Trips to South Africa

South Africa, a country located just on the southern tip of the African continent, is an unquestionably beautiful and historically fascinating place to visit.  Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana all border South Africa.  All told, the country has a whopping eleven official languages and the population is similarly diverse and varied, as is the landscapes and climates which can be found in the country.  Trips to South Africa are more than just trips as a result.  You get to experience pretty much everything that Africa itself has to offer in all its different countries.  To give you an idea of its diversity, take the religions found in South Africa: they range from indigenous, native religions to the more well known ones, such as Hindu, Muslim, and Christianity.

South Africa is revered and widely visited for many reasons, one of which is its well known and sumptuous wines.  It also produces more gold than anywhere else in the world.  It has one of the strongest and most stable economies in all of Africa.  Next year, in 2010, the very first Football World Cup will be held in South Africa.

The country is divided into nine different provinces and two territories.  The provinces are: Eastern Cape; Western Cape; Northern Cape; North West; Free State; KwaZulu-Natal; Gauteng; Mpumalanga; and Limpopo.  Marian Island and the Prince Edward Islands make up the two territories.  Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa, while Cape Town is the legislative capital and one of the most well known cities.  It is, in fact, considered to be a world class city, and it was named because it is so close to the famed Cape of Good Hope.  It is also close to the wine lands of the country.  Johannesburg is another well known city, in addition to being the heart of Africa's entire economy.

For those into natural history, South Africa is a must.  It contains a number of different parks, both large and small, the largest and most popular of which are the Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.  The latter is located smack in the middle of the gorgeous Kalahari desert.