SOUTH AFRICAThe Powerhouse of Africa

Most world maps, with their

Eurocentric projection, give little idea of how large South Africa actually is. With an area of 1,228,376sq km, it is five times the size of the UK and one-eighth the area of the USA. The Kruger

National Park alone is as big as Wales, and the distance between Johannesburg and Cape Town is the same as from London to Rome. The country has 2,954km of coastline bordering the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which meet at Cape Agulhas, the southern most tip of Africa

Boundaries: South Africa has land borders with Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia, and totally surrounds the enclave of Lesotho. Since the 1994 elections, the country has been redivided into nine provinces, along roughly tribal lines - Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, NorthWest Province, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. It has three capitals, a legacy from the Second Anglo-Boer War. The legislature is in Cape Town (the former British capital); the administration is in Pretoria (capital of the old Transvaal); and the judiciary is in Bloemfontein (capital of the Orange Free State). Pretoria is currently the favourite to become sole capital should they decide to consolidate them into one. Cape Town is at about the same latitude as Sydney in Australia and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. If folded into the northern hemisphere, it would be level with Cyprus or Los Angeles, while the Kalahari Desert would fit neatly into the Sahara.

Geography: The terrain ranges in altitude from sea level to South Africa's highest peak, Injasuti (3,408m) in the Drakensberg, near the border with Lesotho, and covers ecosystems from

tropical forest to desert dunes. Almost every crop known to man can find a natural home somewhere in the country.

The Western Cape, cut off from the hinterland by the mountains of the Cederberg, Hex River and Swartberg, has a distinct, Mediterranean climate with cool, grey, wet and windy winters and warmer, sunny summers. It is ideal for wine and deciduous fruits. The more northerly KwaZulu-Natal coast, also cut off by the vast wall of the Drakensberg, is subtropical, hot and humid, clipped by the south-west monsoon. Here, the main crops are tropical fruits, such as bananas

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(the country's most profitable product), pineapples and sugar cane. Beyond the mountains is the Karoo, a dramatic semi-desert capable of supporting only sheep, ostriches and, increasingly, antelope, while in the west blow the barren red sands of the Kalahari. In the centre, the land climbs on to the high, flat central plateau, to the cattle and corn prairies of the Free State and, most importantly, the diamond and gold deposits of Kimberley and the Witwatersrand. Finally, in the north-east, the highveld drops off a dramatic escarpment in a flurry of mountains where tea and avocados, cherries and bananas, eucalyptus and pine all flourish cheek by jowl. Below, the lowveld provides a hot, dry habitat for baobabs and acacias, elephant and lion.

Water: South Africa is a land of plenty, rich in agriculture, industry and minerals, but there are only two major rivers, the Vaal and the Orange (Gariep). The whole subcontinent has been gripped by drought for many of the last 15 years, the population is rising steadily, and with the new government have come schemes for creating proper water supplies, plumbing and drains in all the black towns and villages. The demand for water is increasing sharply and, in spite of careful management and the occasional season of magnificent rains, the water table is dropping below the level of the boreholes, and the desert is expanding. In some areas, people have already been forced off the land, while the government is hurriedly trying to implement massive projects to bring water down from the mountains of Lesotho and even from as far north as the Zambezi (despite the fact that Zimbabwe has its own serious problems to contend with).

Sanctions: During the last years of apartheid, sanctions were enforced officially by the United Nations. However, South Africa was situated strategically across the Cape sea route and was a major supplier of vital minerals such as uranium and chrome. Most First World countries continued to trade under the counter, while neighbouring black countries were totally reliant on South Africa's ports for survival. The economy was battered but it survived and, turning inwards, became broad-based and self-sufficient. South Africa is the world's leading supplier of alumino-silicates, chromium (72 per cent). gold (40 per cent). platinum (88 per cent) and vanadium (44 per cent). It ranks second for vermiculite and zirconium; third for antimony, fluorspar, phosphate rock, and uranium; fourth for diamonds, titanium and zinc; and fifth for coal and nickel. It also has significant deposits of iron, lead, manganese, silver and copper.

The new world: Since the 1994 elections, the country has been welcomed back into the global fold. Exports are rising rapidly and multinational companies are queuing for information, with the government doing all it can to reassure anyone prepared to invest. Everything should be rosy. However, massive new imports are damaging the balance of trade, and increasingly powerful trades unions are making vociferous demands for black wages to meet those of the white workers, a shorter working week, better conditions and improved housing. Meanwhile, the Government of National Unity instituted a policy of affirmative action, providing much needed fast-track promotion for black managerial candidates.

All these are laudable aims, but there has been a heavy price to pay. Nervous white workers are creating a brain drain before there are enough well-qualified and experienced black workers to take their place. Constant strikes, lockouts and other industrial action are crippling some industries, while wage demands are pushing prices up so sharply that some South African products are in danger of becoming too expensive to survive in the world market.

Unemployment is running at over 40 per cent; the drift from the land to the cities has become a deluge; the black market, or 'informal sector', runs most small businesses in the townships; and, as a final complication, an estimated 4 million illegal immigrants from elsewhere in Africa have flooded the jobs market.

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South African Regions and Landscape

South Africa is a country of strikingly beautiful and varied regions and landscape, with a wide variety of climatic zones that range from the Kalahari Desert in the northwest to the dramatic mountain range in the southeast, and from the Mediterranean coastal ridges in the south central region to the rolling prairie savanna grassland of the central plateau and the north. Its splendid scenery, spectacular mountain ranges, rich game reserves, well-tended national parks (including the Kruger Park, Addo Elephant Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, St Lucia, Kalahari Gemsbok Park, and the Augrabies Falls), and amiable climate have combined to make South Africa a major tourist destination, most especially since the demise of apartheid and the advent of majority rule in 1994.

As a whole, the topography of South Africa can be divided into two major physiographic regions: the interior plateau and the marginal strips of low lands between the plateau and the coast. Separating the two areas is the great escarpment of its eastern and southwestern regions. The most extensive of the two regions is the saucer-shaped upland Central Plateau. On the whole, the plateau is an elevated flat land, with rolling, softly undulating, often steep-sided, flat-topped

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hills known as tafilberge (Table mountains) and conspicuous boulder-strewn knobs rising from its surface. The plateau is also traversed by narrow river valleys and ridged at its rims by a hilly topography. At its centre it is about 2,000 feet (600 meters), while on its rims it reaches elevations in excess of 5,000 feet (1,500 meters). In its interior it consists of a series of rolling grasslands or velds (Afrikaans for fields), the largest sub-region of which is the highveld, with much of its surface lying above 5,000 feet (1,500 meters), resulting in pleasantly cold winters

and frequently cool, un-tropical summers.

The highveld, regarded as the body of the plateau, extends from the Western Cape Province through the Free State to the Limpopo Province, rising into a series of rock formations known as the Witwatersrand (meaning Ridges of White Waters in Afrikaans, and commonly shortened to Rand). The significance of the Rand lies in the fact that, apart from serving as a watershed for numerous rivers, its ridge is the site of the

world's largest gold deposits and of South Africa's leading industrial city, Johannesburg. North of the highveld is a dry savannah sub region, known as the Bushveld, which has open grassland and scattered trees and bushes. Like the Rand, the Bushveld is a virtual treasure-house of minerals. Extending over an area of 350 by 150 kilometres, the Bushveld is one of the largest and best known layered volcanic complexes in the world, containing extensive deposits of platinum and chromium and sizeable deposits of copper, fluorspar, gold, nickel, and iron.

