Welcome to South Africa

Discover: Algeria | Egypt | Ethiopia | Morocco | South Africa | Tunisia

 

Description

South Africa contains some of the oldest and most beautiful archaeological sites in Africa.South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its long coastline stretching more than 2 500km from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then north to the border with subtropical Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment that separates it from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment..

The eastern coastline is lush and well watered, a stranger to frost. The southern coast, part of which is known as the Garden Route, is rather less tropical but also green, as is the Cape of Good Hope - the latter especially in winter. This south-western corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and hot, dry summers. Its most famous climatic characteristic is its wind, which blows intermittently virtually all year round, either from the south-east or the north-west.

Climate

South Africa stretches between the 22nd and 34th degrees of southern latitude and hence is part of the subtropical zone. Compared to other regions at that latitude, temperatures in many areas of South Africa are rather lower. The cold Benguela current causes moderate temperatures on the West Coast, and on the central plateau the altitude (Jo'burg lies at 1753m) keeps the average temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius. In winter, also due to altitude, temperatures drop to the freezing point, and in places even lower. Then it is warmest in the coastal regions. Precipitation is to be expected mainly in the summer months, with the exception of the Western Cape which is a winter-rain area. For your tour planning keep in mind that the seasons in the southern hemisphere stand in direct opposition to those of the northern hemisphere.

 

Population

South Africa is a nation of over 47-million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages and beliefs. According to the mid-2007 estimates from Statistics South Africa, the country's population stands at some 47.9-million, up from the census 2001 count of 44.8-million.