{"id":23958,"date":"2018-01-11T10:41:37","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T23:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=23958"},"modified":"2025-03-27T03:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T16:25:07","slug":"south-africa-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"10 facts you probably don&#8217;t know about South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>The southern-most tip of Africa boasts a bit of well, everything. Despite being the second most visited country in Africa (Morocco&#8217;s first), there are probably still some <a href=\"\/south-africa\" data-wpil=\"url\">South Africa<\/a> facts that you don&#8217;t know.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The country is filled to the brim with amazing sights. They come in forms from massive nature reserves to gorgeous beaches (with epic marine life) to not one, not two, but three capital cities each with their own government branch and flare. With so much going for it, we figured we&#8217;d best give you the lowdown (with a travel slant, of course).<\/p>\n<p>Get ready to be dazzled; here are some facts about South Africa that you probably didn&#8217;t know:<\/p>\n<h3><b>South Africa<\/b>\u00a0is often\u00a0<b>referred to as the &#8220;Rainbow Nation&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/a-language-guide-for-southern-africa\/\">South Africa has over 11 official languages<\/a> (not including the ton of unofficial ones). It was actually Archbishop Desmond Tutu who coined the term &#8216;post-apartheid&#8217; to describe South Africa&#8217;s cultural diversity. The importance of this ideology is to denounce discrimination and embrace the multitude of thriving cultures.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24142\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24142\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24142\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_shakaland_zulu_smile.jpg\" alt=\"south africa facts\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_shakaland_zulu_smile.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_shakaland_zulu_smile-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_shakaland_zulu_smile-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_shakaland_zulu_smile-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zulu culture at Shakaland in South Africa<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"\/adventures\/a-language-guide-for-southern-africa\/\">RELATED: A LANGUAGE GUIDE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA\u00a0<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>South Africa is the world&#8217;s second largest fruit producer<\/h3>\n<p>The huge range of fruit produced in South Africa definitely speaks for the variety of foods you&#8217;ll find throughout the country. The selection of fruit depends on seasonality \u2014 but with such a wide variety, chances are you won&#8217;t be disappointed by your options. Smother some cheese in Apricot Blatjang (chutney) during the months of December, January and February or eat the monthly rotation of vegetables in a curry that&#8217;ll come served in a carved out quarter-loaf of bread (a dish called bunny chow).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/subscribe\"><strong>SUBSCRIBE TO INTREPID&#8217;S NEWSLETTER FOR TRAVEL TIPS, COMPETITIONS, GIVEAWAYS &amp; MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Winelands region features almost 100 different estates<\/h3>\n<p>Vinos rejoice \u2014 the wine options in the Cape Winelands (a short ride from Cape Town) are overwhelming in the best possibly way. As a matter of fact, the wine industry in South Africa is the oldest outside of Europe. This specific region boasts ideal climate for vineyards filled with rows and rows of grapes to be turned into delicious Chenin Blancs or, depending on what you like, a fantastic Pinot Noir.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24140\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24140\" class=\"wp-image-24140 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Urban-Adventures-South-Africa_Cape-Town_Wine_Cheese_Beau-Constantia.jpg\" alt=\"south africa facts\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Urban-Adventures-South-Africa_Cape-Town_Wine_Cheese_Beau-Constantia.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Urban-Adventures-South-Africa_Cape-Town_Wine_Cheese_Beau-Constantia-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Urban-Adventures-South-Africa_Cape-Town_Wine_Cheese_Beau-Constantia-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Urban-Adventures-South-Africa_Cape-Town_Wine_Cheese_Beau-Constantia-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wine tasting in Cape Winelands<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth spending the time to take in the stunning landscape while eating some of the best gourmet food around. Explore beautiful estates, learn everything about the region&#8217;s wine-making and of course taste it (we include three estate visits and tastings on this\u00a0trip!). Indulge a little further and add some chocolate to your tasting (wine-not!).<\/p>\n<p>As if this fact wasn&#8217;t already great enough, the route that stretches from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (known as Route 62) is the considered one of the world&#8217;s longest wine routes \u2014528 miles of utter bliss.