, but it will also keep for a long time this way. If you’ve cut your biltong and want to store it, wrap it in a few paper bags and store it in the fridge. The paper will allow excess moisture to continue leaving the meat, discouraging mould growth. I can’t give accurate advice on how long to store it this way, but I think it’s safe to say that no sane person is going to leave biltong uneaten for more than a few days. It’s just too delicious! Case hardening If there is too much air flow around your biltong, the outside can firm up really quickly, leaving the middle soft. If the case hardening is severe, the tough outer layer can prevent moisture from leaving the middle. If you find that you’ve been testing your biltong for readiness for 2-3 weeks and it just doesn’t seem to be drying in the middle, this may be your problem. If you suspect that case hardening is your problem, I recommend cutting through the end of the meat and checking it. If you’ve got a really raw centre and thick, tough outer surface, give it a try and see if you like the texture. If you don’t, the first option is to vacuum pack the biltong and store it in the fridge for one week to one month, depending on severity. This will balance out the gradient. If you don’t have access to a vacuum sealer, stick your biltong in a paper bag and place it in the fridge for a few days. Rub a little salt on the cut ends to protect them. This should go some way towards fixing the problem. It’s worth noting that the thicker you cut your initial beef cuts, the slower the drying process must be to avoid case hardening, so try cutting thinner next time. However, the best solution to prevent case hardening from occurring is to change your drying setup to reduce air flow. You still need a little air movement, but the slower it dries, the more even the moisture gradient will be from inside to out. So without further ado, here’s my tried and tested biltong recipe. Once you’ve given it a try, please let me know how you like it, and if there are any variations to the traditional ingredients you swear by, no matter how strange! Oh, I also added an extra function to the recipe that allows you to change quantities based on meat weight – don’t say I don’t spoil you! 😉 Print Perfect Biltong Recipe A Biltong recipe that produces consistent results with an authentic, traditional spice mix Course Snack Cuisine South African, Zimbabwean Keyword Biltong, Curing, Dried meats Prep Time 30 minutes minutes Cook Time 5 days days How much does your meat weigh (grams)? Ingredients Meat 2000 g Beef—silverside or toprump Curing spice mix 5 Tbsp Brown (malt) or cider vinegar 2.5 Tbsp Coarse salt (2% of the meat weight) 2 tsp Ground black pepper 2 Tbsp Coriander seed 1.5 Tbsp Brown sugar (optional) Instructions Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan, then grind down in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. It should be mostly powder, with a few pieces of seed shells left in. Using a sharp knife, following the grain of the meat, cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) thick lengths and place in a non-metallic container. Combine all the spices and sprinkle into the meat. Sprinkle the vinegar on and rub everything in thoroughly whilst turning the meat with your hands. Cover the container and let your biltong cure for 24 hours in the fridge, turning and rubbing through the meat occasionally. Remove the meat from the container and pat dry with kitchen towels, taking care not to remove too much of the spice. Add a hook to the thickest end of each length. Plastic-covered paper clips make for a cheap solution. Hang in your biltong box, or in a well aired, ventilated space with a fan blowing gently to increase air flow. Do not point a fan directly at the meat (to avoid case hardening). Make sure none of the pieces are touching. Place some newspaper below the meat to catch any liquid. Drying times will vary with humidity, airflow and temperature. Test the readiness of your biltong every couple of days by squeezing the sides together with clean fingers. If you feel any give in the meat, it’s still ‘wet’ inside. Once ready, cut into thin slices with a sharp knife and enjoy some of the best meat you’ll ever eat. Notes Note:- if using cheaper cuts of game or beef, add 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda per kg to tenderise the meat. Note:- if you don’t have any coarse salt and need to substitute with table salt, double-check that it’s not iodised salt – iodine leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. South African Bobotie Traditionally, Bobotie is an Indonesian dish that was probably brought to South Africa by the Dutch. It consists of a sweet and spicy mince curry topped with an egg mixture. Nowadays, there are various recipes and ways to prepare South African bobotie. In general, the main ingredients are bay leaves, some dried fruit (I always use raisins), fruit chutney and curry powder. The sweetness of the chutney and dried fruit contrasts very nicely with the tangy flavour of the curry powder. Typically it is served with yellow basmati rice and some sambals. Discover how to make traditional South African bobotie here . Bobotie is real traditional food in South Africa and very popular. I have cooked it many times for tourists and it is always one of the highlights of the trip. It is also called a ‘Cape Malay curry’ or ‘Cape Malay bobotie’ because when it was taken to South Africa it was adopted by the Cape Malay community who mainly live in Cape Town . Bobotie has become a signature dish in South Africa, mixing local and exotic flavours. South African bobotie South African bobotie is a fruity and spiced minced meat dish covered with a creamy egg custard. Often considered as South Africa's national dish, this Cape Malay curry has a perfect balance of spice and sweetness. Prep Time10 minutes mins Cook Time50 minutes mins Total Time1 hour hr Course: Main Course Cuisine: South African Servings: 4 Author: Sabine Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark Ingredients 1½ pound (or 700 grams) beef mince 1 large onion finely diced 2 cloves garlic minced ⅔ cup (or 100 grams) raisins 3 tablespoons apricot jam 2 slices white bread remove crusts ½ cup (or 125 ml) full cream milk 2 tablespoons flaked almonds 2 tablespoons cooking oil Spices 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons curry powder mild 1 teaspoon dried herbs oregano and basil mix pepper to taste salt to taste Egg custard 3 eggs ½ teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon ground cumin salt to taste Instructions Preheat the oven to 365°F or 185°C. Take 2 bowls. Soak the crustless slices of bread in the milk. Soak the raisins in water. Set both bowls aside. In a large pan or skillet, heat cooking oil and sauté the onions over medium heat for 5 minutes until translucent. Add all the spices, minced garlic and ground beef while stirring regularly to break down into small grains. Cook for about 10 minutes until brown. Add the apricot jam and mix well. Meanwhile, squeeze the milk out of the bread with your hands, but preserve the milk in a separate bowl to use for the egg topping. Drain the water from the raisins. Add the raisins, bread and almond flakes to the mixture and stir well together. Cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat. Transfer the mixture into an oven dish. Use the back of a spoon to press the beef mixture down and flatten well to make the top smooth. The egg topping needs to stay on top and not disappear into the meat. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, turmeric, cumin, salt and the milk that was used to soak the bread. Pour the egg mixture over the meat, arrange the bay leaves on top. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the egg custard is set. Serve immediately with yellow rice and tomato salad. Bunny Chow Bunny Chow Bunny Chow originates from Durban, which is on the east coast of South Africa. It was created by the large Indian immigrant population in the Durban area and served for lunch. A Bunny Chow has nothing to do with a rabbit but consists of a hollowed out quarter or half loaf of bread filled up with a tasty Indian curry made from beans or meat (mutton, beef or chicken). The bread is used as a dish to hold the curry, which is then broken off into small pieces and used to dip in the curry. Nowadays, Bunny Chow has become very popular around South Africa as a staple food of the country and is even booming in the United Kingdom. ▢ 1/2 cup canola or cooking oil ▢ 1 medium onion ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic ▢ 1 teaspoons minced ginger ▢ 1 cinnamon stick ▢ 1 Tablespoon curry powder or more ▢ 2-3 curry leaves diced ▢ 3 green cardamom pods ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika ▢ ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional ▢ 2 medium tomatoes diced ▢ 1 pound chicken thighs or breast cut in bite-sized pieces lightly crushed ▢ 8 ounce or less potatoes cleaned and cut into cubes ▢ 1 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained ▢ 11/2 cup or more chicken broth or water ▢ Salt and pepper to taste Koeksister Koeksisters (Afrikaner) This sweet treat consists of deep-fried dough soaked in syrup. Another dish originating from the Dutch settlers, it now comes in two varieties. The Afrikaans braided version is crispy on the outside and very syrupy on the inside, and the Cape Malay version is soft and spicy, covered in coconut and usually unbraided. We celebrate National Koeksister Day on 23 June. Malay koeksister Where did the name come from? There are two theories as to the origin of the name. The word “koek” means cake in both. “Sister” either refers to sisters making them or it is derived from a Dutch word meaning “sizzle” which refers to the sizzling sound made when the dough is being fried. Potjiekos Potjiekos is another traditional and popular South African food. Potjiekos means ‘food out of a pot’, or just ‘pot food’. It is a stew cooked in layers but not stirred in a three legged cast iron pot over an open fire. The whole idea of this way of preparation is slow cooking. Potjiekos may take up to three hours to cook and sometimes even more, depending on the meat one is using, and the size of the pot. One single pot can be big enough to feed up to 100 people and take 24 hours to cook. Any type of meat, fish or vegetables can be used for this dish. It’s a fun way of cooking, where everyone sits around the fire and pot, and has a drink, or 2 or 3, until the food is ready. I love cooking in a potjie pot since there is so much opportunity for variation and so many flavours one can try out. It’s a very relaxing way of cooking where everyone enjoys the aromas coming out the pot while socialising and having a drink together. The South African Braai A braai is the South African answer to a barbecue. However, it’s more than just grilling on coals, a South African braai is a way of life. Almost every South African loves to braai, it’s a very social activity, but you need to beware that the whole ritual comes with some rules. Generally, the men are in charge of the braai and all gather around the fire, while the women are preparing the rest of the food in the kitchen. Any type of meat can be used; boerewors, beef steak, pork chops, game meat/venison and lamb. Very nice on any braai is Karoo Lamb, which has a very authentic South African flavour. It’s so popular that they even proclaimed a National Braai Day on the 24th of September, claiming every South African should braai on that day. (Heritage Day) Braaibroodjies Braaibroodjies are grilled cheese sandwiches prepared on the braai, South African style. They are a traditional side dish to any South African barbecue. For many people around the world, a toasted cheese sandwich is something to eat for a quick meal or light lunch. In South Africa it forms an integral part of the South African braai experience. Traditional braaibroodjies are made with cheese, tomato, onion, apricot chutney or apricot jam and butter and then grilled to perfection in a closed braai grid over a medium hot fire. Chakalaka Take your taste buds on an adventure with this homemade chakalaka recipe – a spicy, savory relish that’s perfect as a condiment or side dish, and it’s also delicious on its own! South African Relish Chakalaka is a flavorful vegetable relish. It is a staple in South African cuisine that’s popular for its spicy, savory taste. It is made from colorful ingredients like tomato, bell peppers, onion, carrots, and chili. It is also very versatile as it can be served with nearly any meal. How to make Chakalaka Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions and sauté them until they become translucent. After, stir in the minced garlic, ginger, and curry powder Add the grated carrots, green and red pepper, and mix well, and cook for about a minute. Add the diced tomatoes. Stir to combine, cover, and cook over low heat for about 5 to 10 mins or till the mixture is thick but still moist. Stir in the baked beans and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes. Cooking Tips Adjust the heat to mild or high to suit your taste and preferences. You can make chakalaka without chili flakes if you want. How to serve Chakalaka This recipe is versatile. It can go with almost anything. Pair it with the following: Crusty bread White rice South African Mielie pap Barbecues French toast Custard Peri-peri Chicken Pot Roast Mashed potatoes Braai Biltong Braai - Potjiekos - Pap Braai Braai A braai is a Southern African tradition. The word means “barbecue” or “roast” in Afrikaans. Braais originated with the Afrikaner people, but these days most South Africans have one regularly. More than a meal, it is a social experience as family and friends gather around and chat, while the food is cooked on a wood or charcoal fire. South Africans traditionally love meat and meats that are commonly braaied include sausages, boerewors, lamb chops, steak and chicken. However, braais are not restricted to meat. Other foods that are regularly braaied include potatoes, corn on the cob, marshmallows and braaibroodjies – grilled cheese, tomato and onion sandwiches made on the braai. The braaied food is normally served with sides like salads, garlic bread, pap and tomato chutney. Braais are known as Shisa Nyama in the townships . The Zulu phrase literally means to "burn meat". Potjiekos Potjie kos (cc: Chrstphr.jones - Wikimedia Commons) Potjiekos (small-pot food) is food that is slow-cooked over a fire in a 3-legged cast iron pot called a potjie. It originated with the Voortrekkers in the 1800s and has been part of South African culture since. Almost anything can be cooked in a potjie, and the resulting dish is delicious and flavourful. My personal favourite is chicken curry. Like braais, potjiekos gatherings are also social events. Pap (Maize Meal) Pap and boerewors Pap (pronounced pup) is a staple food for many South Africans, the way rice is in many parts of Asia. It is a starchy porridge-style dish made from a type of maize known as mielies, which was originally brought by the Portuguese to Africa. It can be eaten for breakfast with milk and sugar or as part of a main meal with a vegetable or meat dish. It is often eaten with chakalaka, a spicy vegetable relish, or boerewors. Gatsby - kota - Vetkoek Gatsby Fully loaded Gatsby A Gatsby is a family-sized stuffed roll that originated in the Cape Flats region of Cape Town in 1976. A local fish and chips shop owner had to feed a group of laborers. Since he had run out of fish, he improvised with whatever he had left and filled a Portuguese loaf with chips (French fries), polony and achar (hot Indian pickle). The huge roll was then divided among the labourers. These days it is served in a foot-long loaf, and filled with fried fish, chicken, masala steak, eggs, and/or sausages. Where did the name come from? The Great Gatsby movie (the original) was being screened in cinemas at the time and the word Gatsby was used by one of the labourers to describe the sandwich as a winning dish. According to UrbanDictionary.com , Gatsby means “excessively extravagant, cool, stylish”. Kota A kota is similar to a bunny chow in that it also consists of a quarter loaf (kota) of bread which is hollowed out and then refilled However, whereas a bunny chow has a curry filling, the kota loaf is stuffed with a combination of processed meats like polony, viennas, and Russian sausages, as well as achar, deep-fried chips, egg, and cheese. To the health-conscious, it may sound like a heart attack on a plate (or in this case, a quarter loaf), but it does rate high up in the popularity stakes. Did you know that Nando’s, which specialises in Portuguese-African food and is one of the most popular food franchises in the world, was started in South Africa in 1987. There are over 300 stores in South Africa, so you don’t have to look far to find one here. Amagwinya/Vetkoek Amagwinga / Vetkoek Vetkoek (fat cake) is a popular fried yeast dough eaten as a snack. It is usually filled with a savoury filling like mince curry or a sweet filling like jam. It also has its origins with the Dutch settlers who preferred deep frying their dough balls - as it was easier to make and lasted longer than traditional bread. SOUTH AFRICAN MILK TART (MELKTERT) An indulgent South African dessert also known as South African Milk Tart. It’s a traditional sweet pie with a flaky crust and cinnamon dusting. It can be served with a cup of tea or served as dinner! You will love every bite. South African Milk Tart Yield: servings Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes This traditional South African dessert is creamy and delicate. Make it for Easter, Mother’s Day or teatime any day! ingredients Sweet Shortcrust Pastry 6 ounces butter softened ½ cup 100g sugar 1 egg 2 cups 300g all-purpose flour pinch salt ¼ teaspoon 1.25ml pure almond extract Filling 4 cups 950ml milk 1 tablespoon 0.5 ounces butter ½ cup 100g sugar 2 eggs 3 tablespoons 24g cornstarch 3 tablespoons 24g all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract pinch salt 1 tablespoon 14.3g cinnamon instructions For the crust Cream the butter and add the sugar. Beat in the egg and almond extract. Stir in the flour and salt. Knead until a soft dough has formed. Chill for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and layer it into a greased pie dish. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and fill the void with pie weights. Bake blind at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights. Allow crust to cool completely on a wire rack. For the filling In a heat proof bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, flour and vanilla. Set aside. In a medium size saucepan, heat the milk and butter at medium setting. Do not bring to a rolling boil. Add about a fourth of the milk to the egg mixture, whisking to incorporate it evenly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remainder of the milk. Return to heat and stir constantly until it thickens. Do not boil! Pour the filling into the pie crust and let cool completely. Refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving. Bobotie Bobotie is a delicious South African dish made with minced meat cooked with spices such as curry powder, herbs, and dried fruit before being covered with an egg and milk combination and baked until set. This recipe is sure to delight and please your taste buds!!! This classic dish from South Africa, Bobotie (pronounced ba-bo-tea), is made with ground beef seasoned to perfection, and a creamy, decadent topping. It is rich, savory, spicy, aromatic, and zingy. A comforting meal, full of the flavors of Africa! Ingredients Units Scale 3 slices of bread 1 cup + 1/2 cup milk, divided 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large onions, roughly chopped 4 teaspoons medium curry powder 1 teaspoon dried herbs (whatever you’ve got around – oregano, basil, marjoram, etc.) