10) Table Mountain - Cape Town's signature landmark and an absolutly incredible sight to wake up to in the morning...
(Table Mountain from Downtown Cape Town)
(Downtown Cape Town from Table Mountain)9) The Exchange Rate - one of the only modernized countries to do worse than the US dollar while I was abroad was the South African Rand. Drinks and food were extremely cheap the whole time we were there..
8) The Township- to get a real feel for how South Africans live, I'd recommend taking a trip into the townships. A township resembles nothing more than a shantytown. Thousands, and in some cases millions of people (mainly native Africans) live in condensed areas with illegal electricity, no water, gangs at large, and some of the poorest quality education. Despite all this, the Townships produced some of kindest individuals I met in all of South Africa.
(Those aren't sheds in the backyard, those are houses. Khayaleitsha, the largest of Cape Town's townships is estimated to have nearly 1,000,000 residents living just like this)
7) The Big 5 - The lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and leopard are the "Big 5" animals to see while in South Africa. The country takes great pride in these animals as each is designated to their 5 bills of currency (R10- rhino, R20- elephant, R50- lion, R100- buffalo, R200- leopard).
(Black Rhino from our safari)
6) Food & Wine - South Africa is home to a collection of cultures each with their own food. Anything from Middle-Eastern food, to Indian curry, to traditional African or Afrikaner meals can be found in any major city in the country. Also, 30 minutes outside of Cape Town rests the Stellenbosch wine route, boasting some of the worlds best wine, comparable to that of California's Napa Valley or France's Bordeaux. Wine was also very cheap, a really nice bottle would cost somewhere around $12 US dollars.
(Stellenboch wine area)
5) Soweto - When blacks were forced out of the white areas of Johannesburg during apartheid they were forced into the South Western Townships, also known as Soweto. Soweto is South Africa's largest township and played a crucial role in combating the apartheid regime. Many prominent activists such as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Albert Luthuli (all Nobel Peace Prize winners) called Soweto home during the struggle.
(At a local 'shebeen'(a mix between a shed and a bar) in Soweto)
(Nelson Mandela's old house in Soweto)
4) The Garden Route and the World's Highest Commercial Bungy - South Africa's natural beauty can't be summed up by one trip on the Garden Route, but it's a start. The Garden Route connects Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and runs along the spectacular southern coast of the country. Skattered with perfect beaches and mountanous landscapes, the Garden Route truly is a sight for sore eyes. The Bloukrans River Bridge connects the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces but is also home to the worlds Highest Commercial Bungy (216meter free fall)
(Plettenburg Bay on the Garden Route)
(Bungy jumping from the Bloukrans Bridge)
3) Sports - the main sports consist of soccer/football, rugby, and cricket (quite a change from the US). South Africa is set to host the World Cup in 2010 and regardless of people arguing for it or against it, the tournament will be a hell of a lot of fun and I plan on returning after graduation.
2) The History - Europeans started colonizing South Africa in the 1650's, disenfranchising and segregating the black majority from the start, but it wasn't until 1948 that the National Party came to power with an agenda of institutionalized racial segregation known as "apartheid." Under apartheid, all citizens of South Africa were registered as whites, indians, coloureds, or blacks and were given rights based on those qualifications. Many were forced from their homes to live in areas less desireable to whites, forming most of the modern townships. Despite most of the resistance's political leaders imprisonment, the apartheid regime was brought to its knees thanks to many successful protests, international pressure, and stable organization from resistance parties such as the African National Congress. In 1990, all political paties were unbanned and the first democratic elections were finally held in 1994 with Nelson Mandela winning the country's first presidency. The following years have and still are epitomized by the idea of reconciliation for all the attrocities committed during apartheid. Race is still an issue and will continue to be for a long time...
(One of the many quotes from the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg)
(Nelson Mandela's cell, where he spent 18 of his 27 years in prison)
1) South Africans & the spirit of Ubuntu - the people of South Africa are what make the country great. No matter their background, each person has a story to tell and they hold no concessions about telling it, oftentimes you have no choice about hearing it. The idea of 'ubuntu' can simply, but not entirely, be described as your dignity, being my dignity. It has the same message as the Golden "Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" Rule but with a African twist of human togetherness and the belief that we are all one people regardless of color or beliefs. The idea is a point of pride for South Africans and is frequently marketed to the rest of the world by many of South Africa's prominent leaders.
Honorable Mentions: The Drakensburg Mountains (the hights mountain range in southern Africa)
The Cradle of Mankind , outside Johannesburg (where the oldest human fossils are found). Technically, we're all South African.
