General Information of South Africa

South Africa Capital: Pretoria.
Time: GMT + 2.
Tel. Code: 00 27 .
Official Languages: There are 11 official languages i.e. Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.
Currency: The South African unit of currency is called the Rand and it is divided into 100 cents. Coins come in denominations of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, R1, R2 and R5, and notes in denominations of R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200. Credit Cards are widely accepted everywhere (except at gas stations) and ATM machines are widely available in the main cities and towns.
Religions: Christianity majority. There are also Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism.
Electricity: South Africa's electricity supply: 220 / 230 volts AC 50 Hz
Exceptions: Pretoria (230 V) and Port Elizabeth (200 / 250 V)
Most plugs have three round pins but some plugs with two smaller pins are also found on appliances. Adaptors can be purchased but may be in short supply. US-made appliances may need a transformer.

Climate

South Africa's climatic conditions generally varies from Mediterranean in the southwestern corner of South Africa to temperate in the interior plateau, and subtropical in the northeast. Climatic conditions ranges evidently between east and west. Rainfall varies significantly from west to east. In the northwest, annual rainfall often remains below 200 millimeters.

Required clothing

South Africa's climate allows for a sunny holiday at any time of the year. In the summer, lightweight cotton clothing is advised because daytime temperatures generally linger around 25-30 degrees Celsius.

Airports

OR TAMBO - Johannesburg International Airport - it is 24 kilometres from the city centre, Cape town international airport - 22 kms from city centre, and Durban Internatioal Airport- 16 kms from durban city centre. Door-to-door minibus services are available for the journey to the city, taking approximately half an hour costing US$15. Taxis are available in the arrivals parking lot but are expensive costing around US$20 to the city centre.
Departure tax: None.

South Africa Cuisines

South Africa offers cookery delicacies varies from crocodile sirloins to fried caterpillars to sheep heads. All three are said to be very delicious. There are also myriad indigenous delicacies such as biltong (dried, salted meat), bobotie (a much-improved version of Shepherd's pie) and boerewors (hand-made farm sausages, grilled on an open flame).

Shopping In South Africa

Large shopping centres are to be found across the country's cities and towns, where everything from giant chain stores to small speciality boutiques all you could possible want.