A Journey to South Africa
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Cape Point Natural Reserve, the Augrable Falls, the Table Mountains…These wonders and many more make up the picturesque country of South Africa. Her landscape is awe-inspiring because it accommodates few of world’s magical impressions every traveler would take home. Just as a rainbow has 7 colors of different shades, so does the country encompass divergent races of people. This observation propelled the former Archbishop Desmond Tutu to coin South Africa as the “Rainbow Nation”. Yes! This nation has abundant history, culture, music and art that only magnify its presence in the southernmost part of Africa.
Features of South Africa
South Africa houses three capital cities to serve the three tiers of government, namely Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judiciary). The popular Johannesburg is the center of commerce and one of the most sought after destinations in South Africa. The country divided into nine provinces. Its official languages are numbered 11 with Afrikaans, English, Zulu and Xhosa spearheading, and each language spoken by different ethnic groups. Of course this variety doesn’t end in ethnic groups and languages. It pierces further into religion. According to Wikitravel, 68% of the population is Christians, 2% is Muslims and the remnant percentage is occupied by traditionalist worshippers. SA boasts of the second largest economy in Africa with an infrastructure that is almost equal to world – class standards. In sites like Limpopo, you could observe some of the oldest archaeological and human fossils.
Climate, Plant and Animal life
SA is rich in history, flora & fauna and culture and also a famous contributor in the world economy as she constitutes a global producer of gold and enthralls tourists with its renowned wines and beers. The distinctive tall mountains separate fertile coastal plains from high interior plateaus. In these plateaus, desired mineral resources have been discovered, particularly gold and diamonds. The forests in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces provide the nation with yellowwood, ironwood and lemonwood trees. Animals here in South Africa are copious and give a taste of Africa’s most adventurous wildlife in the game reserves. Those animals are numerous mammals such as lions, elephants, zebras, leopards, monkeys, baboons, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, and antelopes among others. The Bird life here is an excellent addition to nature as they range from ostrich, francolin (a type of partridge), quail, and guinea fowl, to grouse. South Africa enjoys a generally warm, temperate climate. Most of the country experiences light rainfall and long hours of sunshine.
We have four basic ethnic groups: The Blacks, the Whites (Afrikaners and British), the Colored and the Asians (mainly Indians). The Blacks outnumber the rest three groups as the Blacks make up the tribes of Zulu, Xhosa, North Sotho, Tswana, South Sotho, and Tsonga. The Afrikaners are immediate descendants of the Dutch.
Brief History
This diversity goes way back in history. In the 1600s, the “rainbow” began to emerge when the Dutch East Indian Company made permanent settlements in South Africa. This happened in a bid to construct provision stations for ships passing through the coasts of South Africa. The Dutch bartered with the San and KhoiKhoi tribes to deliver Boers (farmers in Dutch) to cultivate and improve on the vegetation and livestock of the land. Soon wars broke out and Boers ended being imprisoned, tortured and killed. The British came into the picture and aggravated the pressure on the South Africans. Politics began to fit in the later years. One of the parties in 1948, the National Party desired to promote the Afrikaners’ culture at the expense of other races. The popular apartheid policy was implemented. Racial segregation came in.
Blacks were unjustly treated from every facet. Schools were segregated. Public utilities were segregated. No go areas for the indigenes increased by the day. The amenities meant for other races aside the apartheid followers were of the lowest standard and justice wasn’t adhered to even from high authorities. Soon this unfairness agitated the victims of the policy and internal battles began to set in. In the course of the fight for human rights, the victims were defeated and leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) such as Nelson Mandela were sentenced to life imprisonment (1962). Decades later, the sad development in SA was disfavored by other developed countries such as the USA. SA was banned from the international community. The Olympic Games shut the doors. Celebrities boycotted the country and even composed songs against her.
This external threat panicked the government and it was realized that the apartheid policy wasn’t beneficial for any side of the story. The assassination of political activist Chris Hani became a catalyst to take action. Thus, in 1990, President F.W de Klerk approved the release of Nelson Mandela as a sign of reconciliation and went ahead to see reasons on how to stop the apartheid policy with other members of the African National Congress. Despite the attacks of some extremists in the 1990s, the apartheid policy was finally voted against. Till date, struggles of unification still exist but the beauty of diversity amazes everyone and can accomplish wonders. Don’t you think?
Music, Art and Natural Attractions
The depth of the colonialism affected the formation of culture in SA and penned its music and art. The music here reflects different styles such as gospel, jazz, and rock but often have a strong African flavor. Kwela- jazzy street music, Kwaito- house music and Mbuze- Zulu local music are just some of the genres you would fall in love with. The Gunboot dance is another characteristic feature, in remembrance of the time where the black Africans were given Wellingtons to protect their feet and communicated in the dark by slapping and thudding their boots.
There are beautiful natural attractions that every traveler coming to SA should explore. These attractions could be: the Cape Point Natural Reserve at the tip of the Cape Peninsula with 3000 African penguins visiting it, The Table Mountains with its distinctive flat top, the World of Birds- the largest bird park in Africa and many more that would be discussed in other articles. Despite the fact that it is an unequal country where the opulence and severe poverty can often be observed together, the well developed infrastructure and its modern amenities has elevated South Africa into a relatively developed country and a sought – after tourist destination. |
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