Shopping in South Africa

South Africa is a place of remarkable people and places, offering lush forests, vast desert plains, vibrant cities, pristine beaches – and great shopping! There are sophisticated malls, vibrant markets, specialist curio shops and informal street sellers at almost every turn.
This means that while you explore the sea, mountains and abundant wildlife, you will also have a chance to explore some of the best shopping on the continent and effortlessly pick up gifts and souvenirs on your way. Along with superb local art, you will be able to buy a wide range of quality textiles, jewellery, leather goods and local beverages and even designer clothing at relatively affordable prices.
For serious shopping, South Africa is home to world-class malls in all major cities. Malls are also often centres of local entertainment and stock top brands of clothing, jewellery and accessories at large chain stores and smaller, specialised boutique outlets.  These South African shopping malls all have banking facilities, restaurants and children’s activities.
You will also find large and well-stocked local markets all over the country, with the biggest located in the major centres of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. These stock authentic traditional arts and crafts like wire sculptures, beadwork, pottery and carvings – South African shopping at its best.
There are also many specialist curio shops, which are most abundant (and expensive) at well-known tourist centres. They stock books, DVDs, ceramics, designer jewellery, cutlery and leather items like bags, belts and shoes made from local materials.
Be sure to stop at roadside stalls run by informal traders who use their artistic talents to earn a living. You can pick up anything from arts and crafts to home-made preserves, depending on the particular stall you stop at. Invariably you will also encounter street sellers, who take advantage of our great weather to ply their trade almost anywhere they can – often at traffic intersections or busy commuter routes.
Aside from the bargains and unique buys, in South Africa, shopping is also a chance to interact with local people, making shopping an even more rewarding experience. South Africa’s exchange rate is also tourist-friendly, which means that shopping is affordable – just make sure you leave enough room in your luggage!

Reference : http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=12353&sn=Detail&pid=472&Shopping-in-South-Africa

Diving with Tiger sharks

The Aliwal Shoal has become famous for its tiger shark diving, with numerous tours now offered for competent, qualified divers.

May to April is prime viewing time for this world-rated shark dive experience. Lured by the scent  of fish oil or fish offal, lithe, ferocious tiger sharks, considered to be one of the most dangerous and rare sharks in the world, appear in the water, along with their scavenging side-kicks, up to 50 black-tip reef sharks, at a time.

Breathe slow and shallow, no sudden movements, and “shark jockey’s” beware - you need to show respect to these 4 m long deep sea predators if you don’t want to end up being dinner. As they glide within inches of you, up to 8 “tigers” at a time, this incredible encounter’s for qualified, experienced scuba-junkies only, to watch in silent awe.

Once the sharks realise you’re less appetising than you look, they swim off, making way for dolphins, turtles, moray eels, potato bass, reef and pelagic fish, rays (devil, manta, bull, eagle) and more sharks - bull, guitar, sand sharks, and in summer masses of breeding ‘raggies’ (ragged tooth sharks).

Reference:http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=28121&sn=Detail&pid=117526&Diving-with-Tiger-sharks

Craft markets

Items sold at South African craft markets are varied and can range from traditional beaded necklaces and clay pots to eco-friendly bags made from recycled material and fruit bowls made of colourful wire.
With afro-chic items gaining popularity around globe, local crafters are rising to the occasion by widening their range of contemporary items but still retaining the use of traditional materials, such as shweshwe fabric, glass beads, leather and clay.
Regardless of whether you’re looking for funky items for your home, traditional souvenirs or understated items for gifts, there’s something for everyone at craft markets in South Africa.

Amongst the local craft markets not to be missed is Cape Town's Waterfront Craft Market. Locals and travellers flock to the country's largest indoor market, hosting over 120 stalls, which can be found wedged between the V & A Waterfront and the Two Oceans Aquarium.

Colourful, noisy and buzzing with activity, the Pan African Market is another must-visit market. Also in Cape Town, the Pan African Market offers 3 floors of African masks, clothing, wooden figurines, paintings and other African-inspired cu rios.

For a real taste of local flavour, go to the Khayelitsha Craft Market, situated 40 kilometres south-east of Cape Town’s city centre. Here, within a vibrant township, you may get the chance to meet the crafters in addition to purchasing their wares.