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/south-africa\" data-wpil=\"url\"><strong>VISIT SOUTH AFRICA ON A SMALL GROUP ADVENTURE WITH INTREPID TRAVEL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa<\/h3>\n<p>The vast park covers 19 624 square kilometres (making it nearly larger than the surface area of Israel!) The real draw to the park is the quintessential <a href=\"\/africa\/safari\">safari<\/a>. Cruising along the well-maintained roads,\u00a0there are endless opportunities to spot wildlife while respecting the natural environment.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24139\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24139\" class=\"wp-image-24139 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_kruger-np_giraffe-crossing.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_kruger-np_giraffe-crossing.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_kruger-np_giraffe-crossing-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_kruger-np_giraffe-crossing-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_kruger-np_giraffe-crossing-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giraffe crossing in Kruger National Park<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There are over 500 bird species, 100 reptile species and 150 species of mammals! This includes the notorious big five (lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros, and African buffalo).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/adventures\/best-time-african-safari-guide\/\"><strong>RELATED: WHEN&#8217;S THE BEST TIME TO GO ON A SAFARI IN AFRICA?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>South Africa has abundant AND record-breaking animals<\/h3>\n<p>Naturally the wildlife in store are pretty spectacular. Just how spectacular? Well, for start, the country has the world&#8217;s largest land mammal, the elephant. And though we love to observe these enormous creatures in the wild, Intrepid definitely doesn&#8217;t support riding them (<a href=\"\/adventures\/why-not-ride-elephants\/\">here&#8217;<\/a>s why).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24138\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24138\" class=\"wp-image-24138 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-walking-grass.jpg\" alt=\"south africa facts\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-walking-grass.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-walking-grass-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-walking-grass-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-walking-grass-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24138\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elephants grazing in the wild<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Back to record-breaking facts in South Africa: you can also find the largest bird (the ostrich), the largest fish (whale shark), the tallest animal (the giraffe) and the fastest land mammal (the cheetah).<\/p>\n<h3>South Africa was the first African country to recognize\u00a0same-sex marriage<\/h3>\n<p>In 2006, South Africa stepped up and became the first African country to recognize same-sex marriage.\u00a0This meant it was the fifth country in the world to recognize same sex marriage. The prohibiting of discrimination based on sexual orientation is even written into their constitution.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/adventures\/lgbtq-friendly-travel-destinations\/\">Cape Town<\/a><\/strong>, most notably, is one of the top travel destinations for LGBTQI people. It&#8217;s even referred to by some as &#8220;the gay capital of Africa.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"\/adventures\/south-africa-everything-destination\/\">RELATED: 6 REASONS WHY SOUTH AFRICA IS A DESTINATION WITH SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>South Africa hosts the world\u2019s largest bicycle race<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>So, you&#8217;re probably more familiar with the famed Tour de France, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.capetowncycletour.com\/\">Cape Town Cycle Tour<\/a> is actually the largest cycle race in the world! The 35,000 riders set-out across 109 kilometres of Cape Town&#8217;s South Peninsula. The race is equal parts exhilarating and scenic. It&#8217;s easy to get distracted along the way by the beautiful mountain views along the coastal road of Chapman&#8217;s Peak Drive.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24141\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24141\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24141\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_soweto.jpg\" alt=\"south africa fact\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_soweto.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_soweto-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_soweto-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_soweto-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24141\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Travelers cycling across South Africa<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not into suiting up in lycra and competing to the finish line, cycling is still a fantastic way to travel (and <a href=\"\/purpose\/climate\">reduce your environmental impact<\/a>).\u00a0With a local guide as your compass, you can focus on embracing the art of slow travel as you hike and bike across South Africa on this 9-day active trip.\u00a0\u00a0Spot wild animals on a 10-kilometre mountain bike trail in !Khwa ttu Reserve and set out on wine tasting cycle tour in Stellenbosch \u2014 there&#8217;s something for everyone.