South Africa - Południowa Afryka

South Africa

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Main information
Capital city	Pretoria, new name Tshwane
Political system	Republic
Currency	Rand (ZAR) or (R)
Surface	together: 1,219,912 km² land: 1,219,912 km² water: 0 km²
Population	59 622 350

religion	Christianity (approx. 70%) - mainly Protestantism Local religions are also practiced, with a centuries-old tradition, often combining animistic threads of folk beliefs with Christian ones. About 1% of the population professes Islam.

Code	27
Internet domain	.what for
Time zone	UTC 2↗, UTC 03:00↗,?↗

South Africa (South Africa, in short South Africa, eng. Republic of South Africa) - a country located at the southern tip of the continent African. It borders on the north with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique and z Lesotho, an enclave located inside the territory of South Africa. The west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean, and the east on the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

Characteristic

South Africa is a large country with very diverse landscapes and many contrasts, it has 11 official languages, which, as you can guess, are spoken by people with very different cultural backgrounds. South Africa is the richest African country with a strong economy driven by the mining of gold and diamonds.

Geography

The country's topography is dominated by a vast plateau with an average altitude of 1,500 m above sea level, known as the High Weld. In the northwest it turns into the semi-arid Kalahari plain, and in the east into the Low Weld. The natural border between the welds is Urwisko Gór Smoczych.

fauna and Flora

Climate

South Africa is one of the arid regions. Annual rainfall is less than 500 mm in two-thirds of the country. Inland, it only rains during the summer months, that is, from November to April. They are usually short but heavy showers. The sun's rays heat the coast 300 hours longer than in the Canary Islands, so you can go here at any time of the year. In the Western Cape, the rainfall period is winter (June to September).

The Eastern Cape Province has a varied climate that reflects the geographic diversity of the region. There is a temperate climate on the coast, heavy rains fall in the mountains and snow in winter, while on the outskirts of Karoo there is little rainfall. Average temperatures in East London and Port Elizabeth range from 26 ° C in summer to 21 ° C in winter (June - August). In the hinterland of Karo, the temperature drops to –6 ° C in winter, and even to 40 ° C in summer.

In Kwa Zulu-Natal much of the coast is warm all year round. The same applies to the water in the sea, heated by the Agulhas current (Cape Needle Current). Durban has as many as 230 sunny days a year. In summer, when the temperature regularly exceeds 30 degrees, heat and high air humidity can be tiring for people. It is just as warm in many parts of the interior of the country, but sudden and violent storms often occur in the afternoons, especially in the Drakensberg Mountains and in the hills around Eshowe. In winter, snowfall occurs in the highest parts of the mountains.

The Free State is the coldest province of South Africa. In winter, the temperature can drop as low as –8 ° C. During the day it is dry and sunny here. There are showers here from October to April. Every winter, quite heavy snowfall strikes the areas at the foot of the Maluti Mountains, near the Golden Gate National Park (Eastern Highlands).

Most of the Gauteng Province is located at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level, thanks to which there is a cool wind here that reduces the nuisance of heat. In summer, both Johannesburg and Pretoria can be hot. Heavy storms and frequent hailstorms only occur in summer. Winters tend to be cold, there are frosts and very rarely snowfall.

In Mpumalanga, the temperature can drop to freezing at night in winter. The days are sunny. In turn, when going to the areas of low Weld, instead of jackets, you need to take a mosquito net and anti-mosquito agents. In summer, the temperature often exceeds 35 ° C, and rainstorms are common.

Limpopo is a hot and dry region. The further north you go, the higher the temperature. It is slightly cooler and wetter in the Soutpansberg area. Fogs and drizzle are common in the gentle hills of the Letaba Valley and the Venda region.

In the Northwestern Province the temperature ranges from 22 ° C to 34 ° C in summer. Winter is characterized by dry and sunny days, cool nights and an average temperature within the limits of 16 ° C (the average daily temperature, however, may be from 2 ° C to 20 ° C). In the summer (August-March) there are short afternoon storms.

The Northern Cape is a land of extreme weather phenomena. It is semi-arid in nature, so in summer the temperature in the Kalahari and Karoo areas often exceeds 40 ° C during the day and drops below freezing at night. Rainfall is very scarce (50-400 mm per year) and occurs mostly in the western part of the province. Thanks to them, thousands of flowers bloom here in Namaqualand in spring. The Oranje flows through the province, the river valleys are fertile, and the region is sometimes purely referred to as the Green Kalahari.

Policy

The head of state and the head of the government of South Africa is the president, elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly. Parliament is the legislature, the National Assembly (400 deputies elected by universal suffrage) and the Senate (90 senators elected by the provincial assembly) President - Jacob Zuma41 South Africa 7.24 Defective democracy Constitutional democracy, bicameralism

An administrative division

Cities

There is no official, administrative definition of a city in South Africa. The largest metropolitan areas are within the boundaries of metropolitan municipalities. Other cities, like rural areas, are divided between district municipalities and then local municipalities.

For statistical purposes, the country has introduced a division of communes into a number of categories reflecting the degree of their urbanization (however, this division is not legally sanctioned). Municipalities dominated by urban development are referred to as "secondary cities", while municipalities with less urbanization but with a clearly visible center located in an urban area are called "large towns". The remaining municipalities fall into the category of "small towns" or "mostly rural".