The Mgwali Village Market in Stutterheim and the Mzamba Village Market near Port Edward both focus on Xhosa crafts, such as beaded dresses and wraps, jewellery, woven items and paintings.

If you're in Mpumalanaga, the Kruger National Park's road-side markets focus on Swazi, Tsonga and Sotho traditional crafts. Look out for the 4 markets near the Numbi, Kruger, Phalaborwa and Punda Maria gates for a taste of authentic local crafts.
Reference:http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=8706&sn=Detail&pid=439&Craft-markets

South Africa's National Monuments

There are many South African national monuments and memorials commemorating those people and events that shaped the country. Some of these, such as Robben Island, are World Heritage Sites, others point to the quirky side of our character.

Among the many national memorials are the Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek, dedicated to the French religious refugees who settled at the Cape in the late 17th century; the magnificent Union Buildings in Pretoria; and the Samora Machel Monument at Komatipoort where the Mozambican president's plane crashed.

Then there is the Owl House at Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape. One of the best examples of Outsider Art in the world, it was created by the eccentric Helen Martins during the last 30 years of her life. In that time she completely transformed her typical Karoo cottage into a haunting world of glass and mirrors.

As poignant is the National Women's Monument in Bloemfontein. This honours the thousands of women and children who succumbed in the concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War.

Provincial monuments and memorials celebrate everything from battles and the arrival of the British settlers in 1820 to hyena traps and temples. In Port Elizabeth there is the only monument in the world to Prester John, the mythical priest thought to be the key to vast African wealth and the inspiration for 15th century Portuguese exploration.

In Mossel Bay is the first post office in South Africa - a tree. In 1500 a Portuguese captain left a letter in an iron pot under a milkwood, which was found and delivered by a Dutch naval commander the following year. The tree is now a South African national monument known as the Post Office Tree.

So whereever you are in South Africa there is a monument or memorial that tells a part of our fascinating story.

Reference : http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=11174&sn=Detail&pid=716&South-Africa-s-National-Monuments

Cultural Villages

A big part of what makes South Africa special is its diverse, unique cultures and traditions. To best give you an insight into this rich heritage, cultural villages in South Africa have been opened to visitors, where you can see people from various tribes living the way their ancestors lived.

Cultural villages in South Africa are home to the Pedi, Zulu, Xhosa, Basotho, Twana, Shangaan and Ndebele, who spend their days tending cattle, building and decorating their distinctive huts, moulding clay pots, weaving baskets, crushing maize, brewing beer, taking part in ritual dancing and occasionally consulting the local traditional healer. The beauty of South African rural villages is that travellers are invited to participate, giving you an authentic feel of what life was like in the past and, in some cases, what it is like in the present for those people who remain living in rural conditions.
Among the best known of these is the Basotho cultural village at the foot of the sandstone mountains in the Free State province, Shakaland and Simunye Zulu village in KwaZulu-Natal, and Lesedi cultural village in the Gauteng province. While traditional practices might be similar, each tribe enjoys its own customs in hut-making, hut decorating, dance, language and dress.
You will be told of the people's history and culture, while being offered traditional food and brew. You can also have your fortune told by a witchdoctor throwing bones. Entertainment comes in the form of rousing tribal dance performances. At some of the villages, you can stay overnight, completing an authentic African experience worthy of many a dinner party tale back home.
Some of these South African villages are also excellent responsible tourism projects, as the money generated from tourism is ploughed back into the communities, enabling them to be self-sufficient and preserving their age-old traditions.

Reference: http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=5582&sn=Detail&pid=7014&Cultural-Villages

South African Natural Heritage Sites

South Africa's four natural heritage sites each foreground the planet's natural elements - water, air, earth and fire - in some way.

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park may feature a surprising range of habitats and eco-systems, but the overpowering theme here is water. Trailing up 280 km of KwaZulu-Natal coastline, it includes Africa's largest estuary at Lake St Lucia, a 60 km-long river mouth parallel to the coast yet separated by forested sand dunes.  Drawn to this water world are hundreds of bird species and some interesting amphibians, while in the wild Indian Ocean waters off shore, the passing sea traffic includes whales and sharks.