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 1/2 pound ground beef 1/2 cup fruit chutney 1 tablespoon apricot jam Zest and juice of one medium lemon, divided 4 teaspoons tomato paste Salt and pepper 2 large eggs 4 bay leaves Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark Instructions Preheat your oven to 350°F. Soak the bread in 1 cup of milk. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, and cook until soft. Add the curry powder , mixed herbs, ground cumin , turmeric, and garlic, and stirring constantly, allow to cook for a minute or two until the garlic is soft. Add the ground beef, and cook, stirring frequently to break up any big chunks, until browned. Once the beef is browned, remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the chutney, apricot jam , all the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, tomato paste, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, give it a taste, and add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper as desired. It should be delightfully zingy! Squeeze the milk from the bread, reserving the milk for later, and smooshing and tearing the bread into small pieces. Mix the bread into the beef mixture, and spread evenly into an oven-proof dish. Strain the milk that has come from the bread, and add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk. Beat in the eggs, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Pour this over the meat, and decoratively scatter the bay leaves on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Authentic Boerewors Recipe – South African Sausages No matter where they settle in the world, South Africans will find a fellow countryman who can make boerewors, or they will learn to make it themselves – that’s how much they miss their traditional sausage. Boerewors, translated from Afrikaans, a language derived from the Dutch settlers, means farmer’s sausage; the word boer means farmer. It has a rather crumbly texture and was made in the past by individual farmers and hunters. Boerewors on braai with pap inside the Dutch oven. Photo by Harry Cunningham on Unsplash South Africans don’t like the meat for their boerewors ground to a fine texture and, at barbeques around the world where South Africans are present, there will be passionate discussions on the taste, spicing and texture of the boerewors. If you call it a sausage, a South African might look at you and say, “It’s not a sausage, it’s boerewors,” with the implication that it’s way above other beef and pork sausages. Boerewors is most often cooked outdoors at a ‘braai’, and that means it’s not a quick switch-on-the-gas type of barbeque where you cook, eat and leave. It’s a whole afternoon or evening event of constructing the perfect wood or charcoal fire which must be at just the right heat. It may take some time to get to the correct temperature, and will involve drinking copious amounts of beer and brandy, with the conversation getting louder and louder, and the stories taller. Finally, the braai master and his assistants will announce that the fire is ready, meaning whoever is doing the side dishes better have their act together because the meat won’t take more than around half an hour. Most boerewors these days in the cities and towns are made from beef, but for hunters with access to venison and wild boar, the possibilities are endless in creating boerewors that are a crowd pleaser. One of the tastiest ones I have ever had was made by a farmer friend from a mixture of venison – duiker and warthog – rather an unusual combination, but it was perfect. Go to any South African supermarket, and there will be a large range of boerewors – some have bacon added, cheese, and garlic, and some are really spicy with the addition of peri-peri – a type of chili common in Mozambique, a neighboring country on the East Coast of Africa. Spicing Boerewors The spices used in a traditional boerewors recipe will include coriander, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg among others. Now it depends on how much of a purist you are – some people believe that spices should be freshly ground for the best flavor so they will buy whole cloves to grind, whole nutmeg to grate, and dry roast their coriander seeds before crushing them. Other people use commercially ground spices as you see in this picture. The easiest option is to buy a ready mixed boerewors spice pack, and just add it to the meat. The pack comes with a handy guide to tell you how much spice to add per pound of meat. Perhaps once you get into making boerewors, try the different methods and see if you can detect a difference in the taste, and let us know in the comment section. Cooking Boerewors When you cook boerewors on the braai (barbeque), you do not cut it into individual sausages like you do with pork sausages – it is cooked whole in a coil and only after cooking is it then cut into suitable lengths. The casing should not be damaged during cooking otherwise the juices will leak out and it will be dry. Often the boerewors are placed inside a grilling basket to make turning the whole coil easier on the braai. Cooking Time Boerewors takes around 20 minutes whether it is cooked over hot coals on a braai (BBQ), fried in a pan on the stove, or grilled or baked in the oven. The braai masters will test by cutting off a small piece from the tail of the coil and inspecting it. If it still shows signs of pinkness it needs to be cooked a bit longer but definitely not too long or it won’t be as tender. This sampling is part of the process of braaiing the perfect boerewors, and not ‘stealing’ bits of meat off the grill! Earning the Boerewors Label How do sausages get classified at boerewors? In South Africa it can’t be sold as authentic stuff unless it has: ✅ 90% meat content – beef, pork, lamb, or goat ( no other type of meat) ✅ 30% or less fat The following are not allowed as ingredients: ❌ offal (excludes the casing) ❌ mechanically removed meat ❌ soy or vegetable protein ❌ color additives Various spices, permitted additives, and some starch, such as maize meal may be added. These measures were taken to ensure boerewors remains as true to the original as possible. If a product is labeled ‘wors’ then it’s not genuine boerewors – the special label of ‘boerewors’ being attached only to sausages that have passed the requirements regarding content. Farmers and hunters make their own boerewors, sometimes using venison from kudu, eland or springbok. Their wors is mixed with pork – from domestic, wild pig or warthog. According to the current South African legislation that defines boerewors, it’s not boerewors, but is probably the most authentic way it was made back in the days of the pioneers. Instead, if it is sold it must be labeled with the name of the predominant meat used – for example kudu wors. If you are a hunter then go ahead and use your venison for making ‘boerewors’ – the texture and the spicing are just as important as the meat, and it must include some pork for the required taste and fat content. Refining Your Skills Once you start making boerewors at home, you may want to tweak the recipe until everyone agrees on the taste, spiciness, and texture. Then you can start experimenting by adding cheese or garlic, or whatever customized flavor you wish to create. Super-Secret Tips from a South-African The meat for boerewors should not be frozen – fresh is best. The pork fat is necessary – a certain amount of fat is good as it makes the product tastier and juicier. Some recipes call for the addition of spek – the Afrikaans word for bacon. The smokiness of the bacon gives an additional flavor to the boerewors, which is then marketed as spekwors. The bacon can be obtained in chunks from your local butcher, and is sometimes sold as ‘speck’ (note the difference in spelling to the Afrikaans word), although genuine speck, a lightly smoked Italian ham, is made from the deboned leg of pork rather than belly fat. Chunks of cheese may sometimes be added – to make kaaswors. This is absolutely delicious served warm with the cheese melting into the meat. Boerewors Casing Cleaned intestines are usually used for the casings , and come packed with salt which needs to be rinsed off before carefully threading the casing onto your sausage stuffer. Boerewors is a fairly thick sausage so a 36 mm (1.4 inches) casing or one close to these dimensions is good to use. Equipment If you are an old hand at making various sausages then you won’t want to know about equipment as you’ll have your own. If you have never done this before then you will need a meat grinder/sausage stuffer. I prefer this all-in one-version that is fairly sturdy to get the job done. If you are not sure about which meat grinder brand to buy, then this video gives you the reviewer’s five best options, which may help you make a choice: If your meat grinder doesn’t come with a sausage stuffer attachment, you may need to buy a separate vertical sausage stuffer which is probably better than the ones that are horizontal. This is mainly because, unless you have super long arms, it’s hard to turn the handle and control the sausage at the same time, making it more of a two-person job. Boerewors Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe Ingredients 4.5 lbs. beef = 2.5 kgs, top round roast or brisket, silverside 2.5 lbs. fatty pork cut = 1.1 kgs, shoulder, neck or belly 50 ml coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg fresh grated, scant 1/2 teaspoon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1.5ml 1 teaspoon ground allspice 5 ml 5 teaspoons salt = 25 ml 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 125 ml Malt (dark) vinegar 50 ml Worcestershire sauce 1 pack wide sausage casing Instructions Trim the beef and pork, discarding any sinew, and trim into longish pieces about 3 inches wide. This just makes it easier for the meat grinder (South Africans call it a mincer) to process. Place all your trimmed meats in a large container. Put the meat mix through the grinder on a large blade. Dry roast the coriander seeds in a pan on medium heat, stirring to make sure they don’t burn, then remove from the heat when they are a golden brown color. Crush the seeds coarsely in a food processor or use a mortar and pestle. Add the dry spices, the vinegar and the Worcestershire sauce to the meat, or if using a readymade boerewors spice mix then follow the instructions on the pack, then add to the meat. Mix and leave in the fridge for two hours for the flavors to absorb. Put through the grinder on a medium size blade which enables the spices to be incorporated through the meat. Use your sausage stuffer to fill the casings with the boerewors mix. Roll your coils of boerewors neatly, ready to braai, and the extra can be bagged and frozen until you need them. Popular South African food South African Boerewors Boerewors is a typical South African sausage often packed as a continuous spiral. The word is derived from Dutch and means ‘farmers sausage’. It is made from lean minced meat, usually beef, but can also be made from game meat or pork or a combination of various meats. What makes Boerewors so special is the use of a blend of authentic flavours and spices, like nutmeg, coriander, black pepper and cloves mixed in with the meat. It comes with so many different variations and flavours. Basically, one can say that no two South African boerewors’s taste the same. It is very popular at any South African braai, and is a common street food at festivals and sports events. Cape Malay Chicken Curry If you are looking for Malay chicken curry, you should try this Cape Malay chicken curry recipe. Using tomatoes, instead of coconut milk, brings a subtle tang to the dish that is quite delicious. This Malaysian chicken curry is mild enough for everyone to enjoy. I made this cape Malay chicken curry recipe not long ago and thought I can start training myself making curries more often with this recipe. As far as I know, this is not an authentic Malaysian chicken curry. The name Cape comes from the Western Cape province in South Africa where a good number of Malaysians dwell, and whom originated this recipe. Ingredients 4 tbsp oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped 1 tsp chili flakes, or fresh hot peppers to taste 1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds 2 tsp fennel, ground, or 4 tsp whole fennel seeds 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp turmeric 1/2-1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground 15 cardamom pods , whole pods 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp garam masala 14 oz can crushed tomatoes , or diced tomatoes 1 1/2 lb chicken pieces 2 tsp garlic, finely chopped 2 tsp brown sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 -3 tsp salt Instructions Put the 7 spices — from the coriander seeds down to the garam masala — in a mortar and pestle. Pound them together so the cardamom pods burst and the whole thing becomes a mess of spices. Discard the skin of cardamom pods. Continue to pound the spices until they become like a powder. Heat the oil in a pot, add the onion and ginger over fairly high heat, and stir occasionally for a few minutes. Add the chili flakes and spices and stir for 2 minutes. You might need to add more oil (Spices slurp up oil as they fry) Add the can of crushed tomatoes and stir. Cook until everything bubbles up together. Add the chicken pieces, and stir to coat well, keeping heat high until everything is bubbling away. Turn the heat down, put on a lid, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the garlic, sugar, lemon juice and salt to the curry. Cover with lid but leave a small opening for a steam to escape; simmer for 15 minutes or longer. Taste the sauce, and adjust seasoning according to your taste. Near the end of cooking, skim off extra oil/fat with a spoon, as it collects in corners of the pot, if needed. Serve the curry warm with rice. Peppermint Crisp Peppermint Crisp fridge tart Print Prep time 4 hours 30 mins Total time 4 hours 30 mins Looking for that long-lost delicious Peppermint Crisp pudding recipe that you remember from your South African childhood? Well, you’ve found it! Author: Jeanne Horak-Druiff Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: South African Serves: 6-8 Ingredients 250ml Orley Whip or whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks 2 packets of Tennis biscuits (although you will probably use less) 375g tin of caramelised condensed milk or dulce du leche 20ml caster sugar 3 Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars, crushed 3-4 drops of peppermint essence (more, if you like it minty) Instructions Whip the Orley Whip and then add the caramelised condensed milk, castor sugar and peppermint essence. Beat until well mixed and then stir in ⅔ of the crushed Peppermint Crisp. Place a layer of whole tennis biscuits in a buttered 29x19x5cm dish. Spoon ⅓ of the caramel mix over the biscuits and spread evenly. Continue in layers, finishing with a layer of filling on top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Decorate by sprinkling the remainder of crushed peppermint crisp on top. Cut into squares and serve. Notes SUBSTITUTIONS: You can substitute double or whipping cream for Orley Whip, but the outcome may be even richer than this pudding already is. I used Elmlea, a half-dairy cream available in the UK. For caramelised condensed milk, you can use tinned Carnation Caramel; dulce du leche; or you can make your own by boiling a tin of normal sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours (warning: may be hazardous!!). The Tennis biscuits may prove problematic. Best suggestions I have seen are Nice biscuits, McVitie's coconut rings, Shirley Coconut Biscuits - or digestive biscuits or enev ginger nuts at a push. Peppermint Crisp is also manufactured and available in Australia and New Zealand (and via Amazon at a price) but really has no exact substitute. You could try Peppermint Aero or Cadbury's Mint Crisp. Vetkoek and Curried Mince If there is anything quintessentially South African it must be vetkoek and curried mince! I challenge you to find a single South African that doesn’t like vetkoek, it is such a versatile vehicle for all kinds of toppings. Curried mince, chicken mayonnaise, golden syrup, strawberry jam…you can just about add anything to vetkoek and it will be delicious. Granted it isn’t the most healthy of food considering it is deep fried but this is the type of food you make once in a while, perhaps for a large crowd or maybe just for a lazy sunday evening supper but one thing is for certain. There will NEVER be any leftovers when you do make them. I have developed this vetkoek and curried mince recipe to be as easy as possible. The dough is made the night before and left in the fridge to proof so there is no kneading. If you do want to use the dough straight away then by all means just do a quick 5 minute knead and then let sit in a warm place for 40 minutes. The mince is made cape malay style with a hint of sweetness and a mild curry flavour. I add a bit of Mrs Balls Chutney to mine to amp up the flavour but you can use any type of chutney you have on hand or even just some smooth apricot jam. I’m going to break this post into two recipes. One for the vetkoek and the other for the curried mince if you would like to make it as a filling. A traditional vetkoek (fried dough) recipe paired with an amazing curried mince that is sure to please everyone. Vetkoek can be paired with all kinds of fillings both savoury and sweet. Author: Daryl Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 60 minutes + proofing time Yield: 8 Category: Mains Method: Frying Cuisine: South African Ingredients For the vetkoek 5 cups all purpose flour (plus additional for dusting) 10ml salt 30ml sugar 7g packet of instant yeast 2 cups lukewarm water Oil for deep frying For the curried mince 500g minced beef 15ml olive oil 1 large onion diced 3 cloves of garlic finely minced 5ml ground ginger 2.5ml smoked paprika 5ml black pepper 5ml ground coriander 2.5ml ground cumin 15ml mild curry powder 30ml tomato paste 30ml chutney or smooth apricot jam 1/2 cup water 1 medium potato diced 1 cup frozen diced mixed peas and carrots Salt to taste Instructions For the vetkoek Add the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into a bowl Slowly add the water whilst mixing until you have a shaggy dough transfer to a floured surface and bring the dough together No need to knead unless you want to use the dough immediately. If using the dough on the same day knead briefly for 5 minutes and then cover and let proof for 40 minutes If leaving overnight, transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof in the fridge overnight When ready to make the vetkoek pre-heat your oil in a large heavy based pot to 180 degrees c (350 defrees f) divide dough into equal size pieces. I aim for a ball just under a tennis ball size flatten the ball so that when cooking it doesn’t take too long to cook the interior Place each flattened ball into the oil and cook until golden, flip as needed until each side is golden brown. Place on a cooling rack and allow any excess oil to drain. Repeat the cooking process until all the dough is cooked For the curried mince In a medium pot heat oil on high heat Add the mince and fry until browned (this may take a while) Add the chopped onions and fry until soft Add the garlic, ginger, paprika, black pepper, ground coriander, ground cumin and curry powder and cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes Add the chutney or jam and water and lower the heat to low Add salt to taste Cover and simmer for 30 minutes Add the potatoes, and mixed veg and mix through. