Capital - Pretoria (official); Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean on the south and east. South Africa's population of forty million is three-quarters black (African) and about 15% white (European), with the remaining 10% comprised of people of mixed white, Malayan, and black descent and people of Asian (mostly Indian) descent.
South Africa is one of the most geographically varied countries of the African continent, comprising territory that ranges from the rolling, fertile plains of the highveld and the wide open savanna of the Eastern Transvaal to the Kalahari desert and the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains. While all of its diverse regions offer ample opportunities for adventure travel, the focus in South Africa--as in much of sub-Saharan Africa--is the safari. In addition to possessing two of the world's most renowned wildlife reserves, the Kruger and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks, the country contains over a dozen smaller regional parks and reserves. In addition, with its excellent road and rail systems, its abundance of top-rated accommodations, and its bountiful farmlands and vineyards, South Africa allows visitors ample opportunity for more luxurious comfort along with adventuresome excitement.
Some Major Tourist Attractions
KrugerNational Park
Stretching over 350 miles from north to south, and teeming with wildlife, Kruger National Park is justly rated as one of the world's finest game reserves. Kruger is home to more species of wildlife than any other game sanctuary on the continent, and is one of Africa's few remaining havens for big cats. Well over a thousand lions, and large populations of leopard and cheetah, roam freely here, along with substantial numbers of elephant, zebra, rhino, giraffe, hippopotamus, impala, and kudu--more than enough to satisfy even the most shutter-happy photographer. Kruger is also--like South Africa as a whole--an outstanding destination for birdwatchers, offering a scarcely believable diversity and abundance of species.
KalahariGemsbokNational Park
More remote and rugged than Kruger, the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park is situated at the southern extremity of one of the world's great desert regions--the Kalahari. Despite the relative absence of lush vegetation, the park abounds in wildife, including impressively large herds of springbok, gemsbok, eland, and wildebeest. Unsurprisingly, these herds also attract another expected visitor: the Kalahari lion. Visitors to the Kalahari may have to make do without the luxurious accommodations of the Kruger's surrounding private reserves, but for the hardier traveller Kalahari Gemsbok can be a destination of unparalleled grandeur.
Canoeing the Orange River
The great Orange River originates in the Lesotho highlands, where it begins a long, meandering sweep westward across center of the country. By the time it reaches the Atlantic Ocean on the Namibian border, it has travelled 2,340 kilometers. Wide and gentle, with just enough rapids to get the heart beating, it is ideal for canoe safaris.
KGALAGADITRANSFRONTIERPARK
Since 1948 South Africa and Botswana have co-operated in the management of two adjacent Kalahari parks. In 1999 the first cross-border collaboration of its kind united the two parks into one under the name, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
AUGRABIES FALLS NATIONAL PARK
The Kalahari sands of the Northern Cape are transformed by the mighty Orange River, which brings life to South Africa's hottest driest area. Along its banks vineyards thrive and soft fruits like peaches and apricots grow willingly. The National Park is well organised and well visited, with several driving and walking trails offering viewpoints over various sections of the river.
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