South Africa Travel Guide

Practical Guide to Traveling to South Africa

South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of the African continent. South Africa is a country with relatively good natural environment and climatic conditions. This article has specially collected and compiled practical travel guides to South Africa for everyone. Guide, I hope you all like it!

Speaking of South Africa, you may first think of diamonds and the Cape of Good Hope... Indeed, South Africa is a country with better natural environment and climate conditions, and it has reserves of gold and diamonds. The output ranks first in the world, and the famous Debeers company controls 70% of the world's diamond sales.

South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Indian Ocean to the east, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe to the north, and Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast. It has an area of ??1,221,038 square kilometers and a population of 43.1 million (statistics from Statistics South Africa in 1999). There are four major races: black, white, colored and Asian, accounting for 76.7%, 10.9%, 8.9% and 2.6% of the total population respectively. Black people mainly belong to nine tribes, including Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi and Tswana, and they mainly speak Bantu language. The white people are mainly Afrikaners of Dutch descent and whites of British descent, and their languages ??are Afrikaner and English. There are 11 official languages ??in South Africa, and English and Afrikaans (Afrikaans) are the common languages.

South Africa’s peaceful transition to democracy in 1994 was recognized worldwide as an earth-shattering political achievement. The "apartheid" policy has entered history, and what is now presented is a treasure-like new world where cultures of various backgrounds flourish and it is also the most economically developed country in Africa. It has a good road system, luxurious five-star accommodation, and complete travel service facilities. From the perspective of tourism resources, there is everything from national parks to private hunting reserves, from natural ecological reserves to vast wilderness, from animal landscapes to plant landscapes. The wine produced locally in South Africa is famous internationally.

When traveling to South Africa, it is essential to bring a swimsuit, sunscreen, sun hat, sunglasses, comfortable shoes, and long-sleeved clothes. You only need to bring a single layer of clothing in the summer, but you need to bring a jacket, sweater or coat in the winter as the temperature is lower in the morning and evening. In particular, when visiting wildlife areas, you should wear clothes in neutral colors, such as brown, beige and khaki. White and other bright colors can unsettle animals; long-sleeved clothing should be worn to prevent mosquito bites in the jungle, which can spread malaria.

Ecology: South Africa’s wildlife, especially the six major species including winter whale watching, has always been very famous. May to September every year is the best viewing season, because during that period It is most suitable for hunting and viewing, and the climate is mild and pleasant. Visitors can have close contact with wild birds of prey from the back of an open LandRover jeep in a private hunting reserve, or in any national park, sit in a luxurious and comfortable tour vehicle and have the same close contact, which is really exciting. , so exciting!

In 1998, Kruger National Park celebrated its centenary, which proves that South Africa's ecological protection work has a long historical background. South Africans regard sheep as pets, and they are particularly fond of the antelope with curled horns.

As for flowers in South Africa, Cape Island alone has more than 6,000 species of high-end ornamental flowers. The world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden attracts as many visitors every year as the number of visitors to Kruger National Park. When spring arrives, the west coast of South Africa and Namaqualand are covered in a vast sea of ??colorful flowers. It is undoubtedly the most spectacular in the world. The wonders of flowers!

Basic information about South Africa

Full Chinese name: The Republic of South Africa

English name: The Republic of South Africa

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Location: South Africa is located in the Southern Hemisphere, at the southernmost tip of the African continent

Latitude and longitude: between 22 degrees and 35 degrees south latitude and 17 degrees and 33 degrees east longitude

< p>Area: Land area is 1219,090 square kilometers

Population: 49.1 million (2010).

Ethnicity: There are four major races: black, white, colored and Asian, accounting for 79.3%, 9.1%, 9.0% and 2.6% of the total population respectively.

Language: There are 11 official languages, English and Afrikaans (Afrikaans) are the common languages.

Religion: White people, most people of color and 60% of black people believe in Protestant Christianity or Catholicism; about 60% of Asians believe in Hinduism and 20% believe in Islam; some black people believe in primitive religions.

Capital: Pretoria, the administrative capital; Cape Town, the legislative capital; Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.

Time zone: East Zone 2

Currency and exchange rate: RAND (RAND), the international symbol is ZAR, represented by the symbol ?R?.

1 US dollar = 7.5 rand

Area code: 27

Climate description:

Best time to travel to South Africa

South Africa is suitable all year round travel. September and October are spring in South Africa, and the climate is mild, making it more suitable for travel.

Local climate in South Africa

June and July are winter in South Africa, and summer is in December and January. South Africa has a mild climate in all seasons and clear skies all year round, so it is suitable for travel throughout the year, but sometimes the sun is too strong. The climate varies from Mediterranean on the Cape Peninsula to subtropical on the KwaZulu coast, but in the interior of the northeast is a savannah climate. South Africa's sunshine ranges from 265 days in Johannesburg to 197 days in Durban.

Languages:

English, Afrikaans, Zulu

The official languages ??of South Africa include: Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa , Swazi, Ndebele, (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho), Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Sepeti

Time zone: < /p>

UTC+2

Consumption guidance:

Currency name: Rand (ZAR)

Recent exchange rate: 1.5926

< p> Tax refund instructions: You have to pay 14% consumption tax when shopping in South Africa. Foreigners can refund the consumption tax at the customs if the total consumption in South Africa exceeds R250.

Tax refund fee: There is a handling fee to be paid at the tax refund counter and customs. After deducting the handling fee, the amount refunded is about 10-12% of the total price.

Tax refund process:

1. Obtain a computer-printed payment slip when shopping. The prices and taxes on the slip are listed separately. There is no "tax amount" item on the duty-free shop payment slip.

2. If the total amount of all payment orders exceeds R250, you can go to the airport tax refund counter to apply for tax refund. When requesting a tax refund, you need to present the payment slip and the corresponding items, which must be unused. After verification, the tax refund counter will fill out a tax refund check.

3. After completing the exit procedures, go to the customs tax refund office with a check to collect the refunded tax.

Tax refund tips:

1. Large refunds can only be made by credit card transfer, which requires additional fees and a long wait. You can ask friends with low tax refunds to help share part of the bill, but you cannot split a single large bill.

2. You can choose US dollars or rands to return cash. The exchange rate for US dollar refunds will be quite poor. If the amount is not large, you can choose to refund the rand and then go to the airport duty-free shop to buy some trinkets, snacks, etc. as gifts.

Telephone area code:

+27

Network description:

The Internet in South Africa is not yet developed, so the prices are relatively high. Among them, the post office provides Internet services to residents, but the price is the most expensive, about R300/hour. At the same time, the Internet service provided in hotel rooms is also a chargeable item, but Internet service is provided free of charge in the lounge areas of some hotels.

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