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes Curry should be thick with very little water left, if not uncover and simmer until you reach the desired consistency To serve Cut the vetkoek in half and fill with the slightly cooled curried mince mixture or any savoury mixture of your choice (chicken mayo, ham and cheese) For dessert spread golden syrup or jam onto the vetkoek and enjoy! Sosaties (South African lamb and apricot kebabs) Sosaties are traditional South African meat skewers usually served as appetizers or snacks on the side of other dishes. Sosaties are a classic part of a South African braai (BBQ) and for good reason - these marinated kebabs are delicious! Prep Time10 minutes mins Cook Time10 minutes mins Total Time20 minutes mins Course: Main Course Cuisine: South African Servings: 4 (skewers, approx - may serve less) Calories: 214kcal Author: Caroline's Cooking Save Ingredients For marinade ¼ onion 1 clove garlic grated or finely chopped 1 teaspoon ginger (fresh) grated or finely chopped 3 tablespoon apricot jam 3 tablespoon wine vinegar (white or red - I used white) 1 tablespoon curry powder (eg Madras) ½ tablespoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon salt For rest of skewers 1 lb lamb leg diced - can also use shoulder 16 dried apricots approx ½ onion US Customary - Metric Instructions Finely chop the onion then soften it in a little oil in a small pan until it is becoming translucent but not browning. Add the garlic and ginger and cook a minute then add the vinegar, jam, curry powder, cumin and salt. Mix well then remove from heat and leave to cool. Dice the lamb into relatively large dice (around 1 ½-2 inch/ 4-5cm dice), trimming excess fat or sinew. Mix the cooled marinade through the lamb then cover and leave a few hours or overnight, refrigerated. Soak the apricots in hot water to soften for around 15-20 minutes. Thread the meat onto skewers along with the soaked dried apricots and chunks of onion, putting one or other between each chunk of meat. Cook on a grill/bbq until the meat is cooked through then serve. Video Sosaties Nutrition Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 648mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 2745IU | Vitamin C: 17.1mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2.9mg 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). 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 South African Pepper Steak Pie Recipe The South African Pepper Steak Pie Recipe is a traditional dish from the vibrant and diverse culinary landscape of South Africa. This flavorful recipe is known for its rich history and is a favorite among locals and visitors alike. South Africa, with its blend of cultures and traditions, has given rise to a unique fusion of flavors in its cuisine. One of the standout dishes in this culinary tapestry is the South African Pepper Steak Pie Recipe. This dish holds a special place in the hearts and kitchens of many South Africans, reflecting the country’s diverse heritage. Additionally, the South African Pepper Steak Pie Recipe often features a variety of vegetables and protein sources such as beef, lamb, or chicken. These ingredients contribute to a well-balanced meal that provides essential nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals. The use of aromatic spices like cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom not only enhances the flavor but may also offer health benefits, such as anti-inflammatory properties. South African Cheese Scones Recipe South African Cheese Scones recipes are a baked pastry often enjoyed as a snack or appetizer. They are characterized by their fluffy texture and cheesy, slightly tangy taste. Historically, South Africa’s traditions have been influenced by various cultures, including Dutch, British, Indian, and indigenous African cuisines. The cheese scone recipe is a testament to this fusion. The use of cheese, a staple in many Western diets, combines with indigenous ingredients and techniques, creating a unique South African twist on a classic British pastry. Equipment Mixing bowl Baking sheet Pastry cutter or fork Grater (for cheese) Measuring cups and spoons Whisk or wooden spoon Pastry brush (optional) Ingredients 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup milk 2 tbsp mayonaise 1 cup cheese 1/2 cup chives Instructions Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix ingredients until blended. The batter should have a drop scone consistency. Spoon batter into muffin cups until 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack, or into a lined basket. Serve warm, with finely shaved smoked ham or apricto preserves (South Africans like the combination of savory and sweet). South African Pumpkin Fritters Recipe South African Pumpkin Fritters recipes are a delightful dish that holds a special place in South African culture. These fritters, commonly known as “Pampoenkoekies” in Afrikaans, are a part of the country’s heritage. Their history dates back to the early Dutch settlers who brought their cooking traditions to the region in the 17th century. The South African Pumpkin Fritters recipe is made from a simple yet wholesome combination of grated pumpkin, flour, sugar, and a hint of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. These ingredients are mixed together to form a thick batter, which is then spooned into hot oil and fried until golden brown. The result is a crispy, golden exterior that encases a soft and tender interior. The South African Pumpkin Fritters recipes are more than just a tasty treat; they are also a reflection of the country’s cultural influences. South Africa’s culinary traditions have been shaped by the indigenous people, Dutch, Malay, Indian, and other communities who have made this land their home. The South African Pumpkin Fritters recipe, with their blend of sweet and spicy flavors, showcases this fusion. Historically, South African Pumpkin Fritter recipes were prepared during special occasions and celebrations, such as weddings and festivals. They symbolize unity and togetherness, as they are often shared among family and friends. Equipment Pots, Pans and Cooking Equipment Needed for The South African Pumpkin Fritters Recipe Top Ways to Make A Better South African Pumpkin Fritters Recipe Best Way to Store Leftovers From The South African Pumpkin Fritters Recipe Tips and Tricks For Easier Creation Ingredients 2 cups pumpkin cooked 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking powder not soda 2 tablespoons sugar granulated 2 large eggs oil for frying sugar cinnamon flavor Instructions 1.The dry ingredients should be combined in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, just use a bowl to combine everything. 3.Whether using a food processor or a mixing bowl, add the eggs and process until a thick batter develops. When tested with a spoon, the batter should nearly retain its form. If the batter is overly thick, a drop or two of milk should do the trick. If the mixture is too thin, which shouldn't happen, add a little more flour. Put oil in a pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Drop heaping spoonful of batter into the pan. Make sure they're not touching. Since some of the batter will inevitably be left on the spoon, don't expect very large fritters. Fry one side until it is firm and brown, then flip it over and do the same. Although a non-stick pan eliminates the need for oil or butter, even a small amount of oil yields better results. The fritters will rise and retain their form while cooking, but they will deflate a little as soon as you remove them from the pan. Lightly pressing on the fritters should reveal whether or not they are done. When finished, they have a tendency to bounce back. No batter should be escaping from the sides, so if you're worried, press down even more. Sprinkle with heaps of crunchy cinnamon-flavored sugar and serve warm as a side dish or dessert. Notes Maintain consistent oil temperature while frying for even cooking.Use a spoon or ice cream scoop for uniform fritter sizes.Flip fritters gently to avoid splattering hot oil.Ensure the batter is well-mixed to incorporate all ingredients.Adjust sugar and spice levels to suit personal preferences.Test oil readiness by dropping a small piece of batter; it should sizzle and float.Serve fritters immediately for the best taste and texture. South African Oxtail Potjiekos Recipe The South African Oxtail Potjiekos recipe is a renowned and flavorful dish rooted in the country’s culinary heritage. This hearty and aromatic dish has a history dating back to the early days of Dutch settlers in South Africa, and it continues to be a beloved choice for gatherings and special occasions across the nation. Oxtail Potjiekos, often simply referred to as “Potjiekos,” embodies the essence of South African cuisine, showcasing a richblend of flavors and a cooking method that brings people together around a communal pot.The South African Oxtail Potjiekos recipe is a South African dish with Dutch origins. Oxtail, a flavorful and gelatinous meat, is slow-cooked in a traditional cast-iron potjie over an open flame. This dish’s charm lies in its rich flavors, blending spices like cloves and bay leaves with tomatoes and red wine, creating a mouthwatering sauce that clings to the tender oxtail. Equipment Cast-iron potjie pot (traditional) Large cooking pot (alternative) Cooking utensils (e.g., wooden spoon) Cutting board knife Plate or tray for meat preparation Stove or open flame for cooking Ingredients 2 whoe onions Cut into rings 4 tbsp cooking oil 1/8 Cup wheat Flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 4 1/2 lbs beef Oxtail Cut into about 5 cm long pieces 1/2 cup vinegar White Wine 3/4 cup Sugar brown 5 carrots Cleaned and cut into large chunks 4 potatoes Cleaned and cut into quarters 1 pkt Oxtail soup powder Instructions Put some flour in a bag and season it with salt and pepper powder. To ensure that the oxtail is evenly coated with the seasoned flour, place the pieces in the bag and shake vigorously. 3.Cook the floured oxtail in oil that has been warmed in a skillet. To ensure even browning, turn the oxtail pieces while they cook. Throw all of this into a big saucepan and set it aside. Fry the sliced onions in the same pan until they are golden. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, then add the oxtail. When the oxtail has softened, about 2 hours, add the fried onions and continue simmering. Put the sugar and vinegar into the pot. Add the soup powder and the sliced carrots and potatoes to the pan. Keep the vegetables in the oven for another 15 minutes. Notes Brown the oxtail meat for added flavor.Use a lid on your potjie pot for even cooking.Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.Add vegetables and herbs for depth of flavor.Adjust seasoning gradually to taste.Simmer over low heat for tender meat.Skim off excess fat during cooking. South African Melktert Recipe The South African Melktert recipe is a South African dessert that holds a special place in the country’s heritage. It’s a creamy and delightful treat that has been enjoyed for generations. In South African households, Melktert is often prepared for special occasions and family gatherings. It’s a sweet and comforting dessert that brings people together.This dessert has an interesting historical background. It is believed to have been influenced by Dutch and Indonesian culinary traditions, as these cultures have had a significant impact on South African cuisine. The name “Melktert” translates to “milk tart,” and this dish lives up to its name with its rich and creamy filling. Equipment Mixing bowls Whisk or mixing spoon 9-inch pie or tart pan Measuring cups and spoons Rolling pin (for pastry) Cooling rack Ingredients Sucre Patee (Pastry Crust) 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar confectioner’s powdered ¼ teaspoon salt 9 Tablespoons butter unsalted 1 large egg yolk Milk filling 2 1/4 cups milk 2 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons flour 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 cup sugar 2 Large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ teaspoon almond extract optional ½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon nutmeg or replace with cinnamon Instructions Crust Pastry Prepare a 9-inch pie pan with a detachable bottom by buttering or spraying it thoroughly. Put away for now. Put the flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until a dough-like consistency is reached. The dough will barely come together after adding the egg yolk and pulsing. Take the dough out and lay it on the counter; knead it briefly to bring together all the pieces. Minimal dough handling is optimal. If the dough is overworked, it will become tough. The dough is done when it can be shaped into a ball with very little further moisture. Be extremely gently as you press the dough into the prepared pie pan, beginning in the middle and working your way outward and up the edges until the pan is completely lined with pastry. Put the pie pan in the freezer for at least 30 minutes; if time is short, use a brick and bake it with beans to keep the dough from rising. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees C). If you want a dry and golden crust, bake it for 20–25 minutes. Put apart Filling Milk Stir together the butter, nutmeg, and milk in a saucepan set over medium heat; bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Whisk together the eggs, flour, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a separate basin. In a pot, stir gently to avoid lumps. Bring the pan back to the heat source, and whisk continually until bubbles form in the mixture. Preparation time is roughly 5-6 minutes. Take off the stove and ladle the filling into the prebaked pastry casing. Cinnamon powder, please. Put in the fridge and wait to serve. Notes When making the custard, constantly stir to prevent lumps.Allow the custard to cool slightly before pouring it into the pastry crust.Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on top for added flavor.Serve the Melktert at room temperature for the best taste and texture.For a decorative touch, use a fine sieve to dust powdered sugar on the top. South African Cheese Scones Recipe “We are a couple who has visited and sampled food in every country in the world. We strive to get a local recipe for every dish we place on our blog. Some we have cooked in our kitchen but most we enjoyed in the restaurants and streets of the world. Our thoughts and opinions are based on the food we loved the most, and you may find them and others you will fall in love with as well. Please enjoy the recipe and comment below.” These South African Cheese Scones are characterized by their fluffy texture and rich, cheesy flavor. They embody a fusion of influences, including Dutch, British, and indigenous African culinary traditions. Key ingredients include cheddar cheese, buttermilk, and butter. These are combined to create a dough that is gently mixed to maintain its lightness. Once baked, the scones have a golden-brown exterior and a soft, cheesy interior. The South African Cheese Scones recipes are a great snack, often served warm with butter or chutney. They hold a special place in South African culture, enjoyed at tea time or as a side dish with stews and soups. Whether made at home or savored in local eateries, these scones are a testament to the nation’s diverse heritage. Equipment Mixing bowl Baking sheet Pastry cutter or fork Grater (for cheese) Measuring cups and spoons Whisk or wooden spoon Pastry brush (optional) Ingredients 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup milk 2 tbsp mayonaise 1 cup cheese 1/2 cup chives Instructions Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix ingredients until blended. The batter should have a drop scone consistency. Spoon batter into muffin cups until 3/4 full. South African Cheeza Recipe The South African Cheeza Recipe, also known as South African Cheese and Corn Bread, is a delightful culinary creation with a rich history and some health benefits worth noting. This dish is a fusion of flavors and cultures, combining elements from both African and European culinary traditions.The combination of corn and cheese in this dish creates a satisfying and flavorful meal that’s not only delicious but also provides essential nutrients. However, it’s important to enjoy it in moderation, especially if you’re watching your calorie intake. Equipment a. Oven b. Baking dish c. Mixing bowls d. Whisk e. Measuring cups and spoons f. Grater or shredder g. Knife and cutting board h. Serving platter or dish Ingredients 12 slices Bacon 6 Spring Onions 6 slices Wheat Bread ⅜ cups Mayonnaise tngy 3 cups Cheddar Cheese Grated and roughly grated Instructions Crumble the bacon once it has been fried. Separate the green and white sections of the spring onion and chop them into small pieces. Warm up the bread in a toaster. Combine the mayonnaise, cheese, spring onions, and bacon in a bowl and stir to combine. Put the buttered toast on a baking sheet and top it with Cheeza. To get a bubbling, golden sauce, grill it for a while. Notes Use high-quality cheese for enhanced flavor.Grate the cheese fresh for better melting.Mix corn and cheese thoroughly for even distribution.Preheat the oven for consistent baking.Adjust seasoning to taste.Experiment with different cheese varieties.Customize with herbs or spices for a unique twist. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

