South Africa

Cape Town Which continent do you think South Africa is in? United Kingdom South Africa

South Africa actually has 3 Capital Cities

Pretoria is the administrative capital. Cape Town is the legislative capital and where the parliament meets. Bloemfontein is the judicial capital and where the supreme court sits. Geography Most of South Africa's landscape is made up of high, flat areas called plateaus. These lands are covered with rolling grasslands, called highveld, and tree-dotted plains called bushveld.

To the east, south, and west of the plateau lands is a mountainous region called the Great Escarpment. The eastern range, called the Drakensberg, or Dragon's Mountain, is filled with jagged peaks, some more than 11,400 feet (3,475 meters) high.

Interestingly, South Africa has another country within its borders. Nestled in the Drakensberg is the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho. Much of South Africa's water comes from the snow-capped peaks of this tiny, landlocked nation.

South Africa has a very long coast line and the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet at Cape Agulhas, the Southern most tip of Africa. Highveld Bushveld

Drakensberg mountain range Rugged coastline Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was the first black President of South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison for trying to make life fair for all South Africans. After he left prison, he worked to achieve human rights and a better future for everyone in South Africa. The South African Flag

It was raised for the first time for the inauguration of president Nelson Mandela on the 27th April 1994.

It is the only flag with six colours in the world.

The flag should always be flown with the blue stripe at the bottom. South Africa has 11 official languages The South African Anthem

The national anthem is sung in 4 different languages:

Verse 1 – isiZulu

Verse 2 – Seshoto

Verse 3 – Afrikaans

Verse 4 – English The South African Anthem

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo, Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land.

Currency – The Rand. The National Animal

The springbok is South Africa’s national animal. It is a medium-sized antelope that likes to live in dry areas, where the grass doesn’t get too long.

Photo courtesy of lizenttenel10(@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution The big five The National Flower

The King Protea (South Africa’s national flower) is the protea with the largest flower. The flowers can as big as 30cm in diameter! The king protea grows naturally as part of the Fynbos biome in the Western Cape.

Photo courtesy of Eugene Ward(@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution South Africans love sport! They have excellent rugby and cricket teams but football is the most popular Some traditional South African food. • Biltong (dried meat) & droewors (dried sausage) • Boerewors.(Farmer’s sausage) This is a sausage made from beef, mixed with either pork or lamb and a mixture of spices. • Chakalaka (spicy tomato & vegetable relish) & pap(maize porridge) • Melktert. (Milk tart) • Koeksisters (fried dough that is dipped in honey or syrup) Saying hello and goodbye in Zulu. Saying hello in Afrikaans. Saying the colours of the rainbow in Afrikaans.