On the outer edge of the plateau, where the elevation descends to sea level from its crests, is the Great Escarpment, a semicircle of highlands paralleling South Africa's eastern and southern coastline, stretching over 1,400 miles and standing as the most conspicuous and continuous topographical feature in the country. Viewed from below, the Great Escarpment gives an appearance of a mountain range and, even though geomorphologically it is a single unit, each section has its own local name. The escarpment reaches its highest peaks in the Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces.

The highest points in South Africa are the Mont-aux-Sources (3,299 meters), Champagne Castle (3,376 meters), and Giant's Castle (3,313 meters). Thabana-Ndengana, the highest point on the subcontinent at 3,482 meters, is situated neither on the escarpment itself nor in South Africa, but on an obscure plateau in the country of Lesotho, also known as the Mountain Kingdom. In many places the ruggedness of the escarpment poses a formidable barrier to communication. For instance, the 250 kilometres stretch of the Natal Drakensberg, to the north of Mont-aux-Sources, is traversed by only a single jeep track.

Thus, the major discern able gap in the escarpment, located to the north of Beaufort West, became the main route of communication between Cape Town and the interior. In the great wall of the Natal Drakensberg, the escarpment attains its most majestic form with its mass of castellated buttresses, deep amphitheaters, and fully undercut vertical face carps, making it one of the finest sights of scenic beauty and spectacular grandeur on the African continent. For detailed information on each South African region click on the links in the  navigation bar. Under each region there is detailed information about the South African Towns.

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Witwatersrand - Egoli - Place of Gold

Gauteng: This word means 'place of gold' in Sotho, and so does Egoli, the Zulu name for Johannesburg. A theme begins to emerge - for this is a region built, quite literally, on gold. Gauteng is the new name for a small area in central South Africa, once known as the PWV (Pretoria, Witwatersrand and Vereeniging). Pretoria is the calm, stately administrative capital of South Africa, and a place, like Washington DC or Canberra, populated almost entirely by civil servants. Vereeniging and the surrounding area, which includes the notorious township of Sharpeville is predominantly industrial, with very little to recommend it to the visitor. Between them is the area known as the Witwatersrand (Ridge of White Water), one of the country's main watersheds, under which lie unimaginably large reserves of gold, carbon, uranium, green diamonds, iron pyrites (fool's gold), chromite, silver and platinum. Above these reserves tower the skyscrapers of Johannesburg, the social and economic powerhouse of the whole African continent. Beside that is Soweto, the political heart of black South Africa, and now one of the largest cities in the country. The province, geographically the smallest in South Africa, has 43 per cent of South Africa's urban population; generates 36.9 per cent of the country's gross domestic product; accounts for 60 per cent of its manufacturing output; and contains 30 per cent of the world's known gold reserves.Gauteng is not distinctive region, merely part of the Highveld, but in many ways it is the heartland of South Africa. Political power remains vested in the Union Buildings in Pretoria and financial and industrial power in Johannesburg and a cluster of towns in close proximity. The story began around the middle of the 19th century. Leaving the Vaal River behind them, the early white migratory farmers moved steadily northwards. Ahead of them rose a ridge laced with streams gleaming white in the sun. The plateau, dry and frostbitten in winter, was lush grass land in the summer months, ideal grazing for their cattle. These trekkers could not have dreamed that this Witwatersrand would one day prove to be the richest goldfield in the world and that the name would be on tongues around the globe. Gradually Witwatersrand was abbreviated to the Rand, and its dominating role in the economy of the country became such that, when the decimal coinage system was in 1959, the name 'rand' was adopted for the unit of currency.The diggers' shanty towns of 1886 were eventually replaced by more permanent structures, and these by others yet again, as people came to realise that these gold discoveries were not as ephemeral as others elsewhere in the country (See Barberton). With each reconstruction of Johannesburg the buildings grew higher and more and more outlandish. Eventually the stark, angular shape of the mine dumps and the yellow ziggurat forms of the slimes dams also began to disappear from the horizon. Over the years the mines and factories drew a large number of migrant workers from all over southern Africa. One result was the mushrooming of black settlements, originally known as 'locations', on the outskirts of established towns and cities. Some of these townships, notably Soweto and Sharpeville, played a definitive role in the Liberation struggle against apartheid.

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KwaZulu-Natal - Home of the ZulusModern KwaZulu-Natal covers 91,481 sq km on South Africa's eastern seaboard. It is administered jointly from the old white capital, Pietermaritzburg, and Ulundi, the traditional royal seat of the Zulu kings. The monarchy was restored in 1951, although it has no actual power. Nevertheless, the current king, Goodwill Zwelithini, is revered by his people and is a significant force in national affairs. Of all nine provinces in South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal is the only one that has not submitted happily and peaceably to the new constitution. Sadly, there is still some violence here, with the Inkatha Freedom Party - led by the prime minister of KwaZulu, Mangosotho Buthelezi (himself the grandson of King Dinizulu) - agitating for further autonomy or even full-blown independence. Both central government and non-Zulus in the province are reluctant for this to happen, but there is no practical reason why KwaZulu-Natal could not survive alone. It has the largest population (about 8,6 million) of any state in South Africa, with rich resources, including plentiful water, coal, minerals and agriculture (Natal produces 75 per cent of South Africa's sugar, along with timber, beef, dairy products, maize, poultry and fruit), Durban is the largest port in Africa (and ninth largest in the world), while the bulk export harbour at Richards Bay is one of the world's largest coal export terminals. The province al has the most comprehensive tourist infrastructure in the country (with around 3,2 million visitors every year), even though only about 10 per cent of foreign visitors come here, The rest are missing a treat. KwaZulu-Natal has truly magnificent scenery, from the soaring peaks of the Drakensberg to the forest-covered dunes and lagoons of St Lucia. It has superb Indian Ocean beaches and remote, dramatic game parks that equal or are even better than the Kruger, but with a fraction of the number of visitors, and it has history. It is a land for storytellers, with tales of confrontation and conflict, bloody treachery and glorious heroism. It is indeed a land fit for kings.History: On Christmas Eve, 1497, Vasco da Gama dropped anchor off a lush green subtropical coast. In honour, of the day, he christened it Natalia. Unaware of this fact, its inhabitants continued to raise and rustle cattle, the numerous small tribes squabbling constantly and violently. Nothing disturbed this existence until about 1809, when a formidable Mthethwa ruler, Dingiswayo, began to conquer and absorb many small groups and clans, a task continued by his successor, the great Shaka, from 1815 onwards. The Mfecane marked the true birth of the Zulu nation. At much the same time, the early Voortrekkers were beginning to look covetously at the fertile valleys, while the British were keeping a beady eye on any territory the Boers might open up. In 1838, the inevitable happened. The Zulus massacred a party of Boer settlers (Piet Retief) and the territorial disputes dissolved into bitter blood shed. The Boers annexed much of the Zulu territory and broke away from the Cape Colony, creating the Republic of Natalia. The British took it all back in 1843, naming the new colony Natal. In 1877 the British tried and failed to annex the Boer territory in northern Natal, and then focused on the Zulu heartland, deposing King Cetshwayo and absorbing his kingdom into the Empire. By 1902, with the final defeat of the Boers, the British had conquered the whole area. (See also the history of the Zulu kingdom and the History of Natal)Indian immigrants: Natal was immensely fertile, with sugar cane and cotton in abundance, but there was a severe shortage of labour to work the fields. Slavery had been abolished in 1834 and the Zulus showed no interest in working for the white farmers. On 16 November 1860, a paddle-steamer from Madras, the SS Truro, docked in Durban. On board were 342 indentured Indian workers (including 75 women, and 83 children under the age of 14): it was the first of many shipments. Thousands of poverty-stricken Indians were persuaded to sign five-year contracts which forced them to work under appalling conditions. They included Hindus, Muslims and a few Christians, and came from all areas of the Indian subcontinent, although most were from the south and west. Other wealthier, free Indians also arrived, to set up as traders. In 1913, the Natal government, alarmed by the competition from these hardworking merchants, banned general Indian immigration, and in 1920 the system of indentured labour was finally ended, under pressure from Mahatma Gandhi. Today, South Africa has an Indian population of about 1,25 million, 928,000 of them living in and around Durban. The community is renowned for its success in business, while a number of Indians hold high office in government. About 70 per cent are Hindu, 20 per cent Muslim, and the remainder Christian. There are several fine temples

