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Zebra in Mokala National Park, South Africa

© 123rf.com / Nico Smit

South Africa Travel Guide

Key Facts
Area: 

1,219,912 sq km (471 011 sq miles).

Population: 

49 million (2011).

Population density: 

40.4 per sq km.

Capital: 

Cape Town.

Government: 

Republic. Gained partial independence from the UK in 1910 and was declared a republic in 1961.

Head of state: 

President Jacob Zuma since 2009.

Electricity: 

220/230 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs have three fat round pins.

South Africa is a visually breathtaking land of vast plains, rolling mountains, golden beaches and barren deserts. The rich game viewing is as spectacular and diverse as South African scenery, with everything from plodding elephants to splashing penguins.

South Africa's cities are also enormously varied, with hustling Johannesburg at its heart, and cosmopolitan Cape Town an enclave of European chic at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

In between find safari lands and quaint towns breaking up the Karoo wilderness, while the seaside fun of Durban and scatterings of coastal resorts line the pretty southern Garden Route. Much diversity is also found in South Africa's people, with 11 national languages drawn from its indigenous African population, and a colonialist legacy that brought Afrikaners, English and Indians. It is the plentiful wildlife and accompanying luxurious safari lodges that are South Africa's major draw, with the world-famous Kruger National Park in particular delivering uniquely African sights and memories.

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Click here All Inclusive Summer Holidays with Club Med

Gourmet cuisine, endless fun, lasting memories. Choose Club Med's Dream Destinations this summer.

Click here Even short-haul trips carry risks

Visit your GP surgery/Travel Clinic to stay healthy on holiday. This is an educational initiative from GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health UK/MARK/0207a/10 January 2011

Click here Spot the holiday killer

Protect yourself from malaria. Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone. (An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010) www.malariahotspots.co.uk

Top events in South Africa

June
16

Youth Day commemorates the day in 1976 when an estimated 20,000 young people from Soweto led a demonstration against the segregated Bantu...

June
30

This eight- or 10-day festival, begun in 1974, celebrates the cultural output of the African continent. Today there is virtually no art form which...

July
17

The Cape Town Festival is a three-day annual event that puts on a programme of cultural activities and entertainment. Covering art, music, dance,...