South African Music Afrikaans music is a genre that originated in South Africa and is sung in the Afrikaans language. It is known for its emotional and heartfelt lyrics, often touching on themes of love, loss, and the beauty of the South African landscape. The music is typically accompanied by guitar and other traditional instruments, and can range from slow ballads to upbeat, danceable tunes. Some popular Afrikaans artists include Spoegwolf, Riaan Benadé, and Theuns Jordaan. (AI Generated) Top Afrikaans Songs of All Time Friday, August 02, 2019 at 8:29 AM by Peris Walubengo 6 min read Music is highly placed in the life of an African since it is one of the integral parts of their culture. Over the years the Afrikaans tribe of South Africa has produced some of the best musicians who have confounded fans with their amazing hits in the unique Afrikaans language. Did you know that, fine music can always be defined by more than just the language it is sung in? Keep reading to discover the Top Afrikaans Songs of All Time. Read more: https://briefly.co.za/34552-top-afrikaans-songs-all-time.html die heuwels fantasties Jack Parow Bok van Blerk rock south africa Fokofpolisiekar Glaskas Jan Blohm Van Coke Kartel Zinkplaat happy Laurika Rauch Robbie Wessels Spoegwolf Koos Kombuis Ray Dylan Francois Van Coke Jay Karlien van Jaarsveld Kurt Darren Straatligkinders Straatligkinders Valiant Swart chill Karen Zoid Riana Nel Theuns Jordaan aKING eden indie Desmond & The Tutus Die Tuindwergies Foto Na Dans Lianie May Shortstraw Various acoustic afrikaans rock classic afrikaans dance easy listening pop sokkie south african suid-afrikaans éF-éL Adam Alleen Na Desember Bobby van Jaarsveld David Kramer Die Antwoord Gerhard Steyn Jakkie Louw Jeremy Loops Johannes Kerkorrel Juanita du Plessis Lukraaketaar Mel Botes Pierre Greeff Snotkop folk sing along suidafrika Bittereinder Borrah And Borrah And Mad ProfessorMad Professor Brendan Peyper Dans Dans Lisa Dewald Wasserfall Dozi Elvis Blue Etienne Steyn Frank Ocean Frieda van den Heever Gazelle Goldfish GoodLuck Haezer Jak de Priester Joshua Na Die Reën Justice Kaleidoskoop Kevin Leo Klopjag Kongos Koos Du Plessis LCNVL MK Mandoza Matthew Mole Milky Chance Mimi Coertse Miriam Makeba Nicholis Louw Okay Orange Sector Rooies Grobbelaar Shadowclub Stef Bos Steve Hofmeyr The Parlotones The Plastics Akkedis Al Bairre AlexDavid-2 Amanda Strydom Andre Swiegers Andriette Angus Angus & Julia Stone Anke Anna Davel Anton Botha Arno Carstens Arno Jordaan August Rush (Motion Picture Soundtrack) Autoheart BLEACHERS BLK JKS Barry Louis Polisar Bebo Best Ek Mis Jou Elizma Theron Elvis se Seun Estevan Cruz 1 FPK Farryl Purkiss Fifth Harmony Flip a Coin Frankie Goes to Hollywood Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects Freshlyground Frikkie En Die Dolfyne Fuzigish Gang of Rhythm George Ezra Gerrie Pretorius Gert Bekker Gert Vlok Nel Gone In The Daylight Guus Meeuwis Click Here List of South African musicians Afrotraction (Mzwandile Moya; born 1983), R&B and neo-soul musician and producer AKA (1988–2023), hip-hop artist and record producer aKing , acoustic rock band Akustika Chamber Singers , chamber choir from Pretoria Sizwe Alakine , Amapiano musician (aka Reason, rapper) Amampondo , traditional Xhosa percussion group from Cape Town Anatii (born 1993), hip-hop artist and record producer A-Reece (born 1997), hip-hop artist and lyricist Leigh Ashton (born 1956), singer-songwriter from Johannesburg Assagai , Afro-rock band active in the early 1970s Robin Auld , singer songwriter The Awakening , gothic rock Aymos , singer songwriter Julian Bahula (1938–2023), jazz drummer Ballyhoo , 1980s pop band best known for the hit "Man on the Moon" Zakes Bantwini [1] Leonel Bastos (born 1956), Mozambiquan adult contemporary musician and producer working in South Africa Battery 9 , industrial music project from Johannesburg Beatenberg Amanda Black (born 1993), Afro-soul singer-songwriter BlackByrd , pop trio BLK JKS , rock band Elvis Blue , musician and songwriter Bongo Maffin , kwaito music group Boo! , band Boom Shaka , kwaito music group Stef Bos (born 1961), singer Cristina Boshoff (born 1980), folk pop singer and pianist Brasse Vannie Kaap , hip-hop group Bles Bridges (1947–2000), singer Bright Blue , 1980s pop band, best known for the hit song "Weeping" The Brother Moves On , performance art ensemble Buckfever Underground , folk/punk/art band Bucie (born 1987), R&B and soul singer Bulletscript , metal band Busiswa (born 1988), house musician Jonathan Butler (born 1961), singer-songwriter and guitarist Guy Buttery (born 1983), guitar player Adrienne Camp (born 1981), singer-songwriter Captain Stu , ska, funk, punk, and soul fusion band Arno Carstens (born 1972), former lead singer of Springbok Nude Girls Louise Carver (born 1979), folk rock singer-songwriter and pianist Cassette , rock band Cassper Nyovest (born 1990), rapper and record producer Tony Cedras (born 1952), musician Chad , (born 1993), rapper Yvonne Chaka Chaka (born 1965), singer Chris Chameleon (born 1971), solo artist, lead singer and bass guitarist for Boo Blondie Chaplin (born 1951), singer and guitarist Jesse Clegg (born 1988) Johnny Clegg (1953–2019) Clout , 1970s rock group Basil Coetzee (1944–1998), saxophonist Mimi Coertse (born 1932), soprano singer Fifi Cooper (born 1991), singer Tony Cox (born 1954), guitarist Crashcarburn , rock band Crossingpoint , Christian progressive hardcore band Cutting Jade , five-piece rock group Civil Twilight , four-piece rock band Crow Black Sky , black metal band Costa Titch (1995–2023), Amapiano rapper and dancer Covenant Voices , mass gospel choir with elements of traditional Zulu music, jazz, R&B and contemporary music Da L.E.S (born 1985), hip-hop artist Simphiwe Dana (born 1980) Danny K (Daniel Koppel), R&B singer-songwriter Kurt Darren , singer Pierre de Charmoy (born 1961), singer-songwriter Steven De Groote (1953–1989), classical pianist and winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Fanie de Jager (born 1949), operatic tenor Die Antwoord , alternative hip hop group[2] Die Heuwels Fantasties , Afrikaans rock band Bonginkosi Dlamini (born 1977), poet, actor and singer, also known as Zola Dollar Brand (born 1934) Donald (born 1985), singer Dorp , rock band Downfall , ska and punk band Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels, reggae Dreamteam , hip-hop group from Durban Jabulani Dubazana , singer, Ladysmith Black Mambazo Lucky Dube (1964–2007) Ampie du Preez , singer and guitarist Johnny Dyani (1945–1986), jazz double bassist DJ Speedsta , hip-hop DJ AFRIKAANS MUSIC LINKS Top Afrikaans 2020 - YouTube Music Best Afrikaans 2024 ♫ Top 100 Afrikaans Songs 2024 ... - YouTube Music 45 Free Afrikaans music playlists | 8tracks radio Best Afrikaans Songs of 2023 - New Afrikaans Songs - Chosic Afrikaans musiek - YouTube Music Afrikaanse Musiek Videos - Nuutste December 2024 - YouTube AFRIKAANS SOKKIE TREFFERS 2024 (BESTE SOKKIE MUSIEK) Top afrikaans artists - Last.fm Afrikaanse musiek videos - Nuutste Nov 2024 - Best AFRIKAANSE BESTES 2024 - playlist by JouTaal - Spotify Nuutste Afrikaans Musiek 2024 - Beste Afrikaans 2024 (Nuutste ... - YouTube Top Afrikaans songs 2019 Afrikaans musicians have done an excellent job in releasing Top Afrikaans songs over the past couple of decades. Ranging from rock to electro and gospel, the mesmerizing Afrikaans hits have no doubt managed to give the world a fair dose of the sweet African musical flavor. It is on this note that we bring to you 10 of the Best Afrikaans songs of all time. Read also Jack Parow: Thrilling facts about the Afrikaans rap king Die Antwoord - Cookie Thumper The rap hit song “Cookie Thumper”, which was released in 2014, has a whopping 35,700,991 views on YouTube and still counting. Sung by the famous South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord (Afrikaans for “The answer”) the song has been sending shockwaves both in mainstream and social media. The group Die Antwoord was founded in Cape Town in 2008, by rappers Yolandi Visser, Ninja and God (previously known as DJ Hi-Tek). The group’s image is premised on a counterculture movement popularly called Zef in South Africa. Jack Parow - Cooler as Ekke This Hip-Hop/Rap hit song by Jack Parow was released in 2009, and it had hit three million views on YouTube by June 2015. Currently, the song has 4,450,570 views on YouTube and still going strong. Jack Parow is an acclaimed South African Afrikaans rapper who hails from Bellville, Western Cape. Read also Is Simphiwe Dana wedding any time soon? The rapper who is known to have started by rapping for a burger and a beer over 13 years ago is also well known for his role in the song “Die Vraaqstuk”, in collaboration with Die Heuwels Fantasies, with whom he also performed at the 2009 Oppikoppi Music Festival. “Cooler as eke,” Jack Parow’s debut single, has become his most identifiable song, getting a lot of airplay on 3fm - Dutch national radio station. Tarryn Lamb – Mal Oor Jou The hit song “Mal Oor Jou” is found in Tarryn Lamb’s debut solo album named “Mal Oor Jou,” which was released in 2018 and as so far won three Ghoema Music Awards this year. Released on 10 August 2018, the song has already garnered 1,646,638 views on YouTube just one year down the line and promises to be a monster hit. Tarryn Lamb is a South African actor, pop singer, and songwriter, best known for her role as the lead singer in the band BlackByrd. The band has so far won 2 South African Music Awards. Read also Top 20 trending Blaq Diamond songs to listen to in 2022: latest and classic hits Jack Parow ft. Francois van Coke - Dans Dans Dans This hit song by Jack Parow featuring the Fokofpolisiekar frontman Francois van Coke was released in Jack Parow’s self-titled studio album in 2010, and it so far has 1,973,630 views on YouTube. “Dans, Dans, Dans" which means "Dance, Dance, Dance" is one of the most popular Afrikaans songs in South Africa today. Released in the wake of Jack Parow’s highly successful debut single “Cooler as eke,” the song “Dans, Dans, Dans” has received favorable attention from Afrikaans songs lovers. Read also: Nasty C on lookalike, Nasty B: 'Maybe high key proud of brah' Bok Van Blerk - De La Rey Bok van Blerk released the song "De la Rey" in 2006, and it became one of his best hit songs with a massive 1,973,630 views on YouTube currently and still counting. He characterizes the song as a stand against historical guilt. Read also What are the most popular Duncan songs and videos? The famous Afrikaans musician is on record saying that Young Afrikaners are tired of having the apartheid guilt trip shoved down their throats. “This song makes them proud of their heritage,” he added. Born Louis Pepler on March 30, 1978, Bok van Blerk shot into the limelight after his 2006 rendition of “De la Rey” by Johan Vorster and Sean Else. Lianie May & Jay - Toe Stop My Hart - 2,113,359 views Released in 2009, the song “Toe Stop My Hart” is in the album “Boeremeisie." One of the most popular Afrikaanse songs, “Toe Stop My Hart” has hit a total of 2,113,359 views on YouTube and still counting. Lianie May launched her Afrikaans music career in 2007 with her debut album “Vergeet My Nie” (Forget Me Not). Together with Jay du Plessis, a renowned Afrikaans musician, they made “Toe Stop My Hart” one of the most sought after Afrikaans song of the recent past. Read also Top 20 bolobedu music jams from 2019 to 2020 Bok Van Blerk - Afrikanerhart - 1,277,773 views Another of Bok van Blerk’s massive hits is “Afrikanerhart," which currently has over 1, 277,770 views on YouTube. Released on 27 July 2009, under the Mozi Records label, it is one of the hit songs in the album “Afrikanerhart.” Bok van Blerk shot into fame in 2006 for his rendition of "De la Rey" by Sean Else and Johan Vorster, and he has since never looked back. Kurt Darren - Kaptein - 403,842 views Released in 2008, this Afrikaans pop song is found in the album "Uit die diepte van my hart." The song has been enjoying fair airplay across South African FM stations, and so far, it is about to hit the half a million mark with a 403, 842 views on YouTube. Kurt Darren shot into the limelight when he recorded his number one hit song “Meisie Meisie,” which was immediately followed by a chain of other hits, including "Loslappie," "Sê Net Ja" and "Hemel Op Tafelberg." Read also Katlego Maboe biography Steve Hofmeyr – Redgebed - 383,367 views The Afrikaans hit song “Redgebed,” which was released in 2017, was in the album “Skree.” The song is destined to be a huge success having garnered 383,367 views on YouTube up to date. Steve Hofmeyr, the writer, and composer of the hit song is arguably South Africa’s most successful musician. From his humble beginnings as an actor in the popular TV show "Agter Elke Man" then "Egoli" and eventually his TV show "Dis Hoe Dit Is Met Steve," (aired on Kyk Net) Steve has proven himself both as a formidable actor and prolific singer. Elizma Theron – Marilyn Monroe 137,591 views Released in 2018, this particular song is in the album "Hierdie Hart Barand Liefde." The song has been getting fair airplay across radio and TV stations in South Africa, and it promises to be one huge hit. It was one of best Afrikaans songs 2018. Apart from singing Afrikaan songs, Elizma Theron also doubles up as a well-known actress. Read also Mandla Maphumulo biography: girlfriend, success story, life, and albums There is no doubt that Afrikaans music has been growing from strength to strength in the past two decades. Initially, the Afrikaan language was associated mainly with apartheid and “whiteness” in South Africa. However, this view has been gradually changing as more South Africans embrace diversity in the music industry, thanks to the top Afrikaans songs of all time, and music from other main South African languages that seem to enjoy acceptance across the race divide. Read more: https://briefly.co.za/34552-top-afrikaans-songs-all-time.html BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

ANGLO ZULU WAR Anglo-Zulu Wars 1879-1896 The destruction of the Zulu kingdom 1879 -1896 In the 1870s settler and colonial determination to bring Blacks under firm political control had undermined the hard-won security that many African societies had achieved. This was due to changes in economic conditions in South Africa's hinterland, and the consequent need to secure sufficient political authority over Africans- which would ensure security and access to labour. These societies attempted to resist the extension of colonial control over them, one of which was the Zulu kingdom. Sir Bartle Frere was appointed British high commissioner to South Africa in 1879 to realise the Policy of Confederation. This policy was set to bring the various British colonies, Boer republics and independent African groups under common control- with a view to implementing a policy of economic development. Sir Bartle Frere saw the self-reliant Zulu kingdom as a threat to this policy, a belief which was supported by Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs. Shepstone averred that the Zulu people had revived their military power under Cetshwayo , which made them more of a threat to peace and prosperity in South Africa. On 11 December 1878, under the flimsy pretext of a few minor border incursions into Natal by Cetshwayo's followers, the Zulu were given an impossible ultimatum- that they should disarm and Cetshwayo should forsake his sovereignty. The inevitable invasion of Zululand began after the ultimatum had expired on *10 January 1879 (see insert note). Instead of fragmenting the Zulu as Shepstone predicted, this rallied the Zulu to their king's cause. Many historians mark the 10* January 1879 as the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu war, while others claim that the 12 January 1879 (first attack) or the 22 January 1879 (first decisive battle of Isandlwana) marked the beginning of the war. However, even the 10 January date is disputed as many sources say that the ultimatum actually expired on the 11 January 1879. Under the overall command of Lord Chelmsford, the British forces -many of them colonials (Whites) or members of the Natal Native Contingent (Blacks) – began carrying out the general plan put in place for the invasion of Zululand. The main objective was to occupy the Zulu royal kraal at Ulundi by advancing on it from three directions. This operation was similar to the Zulu tactic of attacking from three sides by means of the main force or chest in the centre, and an extended left and right ‘horn’ on each side. The right or Number I Column, commanded by Colonel C.K. Pearson, was to cross the lower Tugela River and advance towards Ulundi by way of Eshowe. The centre or main force, the Number III Column, advanced from Pietermaritzburg via Greytown to Helpmekaar, under the leadership of Lord Chelmsford himself. From Helpmekaar the centre force was to enter Zululand at Rorke's Drift and move eastwards to the royal kraal. The left or Number IV Column, commanded by Brevet Col Sir H. Evelyn Wood, concentrated at Utrecht with the object of reaching Ulundi from the north-west. In addition, two minor forces guarded the borders. The first of these forces was the Number II Column at Krantzkop, under Brevet Col A.W. Durnford to prevent the Zulus crossing the Tugela. The second was the Number V Column at Luneberg to safeguard the Transvaal, which had been annexed by the British in 1877 (see map). The first attack of the war took place on 12 January 1879, when the position of Sihayo's kraal, situated in the Batshe valley, threatened the successful advancement of the British column. Under Chelmsford’s orders, the attacking force moved across the Batshe to attack a rocky gorge into which Sihayo's men had retreated, driving their cattle before them. The Natal Native Contingent showed reluctance to face the Zulus, some of whom were armed with rifles. In an attempt to thwart the attack, stones were also rolled down onto the attackers and after sharp action, the Zulus retreated, with 30 dead, 4 wounded and 10 captured. The British however, suffered only 2 casualties, with 15 wounded. The Battle of Isandlwana The main Zulu army left Nodwengu on 17 January to defend Zululand from the centre column. These forces were under the command of chiefs Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza and Mavu-mengwana kaNdlela Ntuli. Cetshwayo had promised his men that the British would be defeated in a 'single day'. On the 17 January Chelmsford and his forces rode to Isandlwana, which he had selected as the site for his next camp. On 20 January Chelmsford’s men arrived and set up camp at Isandlwana hill. Chelmsford encountered some local resistance and mistakenly assumed it to be the main Zulu force. This divided his column, half of which he took to support an engagement some fifteen kilometres away. Colonel Henry Pulleine was left in charge of the remaining forces, but did not organise his troops into a defensive circular ‘laager’ formation, as the wagons would be needed shortly to transport supplies. Colonel A.W. Durnford arrived the next day with a detachment to reinforce the camp and take over command. Durnford, described as being 'as plucky as a lion but as imprudent as a child', impetuously pursued a Zulu foraging party. As he proceeded over the ridge of the Mabaso heights he encountered, to his horror, the Zulu army, a mass of 20 000 strong below. The Zulu had not intended to attack then, as it was a new moon and it was considered unwise to fight on a 'dark day'. However, once discovered, they had no choice but to go on the offensive. Pulleine was therefore forced to spread his firepower over a long distance, instead of concentrating his men in a tight formation. The Zulu steadily advanced in the horn formation, their centre, or chest, pitted against Puileine's left flank. They suffered huge losses as the British concentrated fire on the chest, and the attack was temporarily stalled. The Zulu’s left horn outflanked Durnford's infantry and descended onto the British camp from behind. Realising he was surrounded, Pulleine tried to retreat in order to save the endangered camp. This allowed the