<\/p>\n<h3>Fried mopane worm is an indigenous delicacy in some regions of South Africa<\/h3>\n<p>Contrary to the name, the mopane worm is actually a large caterpillar that feeds majority off of mopane tree leaves. It&#8217;s a staple protein-source for some indigenous groups in South Africa. Before you judge, try it for yourself. Road trip to the small village of Senwabarwana where you&#8217;ll be hosted for a home-cooked meal on this <a href=\"\/south-africa\/vic-falls-kruger-160104\">Vic Falls to Kruger\u00a0trip<\/a>.\u00a0If it&#8217;s not your thing, you can always wash it down with home-brewed beer at a local tavern in the town.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/adventures\/a-road-trip-through-southern-africa\/\"><strong>RELATED: A PHOTOGRAPHIC ROAD TRIP THROUGH SOUTHERN AFRICA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Table Mountain is over 260 million years old (and has around 900 routes to climb or hike)<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_24575\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24575\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_cape-town_table-mountain_picturesque-1.jpg\" alt=\"South Africa facts Cape Town Table Mountain\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_cape-town_table-mountain_picturesque-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_cape-town_table-mountain_picturesque-1-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_cape-town_table-mountain_picturesque-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-south-africa_cape-town_table-mountain_picturesque-1-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picturesque Table Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Trace that number along a timeline and there&#8217;s no arguing \u2014 Table Mountain is OLD. How old? Well, older than the Andes and\u00a0 the Alps. The iconic landmark&#8217;s layers of sandstone were flattened by ice sheets, hence the &#8216;table&#8217; reference. Travelers can hike to the flat-topped mountain for spectacular views overlooking Cape Town. With around 900 different routes to climb or hike up the mountain, it truly is a playground!<\/p>\n<h3>One street in South Africa has produced two Nobel Prize winners<\/h3>\n<p>What are the chances&#8230; former President Nelson Mandela AND Archbishop Desmond Tutu both lived on\u00a0Vilakazi\u00a0Street\u00a0in Soweto, Johannesburg. They were both awarded with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and 1984 respectively. Their efforts in ending the apartheid are historic, not only in South Africa, but all around the world.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a country that really is full of history and culture, beauty and wildlife. Pay it a visit, and you&#8217;ll see for yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tempted to visit this awe-inspiring destination? <a href=\"\/south-africa\" data-wpil=\"url\">Check out Intrepid&#8217;s range of small group trips in South Africa!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><em>(Image credits from top to bottom: Amy Irwin, Intrepid Travel,\u00a0 Neil Mowbray, Intrepid Travel x2, Lindsay Pieterkosky.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Africa, the continents southern-most tip, boasts a bit of well, everything. With that being said, there are probably some South Africa facts that you didn&#8217;t know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15931,"featured_media":24137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[455],"tags":[65,1436,1468,264,104],"class_list":["post-23958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-africa","tag-cape-town","tag-facts","tag-safari","tag-south-africa","ipf_region-south-africa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>10 South Africa Facts That You Probably Don&#039;t Know | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa boasts a bit of well, everything. With that being said, here are some South Africa facts that you probably didn&#039;t know. If they don&#039;t make you want to visit there then, well, nothing will...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 facts about South Africa you probably don&#039;t know\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Africa, the continents southern-most tip, boasts a bit of well, everything. With that being said, there are probably some South Africa facts that you didn&#039;t know.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Good Times by Intrepid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-10T23:41:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-26T16:25:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-family-crossing.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julie Faye Germansky\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julie Faye Germansky\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/\",\"name\":\"10 South Africa Facts That You Probably Don't Know | Intrepid Travel Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/south-africa-facts\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Intrepid-Travel-zimbabwe_kruger-national-park_elephant-family-crossing.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-10T23:41:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-26T16:25:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/7fcfa01e2d73d235989524e8c22b42d3\"},\"description\":\"South Africa boasts a bit of well, everything. 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