There is much to see and do in South Africa. About the size of France and Spain combined, South Africa has a long history, spectacular landscapes, and remarkable diversity in people, flora, and fauna.
South Africa's Western Cape Province is perhaps the country's most developed region for tourism. One of its most popular attractions is Table Mountain National Park, which was named among the Seven Wonders of Nature. Others include, but are not limited to, the District Six Museum, the South African National Gallery, the Gold of Africa Museum, and the South African Rugby Museum. For music lovers, jazz is big in Cape Town, which hosts an annual jazz festival.
The Garden Route is a picturesque stretch of South Africa's southwestern coast that includes blockhouses from the Anglo-Boer War. Genadendal, a historic Moravian village, features a church and school built in the 1730s. The Genadendal Mission and Museum highlight the first mission in South Africa. The Dagbreek Museum, in Villiersdorp, dates back to 1845. The Little Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, an arts festival, is held in Oudtshoorn each year. The Cango Caves are one of the most popular tourist caves.
The Northern Cape Province is the largest and least populated of South Africa's provinces. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. The province also includes the Ais-Ais/Richtersveld National Park, in Namaqualand, which is jointly managed by the local Nama people and the parks service. The Namaqualand region is also known for its daisies.
The Free State Province was once the Orange Free State Boer Republic. The National Women's Memorial remembers the women and children who died while in the concentration camps during the Boer Wars. At Harrismith, there are memorials to those who fought in the Anglo-Boer War, the South African War, and World War I. The Golden Gate Highlands National Park features spectacular rock formations, and the Vredefort Dome is the largest and oldest meteorite impact site in the world.
The Eastern Cape Province features a magnificent coastline, over sixty state-owned game reserves, and more than thirty private game farms. Also in this province is the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club and the 1882 Victorian Pearson Conservatory.
The Limpopo Province, the northernmost South African province, is characterized by contrasts, including the hot savanna plains, mountains hidden in mist, ancient indigenous forests, and modern cities. In this province, you will find the Marakele National Park, the Mapungubwe Archaeological Site, and Kruger National Park.
South Africa's North West Province includes Pilanesberg National Park, as well as several private game reserves. Other attractions are an Anglo-Boer War siege site, and the Mahikeng Museum. The Diamond Marathon Club hosts the Ottosdal Night Race.
The Mpumalanga Province is in eastern South Africa. Museums in this province include Belhaven, Fernlea House, and Stopforth House, each in Barberton, where the annual Diggers Festival is held annually. The annual Crocodile Canoe Marathon, held each February, begins in Schoemanskloof.
The Gauteng Province is the smallest in South Africa, and highly urbanized. Each Sunday, a team of Lippizaner stallions performs at the South African National Horsemanship Center in Kyalami. The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory are both popular destinations for those interested in the modern history of South Africa. The National Zoological Gardens are in Pretoria.
The KwaZulu-Natal Province includes the Municipal Botanical Garden in Durban, the indigenous forests and plantations of the Weza State Forest in East Griqualand, and the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park. For history buffs, the Battlefields Route in the northern part of the province includes the highest concentration of military sites in the country.
These are but a few samples of what South Africa has to offers in places to go and things to do.
The contemporary South African art scene is as diverse as its population, ranging from indigenous African art to the new media technologies that have been put into practice by its artists, and everything in between.
In its cities, libraries, museums, and theaters are not in short supply. Zoos and parks can be found in its most urbanized regions and throughout South Africa.
South African music includes both popular and folk forms. The country has given birth to several international musicians, and its larger cities attract musicians from all over the world to play scheduled concerts.
Soccer, cricket, and rugby are the most popular sports in South Africa.
Topics related to art galleries, libraries, museums, theaters, parks, and zoos, as well as festivals, concerts, sports, and other recreational and entertainment venues are appropriate for this category.
Recommended Resources
Opening in 2001, the museum is focused on 20th-century South Africa, and specifically the story of the apartheid era, illustrating the rise and fall of apartheid. A history of the museum, its permanent exhibitions, other exhibitions, and its policies for school visits are set forth. A download section is included, which contains an electronic textbook on understanding apartheid, as well as the teacher’s edition. An appeal for monetary or other support is published, as well.
http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/
Aviation Museum of South Africa
Situated at the Rand Airport in Germiston, South Africa, the museum features several examples of South African aviation history, put together by a cadre of volunteer enthusiasts who maintain individual organizations, clubs, and societies that collect and preserve artifacts depicting the history of aviation within the country in several forms. A gallery of photographs shows some of the aircraft that are part of its collections.
http://www.aviationmuseum.co.za/
Not affiliated with the African Baseball Union, this site was created to provide for an easy way for administrators, coaches, scouts, players, and supporters to get information about the growing number of baseball players and teams in South Africa. Baseball news and schedules are posted to the site, and a database of players may be accessed through a search on the player’s first or last name. Similarly, baseball associations can be found by a search on any part of the team or association name.
http://www.baseballsa.com/
Founded in 1989, Big Concerts has produced well over a thousand shows with hundreds of international artists, and continues to promote live entertainment events, merchandising, sponsorships, corporate and private events, concessions, hospitality, and venue management. Its site cites some of the well-known performers who have performed under its umbrella, as well as artists currently being promoted by Big Concerts, current and past shows, sponsorships, and activations.