Zulu centre to advance again, and while raising the national cry of 'uSuthu' the Zulu interposed themselves between the retreating British and their camp. Hand to hand combat ensued and the Zulu carried the day. A detachment of British troops tried to mount a final stand at a stream two miles away, but most retreated to Rorke's Drift or fled down the Mzinyathi River with the Zulu in pursuit. The British lost 52 officers, 727 white soldiers and 471 black men of the Native Contingent - a third of Chelmsford's men. The Zulu, ‘as was their custom, took no prisoners at Isandlwana, and spared no lives, despite pleas for mercy'’. Everything else left behind was carried off as booty. The Battle of Rorke’s Drift and the Aftermath The Charge of the 17th Lancers at the Battle of Ulundi. Source: http://www.britishbattles.com/ One day later, a depot at Rorke's Drift was attacked against the orders of Cetshwayo, who favoured a defensive strategy. After the overwhelming victory over the British at Isandlwana, Zulu reserve forces who were not involved in the previous day’s battle retaliated with an attack on the “hastily erected fort” at the small garrison of Rorke’s Drift. Here the British fought with ‘rifle fire and bayonets’ and the Zulu force, led by Prince Dabulamanzi, suffered 500 casualties in this fruitless engagement. This provided the British with “much needed propaganda to counter the Zulu success at Isandlwana”. On the coast, the right column brushed aside Zulu resistance at the Nyezane river, before advancing to occupy the deserted mission station at Eshowe. The left column was also involved in heavy skirmishing around the Hlobane mountain. When the central British collapsed at Isandlwana, however, the left and right flanking columns were left exposed. The Zulus managed to cut Colonel C.K. Pearson’s right column off from the border, and Pearson's men were besieged for three months at Eshowe. The left flank column, however, managed to remain operative. Chelmsford swiftly made his way back to Natal. The might of the British army had suffered a severe repulse and any thoughts of a quick British victory were put to rest. On the other hand, the Zulu themselves suffered terrible casualties, and worse was to follow. After the defeat at Isandlwana British pride had to be restored, and reinforcements were sent for. Chelmsford's army advanced again into Zululand, inflicting heavy defeats on the Zulu in April at Gingindlovu, relieving Pearson's column, and at Khambula. The Zulu were now on the back foot. In July Chelmsford moved in on oNdini, and in a final onslaught known as the Battle of Ulundi, they secured an overwhelming military success. More than 1 000 Zulu were killed and Cetshwayo was forced to flee for safety, until he was captured in the Ngome forest in August and exiled to the Cape. The Zulu were then instructed to return to their homesteads and resume productive activities. The British, nonetheless, were at pains to explain that the war was against the Zulu royal house. The Division of Zululand The war itself had not destroyed the kingdom, but subsequent events served to divide the Zulu and undermine their economic and social cohesion. Taking a leaf out of Shepstone’s 'native policy', Sir Garnet Wolseley, the new British commander in Natal, divided the kingdom into thirteen territories under appointed chiefs. They were meant to represent the chiefly lineages of pre-Shakan times, which was a shaky argument at best, especially since one of them was John Dunn who had joined the British when hostilities began. Others had either been outrightly opposed to Cetshwayo or had shown little loyalty to him during the war. The chiefs’ allegiance was to those who had appointed them, and Britain thus effectively began to administer indirect rule over Zululand. Melmoth Osborn, who enthusiastically supported Shepstone's views, was appointed as British Resident in Zululand. Unsurprisingly Zululand suffered civil strife as a result of this arrangement. Those who continued to espouse the old Zulu order were known as the uSuthu, and were led by Ndabuko kaMpande, Cetshwayo's brother. They were to come into conflict with the appointed chiefs and by 1887 had 'fought themselves to a standstill'. In addition, a hut tax was imposed, not only on each hut but on every wife regardless of whether she occupied a hut. Wolseley's infamous settlement of Zululand had not destroyed the Zulu homestead-the basic productive unit in the kingdom's economy- nor had the Zulu been deprived of their land. The hut tax, however, served to divert some of the surplus accruing to an individual homestead head to the British government. Subsequently over 70% of the annual cost of administering Zululand was derived from this tax. As the civil war intensified, the British realised that this settlement was simply not workable. Cetshwayo, encouraged by Bishop Colenso and his daughter Harriette- who both visited him in Cape Town-petitioned the British government and was granted permission to visit England to put forward his case for the restoration of the Zulu monarchy. In Zululand similar petitions were presented to the British Resident by the uSuthu. Early in 1883 Cetshwayo was reinstalled as king, but his powers had been severely reduced. He was confined to a smaller area, surrounded by enemies, and his every move was watched by a Resident. Those who wished to show their loyalty to Cetshwayo were obliged to move into his central district of the kingdom. Zibhebhu, an arch opponent of Cetshwayo, whose allegiance was more to the colonial order than the royal house, occupied a large tract of territory to Cetshwayo's north, and forced uSuthu loyalists resident in his portion to return to Cetshwayo's area. A pre-emptive strike by the uSuthu against Zibhebhu failed. Later Zibhebhu and Hamu, another of the appointed chiefs, invaded the uSuthu. Cetshwayo was soundly defeated at his newly built capital at oNdini in 1883, with the level of bloodshed exceeding anything the Zulu had experienced during Cetshwayo's reign. Matters worsened for the uSuthu when Cetshwayo died in late 1883- as the balance of power in Zululand had now shifted decisively to the Imperial administration, and its supporters in Zululand. In a last-ditch measure to regain power, Cetshwayo's son, Dinuzulu, entered into a treaty with the Transvaal. In military terms, the alliance proved successful and Zibhebhu's army was forced out of the loyalists' territory. But this agreement came at a huge cost. In return for their assistance, the Boers were promised vast tracts of territory on Zululand's western margin, which they called The New Republic, with its 'capital' at Vryheid. When the Transvaalers tried to claim even more land than what was agreed upon, the uSuthu refused. Having realised the extent of the chaos in Zululand, the British intervened. Dinuzulu was allowed to retain control of his portion of central Zululand, but the Boers were also acknowledged as owners of the New Republic. This lead to a Reserve area being set aside for those opposed to the loyalists. In Natal, pressure mounted for the annexation of Zululand, and almost inevitably it was annexed to the Crown in 1887. The promulgation of a Code of Laws placed Zululand under a similar 'Native Policy' to that in Natal. Once more the uSuthu mounted resistance to the annexation, and again Zibhebhus services were called upon. The revolt was spectacularly successful for a short period, as the uSuthu under Dinuzulu made good use of the mountainous terrain to repulse a police contingent sent to arrest their leaders. Zibhebhus followers were attacked by Dinuzulu and forced to flee hastily from the Ndwandwe district. Finally reinforcements arrived, the uSuthu were driven from their hideouts, leading Dinuzulu to surrender. In 1889, he and his leading adherents were tried for treason, found guilty and sentenced to prison terms on St Helena. In 1894 Dinuzulu was pardoned and allowed to return to Zululand, but as a mere induna, or state official, with no chiefly powers or privileges. To appease colonial interests, his return was coupled with the annexation of Zululand by Natal in 1897. After eighteen years, settler interests had prevailed in the land of the Zulu, and the plans Shepstone initially envisaged for the kingdom could be put into place. White settlers and traders entered Zululand in increasing numbers, and Zululand was thus 'reconstructed'. The territory was divided among compliant chiefs who ruled with limited authority, and the governor of Natal became the supreme chief over Zululand. The situation was worsened further by several natural disasters between 1894 and 1897. These disasters included a plague of locusts, drought and the devastating rinderpest epidemic of 1897- which led to a massive decline in homestead production. Already under stress from the imposition of the hut tax, many more Zulu men were forced into the Witwatersrand labour market to make ends meet and pay taxes. The gradual emergence of a permanent labouring class alongside a traditional economy, based on homestead production and cattle-keeping, led to new social divisions in Zulu society. The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 was a significant conflict in South African history. It was fought between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom, in a British victory and the annexation of Zululand. The war had a profound impact on the region, shaping its political and social landscape for years to come. The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom . Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Isandlwana and the British defence at Rorke's Drift . Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might lead to a ruling white minority over a black majority, which would provide a large pool of cheap labour for the British sugar plantations and mines, encompassing the African Kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics into South Africa . In 1874, Sir Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to effect such plans. Among the obstacles were the armed independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand . Frere, on his own initiative, sent a provocative ultimatum on 11 December 1878 to the Zulu king Cetshwayo and upon its rejection sent Lord Chelmsford to invade Zululand. The war had several particularly bloody battles, including an opening victory of the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana , followed by the defence of Rorke's Drift by a small British Garrison from an attack by a large Zulu force. The British eventually won the war, ending Zulu dominance of the region. The Zulu Kingdom was then made a protectorate and later annexed by the British Empire in 1887. British Empire By the 1850s, the British Empire had colonies in southern Africa bordering on various Boer settlements, native African kingdoms such as the Zulus and the Basotho and numerous indigenous tribal areas and states. Various interactions with those groups followed an expansionist policy. Cape Colony was formed after the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1814 had permanently ceded the Dutch colony of Cape Town to Britain, and its territory expanded very substantially in the 19th century. Natal , in south-eastern Africa, was claimed by the British as a colony on 4 May 1843, after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia . Matters were brought to a head when three sons (led by Mehlokazulu kaSihayo) and a brother of the Zulu inkosi Sihayo organized a raid into Natal and carried off two women who were under British protection. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 near the Vaal River , some 550 mi (890 km) northeast of Cape Town , ended the isolation of the Boers in the interior and had a significant effect on events. The discovery triggered a diamond rush that attracted people from all over the world, which turned Kimberley into a town of 50,000 within five years and drew the attention of British imperial interests. In the 1870s, the British annexed West Griqualand , site of the Kimberley diamond discoveries. In 1874 Lord Carnarvon , Secretary of State for the Colonies , who had brought about federation in Canada in 1867, thought that a similar scheme might work in South Africa, The South African plan called for a ruling white minority over a black majority, which would provide a large pool of cheap labour for the British sugar plantations and mines, Carnarvon, in an attempt to extend British influence in 1875, approached the Boer states of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic and tried to organize a federation of the British and Boer territories but the Boer leaders turned him down. In 1877, Sir Bartle Frere was made High Commissioner for Southern Africa by Lord Carnarvon. Carnarvon appointed Frere to the position on the understanding that he would work to enforce Carnarvon's confederation plan and Frere could then become the first British governor of a federated southern African dominion . Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner to bring this plan about. One of the obstacles to such a scheme was the presence of the independent Boer states of the South African Republic , informally known as the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, and the Kingdom of Zululand . Bartle Frere wasted no time in putting the scheme forward and manufacturing a casus belli against the Zulu by exaggerating the significance of a number of recent incidents. By 1877, Sir Theophilus Shepstone , the British Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, annexed the Transvaal Republic for Britain using a special warrant. The Transvaal Boers objected but as long as the Zulu threat remained, found themselves between two threats; they feared that if they took up arms to resist the British annexation, King Cetshwayo and the Zulus would take the opportunity to attack. The successive British annexations and in particular the annexation of West Griqualand caused a climate of simmering unease for the Boer republics. Shepstone railed against the disruptive effect of allowing Cetshwayo's regime to remain. "Zulu power", he said, "is the root and real strength of all native difficulties in South Africa". In December 1877, he wrote to Carnarvon "Cetshwayo is the secret hope of every petty independent chief hundreds of miles from him who feels a desire that his colour shall prevail, and it will not be until this hope is destroyed that they will make up their minds to submit to the rule of civilisation". Earlier in October 1877, Shepstone had attended a meeting with Zulu leaders near the Blood River to resolve the land dispute between the Zulus and the Boers. He suggested a compromise with the Boers and the meeting broke up without clear resolutions. He turned against the Zulus with vengeance, saying he had come into possession of "the most incontrovertible, overwhelming and clear evidence" never previously disclosed, for supporting the claims of the Boers. He rejected Zulu claims as "characterised by lying and treachery to an extent that I could not have believed even savages are capable of". Shepstone, in his capacity as British governor of Natal, had expressed concerns about the Zulu army under King Cetshwayo and the potential threat to Natal – especially given the adoption by some of the Zulus of old muskets and other out-of-date firearms. In his new role of Administrator of the Transvaal, he was now responsible for protecting the Transvaal and had direct involvement in the Zulu border dispute from the side of the Transvaal. Persistent Boer representations and Paul Kruger 's diplomatic manoeuvres added to the pressure. There were incidents involving Zulu paramilitary actions on either side of the Transvaal/Natal border, and Shepstone increasingly began to regard King Cetshwayo, as having permitted such "outrages", and to be in a "defiant mood". King Cetshwayo now found no defender in Natal save the bishop of Natal, John Colenso . Colenso advocated for native Africans in Natal and Zululand who had been unjustly treated by the colonial regime in Natal. In 1874 he took up the cause of Langalibalele and the Hlubi and Ngwe tribes in representations to the Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon. Langalibalele had been falsely accused of rebellion in 1873 and, following a charade of a trial, was found guilty and imprisoned on Robben Island . In taking the side of Langalibalele against the colonial regime in Natal and Theophilus Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs, Colenso found himself even further estranged from colonial society in Natal. Bishop Colenso's concern about the misleading information that was being provided to the Colonial Secretary in London by Shepstone and the Governor of Natal prompted him to champion the cause of the Zulus against Boer oppression and official encroachments. He was a prominent critic of Frere's efforts to depict the Zulu kingdom as a threat to Natal. Colenso's campaigns revealed the racialist foundation underpinning the colonial regime in Natal and made him enemies among the colonists. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli 's Tory administration in London did not want a war with the Zulus. "The fact is," wrote Sir Michael Hicks Beach , who was to replace Carnarvon as Secretary of State for the Colonies, in November 1878, "that matters in Eastern Europe and India ... wore so serious an aspect that we cannot have a Zulu war in addition to other greater and too possible troubles." However, Sir Bartle Frere had already been into the Cape Colony as governor and High Commissioner since 1877 with the brief of creating a Confederation of South Africa from the various British colonies, Boer Republics and native states and his plans were well advanced. He had concluded that the powerful Zulu kingdom stood in the way of this, and so was receptive to Shepstone's arguments that King Cetshwayo and his Zulu army posed a threat to the peace of the region. Preparations for a British invasion of the Zulu kingdom had been underway for months. In December 1878, notwithstanding the reluctance of the British government to start yet another colonial war, Frere presented Cetshwayo with an ultimatum that the Zulu army be disbanded and the Zulus accept a British resident. This was unacceptable to the Zulus as it effectively meant that Cetshwayo, had he agreed, would have lost his throne. Zulu Kingdom Photograph of Cetshwayo kaMpande , c. 1875 Shaka Zulu , the first Zulu king, had through war and conquest built the small Zulu tribe into the Zulu Kingdom , which by 1825 encompassed an area of around 11,500 square miles (30,000 km2). In 1828 he was assassinated at Dukuza by one of his inDunas and two of his half-brothers, one of whom, Dinggh kaSenzangakhona , succeeded him as king. By the 1830s migrating Boers came into conflict with the Zulu Kingdom, then ruled by Dingane. Dingane suffered a crushing defeat on 16 December 1838, when he attacked a group of 470 Voortrekker settlers led by Pretorius at the Battle of Blood River . Dingane's half brother, Mpande kaSenzangakhona , then defected with some 17,000 followers and allied with the Boers against Dingane. Dingane was assassinated and Mpande became king of the Zulu empire. In 1839, the Boer Voortrekkers , under Pretorius, formed the Boer Republic of Natalia , south of the Tugela, and west of the British settlement of Port Natal (now Durban). Mpande and Pretorius maintained peaceful relations. However, in 1842, war broke out between the British and the Boers, resulting in the British annexation of Natalia. Mpande shifted his allegiance to the British, and remained on good terms with them. King Mpande In 1843, Mpande ordered a purge of perceived dissidents within his kingdom. This resulted in numerous deaths, and the fleeing of thousands of refugees into neighbouring areas, including the British-controlled Natal. Many of these refugees fled with cattle, the main measure of the Zulu wealth. Mpande began raiding the surrounding areas, culminating in the invasion of Swaziland in 1852. However, the British pressured him into withdrawing, which he did shortly afterwards. At this time, a battle for the succession broke out between two of Mpande's sons, Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. This culminated in 1856 with the Battle of Ndondakusuka , which left Mbuyazi dead. Cetshwayo then set about usurping his father's authority. When Mpande died of old age in 1872, Cetshwayo took over as ruler. In 1861, Umtonga, another son of Mpande , fled to the Utrecht district, prompting Cetshwayo to assemble an army on the nearby frontier. According to claims later brought forward by the Boers , Cetshwayo offered the farmers a strip of land along the border if they would surrender his brother. The Boers complied on the condition that Umtonga's life was spared, and in 1861 Mpande signed a deed transferring this land to the Boers. The south boundary of the land added to Utrecht ran from Rorke's Drift on the Buffalo to a point on the Pongola River . Zulu village, c. 1849 The boundary was beaconed in 1864, but when in 1865 Umtonga again fled from Zululand to Natal , Cetshwayo, seeing that he had lost his part of the bargain (for he feared that the still living Umtonga might be used to supplant him, as Mpande had been used to supplant Dingane ), removed the beacon and claimed the land ceded by the Swazis to Lydenburg . The Zulus asserted that the Swazis were their vassals and therefore had no right to part with this territory. For a year, a Boer commando unit , under Paul Kruger and an army under Cetshwayo were posted to defend the newly acquired Utrecht border. The Zulu forces took back their land north of the Pongola. Questions were also raised as to the validity of the documents signed by the Zulus concerning the Utrecht strip; in 1869 the services of the lieutenant-governor of Natal, then Robert William Keate , were accepted by both parties as arbitrator, but the attempt then made to settle disagreements proved unsuccessful. In spite of his dislike for their activities, Cetshwayo permitted European missionaries in Zululand. Though he did not harm or persecute the missionaries themselves, several converts were killed. The missionaries, for their part, were a source of hostile reports. While numerous Zulus of rival factions fled into Natal and some of the surrounding areas, Cetshwayo continued and maintained the peaceful relations with the Natal colonists that had prevailed for decades. Such was the political background when Cetshwayo became absolute ruler of the Zulus upon his father's death in 1873. As ruler, Cetshwayo set about reviving the military methods of his uncle Shaka as far as possible. He formed new age-set regiments and even succeeded in equipping his regiments with a few antiquated muskets and other outdated firearms. Most Zulu warriors were armed with an iklwa (the Zulu refinement of the assegai thrusting spear) and a shield made of cowhide. The Zulu army drilled in the personal and tactical use and coordination of this weapons system. While some Zulus also had firearms, their marksmanship training was poor and the quality and supply of their powder and shot was dreadful. The Zulu attitude towards firearms was summarized: "The generality of Zulu warriors, however, would not have firearms – the arms of a coward, as they said, for they enable the poltroon to kill the brave without awaiting his attack." History Boundary Commission and ultimatum This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations . Please help summarize the quotations . Consider transferring direct quotations to Wikiquote or excerpts to Wikisource . (February 2020) The tension between Cetshwayo and the Transvaal over border disputes continued. Sir Theophilus Shepstone , whom Cetshwayo regarded as his friend, had supported him in the border dispute, but in 1877 he led a small force into the Transvaal and persuaded the Boers to give up their independence. Shepstone became administrator of the Transvaal, and in that role saw the border dispute from the other side. Shepstone claimed to have evidence supporting the Boer position but, ultimately, he failed to provide any. In a meeting with Zulu notables at Blood River in October 1877, Shepstone attempted to placate the Zulu with paternal speeches, however they were unconvinced and accused Shepstone of betraying them. Shepstone's subsequent reports to Carnarvon then began to paint the Zulu as an aggressive threat where he had previously presented Cetshwayo in a most favourable light. In February 1878 a commission was appointed by Henry Bulwer , the lieutenant-governor of Natal since 1875, to report on the boundary question. The commission reported in July and found almost entirely in favour of the contention of the Zulu. However, Sir Henry Bartle Frere , then high commissioner and still pressing forward with Carnarvon's federation plan, characterized the award as "one-sided and unfair to the Boers" stipulated that on the land being given to the Zulu, the Boers living on it should be compensated if they left or protected if they remained. In addition, Frere planned to use the meeting on the boundary commission report with the Zulu representatives to also present a surprise ultimatum he had devised that would allow British forces under Lord Chelmsford, which he had previously been instructed to use only in defense against a Zulu invasion of Natal, to instead invade Zululand. Three incidents occurred in late July, August and September which Frere seized upon as his casus belli and were the basis for the ultimatum with which Frere knew Cetshwayo could not comply, giving Frere a pretext to attack the Zulu kingdom. The first two incidents related to the flight into Natal of two wives of Sihayo kaXongo and their subsequent seizure and execution by his brother and sons and were described thus: A wife of the chief Sihayo had left him and escaped into Natal. She was followed [on 28 July 1878] by a party of Zulus, under Mehlokazulu, the chief son of Sihayo, and his brother, seized at the kraal where she had taken refuge, and carried back to Zululand, where she was put to death, in accordance with Zulu law... A week later the same young men, with two other brothers and an uncle, captured in like manner another refugee wife of Sihayo, in the company of the young man with whom she had fled. This woman was also carried back, and is supposed to have been put to death likewise; the young man with her although guilty in Zulu eyes of a most heinous crime, punishable with death, was safe from them on English soil; they did not touch him.[19] The third incident occurred in September when two men were detained while on a sandbank of the Thukela River near the Middle Drift. Sir Bartle Frere described this matter in a despatch to Sir Michael Hicks Beach , who had replaced Carnarvon as Secretary of State for the Colonies: Mr. Smith, a surveyor in the Colonial Engineer Department, was on duty inspecting the road down to the Tugela, near Fort Buckingham, which had been made a few years ago by order of Sir Garnet Wolseley, and accompanied by Mr. Deighton, a trader, resident at Fort Buckingham, went down to the ford across the Tugela. The stream was very low, and ran under the Zulu bank, but they were on this side of it, and had not crossed when they were surrounded by a body of 15 or 20 armed Zulus, made prisoners, and taken off with their horses, which were on the Natal side of the river, and roughly treated and threatened for some time; though, ultimately, at the instance of a headman who came up, they were released and allowed to depart. By themselves, these incidents were flimsy grounds upon which to found an invasion of Zululand. Bulwer did not initially hold Cetshwayo responsible for what was clearly not a political act in the seizure and murder of the two women. I have sent a message to the Zulu King to inform him of this act of violence and outrage by his subjects in Natal territory, and to request him to deliver Up to this Government to be tried for their offence, under the laws of the Colony, the persons of Mehlokazulu and Bekuzulu the two sons of Sirayo who were the leaders of the party. Cetshwayo also treated the complaint rather lightly, responding Cetywayo is sorry to have to acknowledge that the message brought by Umlungi is true, but he begs his Excellency will not take it in the light he sees the Natal Government seem to do, as what Sirayo's sons did he can only attribute to a rash act of boys who in the zeal for their father's house did not think of what they were doing. Cetywayo acknowledges that they deserve punishing, and he sends some of his izinduna , who will follow Umlungi with his words. Cetywayo states that no acts of his subjects will make him quarrel with his fathers of the house of Shaka. The original complaint carried to Cetshwayo from the lieutenant-governor was in the form of a request for the surrender of the culprits. The request was subsequently transformed by Sir Bartle Frere into a "demand". Frere wrote to Hicks Beach, 30 September 1878: Apart from whatever may be the general wish of the Zulu nation, it seems to me that the seizure of the two refugee women in British territory by an armed force crossing an unmistakable and well known boundary line, and carrying them off and murdering them with contemptuous disregard for the remonstrances of the Natal policemen, is itself an insult and a violation of British territory which cannot be passed over, and unless apologised and atoned for by compliance with the Lieutenant Governor's demands, that the leaders of the murderous gangs shall be given up to justice, it will be necessary to send to the Zulu King an ultimatum which must put an end to pacific relations with our neighbours.[ In reply, in at least three dispatches, 17 October, 21 November and 18 December, Hicks Beach emphatically states that war is to be avoided and a British invasion of Zululand prohibited. From 21 November dispatch: ... Her Majesty's Government have arrived, it is my duty to impress upon you that in supplying these reinforcements it is the desire of Her Majesty's Government not to furnish means for a campaign of invasion and conquest, but to afford such protection as may be necessary at this juncture to the lives and property of the colonists. Though the present aspect of affairs is menacing in a high degree, I can by no means arrive at the conclusion that war with the Zulus should be unavoidable, and I am confident that you, in concert with Sir H. Bulwer, will use every effort to overcome the existing difficulties by judgment and forbearance, and to avoid an evil so much to be deprecated as a Zulu war. Hicks Beach After considerable discussion and exchanges of views between Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer , it was decided to arrange a meeting with representatives of the Zulu king. The ostensible reason for this indaba was to present the findings of the long-awaited Boundary Commission to the Zulu people. The occasion was also to be used to present the king with an ultimatum. When the ultimatum was presented, the two infractions by Sihayo's sons and the roughing up of Smith and Deighton had become only part of the justification that was used, as several matters had arisen in the meantime. One of them was Cetshwayo's apparent breaking of promises to Mr Theophilus Shepstone at the king's "coronation" in 1872. That farcical piece of theatre had been agreed to by Cetshwayo simply to satisfy the wishes of Shepstone and meant nothing to the Zulu people. Indeed, his real Zulu installation had taken place several weeks earlier when he had been acclaimed by his izinduna.[25] A second addition to the ultimatum, which seems almost like an afterthought, required the surrender of Mbelini kaMswati. Mbelini was the son of a Swazi king who unsuccessfully disputed the succession with his brother, resulting in his exile from the kingdom. He took refuge with Cetshwayo and was granted land in the region of the Intombe River in western Zululand. (It is entirely possible that Cetshwayo regarded him as a useful buffer between him and the Boers of the Transvaal.) Here, he took up residence on the Tafelberg, a flat-topped mountain overlooking the river. Something of a brigand, Mbelini made raids on anyone in his area, Boer and Zulu alike, accruing cattle and prisoners in the process. With the annexation of the Transvaal, Britain had also to deal with Mbelini and because Frere was convinced that the bandit chief was in the pay of the Zulu king, his surrender was included in the ultimatum. The light in which Mbelini was regarded is shown in a paragraph from a memorandum written by Sir Henry Bulwer: The King disowned Umbilini's acts by saying that Umbilini had been giving him trouble, that he had left the Zulu country in order to wrest the Swazi chieftainship from his brother, the reigning Chief, and that if he returned he should kill him. But there is nothing to show that he has in any way punished him, and, on the contrary, it is quite certain that even if Umbilini did not act with the express orders of Cetywayo, he did so with the knowledge that what he was doing would be agreeable to the King. Frere has been accused of chicanery by taking deliberate advantage of the length of time it took for correspondence to pass between South Africa and London to conceal his intentions from his political masters or at least defer giving them the necessary information until it was too late for them to act. The first intimation to the British government of his intention to make 'demands' on the Zulu was in a private letter to Hicks Beach written on 14 October 1878. The letter only arrived in London on 16 November and by then messengers had already been despatched from Natal to the Zulu king to request the presence of a delegation at the Lower Tugela on 11 December for the purpose of receiving the Boundary Commission's findings. Had Hicks Beach then sent off a telegraph forbidding any action other than the announcement of the boundary award, it might have arrived in South Africa just in time to prevent the ultimatum being presented. No prohibition was sent and could hardly be expected to have been, for Hicks Beach had no means of knowing the urgency of the events that were in train. Nowhere in Frere's letter was there anything to indicate how soon he intended to act, nor was there anything to suggest how stringent his demands would be. In January 1879, Hicks Beach wrote to Bartle Frere: I may observe that the communications which had previously been received from you had not entirely prepared them (Her Majesty's Government) "for the course which you have deemed it necessary to take. The representations made by Lord Chelmsford and yourself last autumn as to the urgent need of strengthening Her Majesty's forces in South Africa were based upon the imminent danger of an invasion of Natal by the Zulus, and the inadequate means at that time at your disposal for meeting it. In order to afford protection to the lives and property of the colonists, the reinforcements asked for were supplied, and, in informing you of the decision of Her Majesty's Government, I took the opportunity of impressing upon you the importance of using every effort to avoid war. But the terms which you have dictated to the Zulu king, however necessary to relieve the colony in future from an impending and increasing danger, are evidently such as he may not improbably refuse, even at the risk of war; and I regret that the necessity for immediate action should have appeared to you so imperative as to preclude you from incurring the delay which would have been involved in consulting Her Majesty's Government upon a subject of so much importance as the terms which Cetywayo should be required to accept before those terms were actually presented to the Zulu king. Hicks Beach had earlier admitted his helplessness with regard to the Frere's actions in a telling note to his Prime Minister: I have impressed this [non-aggressive] view upon Sir B. Frere, both officially and privately, to the best of my power. But I cannot really control him without a telegraph (I don't know that I could with one) I feel it is as likely as not that he is at war with the Zulus at the present moment. Frere wanted to provoke a conflict with the Zulus and in that goal he succeeded. Cetshwayo rejected the demands of 11 December, by not responding by the end of the year. A concession was granted by Bartle Frere until 11 January 1879, after which Bartle Frere deemed a state of war to exist. The British forces intended for the defense of Natal had already been on the march with the intention to attack the Zulu kingdom. On 10 January they were poised on the border. On 11 January, they crossed the border and invaded Zululand. Terms The terms included in the ultimatum were delivered to the representatives of King Cetshwayo on the banks of the Thukela river at the Ultimatum Tree on 11 December 1878. No time was specified for compliance with item 4, twenty days were allowed for compliance with items 1–3, that is, until 31 December inclusive; ten days more were allowed for compliance with the remaining demands, items 5–13. The earlier time limits were subsequently altered so that all expired on 10 January 1879. Surrender of Sihayo's three sons and brother to be tried by the Natal courts. Payment of a fine of 500 head of cattle for the outrages committed by the above and for Cetshwayo's delay in complying with the request of the Natal Government for the surrender of the offenders. Payment of 100 head of cattle for the offence committed against Messrs. Smith and Deighton. Surrender of the Swazi chief Umbilini and others to be named hereafter, to be tried by the Transvaal courts. Observance of the coronation promises. That the Zulu army be disbanded and the men allowed to go home. That the Zulu military system be discontinued and other military regulations adopted, to be decided upon after consultation with the Great Council and British Representatives. That every man, when he comes to man's estate, shall be free to marry. All missionaries and their converts, who until 1877 lived in Zululand, shall be allowed to return and reoccupy their stations. All such missionaries shall be allowed to teach and any Zulu, if he chooses, shall be free to listen to their teaching. A British Agent shall be allowed to reside in Zululand, who will see that the above provisions are carried out. All disputes in which a missionary or European is concerned, shall be heard by the king in public and in presence of the Resident. No sentence of expulsion from Zululand