Air or, more precisely wind, has been a force in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, shaping the spectacular mountain scenery.  Carving breathtaking precipices and soaring peaks, the wind has left South Africa with a natural world heritage site not only for the eyes to marvel at, but to challenge the body with rock climbing, abseiling and hiking.  In the winter, when snow dusts these wind-hewn monuments, the stunning visual effect is doubled.

In the Cape Floral Region, a South African natural heritage site that stretches from the Peninsula to the Eastern Cape, Mother Earth has given birth to a plant life so rich, it includes 3% of all the species to found in the world.  A good share can only be seen in this corner of the globe.

In the formation of the fourth Natural World Heritage Site in South Africa, the Vredefort Dome that traverses the Free State and North West border, fire played a key role.  This vast crater was shaped billions of years ago, when a meteorite the size of Table Mountains slammed into the earth.  As it passed through the earth's atmosphere it heated up enormously, crashing to earth as a blazing fireball.

Reference :http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/natural

South Africa's wildlife attractions

South Africa is one of only 17 countries in the world that is considered to be mega-diverse. Between them, these countries are home to the majority of the earth's species, so if it’s animals you’re looking for, South Africa’s wildlife will not disappoint.
South Africa’s astonishing array of wildlife is protected in a range of private game reserves, national parks, transfrontier parks and animal sanctuaries, located in the most diverse and beautiful landscapes imaginable.
From lunar-like deserts, to mountains, estuaries, beaches and bushveld, there are a number of places to view animals interacting in their natural habitats. Whether its penguins at Boulders Beach or crocodiles at iSimangaliso, or perhaps the big cats that roam our private game reserves, you won’t be disappointed by South Africa’s wildlife.
Common bushveld mammals include lion, leopard, white rhino, blue wildebeest, kudu, impala, hyena, hippopotamus and giraffe, not to mention smaller mammals like the fruit bat and the bush baby. There are also thousands of amphibians, reptiles, fish, butterflies, bugs and beetles that form part of South Africa’s animal kingdom.
There are also more than 850 bird species recorded in South Africa and 50 of these are endemic or near endemic and can only be seen in this country. South Africa also teems with more than 20 000 plant species, which form 10% of all the known species of plants in the world
You can enjoy South Africa's biodiversity in a number of ways – on foot with specially trained guides, on guided game drives, from a hot air balloon or river raft while enjoying a wide range of accommodation to suit any budget.
Reference : http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=6851&sn=Detail&pid=137&South-Africa-s-wildlife-attractions

Walking with cheetahs, exploring the sand dunes...

On top of the world - Table Mountain

Travel tips -- what to wear

South Africans are generally laid back when it comes to clothing so no need to haul out your best silks and diamonds when heading for our shores unless you're attending a very prestigious event.

Here is some advice on what to wear in South Africa:

• For the summers, bring clothes that are cool, light and comfortable because summer temperatures can get well into the 30 degree range in some areas.
• Also bring an umbrella or raincoat during summer as this is when most of the country gets its rain. In areas like Gauteng and the North West Province, thundershowers are common. A light jacket or wrap is a good precaution. Don't forget a swimming costume (bathing suit).
• The winters are generally mild, comparing favourably with European summers.  But we do get some days when temperatures dive, especially in high-lying areas such as the Drakensberg, so be prepared with jerseys and jackets. Cape Town gets its rain during the winter season so its advisable to bring rain gear along.
• Always bring a hat, sunglasses and sunblock as the sun can be strong even in the winter months.
• Walking shoes are a good idea all year-round, with warm socks in the winter.
• If you are doing business in the country, business attire  (suit and tie) is generally called for in the corporate sector, but media for example generally dress more casually.
• For game viewing, a couple of neutral-toned items will be useful, but there's no need to go overboard. A good pair of walking shoes is also advisable.
• For the evening, if you are dining at an upmarket restaurant or seeing a show, smart-casual attire is recommended.

Reference : http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/travel-tips-detail?oid=13877&sn=Detail&pid=156

Travel tips--Visa requirements

To apply for a visa you'll be required to furnish particular documentation to meet South Africa's visa requirements. These include:

1. A passport valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit, and at least 1 unused page for entry/departure endorsements (sometimes referred to as the visa page).
2. Payment of the prescribed fee, if applicable.
3. A vaccination certificate, if required (travel through the yellow fever belts of Africa and South America requires inoculation)
4. Statement and/or documentation confirming the purpose and duration of your visit.
5. Two identity photographs (guidelines on website).
6. Proof of financial means in the form of bank statements; salary advices; undertakings by your hosts in South Africa; bursaries; medical cover; or cash available, including credit cards or travellers' cheques.
7. If travelling by air, a return or onward ticket; or proof of sufficient funds; or a cash deposit of equivalent value to an air ticket must be lodged.

