Gap Year Destinations

Where to go

Africa: South Africa

Located on the tip of the continent, South Africa has the big five, ten Nobel Prize winners and over 1500 miles of coastline.

Environment

South Africa’s most striking feature is its long coastline which stretches across the Atlantic and Indian oceans and is home to the Cape of Good Hope, a notoriously dangerous spot for sailors! The interior of the country is largely made up of vast plains known as Karoo, which are home to a huge variety of wildlife, including the big five; lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalos, as well as wildebeest, impalas, hyenas, hippopotamus, giraffes, and more. Twenty thousand different species of plants also grow in South Africa.

Climate

South Africa’s climate is hugely varied, due to its geography. Cape Town’s climate is much like ours in reverse (due to it being in the Southern Hemisphere), but with warmer, and very windy winters and hotter summers. Johannesburg is on a plateau called Highveld, and has a dry, mild, sunny climate with very occasional snow due to its altitude.

Demographics and Language

47 million people call South Africa home. Just under 80% are black, and just under 10% are white, with the rest of the population being made up by Asians, and mixed race people.

There are eleven official languages in South Africa, although many more than that are spoken in the country. Zulu is the most commonly spoken language, with almost a quarter of the population speaking it. 13% of South Africans speak Afrikaans and just under 10% speak English. Other languages spoken are Xhosa, Sotho, Ndebele and Tswana, as well as many more.

Cuisine

South African cuisine is meat-based, with European and African cooking styles evident across the country. Barbeques are common, and many foods are spiced with nutmeg, allspice and hot peppers (referred to as Cape Dutch cookery). Other common ingredients are limes, garlic, ginger, chili, tomatoes and onions. Due to the Asian population, Indian cookery is widely enjoyed. South Africa is also well known worldwide for its vineyards.

Religion

Most South Africans are Christian, making up approximately 80% of the population. Other religions present are Hinduism and Islam, while 15% of South Africans have no religious affiliation.

Economy and money

South Africa’s wealth is mostly located in four areas: Durban, Cape Town Pretoria/Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. These areas have well developed infrastructures and are economic centres. Outside of these regions, however, poverty and inequality are common - the average white household earns four times as much as the average black household, and as such South Africa is described as a developing country. The currency is the South African rand.

Culture and politics

South Africa is a former colony of both the Dutch and British empires, a legacy of rule that climaxed in the Apartheid system, harsh segregationist laws designed to keep white and black people apart. In the 1970s and 80s, more and more embargos were put on trade with South Africa in protest at the regime. In 1990, the ruling National Party freed Nelson Mandela and started to dismantle the apartheid laws and in 1994 the first multi-racial elections were held where the African National Congress, lead by Mandela, won. They have been in power ever since and the current President is Thabo Mbeki. Many economic, social and health-related problems still exist within South Africa, however, including the huge issue of AIDS.

South African culture is diverse. Sports, such as rugby, football and cricket are very popular, as are water sports. Music forms a huge part of South African culture, with Ladysmith Black Mambazo probably being the most famous South African ensemble. Many black South Africans who sang in English or Afrikaans during apartheid are now returning to their native languages and they have developed a unique style, called Kwaito, which encompasses political messages. Many great writers are also from South Africa, most famously JM Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer. Both have won the Nobel Prize for Literature.