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SOUTH AFRICA OVERLANDIf you are having trouble deciding on how to start your African Adventure — then starting with South Africa is a great choice. It has excellent infrastructure, the climate is fantastic and you will be hard pressed to find better wildlife viewing than in South Africa. Come and visit one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world! South Africa have it all, deserts, savannas, snow-covered mountains, grasslands, high forests, sandy beaches, wine farms, home of the big five and much more. MUST DO'S
MORE INFO ON SOUTH AFRICA: One thing South Africans have in common is their shared love for endless wide-open spaces of their country. Space to breath in semi- desert plains, in the wide green farmland valleys, in the high splendor of its ancient mountains, in the dense, forests; in the singing, sub tropical thickets of the bushveld, in the smooth golden grasslands of the high veld plateau; and in the endless white beaches. The wide emptiness of these beautiful landscapes, the gaiety of day to day life, the deep forest hush and the chattering of colourful birds, the twitching fidgeting herds of antelope forever on the watch for predators, the peace of the empty coasts - these are the things that make South Africa unique! GEOGRAPHY The country extends nearly 2000km from the Limpopo River in the north to Cape Agulhas in the south, and nearly 1500km from Port Nolloth in the west to Durban in the east. South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland. HISTORY The earliest recorded inhabitants of South Africa were the San (Bushmen) and the closely related Khoikhoi (Hottentots). The next arrivals were Bantu-speaking tribes in the 11th century. The first European settlement was a supply station established in 1652 by Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope. It became a colonial settlement and the Khoi-San people were driven away. CULTURE South Africa is often called the cradle of civilisation, for this is where archaeologists discovered 2,5 million-year-old fossils of our earliest ancestors, as well as 100 000-year-old remains of modern man. It is the variety of South Africa's fascinating and diverse peoples that is its greatest asset, with a population over 43 686 million. Although South Africans come from many cultural traditions, they belong to one nation, a dynamic blend of age-old customs and modern ways, building a new South African society to create a better life for all. CLIMATE The climate is generally sunny and pleasant, subtropical along East Coast; sunny days, cool nights. Eastern plateau region has a dry, sunny climate in winter with maximum temperatures around 20 deg C and a minimum at night of around 5 deg C. The rainfall season is between October and April. In the southwestern Cape regions have dry and sunny summers with maximum temperatures around 26 deg C. Winters can be cold with occasional snow on the higher peaks. This is a winter rainfall area. TRAVEL TIPS:
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