Take care to request the correct duration of stay and type of visa.  Also check on processing time so that there is no last-minute panic.

reference: http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/travel-tips-detail?oid=13874&sn=Detail&pid=156

Travel tips-- Best time to visit South African

With our year round temperate climate, your decision about the best time to visit South Africa will not so much be based on the weather but more about the experiences and adventures you wish to have.
For example, South Africa’s winter months (June, July, August) – which have the least rainfall, except for the Western Cape with its Mediterranean climate - is a peak time for game viewing as a shortage of water means animals gather at watering holes. Foliage is also less, which makes game spotting easier. But depending on the experiences you seek, there may be another time that's more suitable to visit South Africa's game parks. For example, if you want to see newborn animals, then September/October is the best time to visit.
And while holidaymakers flock to Cape Town and the Western Cape in the summer months to take advantage of the lovely weather, beautiful beaches, and many outdoor adventures to be had, winter - even though the rainy season - also has its charm. Visiting the Cape winelands during winter is a special treat.

Autumn, winter and spring are also ideal times to visit the Northern Cape’s wonderful national parks with their black-maned lions, and is a good time to enjoy animal tracking adventures with the Kalahari Bushmen. During summer months, temperatures here can get unbearably hot.
For a South African winter beach holiday, Durban in KwaZulu-Natal is the place to go with its year-round T-shirt weather and warm Indian Ocean, which makes for great water-based adventures.
Hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains is also great all year round. Do be aware that in winter, night temperatures can drop below freezing, and snow can sometimes be found in the higher reaches. During the summer months, afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurance.
There are some adventures in South Africa that can only be experienced at specific times of year. For example, if you want to experience the world-famous Namaqualand daisies, then September (our spring) is the time to visit. The famous Sardine Run, a unique phenomenon when millions of sardines travel up the east coast of South Africa causing a feeding frenzy that attracts thousands of sharks, dolphins, whales, birds and other ocean predators, occurs between May and July.
If you love hiking, spring and autumn are the ideal times to hike as temperatures are not too hot or cold. Spring and autumn are also the best times to visit for fly-fishing in South Africa.
For those seeking to explore South Africa’s rich heritage, cultures, and political past, you can visit any time of year, unless of course your interest is a specific event like the Zulu reed dance, which takes place in September every year.

Reference: http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/travel-tips-detail?oid=13392&sn=Detail&pid=156

beautiful South Africa

Destination South Africa

South Africa is an incredible destination in so many ways - it is the kind of destination that will touch all of your senses in a myriad of ways, and once all is said and done you probably won't be the same again. Our incredible diversity is a key attraction - from the deserts of the Kgalagadi to the lush green forests of Tsitsikamma to the unspoilt beaches of the Wild Coast to the vibrant nightlife of Cape Town - we really do have it all.
South Africa is mercurial in nature, one moment you'll be exploring the origins of ancient man, the next you're cage-diving with Great White Sharks and the next you're drinking traditional beer in a lively township shebeen. South Africa really is a destination where you can experience it all, more.
As a people, we are known for our humanity - we may have come from a past filled with separation and struggle but our future is one of unity and possibility. In true African spirit, we understand the value of a warm South African welcome, and we can't wait to welcome you to our Rainbow Nation - in 11 official languages.
There are nine spectacular provinces for you to explore - nine incredible diverse parts of the country that will open up your sense of possibility in ways you never thought possible. Oh, and by the way - we do have a sensational climate (with over 300 days of sunshine per year in some parts). We are also extremely proud of our superb infrastructure - excellent roads, a great variety of accommodation options and world-class service.

South Africa truly is a ground-breaking destination for explorers and adventurers who want to experience life in all its fullness. We're a destination that allows you to scratch below the surface and experience endless possibilities, and to walk away the richer for having been here.  

reference：http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/home