If you like observing birds – South Africa is for you.
I saw many kinds of birds in South Africa, big and small ones, raptors, flamingos, penguins, ostrich, etc.
For the first time in my life, I met there a beautiful African spoonbill (today’s photo).
There are a few kinds of spoonbills living in different places in the world. All of them have large, flat bills – what makes them look very unique and kind of cute. 🙂
Have you ever seen a spoonbill, or maybe they live in your area?
The Garden Route National Park is another area I had a chance to visit in South Africa.
It consists of a few beautiful parks, like the Knysna National Lake Area, Tsitsikamma National Park, Wilderness National Park, Soetkraal Wilderness and Conservation Area, and the Robberg and Goukamma Nature Reserves.
Is it worth visiting?
-Absolutely!
(It’s not a “wild Africa”, but it’s a truly lovely area!)
Zebras are very common animals in Africa; because of that, many people are not so impressed by seeing them. However, I love their pattern and I’m excited, each time while seeing them.
Aren’t “painted horses” adorable? 😀
In Addo Elephant National Park, I saw plenty of large African elephants. My camera stayed quite busy there and for sure, I took too many pictures of elephants. 🙂 It was very nice to observe them there, especially their social life!
I think, observing wild animals is always a great experience.
If you love elephants or you’re just nearby Port Elizabeth in South Africa – visit Addo Elephant National Park.
As the park’s name says, you can easily see there elephants, elephants, and elephants. It’s also very likely to spot e.g., Cape buffalo, zebra, warthog and red hartebeest. When you look careful, you may see the flightless dung beetle; and if you’re lucky you may even spot a lion!
(I wasn’t that lucky in Addo Elephant National Park, but still, I had a very nice day.)
African penguins can be seen in a few places in South Africa (in wild). The best known is Boulders Beach (Boulders Bay) located nearby Cape Town.
You may wonder, how can it be that penguins live in a hot place like Africa. Well, more important for penguins is the ocean temperature and the amount of penguin’s favorite food.
Unfortunately, the population of African penguins is decreasing. 🙁
If you want to learn something about these cute penguins or maybe adopt one (!) – check the website of the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB).
Table Mountain (1084.6 m) is an iconic site of Cape Town.
You can hike to the top or take a cable car (hiking is not the best option when it’s very hot…).
Table Mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. It’s a lovely area! Other famous sites, e.g., Boulders Beach, Cape Point, or the Cape of Good Hope, also belong to the Table Mountain National Park; so it’s definitely a place you have to visit while being in Cape Town!
Besides the scenic views, it’s likely to meet variety of wild animals, e.g., baboons, ostrich, penguins, and more.
I think, many tourists fly to Johannesburg and then they visit the Kruger National Park. I haven’t been to that part of South Africa, yet. I took a flight to Cape Town, because my friends lived there that time. I wasn’t really impressed by the city, but I loved the region! Mountains, coast, ocean, penguins, etc., – stunning nature! I can definitely recommend you the Western Cape province.
Do you know what’s the capital of South Africa?
Well, it’s a bit tricky question.
My answer is Pretoria, but in fact, South Africa has three capitals:
-Pretoria (executive)
-Bloemfontein (judicial)
-Cape Town (legislative)
p.s. I have no picture from Pretoria – so I’m showing you today a random nature photo. 🙂
South Africa is a popular tourist destination. However, a safety may be an issue here… Some parts of South Africa are quite safe, but others can be very dangerous – so be careful!
I didn’t have any problems in South Africa, but heard different stories from tourists as well from locals…
Anyway, the nature is really impressive in South Africa!
Do you like drinking wine? South Africa is one of the big producers of wine.
Many grapes grown in Stellenbosch and the nearby area; and they are mostly used for wine production.
If you don’t drink wine, just visit the region to see lovely wineries and vineyards.
If you’re not lucky to spot all members of the Big Five, you can try to search for the “Ugly Five”. 😉
The Ugly Five is considered as the ugliest animals found in Africa. Well, obviously they are not extra pretty, but searching for them and observing their behavior is also nice!
Ugly Five animals are:
-hyena
-marabou stork
-warthog
-wildebeest
-vulture.
“Big Five” refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt (so-called “big five game”). This name was also adopted by wildlife guides, so tourists often talk about “big five” meaning 5 big animals they hope to see. Of course, I just wanted to see the animals, not hunt them!
Big five animals are:
-African lion
-African elephant
-Cape buffalo
-African leopard
-rhinoceros.
Nature is usually a reason for visiting South Africa, and it’s the perfect reason! 🙂
Stunning landscapes, plenty of animals and plants – a paradise for nature lovers. 🙂
While entering national parks in South Africa, you get kind of leaflet/map with information about wildlife in a given area. There are pictures and names of animals and plants, so you know what you can find there and then better remember everything. That’s a great thing! 🙂
If you search for wonderful landscapes – visit South Africa!
You’ll find so many stunning places in South Africa, i.e., mountains, desert, plateau, 2 oceans (Indian and Atlantic), and many more. 🙂
Afrikaans is one of the official languages of South Africa.
Afrikaans was derived from Dutch spoken by Dutch settlers in the period of Dutch colonization of South Africa. The majority of words of Afrikaans are of Dutch origin, however you can find there some words from other languages as well. Sometimes, the language is called as “African Dutch”.
I was asking a few people from South Africa about understanding Dutch and similarities between Dutch and Afrikaans – so the answers weren’t so clear; I think, with small problems, people speaking Dutch and Afrikaans can understand each others.
There are 11 official languages in South Africa! I already mentioned two of them: Afrikaans (developed from Dutch) and English (as a legacy of British colonization). However, Zulu is the most common language spoken in South Africa.
Many years ago, a friend told me a story about South Africa, that was hard to believe in. To make it short, it was about men raping babies and small children (virgins) to be cured for AIDS or to prevent from getting AIDS. It sounds like a horror, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, this kind of sexual violence is quite common, because many people have these false beliefs about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. I feel speechless how horrible it is… And, it actually spreads the disease even more…
HIV and AIDS are huge problems in South Africa. And sadly, there are probably more people with HIV and AIDS in South Africa than in any other country in the world.
The mining sector is very important in South Africa. Diamonds and gold made South Africa a rich country. However, everything has its own price…
I’ll quote this short text from Wikipedia and leave it without a comment:
“The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversy such as concerns over the sale of blood diamonds or conflict diamonds by African paramilitary groups. The diamond supply chain is controlled by a limited number of powerful businesses, and is also highly concentrated in a small number of locations around the world.”
If you haven’t watched it yet, I can recommend here a movie from 2006 – Blood Diamond.
I wanted to write a few words about Nelson Mandela, because he was a very important person (“a hero”) in a recent history of South Africa. However, it’s quite a difficult task, so I’ll just mention some facts.
-Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a first black President of South Africa.
(Doesn’t it sound strange in an African country?)
-He was a president from 1994 to 1999.
-Mandela was against apartheid.
-He spent 27 years in prison!
-Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
-He died in 2013.
p.s. As you may realized, I put a “random” picture when I don’t have any appropriate one. Hopefully, you don’t mind it! (On the other hand, sometimes I have something particular in mind, e.g., “orange” animal in a post about Dutch Colonization or here a lighthouse while thinking about “bright” future, etc.)