Society

About 76% of South Africa's population are Bantu peoples, i.e. Zulu (over 27%), Soto (19%), Khosa (12%), Tswana (6%), as well as Bushmen and Hottentots. About 13% of the population are descendants of Dutch settlers (Boers or Afrikaners) as well as British, Jews and Germans. People of Asian descent also live in South Africa, mostly Indians and Chinese.

Traditions

Holidays

January 1, New Year
March 21 Human Rights Day
April 27 Freedom Day
Labor Day on May 1
June 16 Youth Day
August 9 Women's Day
24 September Day of Tradition
December 16 Day of Atonement
December 25 and 26 Christmas
Easter (Good Friday, Sunday and Monday)

Culture and art

Before you go

When to go

A trip to South Africa can be planned at any time of the year. It is best to make the departure date dependent on the destination. Keep in mind that South Africa's seasons are the opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. Winters (from June to September) are dry and cool, so they create good conditions for hiking and easy observation of animals. The vegetation is less lush in winter, which means that animals come to watering places more often. In most of South Africa, the days are cloudless and warm, the nights are cool, sometimes with frosts, so a thick jacket should not be missing in the tourist equipment. In summer, we can expect high temperatures, heavy rain and hail. Along the coast of the Indian Ocean there is a tropical muggy climate with high air humidity.

When planning a travel date, school holidays are more important than the weather. At the turn of December and January, there is a holiday season here, crowds of tourists leave the cities for holidays. It is therefore difficult to find vacancies in hotels. Prices at this time are much higher.

Visas

Polish citizens may enter without visas and stay in the territory of South Africa for up to 30 days. Persons going for a longer stay or for work purposes require a visa, which can be obtained at any South African diplomatic and consular mission abroad. Visas are not issued at the South African border crossing points. Upon entry, the required period of validity of the passport should exceed the period of validity of the visa by at least 6 months. A return ticket is also required.

Customs regulations

Border crossings

The border with Botswana

Skilpadsnek (on the N4 motorway, 54 km from Zeerust) tel. 27 (0) 18 366-1469

Open from 6 to 22.

Border with Lesotho

Maseru Bridge (15 km from Ladybrand, on the N8 highway towards Maseru)

tel. 27 (0) 51 924-4004 Open 24 hours a day.

Ficksburg Bridge (In the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg National Park)

tel. 27 (0) 51 933-2760 Open 24 hours a day.

Sani Pass (In the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg National Park)

tel. 27 (0) 51 430-3664 Open from 8 to 16.

The border with Mozambique

Lebombo (on the N4 highway between Nelspruit and Maputo)

tel. 27 (0) 13 790-7203 Open from 6 to 22.

Kosi Bay (on the R22 between Hluhluwe and Ponta do Ouro)

tel. 27 (0) 35 592-0251 Open from 8 to 16.

Border with Namibia

Nakop (132 km from Upington on the N10 towards Ariamsvlei)

tel. 27 (0) 54 571-0008 Open 24 hours a day.

Vioolsdrift (On the N7 north of Springbok) tel. 27 (0) 27 761-8760

Open 24 hours a day.

Border with Swaziland

Oshoek (120 km from Ermelo on the N17 towards Mbabane)

tel. 27 (0) 17 882-0138 Open from 7 to 22.

Border with Zimbabwe

Beit Bridge (on the N1 about 16 km towards Messina)

tel. 27 (0) 15 530-0070 Open 24 hours a day.

The time of opening the borders is extended during the summer period. For more information on border crossings, please contact the South African Border Information Service by calling: 27 (0) 86 026-7337

Currency exchange

Drive

By plane

By train

By car

South Africa has a very well-developed network of roads and highways. Apart from big cities, there aren't many vehicles on the road. Left-hand traffic applies here.

Many South African drivers cannot read and write, they do not know the basic rules of the road, which is why South Africa has a very large number of road accidents. Over 1,000 people are killed in accidents on South Africa's roads during Christmas and New Year alone.

When driving a car, you have to be careful all the time and take into account that another road user will perform a surprising maneuver. Minibus drivers are particularly notorious in this respect.

The maximum speed on motorways is 120 km / h, 100 km / h on rural roads, 60 km / h in built-up areas. The driver and passengers are obliged to wear seat belts

Car rent

The international networks represented in South Africa include:
Avis Rent-A-Car tel. 0800 (0) 21 111 (free number) www.avis.com,
Europcar 0800 (0) 11 344 (toll free) www.europcar.com
Hertz 0800 (0) 21 515 (toll free) www.hertz.com
People booking flights on local airlines kulula.com they can additionally rent a car at very attractive prices.
Recommendable rentals:
Around About Cars tel 27 (0) 21 422 4022 www.aroundaboutcars.com
Imperial tel. 27 (0) 21 3863 239
Economy Hire (Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay only) Tel. 27 (0) 41 5815826

Caution: You cannot cross the South African border with Zimbabwe and Mozambique in a rented car due to restrictions imposed by insurance companies. To cross the border with Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland, the written consent of the car rental company is required.

Worth seeing

South African National Parks

Objects inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List

In May 2008, there were 851 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 141 countries, of which South Africa has eight. There are 4 cultural heritage sites, 3 natural heritage sites and one cultural and natural heritage site.