10 interesting facts about South Africa

It’s no secret that South Africa is famous for its wine. After all, it’s the seventh-biggest producer of wine on the planet. But did you know South Africa also has the longest wine route on Earth? Route 62 winds 850 kilometres from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth – so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to stop off and sip the country’s famous Chenin Blanc. If you’re looking for more Cape Town facts and inspiration, check out our six-day tour of the Garden Route and Cape Winelands.

South Africa has the world’s biggest land mammal, the African elephant, and the biggest reptile, the leatherback turtle. South Africa’s ostrich claims the prize for being the largest bird on the planet. If you book a safari in South Africa, you might also see an eland, which is the world’s biggest and slowest kind of antelope. And, of course, the Rainbow Nation is home to the fastest land mammal on Earth, the cheetah.

South Africa is renowned for its natural beauty, culture and history, and the country boasts nine UNESCO World Heritage sites. Our top pick is Robben Island. Anchored off the shores of Cape Town, this famous prison is a must-visit. And one of the most famous Cape Town facts is that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for 18 years, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Learn all about the destination’s history in the museum, or book a place on one of the daily tours.

Perhaps one of the most surprising South Africa facts is that despite covering an area of more than 1.2 million square kilometres, which is five times bigger than the UK, South Africa is only the ninth-biggest country in Africa. In case you were wondering, Algeria is the largest. It’s nearly twice the size of South Africa.

Not content with having one capital city, South Africa has three. The executive capital is Pretoria, the judicial capital is Bloemfontein, and Cape Town is the legislative capital. But did you know that Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa? While all four cities have their own appeal, we’d recommend spending at least 48 hours in Cape Town. You can ride the cable car up to Table Mountain, hop between various wine bars, and make the most of the incredible dining scene.

A direct flight from the UK to Johannesburg takes about 11 hours while flying to Cape Town takes half an hour longer. It might be a bit of a journey, but it’s unique in the fact that you won’t suffer from jet lag. Luckily, South Africa is only two hours ahead of GMT. This is particularly good if you’re planning a family holiday because, in terms of meal times and kids’ sleep patterns, it’s no different from flying to Greece or Egypt.

South Africa shares its 4,900-kilometre-long border with five countries – Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. And, unusually, it completely surrounds the tiny country of the Kingdom of Lesotho. If you want to make the most of your time in Africa, check out our multi-centre holidays or escorted tours. Our 16-day South African Odyssey tour includes a trip across the border to Swaziland, while others take in the magnificent Victoria Falls.

Just like the UK, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa drives on the left – which makes that road trip along the Garden Route so much easier.

A springbok. You’ll see this gazelle-like creature everywhere on your holiday, from postage stamps to the country’s Coat of Arms. It’s also the nickname for their national rugby team, who are affectionately known as “the Boks”.

Zulu is the most commonly spoken, but you’ll also hear English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Swati, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Sepedi, Ndebele, Setswana and Tshivenda. If you’d like to say ‘hello’ in Zulu, you should say ‘Sawubona’ – which is pronounced exactly how it looks. And ‘thank you’ in Zulu is ‘ngiyabonga’, pronounced ‘gee-a-bunga’.