Flick's Place Guest House : South African Info

SOUTH AFRICA

The people
	There are approximately 41million people in South Africa. The population consists of Afrikaners, Coloureds, English, Indians, Nguni, Sotho-Tswana, Tsonga, Venda and quite a few immigrant groups. There are also a few members of the Khoi and the San remaining. There are 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The five most commonly spoken home languages are Afrikaans, English, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu and Sepedi.
Religions
	Christian 68%, Hindu 1.5%, Muslim 2%, Traditional religions 28.5%
Car Hire Services
	Cars can be hired at any of the major airports or through a travel agent. To hire a car, the driver must be in possession of a valid international driver’s license, be over 25 years of age and have a minimum of five year’s driving experience.
The land
	The Republic of South Africa occupies the southernmost part of the African continent and has a surface are of 1,233,201km² (472,281sq ml. It shares its borders with the republics of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe in the north and Republic of Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland in the north-east. The Kingdom of Lesotho is completely enclosed by South African territory in the south east of the country. South Africa borders on the South Atlantic Ocean in the west and the South Indian Ocean in the east and south. The country has a very long coastline and it is swept by the warm south-flowing Agulhas current on the east and south coasts as far as Cape Augulhas and the cold Benguela current flowing northwards on the west coast. The strong contrast of temperature has a big influence on the marine life, climate and vegetation. About 1,920km south east of Cape Town in the Atlantic Ocean lie Prince Edward and Marion Islands, which was annexed by South Africa in 1947. Highest point : Champagne Castle – 3,375m (11,072ft) above sea level. Lowest point : Sea level along coast
The climate
	South Africa falls within the subtropical belt of high pressure and this accounts for the warm temperate conditions that South Africa is renowned for. It is generally dry with and abundance of sunshine. Gale-force winds are quite frequent on the south-western and southern coastal areas.

Temperatures and Rainfall

South Africa is famous for its sunshine and temperatures above 32º are fairly common in summer. Along the coast the humidity can be quite high and at times may rise to 85%. South Africa has an average annual rainfall of 464mm, compared to world average of 857mm. In Cape Town, the average rainfall is highest in the winter months (June-August), while the average rainfall is highest during summer in the other provinces.

Average Temperatures

Pretoria : January 22º C

July 11º C

Cape Town : January 21º C

July 12º C

Annual Rainfall

Pretoria : 780mm (31in)

Cape Town : 510mm (20in)

The nine provinces

The nine provinces and capitals of South Africa are the Eastern Cape (Bisho), the Free State (Bloemfontein), Gauteng (Johannesburg), KwaZulu – Natal (Pietermaritzburg), Mpumalanga (Nelspruit), the Northern Cape (Kimberley), the Northern Province (Pietersburg), the North-West (Mmabatho) and the Western Cape (Cape Town). These provinces each have their own unique landscape, vegetation and climate.

The Flag

The current flag was adopted in 1994, after the first multi-racial election. The six colours are representative of the colours used by all the political parties of SA.

Time Zone

South Africa is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and one hour ahead of Central European wintertime. It is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard wintertime, USA an 10 hours behind New Zealand.

Currency

The monetary unit is the South African Rand ® = 100 cents and the international symbol is ZAR. Bank notes are issued in denominations of R200, R100, R50, R20, and R10.

Electricity

The electricity supple in South Africa is 220 / 230 volts AC 50Hz.

Immunisation

No international immunisation is needed when entering South Africa. The only inoculation requirement is a yellow fever vaccination certificate from travellers over one year of age entering South Africa within six days of leaving an infected country.

Malaria risks

Malaria is mainly found in the northern provinces and is predominantly in the malignant form. Tablets and advice can be obtained from any pharmacy/chemist, usually medication need only be started on day of arrival in a malaria infected area.

Medical Care

Visitors are advised to take our medical cover before arriving in South Africa.

Taxation

Foreign tourists can claim for a refund of their sales tax at their port of exit. A proof of payment is needed and one must be in possession of a valid passport and the necessary forms. The value of the item must exceed R250. The VAT rate is 14% and is levied on most products (including accommodation and food).

Car Hire Services

Cars can be hired at any of the major airports or through a travel agent or Flick's Place to arrange by prior request. To hire a car, the driver must be in possession of a valid international driver’s license, be over 25 years of age and have a minimum of five year’s driving experience.

Financial Services

South African banks do international transactions and they open Monday to Friday 9am to 15:30pm and on Saturdays 8:30am to 11am. 24-hour Automatic teller machines (ATM) are available in most towns and cities. Most major credit cards and traveler's cheques are accepted as method of payment for products. Flick's Place accepts payment by cash only. There is an ATM machine in Onrusriver at the Seven Eleven shop.

General Business Hours

Normal office hours in South Africa are between 8:30 and 16:30 / 17:00 – Monday to Friday. Some offices close between 13:00 and 14:00