shall be carried out until it has been approved by the Resident. To ensure that there was no interference from London, Frere delayed informing the Colonial Office about his ultimatum until it was too late for it to be countermanded. The full text of his demands did not reach London until 2 January 1879. By then, Chelmsford had assembled an army of 18,000 men- redcoats, colonial volunteers and Natal African auxiliaries – along the Zululand border ready for the invasion. For his part, Cetshwayo strenuously attempted to avoid war with the British and, should it occur, to limit its scope and effects. He ordered his troops to defend their country only if attacked and not to carry the war beyond its borders. He directed them to avoid killing any of the invaders other than the regular British soldiers in their red coats. First invasion The pretext for the war had its origins in border disputes between the Zulu leader, Cetshwayo , and the Boers in the Transvaal region. Following a commission inquiry on the border dispute which reported in favour of the Zulu nation in July 1878, Sir Henry Bartle Frere , acting on his own, added an ultimatum to the commission meeting, much to the surprise of the Zulu representatives who then relayed it to Cetshwayo. Cetshwayo had not responded by the end of the year, so an extension was granted by Bartle Frere until 11 January 1879. Cetshwayo returned no answer to the demands of Bartle Frere, and in January 1879 a British force under Lieutenant General Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford invaded Zululand, without authorization by the British Government. The exact date of the invasion was 11 January 1879. Chelmsford crossed the Buffalo River at Rorke's Drift , an old Irish trader's post that had become a mission station, in command of 4,700 men of the , which included 1,900 White troops and 2,400 African auxiliaries. Lord Chelmsford, the Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the war, initially planned a five-pronged invasion of Zululand composed of over 16,500 troops in five columns and designed to encircle the Zulu army and force it to fight as he was concerned that the Zulus would avoid battle. The Zulu capital, Ulundi, was about 80 miles inside Zulu territory. In the event, Chelmsford settled on three invading columns with the main centre column, now consisting of some 7,800 men comprising Richard Thomas Glyn 's and Anthony Durnford 's under his direct command. He moved his troops from Pietermaritzburg to a forward camp at Helpmekaar, past Greytown . On 9 January 1879 they moved to Rorke's Drift , and early on 11 January commenced crossing the Buffalo River into Zululand . Three columns were to invade Zululand, from the Lower Drift of the Tugela River (No. 1 Column under Col. Charles Pearson ), Rorke's Drift under Lord Chelmsford), and Utrecht under Col. Evelyn Wood ) respectively, their objective being Ulundi , the royal capital. Durnford's was ordered to stay on the defensive near the Middle Drift of the Tugela River. While Cetshwayo's army numbered perhaps 35,000 men, it was essentially a militia force which could be called out in time of national danger. It had a very limited logistical capacity and could only stay in the field a few weeks before the troops would be obliged to return to their civilian duties.[34] Zulu warriors were armed primarily with Assegai thrusting spears, known in Zulu as iklwa , clubs, some throwing spears and shields made of cowhide. The Battle of Rorke's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville . The British defense of the small hospital station was a morale boost for the British Empire. The initial entry of all three columns was unopposed. On 22 January the centre column, which had advanced from Rorke's Drift, was encamped near Isandlwana ; on the morning of that day Lord Chelmsford split his forces and moved out to support a reconnoitering party, leaving the remaining 1,300 men of the under the command of Colonel Pulleine . Colonel Durnford would arrive later in the morning with 500 men of the No. 2 Column to reinforce the camp. The British were outmanoeuvred by the main Zulu army nearly 20,000 strong led by Ntshingwayo Khoza . Chelmsford was lured eastward with much of his centre column by a Zulu diversionary force while the main Impi attacked his camp. Chelmsford's decision not to set up the British camp defensively, contrary to established doctrine, and ignoring information that the Zulus were close at hand were decisions that the British were soon to regret. The ensuing Battle of Isandlwana was the greatest victory that the Zulu kingdom would enjoy during the war. The British centre column was wrecked and its camp annihilated with heavy casualties as well as the loss of all its supplies, ammunition and transport. The defeat left Chelmsford no choice but to hastily retreat out of Zululand. In the battle's aftermath, a party of some 4,000 Zulu reserves mounted an unauthorised raid on the nearby British Army border post of Rorke's Drift and were driven off after 10 hours of ferocious fighting on 23 January. Zulu warriors, 1879 (Charles Edwin Fripp ) While the British central column under Chelmsford's command was thus engaged, the right flank column on the coast, under Colonel Charles Pearson , crossed the Tugela River, skirmished with a Zulu impi that was attempting to set up an ambush at the Inyezane River , and advanced as far as the deserted missionary station of Eshowe, which he set about fortifying. On learning of the disaster at Isandlwana, Pearson made plans to withdraw back beyond the Tugela River. However, before he had decided whether or not to put these plans into effect, the Zulu army managed to cut off his supply lines, and the Siege of Eshowe had begun. Meanwhile, the left flank column at Utrecht, under Colonel Evelyn Wood , had originally been charged with occupying the Zulu tribes of north-west Zululand and preventing them from interfering with the British central column's advance on Ulundi. To this end Wood set up camp at Tinta's Kraal, just 10 miles south of Hlobane Mountain , where a force of 4,000 Zulus had been spotted. He planned to attack them on 24 January, but on learning of the disaster at Isandlwana, he decided to withdraw back to the Kraal. Thus one month after the British invasion, only their left flank column remained militarily effective, and it was too weak to conduct a campaign alone. The first invasion of Zululand had been a failure. Battle of the Intombe river It had never been Cetshwayo's intention to invade Natal, but to simply fight within the boundaries of the Zulu kingdom. Chelmsford used the next two months to regroup and build a fresh invading force with the initial intention of relieving Pearson at Eshowe. The British government rushed seven regiments of reinforcements to Natal, along with two artillery batteries. On 12 March, an armed escort of stores marching to Luneberg, was defeated by about 500 Zulus at the Battle of Intombe ; the British force suffered 80 killed[l] and all the stores were lost. The first troops arrived at Durban on 7 March. On the 29th a column under Lord Chelmsford consisting of a total of 5,670 men (3,390 Europeans and 2,280 Africans) marched to the relief of Eshowe , with entrenched camps being formed each night. Chelmsford ordered Sir Evelyn Wood's troops to attack the abaQulusi Zulu stronghold in Hlobane. Lieutenant Colonel Redvers Buller , led the attack on Hlobane on 28 March. However, as the Zulu main army of 20,000 men approached to help their besieged tribesmen, the British force began a retreat which turned into a rout and were pursued by 1,000 Zulus of the abaQulusi who inflicted some 225 casualties on the British force. The next day 20,000 Zulu warriors attacked Wood's 2,068 men in a well-fortified camp at Kambula, apparently without Cetshwayo's permission. The British held them off in the Battle of Kambula and after five hours of heavy attacks the Zulus withdrew with heavy losses but were pursued by British mounted troops, who killed many more fleeing and wounded warriors. British losses amounted to 83 (28 killed and 55 wounded), while the Zulus lost up to 2,000 killed.[n] The effect of the battle of Kambula on the Zulu army was severe. Their commander Mnyamana Buthelezi tried to get the regiments to return to Ulund but many demoralised warriors simply went home. The burning of Ulundi While Woods was thus engaged, Chelmsford's column was marching on Eshowe. On 2 April this force was attacked en route at Gingindlovu , the Zulu being repulsed. Their losses were heavy, estimated at 1,200, but the British suffered only two dead and 52 wounded and the next day they relieved Pearson's men. They evacuated Eshowe on 5 April after which the Zulu forces burned it down. Second invasion The new start of the larger, heavily reinforced second invasion[o] was not promising for the British. Despite their successes at Kambula, Gingindlovu and Eshowe, they were right back where they had started from at the beginning of January. Nevertheless, Chelmsford had a pressing reason to proceed with haste – Sir Garnet Wolseley was being sent to replace him, and he wanted to inflict a decisive defeat on Cetshwayo's forces before then. With yet more reinforcements arriving, soon to total 16,000 British and 7,000 Native troops, Chelmsford reorganised his forces and again advanced into Zululand in June, this time with extreme caution building fortified camps all along the way to prevent any repeat of Isandlwana. One of the early British casualties was the exiled pretender to the French throne, Prince Imperial Eugene Bonaparte , who had volunteered to serve in the British Army and was killed on 1 June while out with a reconnoitering party. Cetshwayo, knowing that the newly reinforced British would be a formidable opponent, attempted to negotiate a peace treaty. Chelmsford was not open to negotiations, as he wished to restore his reputation before Wolseley relieved him of command, and he proceeded to the royal kraal of Ulundi, intending to defeat the main Zulu army. On 4 July, the armies clashed at the Battle of Ulundi , and Cetshwayo's forces were decisively defeated. Aftermath Main article: Military history of South Africa After the battle of Ulundi, the Zulu army dispersed, most of the leading chiefs tendered their submission, and Cetshwayo became a fugitive. Wolseley, having relieved Chelmsford after Ulundi, took over the final operations. On 28 August the king was captured and sent to Cape Town . It is said that scouts spotted the water-carriers of the king, distinctive because the water was carried above, not upon, their heads. His deposition was formally announced to the Zulu. Wolseley wasted no time in discarding Bartle Frere's confederation scheme and drew up a new scheme which divided Zululand into thirteen chiefdoms headed by compliant chiefs which ensured that the Zulus would no longer unite under a single king and made internal divisions and civil wars inevitable. The dynasty of Shaka was deposed, and the Zulu country portioned among eleven Zulu chiefs, including Zibhebhu , John Robert Dunn , a white adventurer, and Hlubi, a Basuto chief allied to the British in the war. Chelmsford received a Knight Grand Cross of Bath, largely because of Ulundi. However, he was severely criticized by the Horse Guards investigation[39] and would never serve in the field again.[40] Bartle Frere was relegated to a minor post in Cape Town . Following the conclusion of the Anglo-Zulu War, Bishop Colenso interceded on behalf of Cetshwayo with the British government and succeeded in getting him released from Robben Island and returned to Zululand in 1883. A Resident (Melmoth Osborn ) was appointed to be the channel of communication between the chiefs and the British government. This arrangement led to much bloodshed and disturbance, and in 1882 the British government determined to restore Cetshwayo to power. In the meantime, however, blood feuds had been engendered between the chiefs Usibepu (Zibebu) and Hamu on the one side and the tribes who supported the ex-king and his family on the other. Cetshwayo's party (who now became known as the Usuthu) suffered severely at the hands of the two chiefs, who were aided by a band of white freebooters . When Cetshwayo was restored Usibepu was left in possession of his territory, while Dunn's land and that of the Basuto chief (the country between the Tugela River and the Umhlatuzi, i.e., adjoining Natal) was constituted a reserve, in which locations were to be provided for Zulu unwilling to serve the restored king. This new arrangement proved as futile as had Wolseley's. Usibepu, having created a formidable force of well-armed and trained warriors, and being left in independence on the borders of Cetshwayo's territory, viewed with displeasure the re-installation of his former king, and Cetshwayo was desirous of humbling his relative. A collision very soon took place; Usibepu's forces were victorious, and on 22 July 1883, led by a troop of mounted Boer mercenary troops, he made a sudden descent upon Cetshwayo's kraal at Ulundi, which he destroyed, massacring such of the inmates of both sexes as could not save themselves by flight. The king escaped, though wounded, into Nkandla forest. After appeals to Melmoth Osborn he moved to Eshowe , where he died soon after. Because of the unusually high amount of casualties the British suffered as a result of combat, especially given that they were facing a preindustrial enemy that was considered racially inferior, the British war effort was widely seen as a poor showing.[citation needed ] British casualties resulting from combat were three times higher than those from disease, which was generally a larger killer in British colonial conflicts. Film adaptations Zulu (1964), the Battle at Rorke's Drift. Zulu Dawn (1979), the Battle of Isandlwana. See also Victorian era portal Bambatha Rebellion Colony of Natal First Boer War Military history of South Africa Shaka Zulu Scramble for Africa Kingdom of Zululand The Prince Imperial of France dies in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 The 22-year-old Prince Imperial of France, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Napoleon, who studied in England at the Royal Military Academy and joined the British forces, was killed in the Anglo-Zulu War when he and a British reconnaissance party were attacked by about forty Zulus in the vicinity of Itelezi Mountain and Ityotyozi River in Zululand . The prince's horse, "Fate", bolted and the prince, in attempting to mount his fleeing horse tripped and fell and was speared to death. A memorial, now a historical monument, was erected to him by Queen Victoria at the place where he had been killed. Beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War, 10 January 1879 Muller, C.F.J. (ed)(1981). Five Hundred years: a history of South Africa; 3rd rev. ed., Pretoria: Academica, p. 223.| Giliomee, H & Mbenga, B (2007). New History of South Africa. Tafelberg Publishers, Cape Town, pg 165. Sir Bartle Frere was appointed British high commissioner to South Africa in 1879 to realise the policy of confederation (policy to bring the various British colonies, Boer republics and independent African groups under common control, with a view to implementing a policy of economic development). Sir Bartle Frere saw the self-reliant Zulu kingdom as a threat to this policy, a belief supported by Shepstone (Secretary for Native Affairs), who averred that the Zulu people had revived their military power under Cetshwayo , making them more of a threat to peace and prosperity in South Africa. On 11 December 1878, under the flimsy pretext of a few minor border incursions into Natal by Cetshwayo's followers, the Zulu were given an impossible ultimatum that they should disarm and Cetshwayo should forsake his sovereignty. The inevitable invasion of Zululand began after the ultimatum had expired on 10 January 1879. Instead of fragmenting the Zulu as Shepstone predicted, this made the Zulu rally to their king's cause. Many historians mark the 10 January 1879 as the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War , while others claim that the 12 January 1879 (first attack) or the 22 January 1879 (first decisive battle of Isandlwana) marked the beginning of the war. Related links:SAHO feature on the Anglo-Zulu War William Henry Beaumont Synopsis Chairman of the Natives Land Commission, member of the, South African National Party and Judge at the Natal Supreme Court. First name William Last name Beaumont Date of birth 24 February 1851 Location of birth India Date of death c. 1930 William Henry Beaumont was born in India on 24 February 1851. His father was a Lieutenant Colonel of the 23rd Madras Light Infantry. Beaumont attended Sherbourne and Sandhurst Military College and after completing his studies joined the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment. He was commissioned to the rank of Ensign in 1870 and promoted to Lieutenant in 1871. Later that year he arrived in Natal with his regiment. In 1873 he served as a private secretary to the Administrator of Natal, Lt. Col. Thomas Milles. That same year Beaumont became the clerk for the Executive Council and also accompanied the Langalibalele expedition. In 1874 William served as acting magistrate for the uMlazi division, as well as sitting in on the Commission to report on the Civil Service in Pietermaritzburg. However, it was not until 1878 that William began his judicial career in earnest serving as magistrate for the Newcastle division. He left the army in 1875 and briefly went to Ireland before returning to Natal to take up a position as the clerk to the Governor's office and the Executive Council. During the Anglo-Zulu War Beaumont served as District Commandant of the Division of Klip River, and was in charge of an African contingent and a corps of mounted of mounted infantry to defend the border. He was subsequently decorated and thanked for his efforts during the war in January 1879. Around this period he was also leader of the United Rifle Association in Pietermaritzburg. In 1882 Beaumont was appointed to the Sub-Commission in charge of settling claims for compensation after the war. He conducted an investigation into the Umsinga Magistracy in 1884 and the Stanger Magistracy in 1890. That same year he sat on the board of Magistrate Court Rules, followed by the Board to frame Rules and Regulations for the Inferior Courts in 1894. As a result of his work in justice system Beaumont was added as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1894, and two years later (1898) acted as a Puisne Judge. His work particularly in the 1890s spanned to other spheres serving on various boards such as the Board to frame Rules and Regulations for Licensing Board in 1896, the Civil Service Board also in 1896 and the Board of Inquiry into Grievances of Railway Employees three years later in 1909. During the South African War Beaumont was a leader of the United Rifle Association in Pietermaritzburg and arranged for the training and organisation of 1 000 men for defence and was once again thanked and awarded on 25 June 1900. He was also commended for organising the Pietermaritzburg Reserves under the Militia Act. In 1902 he was appointed as a judge for the Natal Supreme Court. He gave testimony before the South African Native Affairs Commission chaired by Godfrey Lagden (subsequently know as the Lagden Commission) in May 1904. When asked whether the amount of land the Africans had was satisfactory, he replied,’ if they began agricultural farming instead of simply subsistence farming it would be.’ William was appointed to hold an inquiry into charges made by the Bishop of Zululand against Royston’s Horse in connection with the shooting of five African people in 1906. The Bishop alleged that soldiers under Col. Royston shot and killed five African people in cold blood while Royston claimed those who were shot were prisoners trying to escape and therefore the shooting was justified. The following year in 1907, Beaumont was acted as Administrator of Natal. On 11 February, 1907, he was commended for having organized the Pietermaritzburg Reserves under the Militia Act. William also performed duties as acting chief justice and magistrate of Natal in 1909. After the formation of the Union of South Africa, Beaumont became part of the Delimitation Commission to delimit the electoral constituencies of the first union parliament. He retired from bench in 1910 but still remained in prominent in public affairs matters and was an ardent supporter of General Botha. When Botha contested the 1910 elections, he had done so without forming a nationwide political party to placate English-speaking South Africans. After winning the elections Botha worked on forming a political party and looked to Natal for support. Beaumont became active in canvassing support for Botha arguing that Botha would be able to close the divide between English and Afrikaans speaking South Africans. He became one of the representatives from Natal to be invited to attend the Congress in Bloemfontein which resulted in the formation of the South African National Party (SANP). During the Congress in Bloemfontein Beaumont was elected to a Sub-Committee tasked with drafting the South African Nationalist Party’s constitution. After the Congress he became chairman of a provisional committee which was established by the party in Natal. In September 1912 he presided over a meeting that resulted in the formation of two branches of the SANP in, one for Pietermaritzburg North and other for Pietermaritzburg South. A few days later he addressed the electorate in the Umvoti Country Division on issues related to the constitution of the party. He also played a major role in the formation of the party in Durban in 1913. Beaumont was appointed as chairman of the Natives Land Commission (which subsequently became known as the Beaumont Commission) by General Botha. The commission was tasked with finding land and defining boundaries for territorial segregation between black and white people. In March 1916 the Commission submitted its report outlining boundaries and recommending which areas were to be allocated to white people and which ones were to be allocated to black people. King Dinuzulu Synopsis King of the Zulu. First name Dinuzulu Last name Dinuzulu Date of birth 1868 Date of death 18 October 1913 Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo succeeded Cetshwayo as king of the Zulu nation in 1884. At the time, Zululand was experiencing a process of national disintegration. After the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, Sir Garnet Wolseley, British administrator of Natal, had imposed a different political arrangement on the Zulu people. He banished Cetshwayo and divided Zululand into thirteen separate territories, each under an appointed chief. uSuthu royalists opposed the appointed chiefs. They deeply resented that the royal household had been placed under the authority of Cetshwayo's greatest enemy, Chief Zibhebhu of the Mandlakazi. These events deeply divided the country, and many view it as the origins of the Zulu civil war. Cetshwayo's brothers, who acted as councillors in the king's absence, complained about Zibhebhu's endeavours to increase his wealth and status and pleaded for Cetshwayo's return to Zululand. Civil war continued after Cetshwayo returned from exile in 1879 with Cetshwayo's supporters raiding the homesteads of their opponents. On 30 March and again on 21 July 1883, Zibhebhu mustered his regiments. They utterly defeated Cetshwayo, who fled into the Nkandla forest, and then to Eshowe. On 8 February 1884, Cetshwayo died suddenly, possibly of poisoning. Thereafter, Zibhebhu's supporters dominated the northern districts, attacking those they suspected of royalist sympathies. The lawful successor, Dinuzulu, was only fifteen and so too young to assume political responsibilities. Moreover, his uncles feared for his life, so they took him to a safe place in the Transvaal. Early in 1884, they turned to a group of Boers on the Transvaal border to aid them in ensuring the succession and survival of the royal lineage. On 5 July 1884, the uSuthu, supported by a hundred mounted Boers, defeated Zibhebhu at Entshaneni in the Lebombo Mountains. In return for their assistance, the Boers received 800 farms, comprising 1,355,000 morgen (more than 4,000 square miles). However, Britain intervened, blocking the Boers from the sea and reducing their territory. Dinuzulu appealed to the British for intervention but he was reluctant to resign himself to annexation. On 14 May 1887, the British annexed Zululand and the Zulu Reserve, extending the Native Law of Natal to the whole country. The Governor of Natal was to rule by proclamation; but it is clear that Dinuzulu regarded his status under the protectorate as unchanged. The Zulu people continued to look to the royal house for assistance, inspiration, and leadership. White magistrates made every effort to reduce the authority of the royal house but the uSuthu leaders were not submissive. Dinuzulu ignored the magistrates who summoned him and fined him for continuing to administer the affairs of the nation as if his authority was supreme. The Governor allowed Zibhebhu to return to his old lands because he hoped that this would throw the balance of power into the hands of the Natal Government. Zibhebhu immediately drove the uSuthu supporters in his territory to flight. With this Dinuzulu openly rebelled. In June 1888, he led an attack on the Mandlakazi and defeated them at Nongoma. Pursued by British troops, he escaped to the Transvaal where he evaded capture for three months. In 1889, a court ”” the impartiality of which was in doubt ”” found Dinuzulu and his two uncles, Ndabuko and Shingana, guilty of high treason and exiled them to the island of St Helena. In 1897, Zululand was formally incorporated into Natal and in the next few years, much of it was opened to white settlement. Dinuzulu was released and installed as 'Government Induna' in 1898. During 1906, Dinuzulu became implicated in the rebellion of a minor chief, Bambatha, who refused to pay the poll tax introduced by the Natal Government. The Zulus, who continued to regard Dinuzulu as king, turned to him for support, as did the Natal Government, expecting him as ‘Government Induna' to deal severely with the disturbances. When Dinuzulu did not, he was arrested in 1909, and accused of harbouring rebels. In spite of the famous defence by former Cape premier, W P Schreiner, Dinuzulu was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Seven years of internecine strife sapped the Zulu nation of its strength and self-sufficiency and European encroachment on every side deprived them of much of their land. By 1894, Zululand had become one of the main sources of labour supply on the Witwatersrand. General Louis Botha believed that Dinuzulu did not have a fair trial. When he became Prime Minister of South Africa in 1910, one of the first things he did was to order Dinuzulu's release. He granted him a farm near Middelburg, Transvaal, to which the King of the Zulus retired. He died in 1913. Dinuzulu's son, Mshiyeni, succeeded to the paramountcy and although the white authorities viewed this as an honorific title, nonetheless, the House of Shaka remained deeply revered as paramount in Natal and Zululand. Rorke's Drift, Museum Rorke's Drift, situated 46 km South East of Dundee; on the Battlefields Route. Is the site of one of the most famous battles of the Anglo-Zulu War! In 1847, an Irishman named; Jim Rorke, bought some Land alongside a Fjord, in the Buffalo River. This was the boundary between what Britain controlled the Natal Province and the Zulu Kingdom- (a State which was founded by King Shaka Zulu). Just up from the Fjord, Rorke built a typical frontier home, comprising of two long single-storey stone Buildings with thatched roofs. These original Buildings at Rorke’s Drift were destroyed after the Anglo Zulu War. A Museum stands there today, modest though it is. Fascinating artifacts are presented, which record of the events of the War where; 140 British 'Redcoats' fought off an attack from about 4,000 Zulu warriors! From here, he hunted and traded with the locals, both the white settlers and native Zulus. He became a popular figure. colonists would buy from his stores or take a drink in his simple café. With the Zulus he would trade blankets, beads, gin, and the occasional illegal rifle, usually bartering them, for cattle. To the Zulus. His trading centre became; 'kwaJim'- (Jim’s Place) but to the settlers, it was known simply as Rorke’s Drift. Jim Rorke died in the mid-1870s; Otto de Witt, a Swedish missionary acquired the property in what was now becoming a tense border Region. It was from the adjacent fjord that British forces, under Lord Chelmsford, launched their invasion of Zululand on 11 January 1879. The Trading Post became a temporary Field Hospital and was itself the site of a battle on the late afternoon and evening of 22 January. A few hours earlier, Zulu warriors had massacred 1,400 British and native troops, at nearby Isandlwana. References https://the-past.com/review/museum/rorkes-drift-museum/ https://www.tripsavvy.com/rorkes-drift-south-africa-the-complete-guide-4770762 https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Zulu_Kingdom https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/fjord https://www.places.co.za/info/tourist-attraction/rorkesdrift.html Further Reading https://www.tripsavvy.com/rorkes-drift-south-africa-the-complete-guide-4770762 https://the-past.com/review/museum/rorkes-drift-museum/ Cetshwayo, travels to London to request that he should be restored as a king of the Zulu Kingdom 14 August 1882 References Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.| South African History Online, Anglo- Zulu Wars 1879-1896 , [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za , [Accessed: 16 August 2013]| South African History Online, Chief Cetshwayo , [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za , [Accessed: 16 August 2013]| Ladysmith History, Ladysmith History & the Boer War , [online], Available at www.ladysmithhistory.com , [Accessed: 16 August 2013] On 14 August 1882 Cetewayo (Cetshwayo), king of Zululand, visited Queen Victoria of Britain. Prior to his visit to Britain, he was exiled to the Cape after losing the crucial Battle of Ulundi, during the Anglo Zulu War against Sir Frere and his men. Cetshwayo undertook the trip to request that he should be restored as a king of the Zulu Kingdom. He also vowed not to go to war with the British again. The Queen granted him his request and allowed him to return to South Africa to be a ruler of a small portion of the Zulu Kingdom. However, on his return, a Civil War had erupted in the Zulu Kingdom and he was forced to flee to Eshowe, where he died in 1884. Read more about the Anglo-Zulu Wars The Battle of Ulundi begins 4 July 1879 References Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.|Pakenham, T. (1991). The Scramble for Africa 1879-1912, Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball.|Hermann Giliomee and Bernard Mbenga (2007). New History of South Africa. Tafelberg Publishers, Cape Town, pg 165.|The Battle of Ulundi. Website: britishbattles.com https://www.southafricaholiday.org.uk/history/hist_ulundi.htm The Battle of Ulundi was the decisive battle during the Anglo-Zulu War. It took place on the 4th July 1879 and marked the end of the Anglo-Zulu War, as well as the breakup of the Zulu nation. In July, Lord Chelmsford (British Commander) moved on Ndini, and in a final onslaught, known as the battle of Ulundi, secured military success against the Zulu nation. More than 1 000 Zulu were killed and King Cetshwayo (King of the Zulus) was forced to flee for safety. He was captured in the Ngome forest in August and exiled to Robben Island next to Cape Town. The British casualties were said to be 3 officers and 79 men. Read more on the Zulu community. Zulu army defeat British Army at the Isandlwana Mountain Boddy-Evans, A., (2011), ‘This Day in African History’ , from African History Guide, [online], Available at www.africanhistory.about.com [Accessed: 07 December 2011]|Drakensberg Tourism, ‘Isandlwana - To brave men on both sides’ , from Drakensberg Tourism, [online], Available at www.drakensberg-tourism.com [Accessed: 07 December 2011] On 22 January 1879, the British Army suffered its greatest defeat in Africa when 24,000 Zulu soldiers overran a British camp of 1 800 near Isandlwana Mountain. Over 1 300 of the British force were killed with over 1 000 Zulu casualties.The battle, which lasted for almost four hours, began around 11:h00 am and was a decisive victory for the Zulu kingdom, led by King Cetshwayo The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 ended on July 4 at the last ritual battle of Ulundi where the old Zulu order was dismantled forever and King Cetshwayo sent into exile. Conflict continued until 1896 between the fragments of the Zulu kingdom, the Transvaal and the British. The battlefield of Isandlwana became a site of commeration in later years. Related events: 17 January 1879 - Battle of Isandlwana 20 January 1879 - British troops establish their camp at Isandlwana 23 January 1879 - The British successfully thwart the Zulu attack at Rorke's Drift. Old Court House, Victoria Embankment, Durban The building was designed by architect Stanley Hudson and was erected in 1911 as the Old Court House, and is the oldest public building in the central business district. It was loop-holed during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. It bore witness to both the South African Wars and the Bhambatha Uprising. More recently, it also served as a canteen and recruitment centre during the two World Wars and then later as a library, before being converted into Durban’s biggest history museum. It boasts two floors of exhibition space depicting aspects of the region’s early history. Visit the Old Court House Museum, just a stone’s throw from the City Hall, where the background and development of Natal’s multi-cultural heritage converge. The exhibitions are both conventional and exploratory while the exhibits are arranged thematically. This is the resource centre for the Local History Museums. Should you be seeking a more in-depth perspective of Durban’s history you are invited to visit the enquiry section to view photographs and documents in the comfort of our study area. Our archives are open to learners, academics and the general public for research purposes. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on the 22 August 1980! References https://durbanhistorymuseums.org.za/old-court-house-museum/ Further Reading https://unimelb.libguides.com/c.php?g=929734&p=6718215#:~:text=The%20Republic%20of%20South%20Africa,law%20and%20religious%20personal%20law. Melmoth, Gateway to Zululand Melmoth, known as the gateway to the Zulu Highlands, is a picturesque, little Town just 200 km North East of Durban and 90 km from the Coastal Town of Mtunzini. Referred to, in the SA edition of Trivial Pursuit, as having the cleanest air in the country, Melmoth was a ‘gold rush ’ town, founded in 1888 and named after Sir Melmoth Osborn, the resident commissioner of Zululand at the time. Melmoth is essentially regarded as a good base for travelers wanting to visit places of interest close to the Town, all with an hour’s drive. uMgungundlovu is the historic royal homestead of Dingaan and where Piet Retief and his party of Boer commandos were executed and Ulundi, the Capital of Zululand , is the Site of the last battle of the Anglo Zulu War. The Matatane Crocodile Ranch, on the banks of the White Umfolozi River , is a popular place for hikers and those wanting to experience crocodiles first hand, particularly as lion cubs have recently been introduced. Interestingly, Ntingwe Tea Plantations produce some of South Africa’s finest teas, solely for export, but the plantation is found in this remote corner of KwaZulu Natal . Regarded as lighter than other African teas, such as those produced in Kenya, Ntingwe has gained an excellent reputation in the international market and is retailed as a breakfast or afternoon refreshment. It was established in 1987 and is the single biggest employer and source of financial stability in the Region. Nkandla Forest is about 68 km from Melmoth. Throughout Zulu History it has been regarded as a place of mystery and the supernatural and the Chube, iron-workers associated with the Nkandla area, were never conquered by Shaka . The forest is a rare example of high wet rain forest, one of very few surviving examples and remnants of a time when the climate was wetter and colder. It is also one of the best examples of surviving mist belt forest in South Africa. Steams that rise in the Forest form deep gorges leading into the Nsuze River, running along the base of the ridge. To visit the Forest one needs permission from the Officer in Charge, as there are no visitor facilities available yet. References https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionskzn/melmoth.php Further Reading https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/mpumalanga/rainbow-route/ https://www.zulu.org.za/destinations/zululand/melmoth https://www.afristay.com/a/melmoth/ https://www.places.co.za/accommodation/golf-view-lodge-melmoth.html http://www.zululand.org.za/home.aspx https://www.zulu.org.za/places-to-go/zululand/nyezane-battlefield-P55533 Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory South African History Online, ‘Anglo-Zulu Wars 1879-1896’ , [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 4 September 2013)| Dinge & Goete, ‘This Day in History: Sep 28, 1843: Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory’ , [online], available at https://dingeengoete.blogspot.com (Accessed: 4 September 2013)| Everything, (2003), ‘British empire’ , 23 May [online], available at https://everything2.com (Accessed: 4 September 2013) British forces under Governor Sir George Napier took over Natal and proclaimed it a British Colony. A year later the colony was put under the Cape Colony administration. However, it was not until the end of 1845 that an effective administration was installed with Mr Martin West as lieutenant-governor that the power of the volksraad finally came to an end. In the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 the British defeated the Zulus under the command of chief Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza and Mavu-mengwana kaNdlela Ntuli. The Zululand was annexed to Natal in 1897. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE