Lifestyle and Leisure
What we love about SA
David Fuller picks ten things that help to make South Africa such a great country
Beaches
Boasting 2,798 kilometres of sand-strewn coastline, South Africa's beaches are unsuprisingly one of the country's biggest attractions. Whether you want to surf, take a coastal hike or simply make the most of the sun, somewhere in South Africa there's a beach with your towel on it. Surf enthusiasts will probably be best off heading to one of the beaches situated on a stretch of coast known as Jay Bay, located around the Cape St Francis and Port Elizabeth area of the Eastern Cape. As one of the world's most renowned surf spots, surfers of all levels will find something for them there.
Fancy something completely different? Then how about sharing your towel with a penguin? Yes, you did read that right! For years jackass penguins have been making themselves at home on Boulders Beach on the Western Cape peninsula, a destination itself surrounded by the magnificent splendour of Table Mountain should the penguins not be enough of a draw for you.
Climate
This factor speaks for itself really. With over 300 days of sunshine a year, summer temperatures averaging around 25oC, but often going much higher, fairly mild winters and very little rainfall throughout the year, South Africa is the ideal destination to shake off any frustrations you have with the unpredictable and often disappointing British climate.
Cost of Living
Okay, while the days of being able to live a life of luxury on little more than £10 a week have long gone, the fact remains that, compared to the UK, SA is still cheap. A loaf of bread can currently still be bought for just over 30p, a litre of milk for 35p and 12 eggs for 53p. And even though property prices have been positively booming in recent years – 14.5 per cent nationally between February 2005 to 2006 – the average house price still only stands at ZAR760,600, or £69,745. One word of warning, however. If you are planning on arriving in South Africa with very little savings and then working out there, don't expect living costs to work out quite so affordable. The average annual wage as of February 2006 was just ZAR17,500, or £1,600.
Food
While the words "I'm just popping out for a South African takeaway" is a sentence unlikely to be heard too often in homes up and down the UK – there are still a few national dishes that will make your mouth water. Well, providing you're not a vegetarian. Biltong is perhaps the best known of these quintessentially South African foods. A dried meat marinated with rock salt, black pepper, coriander and vinegar, the chances of finding a South African meat eater who doesn't enjoy snacking on biltong is akin to finding a Brit who doesn't like fish and chips.
Potjiekos, a stew consisting of meat, vegetables, rice and water which is cooked slowly outside in a potjie (a cast iron pot) is another popular South African dish and a feature of many a social gathering. The sausage dishes of Droewors and Boerewors are also popular in SA.
Flora and fauna
While this may not be good news for hay fever sufferers, I'm sure that budding horticultralists will be delighted to know that South Africa is estimated to be home to ten per cent of all the world's different species of flora and fauna. There are said to be over 20,000 different plant types in the country, with Table Mountain National Park alone boasting more floral species in its 22,000 hectares than the whole of the British Isles.
The fynbos (Afrikaans for 'fine bush') which grows in the Cape Floral Region is particularly breathtaking. Despite only covering 0.04 per cent of the world's land area, this region has the highest concentration of different plant types anywhere in the world. But be warned, fynbos has something of a love hate relationship with fire – fynbos of a certain age needs to catch fire to survive – and the resultant blazes can be devastating and wreak havoc with the surrounding area.
Nelson Mandela
When Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island in 1990 he immediately became a symbol of hope for what the 'new' South Africa would stand for. Imprisoned in 1963 for his involvement in the planning of underground armed resistance activities against the country's then apartheid regime, Mandela's release heralded the start of a new era for South Africa as the country looked to put its chequered history and well-documented racism problems behind it. In 1994, Mandela became the first elected prime minister of South Africa as his African National Congress Party swept to victory in the country's inaugural fully representative democratic elections. Although he stood down as PM in 1999, Mandela is still revered throughout the world, and still voices his opinions on global issues on a regular basis.
Safari
While wildlife excursions in Britain's fields are unlikely to have yielded sights much beyond sheep, cows or the odd llama here and there, in South Africa things are very different. A safari in, for example, the Kruger National Park, could bring you face to face with any of the 'big five' – lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos and leopards – while you could also feasibly expect to catch a glimpse of cheetahs, hippos and crocodiles, amongst others. Those of you who feel a little bit overwhelmed by all the wildlife variety will be pleased to know that there's still plenty of sheep and cows grazing in the fields too – not in the same ones as the lions, though, for obvious reasons.
Scenery
Like climate, South Africa's scenery is another factor included in this list that needs very little explanation. From desert to lush, green lands, mountains to flat plains, South Africa's landscape is probably best described as being diverse, with breathtaking sights almost guaranteed no matter where you are.
Sport
South Africa did not take long to find its feet when it was finally allowed to re-enter the global fray in 1991 following a 21-year ban, excelling, particularly, in rugby and cricket. The cricketers (also known as the Proteas) have won matches against every other Test nation since their exile was ended, most notably beating Australia in Sydney in 1994 after dismissing the Aussies for just 111; the hosts had only needed 116 to win.
Meanwhile, the country's Rugby World Cup victory on home soil in 1995 arguably did more to promote the 'one nation' ideal than any other event before or since, as South Africans of all races joined together to get behind the 'Springboks'.
Football is also massively popular in SA, although the 'Bafana Bafana' are yet to replicate the success of the cricketers or rugby players – something they hope will change when the country hosts the World Cup in 2010.
Wine
South African wine has something of a reputation amongst wine buffs throughout the world. While it is mostly white wines which are produced in the country's 105,566 hectares of vineyards – Chenin Blanc, Sultana, Colobard and Chardonnay are among the most popular – it is probably the red wines made with pinotage (a wine grape unique to South Africa) for which the Rainbow Nation is best known. With a fruity taste and instantly recognisable smell, pinotage wine has been one of South Africa's best exports since the apartheid trade ban was lifted in the early 1990s.
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