Wolfberg Arch - Cedarbeg	Baboons - Cape of Goodhope

Introduction

About 48 million people of numerous population groups, with different languages, cultural backgrounds and origins coexist in South Africa.

The bigger ethnic groups are the Zulus (21%), the Xhosas (17%) and the Sotho (15%). Next are smaller groups such as the Tswana, Venda, Ndebele, Swazi, Pedi and others.

The province of KwaZulu Natal is home to about one million Indians, whose forefathers came to South Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations.

There are approximately 3 million people of mixed race, the so-called "coloureds," mainly living in the Cape region. They are descendants of the first Dutch settlers and the native population of the Cape (Khoikhoi) or the Malays, who were taken to South Africa as slaves from the East Indies in the 18th century. The "coloureds" have a unique cultural heritage.

The white population of South Africa amounts to 8 % (+- 4 million) of the national population. Many are Afrikaners derived from Dutch, German or French immigrants. The English speaking part of the white population is concentrated in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces and in KwaZulu Natal. South Africa also has many European immigrants from all over the world.

The apartheid regime legislated almost every facet of social society on the basis of colour and the differences among the various ethnic groups. This policy of racial segregation served to guarantee the political and economic power of the white minority. Most South Africans have to come realise the abhorrence of the apartheid policies and realise the need to accept and deal with the consequences of this disastrous plan.

Languages

Although South Africa has 11 official languages the major spoken languages, in business, are English and Afrikaans. The other nine languages are African languages, the most widely spoken being Zulu and Xhosa. There are also a significant number of South Africans who speak Greek, Portuguese and German.

Highlights

Game Drive - Mkhaya Swaziland	Addo Elephants

South Africa is truly a land of contrasts and one cannot hope to experience the entire spectrum of landscape, cultural and wildlife opportunities on one visit! Some of these highlights are:

• Wildlife: Most visitors are attracted to our world-class wildlife areas and national parks, which cater for the entire range of experiences from luxury lodges to back packing wilderness trails. Our national parks are ideal for guided tours with African Insight specialist wildlife guides, while the private luxury lodges are ideal for self-drive or fly-drive packages.
  
   
• Marine life: South Africa is home to some of the best land or boat-based whale watching in the world as well as diverse dive sites along our beautiful coastline.
  
   
• Birding: South Africa offers unparallelled bird watching with many endemic species as well as seasonal migrants.
  
   
• Flowers and plants: The incredible bio-diversity is due to unique physical features and South Africa is home to the distinct Cape Floral Kingdom, many botanical gardens and, of course, the spring - flower riot that happens in Namaqualand.
  
   
• Landscapes and geology: Beach to bush to desert, scrub to mountains, indigenous forests to moon landscapes, meteorite sites to deep caves, South Africa offers it all. African Insight can take you there!
  
   
• Culture: For many overseas people, Africa is synonymous with the name “Zulu”, but equally fascinating are the local customs and cultures of the other 18 South African tribes, African Insight specialises in authentic, contemporary cultural tourism where visitors have the opportunity of meeting real people in everyday situations. We do not support the cultural “tourist traps” where damage has been done through commercial exploitation.
  
   
• History: Southern Africa has been described as a ‘History Pressure Cooker’ – where so much happened in such a short time, almost to the point where the transition from Stone Age to the present day age is within living memory! Home to the ‘cradle of mankind’ where the oldest human fossil records were discovered. The ancient city of Mapungubwe which, one thousand years ago, was the centre of the largest kingdom in the sub-continent, where a highly sophisticated people traded gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt. The age-old rock art of the San Bushman. The first settlers and their history, through the era of apartheid to a modern, free country – its all here.
  
   
• Historical sites: South African soil is home to so many places of historical interest that visitors are spoiled for choice. Battle sites, monuments, prison camps, Soweto itself, Robben Island and much more!
  
   
• Food and Wine: One would be forgiven for visiting South African just for the food and wine! The bounty from the sea and the land are used to create a heady mix of European, Asian and African styles of cooking. There are fourteen different wine routes in the regions surrounding Cape Town and world-class wines are produced here.

Climate

Clouds over the Kalahari	Mariepskop - Eastern Escarpment

Here in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite to those in the north. Spring and summer are from September to February while autumn (fall) and winter are from March to August.

Most of South Africa falls into a summer rainfall region, except for the Cape, which has a Mediterranean climate with winter rains.

South Africa has a predominantly mild climate but certain areas experience extremes of cold and heat – according to the seasons. We still have the highest average number of days of sunshine in the world.