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and mosques across the province, fascinating Indian markets, and some of the best curries in the world. The remains of Gandhi's first ashram still stand at Durban's Phoenix Settlement.

History of Capital of KwaZulu-Natal

By a quaint quirk of history Pietermaritzburg, founded in 1838 by the Voortrekkers as the capital of their new republic of Natalia, turned out to be one of the most Victorian cities in the world. Pietermaritzburg was named for two of the best known of the Voortrekker leaders, Piet Retief and Gerrit Maritz. The first, Retief, was murdered by Dingane, king of the Zulu people, at Mgungundlovu on 6 February 1838 after he had successfully (or so he thought) completed negotiations for land for the Voortrekkers in Natal. The second, Maritz, was the man who held together the discouraged remnants of the Voortrekker parties in Natal until Andries Pretorius defeated Dingane at Blood River on 16 December 1838.

The site for Pietermaritzburg was chosen in typical Trekker fashion - a well-watered plain with fertile soil near the Msunduze River. The location also happened to be on the transport riders' route from Port Natal (Durban) to the north. The layout, which was undertaken by Commandant Piet Greyling, was also true to tradition. Initially there were eight streets intersected by six others in an area of 2 by 1.5 km. All the streets were 23 m wide and lined with water furrows to irrigate the residents' gardens from the Dorpspruit. The first 300 residential stands, of 0.5 ha each, were sold for five rixdollars (about seven shillings) each. One of the conditions of sale was that owners should build within three years and cultivate their stands. At the same time farms were allocated on the outskirts of the village.

During the first year the town was still run like a laager in the veld. The first permanent brick-and-mortar buildings began to appear only after Dingane's power was finally broken in 1840 when he was defeated by his half brother Mpande. A Raadzaal (council chamber) was built in which the Volksraad (parliament) of the republic gathered on the first Monday of every quarter. Roof tiles were made locally and a water-driven mill erected.

In the event, Natalia turned out to be yet another of the many ephemeral Voortrekker republics. The area, including Port Natal, was annexed by Britain in 1842 and a garrison billeted in Fort Napier. The town continued to flourish but the style of architecture changed to Victorian. Immigration drives from Britain and Germany in the late 1840s boosted the population to 2 400 in 1852. In that year there were 26 shops. From 1888 to 1931 four different stock exchanges operated in the town.

The Royal Agricultural Society held its first show in 1854, the year in which Pietermaritzburg became a borough. The railway from Durban reached the town in 1880, and today the city is the junction for branch lines to Greytown in the north, Richmond in the south and Donnybrook, Underberg and Kokstad in the southwest.

Natal was granted responsible government in 1893 and buildings were erected in Pietermaritzburg for both the legislative assembly and legislative council. When the Union of South Africa was constituted in 1910, the city became the capital of the province of Natal, which it remained until 1994 when Ulundi was proclaimed provisional capital of the province of KwaZulu-Natal of the new South Africa. Early in the 21st century Pietermaritzburg once again became the capital of KwaZulu-Natal. The Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of Natal was established in 1909. Mixed farming (cattle ranching, timber and maize) is practised in the wider area.

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KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields

For over 50 years, the grasslands of northern Natal saw bitter conflict as a result of the territorial ambitions of the Zulus, Boers and British. The area has South Africa's largest concentration of battle sites: most remain untouched and are intensely evocative of the action and tragedies that once drenched them in blood. The official Battlefields Route covers 11 towns, over 50 battlefields, and museums, war graves and memorials. Maps, guides, tapes and tours are available. Many sites are reached only via minor roads and it is impossible to create a continuous route between them.

Victory and defeat for the Zulu military machine

Some 53 km to the west of Babanango, the R58 reaches Nqutu, a small trading centre whose name is derived from the Zulu ingquthu ('flat-topped vessel'). This refers to the hill that overlooks the village. One has now arrived in the heart of an evocative land, bloodied by the battlefields of a war in which the Zulu fighting machine was finally destroyed in 1879.

Cetshwayo, son of Mpande, was installed as king of the Zulus in 1873 and began to rebuild the military systems of his famous predecessors Shaka and Dingane. In 1878, to clear the way for the British plan of a British-controlled confederation of states in South Africa (including Zululand), Cetshwayo was presented with an ultimatum. Among the demands was that he should disband his armies within one month and accept a British resident commissioner as co-ruler. When the ultimatum was rejected, British troops under the overall command of Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand in a three-pronged attack on 20 January 1879.

Several notable battles were fought in this war. The main engagements of the war were:

Isandlwana: The central invading column under Lord Chelmsford crossed the Buffalo into Zululand at Rorke's Drift on 20 January and pitched camp 15 km further east, on the eastern and southern slopes of a strangely shaped hill called Isandlwana. This is Zulu for the reticulum (part of the stomach) of an ox, which the hill was supposed to resemble.With little or no experience of Zulu military tactics, Lord Chelmsford failed to form a laager as was required by army regulations, and on the morning of 22 January set off on a reconnaissance with a large company of men. The British expected or suspected nothing at that stage. A great deal of their ammunition was still in boxes on their wagons. The attack came just afternoon when an impi estimated at between 17 000 and 24 000 men, who had concealed themselves in neighbouring hills and in dongas invisible from the camp, charged in the traditional Zulu half-moon ('breast and horns') formation. The left and right flanks (the 'horns') surrounded the camp to block off all escape.The soldiers in the camp, 900 men of the South Wales Borderers, a company of Natal

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Carbineers and a Zulu detachment led by Colonel A.W Durnford, engaged the enemy about 2 km from the camp. So overwhelming were the Zulu numbers that the defenders began retreating almost immediately, sustaining a barrage of fire all the time. But there were simply too many Zulus and the field guns were overwhelmed. The draught animals broke loose or were killed. The impi then renewed its attack, using short stabbing spears to devastating effect against the surviving few, who hardly had time to fix their bayonets.The battle was over within an hour. On the British side, 858 white and 471 black soldiers lay dead. The Zulus lost about 1 000 men. The positions of the various British units who fought that day have been marked with whitewashed stones.

Fugitive's Drift: For the few survivors of the battle of Isandlwana the nearest point of safety was the British fort at Helpmekaar on the plateau of the Biggarsberg, approximately 30 km to the west, beyond the Buffalo River.The shortest route to Helpmekaar was down the valley of one tributary of the Buffalo River and up the valley of another on the other side. All along this extremely difficult route, liberally strewn with boulders, the weary and wounded had to run the gauntlet of the Zulu reserves, who killed many of the stragglers.

Rorke's Drift: The ford (drift) on the Buffalo River was named for James Rorke, who ran a trading store there from 1850 until his death in 1875. Three years later the Swedish Missionary Society bought 5 ha of land around the store for a mission station, which they named Oscarsberg for the king of Sweden. Two stone buildings were put up - a residence and a storeroom, which was also used for church services.Before the outbreak of the Anglo-Zulu War, these buildings were taken over by the British forces to serve as a supply depot and hospital. On the day of the battle of Isandlwana, 34 soldiers were being nursed in the makeshift hospital. The garrison itself comprised only 110 men commanded by Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead of the 24th (Warwickshire) RegimentShortly after 15h00 on 22 January, two survivors of the slaughter of Isandlwana, 15 km away to the east, arrived at the hospital to warn of an imminent attack. The men immediately set about fortifying and barricading the buildings as best they could, using two wagons, biscuit boxes and bags of maize.At 16h30 two Zulu regiments comprising some 4 000 men commanded by Cetshwayo's brother Dabulamanzi arrived at the station. They were part of the 'horn' that had encircled Isandlwana during that battle and probably had no orders to attack or cross the Buffalo River into British Natal. Nevertheless, flushed with the victory of a few hours previously, about 6000 Zulu men stormed the mission buildings but were driven back. Several more attacks followed until four in the morning of 23 January. The hospital building was set on fire and some of the attackers even penetrated the barricades. However, the defenders stood their ground throughout the night, successfully repulsing each onslaught When the impi finally withdrew the few soldiers still on their feet doused the flames and began to count the cost British casualties were 17 dead and 10 wounded. The Zulus had lost about 400 men.Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for gallantry in this battle. Today Rorke's Drift is the location of a crafts centre where Zulu women dye cloth, weave or hand-knot carpets and throw and glaze pots.

Eastern Cape, South AfricaThe Eastern Cape is a patchwork province made up of numerous disparate cultures and ecosystems. It came into being only when the boundaries were rearranged in 1994. Until then, most of the area was simply an extension of the Western Cape, both geographically and politically.In the far west, the Tsitsikamma Forest gives way to rolling scrub, while to the north are the eastern reaches of the Great Karoo. Around Grahamstown are lush green farmlands and montane forest. In the far east, the Wild Coast lives up to its name as one of South Africa's last

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undeveloped stretches of coast, the ragged cliffs and towering dunes broken by trailing river mouths and hidden coves of silver sand.Eastern Cape History: This was a frontier land, inhabited initially by the Khoikhoi in the south-west, the Xhosa in the south-east and the Bushmen to the north. The Great Trek took the Afrikaners along the coast to the Fish River and ever further out into the Karoo. They dispossessed the Bushmen and Khoikhoi, but left the more warlike Xhosa alone until 1780, when the Cape government extended its authority to the river and forced the two groups into direct conflict in the first of a series of nine bloody Frontier Wars that lasted until the mid-19th century. Meantime, in 1806, the British took control of the Cape, and in 1820, 5,000 British settlers arrived in the Grahamstown area. The Xhosa, who were already fighting not only the Boers but also the Zulus and their own offshoot tribe, the Mfengu, had to fight them too. Inevitably, the British with their superior firepower won the day, and the whole area became part of the Cape Colony.The dramas continued however. Due to the intensity of missionary activity in the area, the black population gained a higher level of education than was the norm, and in 1916 the black University of Fort Hare was founded. The area became one of the most politically active in South Africa, providing the nationalist cause with many of its greatest leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Steve Biko of the ANC and Robert Sobukwe, founder of the hard-line PAC. During the apartheid years, two black homelands were formed in the eastern section of the province: the technically independent Xhosa territory of Transkei and the satellite Mfengu homeland of Ciskei.A bright future: Today, most of the region's towns look like charming toys. The Karoo is dotted with sparklingly clean Afrikaner villages, the coast lined with neat, Disneyesque waterfront estates. Bisho, once capital of Ciskei and now state capital of the Eastern Cape, looks as though it is made of Lego, and from a distance even the tiny pastel-coloured houses of the Xhosa hill villages appear to have just been taken out of the box. Only little Peddie, with its noisy street markets and blaring music, battered Coca-Cola ads and line of minibus taxis, seems like the rest of Africa.Though less well known than the Western Cape or KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape is just as rich in possibilities for the tourist. Almost every inlet along the Wild Coast has a small hideaway resort tucked unobtrusively along its banks, but as yet there are few towns and ribbon development of holiday homes is slow with most people being deterred by the appalling dusty roads that bump down to the coast. Yet the beaches here are probably the best in South Africa and the estate agents' boards are moving ever closer. This is the hot new area, partly because wealthy whites can now safely buy property in the former homelands.The Garden Route extension to Port Elizabeth is being marketed, with the added bonus of the only good game parks in the south. At the same time, a whole new tourism industry is dedicated

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to following in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela. The future for this fledgling province seems bright

1820 British settlers

The story of the 1820 British settlers who landed in Algoa Bay, South Africa, in 1820 is one of the most stirring in the annals of the country’s history. The battle of Waterloo in 1815 brought final defeat to France's Emperor Napoleon. But it also brought serious socio-economic problems for the victor, Britain, which was in the grip of a deep economic recession a very important factor in the gathering political turmoil that threatened to engulf the land.

In these trying circumstances, the British government readily heeded the plea for immigrants by Lord Charles Somerset, the governor of the Cape Colony, in order to cultivate, populate and help defend the eastern frontier areas. On 12 July 1819, the government voted £50,000 for a scheme that would take as many people as possible to South Africa. The first of 21 ships set sail at the end of the same year.

Over the next few months some 4 000 men, women and children, divided into 60 'parties', left for the great unknown. After spending a day or two in a temporary camp on the shores of Algoa Bay the newcomers were moved by ox-wagon, at their own expense, to allotted 'farms' in the district of Albany or the Zuurveld ('sour veld'), that is, that part of the eastern Cape bounded by the Bushmans and Great Fish rivers and Grahamstown. This whole area had been largely depopulated of white farmers by five 'frontier wars' with the Xhosa.

On arrival on their new land, the 1820 settlers and their chattels were dumped on the bare veld. Their first home was a tent loaned by the government. They started ploughing and sowing immediately. Vegetable gardens flourished but the first four wheat crops failed miserably. By then they had learnt the hard way that they had exchanged the gentle and predictable English climate for a strange land where the only certainty was that a few good seasons would be followed by a drought that would show no mercy to man, beast or crop. Meanwhile there were the locusts and wild animals with which to contend. And from 1834 to 1878 they had to defend themselves and their farms against the Xhosa in four more frontier wars.

The odds proved too much for many. They moved to settlements such as Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth where they resumed the crafts and trades to which they were once apprenticed. In this way they created the base of technical skills for which the eastern Cape became famous. Those who persevered on the farms laid foundations for the region's diversified agricultural industry, systematically selecting the most suitable livestock and crops. An example is the pineapple industry, which traces its origins to a barber shop in Grahamstown.

Their heritage goes far beyond the merely physical, however. They bequeathed to South Arica a particular brand of courage and fortitude, an unshakeable faith, a sense of fair play and a tradition of learning. Perhaps the greatest single achievement of the 'class of 1820' was the introduction and jealous nurturing of the concept of a free press. It was settler poet Thomas Pringle and John Fairbairn who refused to submit their newspaper, South African Commercial

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Advertiser, to censorship by Governor Lord Charles Somerset, thereby laying the foundation of press freedom that has survived to this day.

After the British came the Germans. In 1858 and 1859 about 5 000 were settled in British Kaffraria, the territory between the Kei and Keiskamma rivers in the eastern Cape Colony. The Ostrich Capital  - History - Cango Caves

Oudtshoorn, the' capital' of the Little Karoo and 'ostrich capital of the world', traces its beginnings to 1847, when the farm Hartebeestrivier was surveyed by John Ford and parcelled out into 500 residential stands. The Dutch Reformed parish was established in 1853. The new village was formally proclaimed in 1863 and named Oudtshoorn for Baron Pieter van Reede van Oudtshoorn, who died at sea in January 1773 en route to the Cape to take up his appointment as governor. In 1961 the town adopted a new coat of arms based on that of the Van Reede van Oudtshoorn family, and about the same time the main north-south thoroughfare was renamed Baron van Reede Street to commemorate the nobleman who, for several years prior to his appointment as the governor, served as a senior functionary at the Cape.

The feather industry attracted a large Jewish community to Oudtshoorn, which was sometimes called 'Little Jerusalem'. During the peak of the boom in the early 20th century there were no fewer than 300 Jewish families in the town and district, most of them associated with the feather trade.

Although farming has been diversified since the crash of the feather market in 1914, the district is still the main breeding area of the world's largest bird. A steady market has been developed for ostrich meat, skin and feathers (see below). Other important products of the district are wheat, lucerne, tobacco, honey, wool, mohair and dairy foods. The district accounts for much of the white honey and lucerne seed produced in the country.

The Cango Caves: with their dripstone creations ranging from the monumental to the gossamer, are universally regarded as one of South Africa's greatest natural wonders.These stalactites (hanging crystals), stalagmites (those growing upwards) and helictites (those growing in any direction) began to be formed about 100 million years ago in crystalline limestone along an old fault line in the foothills of the Swartberg range.From the earliest times the entrance to the caves was known to the Bushmen, who used it as a shelter, which is evidenced by the many paintings (now defaced or destroyed) on the entrance walls, pictures of the game animals the San encountered in the Cango valley. But in the modern context the entrance was 'discovered' in 1780 by a herdsman employed by a farmer named Van Zyl, who roamed the hills in search of lost cattle. Later Van Zyl took a rope and eight slaves from his farm near the present-day village of Herold, in the Langkloof, to inspect the 'big hole'. Van Zyl was lowered about 10m into the first great hall, 98 m long, 49 m wide and 15 m high. To

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this day this hall bears Van Zyl's name.When the land was allocated to farmer P. van der Westhuizen in 1828, the caves were declared

a reserve and the field-cornet of the Cango valley began to charge viewing fees and impose fines on trespassers. The revenue was used to finance schools in the district. Johnny Wassenaar, who had been exploring the caves since 1880, was appointed the first guide in 1891, when a gate was put up at the entrance. Control of the caves passed to the municipality of Oudtshoorn in 1921, when 129 visitors were shown around. The caves were declared a natural monument in 1938. The section open to the public is about 760 m long and draws several hundred thousand visitors each year. The temperature inside remains at a constant 18° C; the relative humidity is 97 per cent in places.Down the years the caves have been the subject of intensive study by various teams of spelaeologists. More caves, not yet open to the public, have been discovered leading off the existing caves - Cango 2 (the 'Wonder Cave', an extension of about 270m) in 1972, and Cango 3, a sequence of chambers 1 600 m long, in 1975.In these 'new' caves the pristine magnificence of the crystalline formations and natural colours are intact and far surpass that of Cango 1, where the warm air breathed out by millions of tourists over more than a century has dimmed their original brilliance.

Garden Route & Klein Karoo

The Garden Route and Klein Karoo's natural assets (just for starters) will have you question ever wanting to leave this idyllic spot!

The Garden Route and Klein Karoo spans South Africas Western Cape coastal belt from Witsands whale birthing haven in the west to Plettenberg Bays beach, polo and party-going pleasures. Then there's the arid geological basin of red sandstone along the interior, wedged between the fynbos-adorned Heidelberg in the west and Uniondales eastern sheep farming and rock art treasures.

Its all about an abundance of blue skies, white sand beaches, rolling oceans, dramatic mountain scenery, indigenous fynbos, ostrich antics and localhospitality. A place where you can travel along routes where you are often alone on the open road or make for the malls and beaches on packaged tour comforts. Golden vineyards, sun-drenched orchards, beaches, pin-drop-silent forests, sweeping lakes and birds eye view passes add to the mix.

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Beach junkies are spoiled for choice. Stilbaais assets include treasures from the Stone Age and the Khoi people. Mossel Bay and Albertinia share the pleasure of bungee jumping thrills with Plettenberg Bay. Mossel Bay prides itself on offering the diverse experience of game viewing and that of stringing a hammock along beaches that serve up the worlds second most temperate climate. Still along the coast, Wilderness and Sedgefield comprise the Lakes Region, while golf, green coastal treasures and malls a-plenty rate among George and Knysna's endless offerings.With a smorgasbord of activities, its all about sport, sun-kissed smiles and Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe steam train adventures...Leap into paragliding oblivion at the Wilderness, or embark on Mossel Bay shark cage diving shenanigans. Try the bungi jump from the Gouritz River Bridge, which is flanked by Albertinia and Mossel Bay.

Golf it up at George. Mossel Bay, on the other hand, allows you to quad bike and game view literally at one sitting. Put your 4x4 through her more groaning paces at Riversdale and the ostrich-adorned Oudtshoorn. Hiking and other mountainous exploits are notable at Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and in the Oudtshoorn vicinity, while polo and all matters equine are de rigeur at Plettenberg Bay.

Southern Right whale watching (mid- June-November) rates as a key highlight at Witsand, Stilbaai, Mossel Bay, Wilderness, Knysna and Plett. Be sure to explore marine marvels on a sea kayaking, SCUBA or snorkelling exploration, or get stoked surfing it up at Stilbaais Point and the adjacent Groot Jongensfontein, Mossel Bays Peninsula, Georges Victoria Bay, or at good ol Plett.

Western Cape, South AfricaThe Western Cape's plump, roughly L-shaped body lies along the edge of the Indian Ocean, stretching a long, languid arm up the Atlantic coast to the Kalahari desert. At its heart, where the two oceans meet, is Cape Town, a lifeline to sailors and a magnet to tourists. The city is the single biggest tourist attraction in South Africa, with around 650,000 foreign visitors a year. The authorities are aiming for many more, with eight new hotels under construction in the Waterfront area alone, a 3,000 seat convention centre in the pipeline and a theme park, Century City, due to open early in the next decade. The founding fathers chose well when they colonised the coastal strip. The climate is moderate and pleasant, the land fertile and well watered, and the scenery superb. As might be expected when a colony is founded by. a gardener, the first farms were up and running within a few years. With the planting of the first vines only three years alter Jan van Riebeeck's arrival in 1652, the Cape had found its true vocation. The area surrounding Cape Town is as steeped in wine as Bordeaux - and has its roots in the same place It was the arrival of the French Huguenots from 1685 that spurred the industry into something more than the occasional flagon of plonk, while the German contingent provided the fruity tones, redolent of the Mosel, that characterise so much of the best South African white wine. Today, the industry is up there with the best, and for the connoisseur or the tippler, a dozen local wine routes offer an extraordinary range of tasting opportunities.Beyond these tidy, whitewashed valleys lies a jagged line of craggy mountains, the Cederberg, the Hex River Mountains and the Swartberg. The south faces, slapped by ocean clouds, are thick with forest or powerfully scented by the Cape's unique herbal fynbos. On the dry far side, the picture is very different. People either love or hate the Karoo. It is rocky, dry and dusty, twisted at times into fantastic rock formations. From a distance its scrubby vegetation looks

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nothing, but if you look closely and carefully it is magnificent, and when the spring flowers are in bloom it is an artwork worthy of Jackson Pollock. The inhabitants of this tough land are as rugged as their surroundings. Their ancestors headed into the unknown with nothing more than a flimsy wagon and a few cooking pots .to escape the ordered urban life with all its rules and regulations. These communities are hospitable, but introverted. Most are more concerned with physical survival than metaphysics, but the desert has sometimes borne extraordinary blooms in powerful writers or artists such as Laurens van der Post, Olive Schreiner and Helen Martins.Then there is the coast itself, a delightful playground of rocky headlands and golden beaches, where whales and surfers alike frolic in the crashing waves. A major road, the N2, runs along the coast linking the numerous small towns of the Garden Route, so called because of its rampantly green forests. A favourite holiday destination of white South Africans, the area has inevitably become more built up, with bungalows and holiday homes stretching along the dunes to link many of the towns in a continuous ribbon development. At the same time, the forest has been pushed a little further away and the coast has lost a little of its beauty, but at least there are now facilities and entertainment for the many thousands who flock here each year. There are still plenty of isolated coves and deserted dunes for those who care to seek them out. This is a patchwork land, the ideal holiday destination with something for everyone, and all within a reasonable distance. It may not be 'real' Africa, but the Western Cape has a magic all its own.

Tour the Cape Peninsula

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A spiny ridge of mountains tails south along the Cape Peninsula to tumble into the sea in a riotous confusion of rocks at Cape Point, Muizenberg and Hout bay. The scenery is spectacular, the beaches idyllic, and many of the charming small towns offer an enticing blend

of good food, interesting shops and plentiful history. Allow at least one full day.Herbert Baker once wielded his architect's pencil in trendy Muizenberg the favourite resort of the Randlords. Numerous fine houses include the cottage in which Cecil Rhodes died in 1902, kept as a museum/shrine. Now the town is rather tired and shabby, but nothing can spoil its lovely, safe, shallow beach, lined by rows of colourful changing booths. A little further down the coast lies Kalk Bay ('lime bay'), named after the kilns in which shells were burnt to produce lime. It

is a busy fishing port, home of the brightly painted False Bay fishing boats. The main road has a variety of antique and junk stores, craft shops and eateries. Soak up the atmosphere, climb up to the deep caves pitting the mountain slopes and try surfing on nearby Danger Beach. Continue south to Fish Hoek, a popular if somewhat elderly resort, which has the distinction of being the only teetotal town in the country - a stipulation laid down by Lord Charles Somerset in 1818. He also declared free fishing rights for all. Peers Cave, a rock shelter near by, is named after the man who discovered 15,000-yearold 'Fish Hoek Man'. This is the best place on the peninsula to see whales. Continue through Simon's Town to the furthest tip of the peninsula and the bleak, beautiful 7,750ha Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. The accepted meeting place of the Atlantic and Indian oceans is Cape Point, which is also the emotional if not physical end of Africa (the most southerly point is actually Cape Agulhas). There are drives, places to picnic, walk and swim, plus magnificent flora and small game. The east coast sheers abruptly off the cliffs into the warm waters of the Indian Ocean's False Bay; to the west the land slopes downwards more gently to wind-blown beaches and dunes pounded by the Atlantic. The visitors' centre has a funicular up to the viewing point and a good restaurant

Heading north you join the Chapman's Peak Drive to Hout Bay. Built between 1915 and 1922, this winding 10km drive is not only a magnificent feat of engineering, but offers continuous spectacular views with plentiful lookout points, picnic areas, climbs and mountain walks.

Dominated by the towering peak of The Sentinel, little Hout Bay was named after the wood (hout) harvested for shipbuilding. Traditionally a centre of crayfish and snoek fishing, it is a lively seaside town filled with holiday cottages, fishermen, a thriving marina and several popular restaurants. The local museum has an excellent display of strandloper (beachcomber) culture From the harbour, Drumboat Charters runs boat trips to the seal colony and sea bird sanctuary on Duiker Island. During the summer you can see several thousand Cape fur seals. Near by, the World of Birds Sanctuary is one of the largest bird sanctuaries in South Africa, with over 3,000 birds from around 450 varieties flying free in walkthrough aviaries designed to replicate their natural habitats.

Beyond Hout Bay, the coastline becomes one long ribbon development, with houses clustering ever more thickly as you head back into the city. Lovely undeveloped Sandy Bay is the local nudist beach. Bakoven, named after a large cave shaped like a baker's oven, has two small beaches that are safe for children and popular with snorkellers. trendy Camps Bay, tucked in at the base of the Twelve Apostles, has a wide beach with lawns and a good selection of affordable restaurants. The sea here is very cold and has a. strong backwash, but it is very popular with families. Surfers use Glen Beach in the adjoining cove. Clifton is the place to be

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and to be seen; the water is freezing, but people still flock on to its four overcrowded beaches. Sea Point is closer to the city centre and not quite so fashionable, but is young and lively, with a slightly bohemian tinge.

Heart of the Cape Wine Farms - History

Stellenbosch: In 1679 Governor Simon van der Stel undertook his first inspection tour of the outposts of the victualling station established 27 years earlier. On 8 November he pitched his camp on the banks of the Eerste ('first') River and was so enchanted with the surroundings that he decided to found a settlement there and call it Stellenbosch (for himself).

This was the origin of South Africa's first town after Cape Town. The large number of oaks that line the streets have given the town the sobriquet 'Eikestad' ('city of oaks'). The first of these fine trees were planted in the time of Governor Van der Stel but experts believe that most of those seen today were planted in the early 19th century.

The first wine farms were allocated before the end of 1679 and the village was formally established in 1685 when the first landdrost (magistrate), Jan Mulder, was appointed. By then about 30 farms were being cultivated. They included names that have survived to this day - Koelenhof. Coetzenburg, Jonkershoek, Ida's Valley and Mostertsdrift. Governor Van der Stel himself supervised the surveying of the first residential stands on 15 October 1686. The drostdy, official residence of the landdrost, was completed in April 1687.

The town was badly damaged by fire three times - in 1710, 1803 and 1875, each time in the month of December. In 1803 more than 40 homes were razed to the ground. Afterwards the architectural trend moved away from the single-storey Cape Dutch thatched homes to Georgian-style double-storey edifices.

The town square, the Braak ('fallow land'), is laid out in true village-green style and is surrounded by several buildings that are of great historical significance. Once known as King's Square and Adderley Square, the Braak was reserved in 1703 as a parade ground for the Stellenbosch infantry and dragoons. In 1908 the square was presented to the town to be used as a public park.

Today there are more than 600 wine farms of between 80 and 130 ha in the 635 km' district. Many of these farms still boast the original Cape Dutch homesteads built in the late 17th and early 18th century. Together these present a magnificent pageant of the architectural heritage of South Africa.

Deciduous fruit and Turkish tobacco are grown in the district but viticulture is the most important activity by far. There are about 80 wine estates or wineries in the Stellenbosch region of the Eerste and Berg river valleys. These are reached by no fewer than five wine routes. Many thousands of visitors follow these routes every year to taste and buy wine and enjoy the hospitality for which the valleys have become famous. The names of some of these estates are household words wherever fine wines are appreciated.

The development of the Jonkershoek valley southeast of the town dates from 1683 when a farm was granted to Jan Andriessen, nicknamed Jan de Jonker. The farm's name, Jan de Jonker's Hoek, was eventually applied to the whole valley and later abbreviated to Jonkershoek. Today the valley is home to a number of distinguished wine farms; a trout hatchery and research station (which dates back to 1893); a forest reserve and research station, and a reserve and research station for waterfowl and game birds on the farm Assegaaibosch, which has attracted more than 100 species of birds since it was started in 1960.

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Stellenbosch Wine Route The first wineroute in South Africa

In 2005 Stellenbosch celebrates the 34th Anniversary of the founding of its Wine Route – established by Neil Joubert of Spier, Frans Malan of Simonsig and Spatz Sperling of Delheim. It represents the culmination of a long tradition of winemaking started at the Cape by the Dutch Settlers. 

Since the founding of Stellenbosch in 1679, the region’s cool climate and fertile soils combined with the planting of the correct varieties of grapes have produced a knowledge of winemaking which spans three centuries. The Stellenbosch Wine Region today is synonymous with high quality award winning wines. The Wine Route comprises 44 cellars which produce between them a large variety of red and white wines. The route offers the visitor an ideal opportunity of sampling these wines whilst exploring this famous wine-producing region. Exploring the Wine Route is an adventure that will not easily be forgotten.

Thirty minutes from Cape Town, a warm welcome awaits you, our visitor, to the Stellenbosch Wine Route. Since the founding of Stellenbosch, it has become synonymous with table wines of high quality.

The cellars of the Wine Route are situated along the four main roads leading to Stellenbosch. Each cellar entrance is clearly signposted - watch for the official Wine Route logo. Most of the cellars offer cellar tours as well as lunches in their shaded gardens or restaurants together with a bottle of wine of your choice.

Wine may be purchased at all of the cellars. Should you require it, delivery both nationally and internationally can be arranged.

Enjoy the Wineroute's hospitality soon and take home a part of the cultural heritage of the Cape. A glass of wine will NEVER be the same for you again.

Architecture - Cape TownThe most characteristic architecture of the Cape is the simple yet elegant style known as Cape Dutch, which evolved over the 17th to early 19th centuries. Later, the British influence made itself felt in Georgian and Victorian buildings, some of the latter epitomising imperial pomp

Most early Cape Dutch buildings were farmhouses, simple rectangular structures with a wooden frame, wattle and clay infill, a steeply pitched thatched roof, central front door and symmetrically placed windows with heavy wooden shutters. The house often made up one side of a courtyard, with the barns, stables and servants' quarters on the other three. Most had whitewashed walls and dark green paintwork (the only

paint available to early settlers), a colour scheme that became traditional. Inside, the hall led to just two rooms, one for sleeping, the other for living. Floors were of polished dung or mud inset with peach kernels. Furniture was basic: a solid box bed, dining table and chairs with woven gut seats. Few such houses survive in their original form outside museums such as those in Worcester and Pretoria In time, as fortunes were made, the house began to sprout wings, becoming H-, T- or U-shaped, and acquired a small, raised veranda (stoep). The two largest rooms were in the front: the sitting room (voerkammer- front room) and the main bedroom. Behind, interconnecting at first, but later leading off a central corridor, were a second public

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room (the agterkammer - back room), sometimes a study/office, further bedrooms and, right at the back, the kitchen. There were no indoor bathrooms until the mid-19th century. Before then, the lavatory was in an outhouse and the bath movable. These grander houses had proper ceilings and floors of highly polished yellowwood or stinkwood. The furniture became more varied and sophisticated, mirroring European fashion; the very wealthy imported everything.

It was the arrival of the gable that signalled the coming of age of Cape Dutch design. Based on the intricate gables fashionable in 17th- and 18th century Holland, the typical Cape house had one large gable over the front door. Embellished with curved and curled edges, space for statues, the date of construction or the arms of the family, these provided an element of chic and individuality, and elevated the house from cottage to mansion. The master architect was Louis Thibault the master sculptor, Anton Anreith. The Cape Winelands are littered with these beautiful houses, a number of which are still owned by the original family and with some original furnishings.

By the end of the 18th century, design was shifting away from the rectangular farm to the square, two-storey town house of Georgian England, with symmetrically positioned windows, a triangular pediment, and flat roof. The fagade became more intricate, with pastel colours, pilasters and plaster garlands. Inside, traditional white walls gave way to elegantly painted trompe roeil columns and urns. Not many of these houses have survived urban progress, but there are a few outstanding examples such as the Koopmans de Wet House in Cape Town South Africa. In the country towns they became the model for the tiny square-built Karoo-style cottages, flat roofed and with a small fanlight above the door, the interior quartered into four connecting rooms: sitting room, kitchen and two bedrooms. Many fine examples still survive in Karoo towns like Graaff-Reinet and even in the Bo-Kaap quarter of Cape Town.

The last great shift before the modern era came in the mid- to late-19th century with the advent of neo-Gothic churches, the large-scale work of South Africa's first major architect Sir Herbert Baker, and the prevalence of Victorian houses with steeply pitched roofs (many only pitched in front as the stunted

trees did not provide sufficiently long timbers) and corrugated iron verandas sporting elaborate gingerbread trim.