http://www.bigconcerts.co.za/
CSA is the governing body for cricket in South Africa. Established to ensure support for the game in South Africa, and available to those who wish to play it, as well as to encourage excellence in all levels. Corporate information, commercial partners, career information, and operational handbooks are put forth, along with news and schedules of games, competitions, and domestic franchises. Photos, videos, and downloads are available.
http://cricket.co.za/
Ditsong Museums of South Africa
The Ditsong Museums are a collection of eight national museums in South Africa, seven of them in Tshwane and one in Johannesburg. Suitable and of interest to children, youth, adults, students, foreign and local tourists, researchers and the public in general, its museums are highlighted here, with descriptions, directions, admission fees, descriptions, and photographs. Other resources include a list of exhibitions, calendar of events, and job openings.
https://www.ditsong.org.za/en/
First South African Perfume Museum
Located in Cape Town, South Africa, the museum features an extensive collection of perfume that includes antique masterpieces and offers exhibitions and workshops, intended to give visitors a fresh view of the history and world of perfume. A gallery of photographs is set forth here, along with an online store offering various perfume products, and details about its workshops and other educational services.
http://www.firstsouthafricanperfumemuseum.com/
Maintained by a golf tour operator, the site puts a spotlight on golfing opportunities in South Africa. Golf courses are listed by province, along with details of each course. Other resources include several packaged golf tours, exclusive offers, and packages for short golf breaks and golf holidays. The most popular golf destinations in South Africa are highlighted, along with top deals and contact information.
https://www.golfinsouthafrica.com/
Offering a range of learning experiences for people of all ages, Iziko manages a combination of South Africa’s heritage collections, sites, and services, and offers school programs based around its art collections, social and natural history, as well as lectures, workshops, commemorative programs, winter school, and other events, which are listed here, along with each of the museums under its management. Also featured are exhibitions, collections, research, libraries, and publications.
http://www.iziko.org.za/
Covering an area of more than seven thousand acres in the South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, Kruger is one of the largest game preserves in the country. Areas of the park were established in 1898, it was named a national park in 1926. Several maps of the parks and ways to get there are provided, along with lodging options, a guide to planning a safari, packaged tours, and a nature guide.
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/
Kwa Zulu-Natal Tourism Authority
Headquartered in Durban, the largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the tour and travel company offers packaged and custom tours designed for the tourist industries, investors, researchers, or anyone wanting to tour the KZN. Popular destinations are highlighted, or prospective clients may begin by clicking on a region of the province on an interactive map, view a guide to places to go, or things to do.
http://www.zulu.org.za/
The MTF includes the Market Theatre, the Market Theatre Laboratory, the Market Photo Workshop, and the Windybrow Arts Centre, built around the Market Theatre, founded in Johannesburg in 1979, significant historically for its part in challenging the apartheid regime in South Africa with its anti-apartheid plays. The complex is described, and news and press releases, council nominations, and various publications are included.
http://markettheatre.co.za/
MOSA is a heritage portal that lists museums throughout South Africa. A profile of the organization, its free and paid services, structure, sponsorships, and acknowledgments are posted. Museums and historical places within the country may be found through a basic keyword search, by searching an area, city, postal code, or province, or by specifying a specific organization. Contact information is posted to the site.
http://www.museumsonline.co.za/
Established in 1877, the Bloemfontein, South Africa museum has evolved into an international facility with a focus on natural history, cultural history, and art, which includes thirteen research departments, an art museum, education department, information services section, library, administrative section, and two technical departments, offering a curriculum-based education program with activities during school terms. Its location, hours, fees, and contacts are posted.
http://www.nasmus.co.za/
Beginning at Ottosdal, a small town in the North West Province of South Africa, this race is unique, not only because it is run at night, but because they offer diamonds as lucky draw prizes. Besides its marathon, runners can also take part in various night runs, mountain bike races, and road cycling races. Routes, maps, and schedules are shown, along with race results, sponsorships, entry forms, programs, and a photo gallery.
http://www.ottosdaldrafentrap.co.za/
The National Soccer League of South Africa is an affiliate member of the South African Football Association and the administrative body for professional football in the Republic of South Africa. Club pages can be accessed through the site, along with tournament news and schedules, a gallery of photographs and of videos. A history of the league, a list of founding members, and its current executive committee members are acknowledged.
http://www.psl.co.za/
South African Football Association
In an effort to rid football in South Africa of past racial divisions, the SAFA was incorporated in 1991, after four disparate units came together in Johannesburg after a lifetime of apartheid in soccer. A history of the organization, its executive committee, and membership, governance information, such as rules, regulations, policies, and statutes. SAFA national leagues, teams, schools, coaching and refereeing, and medical issues are included.
https://www.safa.net/
Wheelchair Basketball South Africa
Organized under the South African Sports for the Physically Disabled in 1970, the organization became a Section 21 Company in 2004, allowing it to construct a corporate identity and promote a return on capital investments, so that the corporation could continue to secure funding for its participation, social development, and capacity building programs for players with disabilities. The South African team is highlighted and schedule of competitions is posted.
http://www.basketball.co.za/
