South Africa Story Part Two About SA Cape Town Johannesburg Kagga Kamma Mpumalanga Adventures Attractions Airlines Background Culture Did You Know? Dining Festivals Flying Times Golfing Government Hotels, Resorts Indaba Love Notes Map Railways Safety Retosa Shopping Wine Country Wine Tours

Did you know ...? • South Africa has the oldest wine industry outside of Europe and the Mediterranean, featuring Chardonnays, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cinsault, Riesling, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Caberbet Sauvignon and Pinotage varietals. • South Africa has been called "the Rainbow Nation. • South Africa ranks amongst the world's top 25 trading nations and largest producers of gold, diamonds and other minerals. The world's largest uncut diamond was found at Kimberley in 1974. • South Africa's past President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island near Cape Town. His greatest pleasure, his most private moment, is watching the sun set with the music of Handel or Tchaikovsky playing. Locked up in his cell during daylight hours, deprived of music, both these simple pleasures were denied him for decades. • South Africa has a large population, however it is clustered in a few principal cities, with vast areas having a low population density. • South Africa's national flower is the protea, which has a spiky bloom that can grow up to 1 foot (30 cm) wide. • South Africa has a penguin colony, which thrives thanks to the cold Antarctic currents on the west coast near the Cape. • Culturally, the Zulu, Ndebele and Xhosa belong to the 'Nguni' racial group, with similar languages. However, these 3 groups have been involved in some of South Africa's longest lasting conflicts. • In 1990, President F.W. De Klerk's history making speech in Parliament repudiating the concept of apartheid, opened the road to freedom, pledging to work towards a truly democratic society. • Cape Town is called the Mother City. Framed by the panorama of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, it is Southern Africa's most visited destination. • Cape Town's famous Table Mountain was first floodlit in 1947 to make the Royal Visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. • South Africa's famous Cango Caves are in the Karoo. a semi-arid area which means "dry" or "bitter" in the Hottentot language. • South Africa's Cape of Good Hope is linked historically with trade rivalries, loose alliances and ongoing wars between the the Dutch, Portuguese, French and English seeking a sea route to India. • When the first Dutch settlers landed at the Cape of Good Hope, (1650s) the resulting settlement and expansion led to far-reaching consequences which affected the entire subcontinent.   Much more to come. Notes: - The rich diamond mines of Kimberley and gold discoveries on the Witwatersrand, changed South Africa virtually overnight, from a backward area into one of the world's richest countries. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu's racial harmony message was, " Let us be channels of love, of peace, of reconciliation. Let us declare that we have been made for family, that, yes, now we are free, all of us, black and white together, we, the Rainbow People of God." - The word Apartheid" stands for segregation of various races and separate development programs. Apartheid's core policy was created by British policies of the early 1900s. - Much of South Africa's territory, beyond the metropolitan areas, seems almost empty. For example, great stretches of the Kalahari are virtually uninhabitable. Grazing lands and farms in the Karoo and Free State occupy vast areas. Settlements are spread sparsely along the watercourses. Photos at top of page courtesy of Sellwyn Davidowitz, Tour Operator, I Love Capetown