South Africa 2017

4
The bare
essentials
Top Left: Stunning beaches
are found along the Garden
Route. Bottom Left: walking in
Ficksburg; Free Sate; Moyo Pier,
Durban; hiking in Mapungubwe,
Limpopo
At just over one-third the size of the EU and
four times the size of Germany, South Africa is big!
Kruger National Park alone is the same size as Wales.
There are nine provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North
West and Western Cape. The capital, Pretoria, lies in Gauteng and
is the fifth-largest city, behind Johannesburg and Soweto (also
both in Gauteng and the third- and fourth-largest respectively),
Durban (in KwaZulu-Natal) and its most-populous city, Cape
Town (Western Cape).
The north and large swathes of the centre and west are arid,
covered by the Kalahari Desert and Karoo semi-desert region.
The mighty Drakensberg Mountains form its south-western
spine. Tourism is mainly centred on its coastal regions and in
the Kruger and other game parks in the east. The Western and
Eastern Capes are temperate, while KwaZulu-
Natal is sub-tropical – which means you can
enjoy its beaches year round
GET A GRIP OF THE BASICS
Entry requirements: Visas are not
needed by British and EU nationals
for stays of up to 90 days. UK passports must
have at least six months’ remaining validity
and include a minimum of two blank pages
for entry stamps.
Under current rules, all parents travelling
with children under 18 must produce an
The peak summer
season in Cape
Town and along
the Garden Route
is from September
to April, when the
days are warm
and there is less
rainfall
The beaches and
game parks of
sub-tropical
KwaZulu-
Natal are best
enjoyed in the
drier months
between April and
September, when
the humidity also
drops
unabridged birth certificate for each child, detailing the
parents, and a consent form signed by the other parent
if only one is travelling. See southafricahouseuk.com/documents/
childtravel13jan2016.pdf
Health and innoculations: Consult a doctor for advice
on vaccinations. Much of South Africa is malaria-free,
however, there is a malaria risk in the Kruger National Park,
northern Limpopo and northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Electricity: South Africa’s electricity supply is 220/230
volts 50HZ, so UK appliances will work without
transformers. Plugs have either two or three rounded pins,
requiring adapters. Some hotels have English sockets.
Currency: The Rand (R). The current tourist rate is about
R16.5 to £1 (at November 2016). ATMs are widely
available at airports, banks, hotels and some shops. Travellers’
cheques are difficult to change.
Flying time: Direct flights from London
to Johannesburg take about 11
hours. Onwards flights to Cape Town take
two hours; Port Elizabeth is one hour and 40
minutes; Durban and Hoedspruit is an hour
and Nelspruit is 45 minutes.
Time zone: South Africa is one hour
ahead of the UK during the British
summer time and two hours ahead during
the winter, so visitors experience no jet lag.
Learn more: Sign up to South African
Tourism’s official interactive online
training programme: saspecialist.southafrica.net
saspecialist.southafrica.net