Cape Floral Kingdom - World Heritage SiteIn July this year the area that has become known as the 'Cape Floral Kingdom' was granted the status of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was chosen not only for its striking beauty but also for issues of scientific interest and importance such as unique plant reproductive strategies including the adaptive responses to fire and the patterns of seed dispersal by insects. The area, which spans from Clanwilliam to Cape Town and east to Port Elizabeth, covers vast areas of rural poverty. World Heritage Status will give many of these areas much needed employment opportunities.

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The heritage site is made up of eight protected areas. They are Table Mountain, De Hoop Nature Reserve, the Boland mountain complex, the Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, the Swartberg Mountains, Boosmans Wilderness Area, the Cederberg Wilderness Area and Baviaanskloof.

Cape Floral Facts Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden on the slopes of Table Mountain is included in the site. This is the first time a botanical garden has been included in a natural heritage site.The Cape Floral Region makes up 20% of Africa's floraThe 8 protected areas make up an area of 553 000 hectaresThere are 8600 recorded species in the area, 68% of which are found nowhere else in the worldIt is the smallest but most diverse of the worlds 7 floral kingdomsThere are more species on the Cape Peninsula than in the entire United KingdomIt has been noted as one of the worlds 18 'biodiversity hotspots'

The Cape is divided into eight floral regions, each with their own dominating species and rare finds. Flowering begins in the northern regions and spreads southwards as the season progresses. Good points to keep in mind while on a walk, cycle or drive are that flowers turn towards the sun and therefore you should keep the sun behind you while viewing them. Also the flowers are at their best during the hottest part of the day, 11am - 3pm.The eight regions are: Namaqualand & Hantam, the West Coast, Greater Cape Town, Cape Winelands, Breede River Valley, the Overberg, the Karoo, the Garden Route.

Free State, Northern Cape and the North-West Province

In the centre of South Africa, on the high plains of the Free State, mile upon mile of maize and wheat coat the endless prairies, punctuated by nothing but an occasional windmill or isolated farmhouse. To the north and west is an enormous expanse of almost empty semi-desert stretching from the Karoo through the rust-red dunes of the Kalahari to merge with the Namib desert, one of the thirstiest places on the earth. Together, they make up a truly massive area of wind-blown sand extending from the Northern Cape to southern Zaire - the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world. Like the Sahara, the desert is expanding.

It is a harsh, bleak, wonderful environment of strange, wind-carved rock, red-gold sand and weird succulents and stone plants. Thousands of shallow round or oval pans, ranging in size from a few hundred metres to several square kilometres, trap tiny amounts of rain and dew in their hard, grey clay. These lifesaving waterholes support a surprising variety of life, from small reptiles to dramatically beautiful, drought-hardened antelope such as gemsbok and springbok.

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Where rivers or underground water feed the grass, there are some of Africa's largest remaining wildlife sanctuaries, such as the remote Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Even people manage to survive here, from the last few desert-wise Bushmen to doughty Afrikaner farmers who bleed water drop by drop from boreholes deep underground to support scattered herds of cattle and game. Game farming is increasingly popular in such difficult terrain. A staggeringly long list of people over all three provinces are eager to help you blast the animal of your choice, and many of the private reserves are stocked specifically for hunting; quite a few small towns list the local taxidermist as an attraction. As a result, the animals are far too wary of humans to get close, limiting photographers' chances for decent snapshots. The good news is that hunting is expensive, carefully controlled, and carried out under strict supervision. Licences for big game hunting are only handed out when culling is strictly necessary.

The thread that binds - and feeds - the region is South Africa's largest river, the Orange (Gariep) River. It rises at Maluti in the Lesotho Drakensberg, flowing north-west for 2,250km to meet the Atlantic coast at Alexander Bay. The river basin covers 606,700sq km (47 per cent of South Africa) and drains 22 per cent of all water in South Africa. The country's second largest river, the Vaal, is a tributary. The Orange River Development Project, founded in 1963 to provide hydroelectric power and irrigation, includes long tunnels and canals and two massive dams, the Gariep (Hendrik Verwoerd) and the

Vanderkloof (P K Le Roux). From the central prairies, the river flows through the desert in a narrow strip of emerald green. The Orange River Valley is one of the major wineareas of South Africa, and also produces table grapes, sultanas and much other fruit.

The real money, however, comes from underground. Diamonds were discovered here in 1869 and vast fortunes (By the Randlords) were made in the Kimberley area. There are still many working diamond mines in the region as well as increasing undersea harvesting of old river gravel.

History - Big Hole - Diamonds

The famous diamond town, Kimberly, lies 979 km north-east of Cape Town and 485km south-west of Johannesburg. In 1871, the first diamond was discovered at Colesberg Kopje. Prospectors rushed to the area and a tented town sprang up. Originally called New Rush, the village was renamed Kimberley in 1873, in honour of the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Earl of Kimberley. During the Anglo-Boer War, the town was besieged by the Boers for 124 days. Over 3,000 women and children sheltered in the mine tunnels, while the workshops were converted to make ammunition and a huge gun, Long Cecil. The Honoured Dead Memorial (Memorial Road), commissioned by Rhodes with an inscription by Rudyard Kipling, commemorates the siege dead; at its base stands Long Cecil. Kimberley is now a city of around 200,000 people with several museums, although Kimberley diamonds are the biggest draw. The mines still produce about 4,000 carats a day.

Kimberley's wealth paid for some beautiful buildings, such as the rococo City Hall (1899), the Dutch Reformed church (1885) and the Kimberley Club (1882). Equally imposing are the

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mansions built by the diamond magnates, such as Dunluce (1897; 10 Lodge Road), the Rudd House (5-7 Loch Road) and the Oppenheimer House (7 Lodge Road). The Diggers' Fountain by Herman Wald, in the Oppenheimer Memorial Gardens, depicts five miners holding a diamond sieve.

Birth of Aviation in South Africa

After John Weston made a non-stop flight of 8 min 30 sec in 1911, the country's first flight school opened in Kimberley. This resulted in the first 10 qualifying cadets being sent to England where they underwent further training in the Royal Flying Corps, a division of the Royal Navy – and precursor to the Royal Air Force. In 1921, Sir Pierre van Ryneveld and General Kennie Vanderspuy established the South African Air Force, using a nucleus of some 50 biplanes and equipment from the British Government – so becoming the second oldest airforce after the RAF. The Memorial to the Pioneers of Aviation, at Kimberley, consists of a monument, a reconstructed hangar on the site of the original flight school hangar, various memorabilia and a replica Compton-Paterson biplane.

Discovery of Gold

In April 1938, a borehole sunk on St Helena Farm, near Welkom, drove through the lava walls of a vast underground treasure trove. Gold was found in quantities that staggered the world. By 1946, following the discovery of fabulous deposits on a farm named Geduld, at Odendaalsrus, it seemed that the Free State was the new EI Dorado. The Free State goldfields currently produce more than a third of the country's output; the names of its mines daily echo around international stock exchanges, and its goldfields rival those of the Witwatersrand as the richest in the world. Local resources also include many other valuable minerals, from manganese and copper to uranium.

General Reference Websites

http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/fauna_flora/flora.htm

http://www.safrica.info/

www.southafrica.net

African Aero Safaris Tel 27 11 462 4521 Fax 27 11 462 4547 Cell 27 82 392 1034 Safari1@aerosafari.com www.aerosafari.com