Have you noticed how fond people are of rubbishing the country every time something goes ‘wrong’? I find this particularly with those friends of mine who have left the country, for whatever reason, and are not wholly convinced that they’ve done the right thing (although they will never say as much).
The minute negative news hits the airwaves – take the Marikana mining fiasco, and consequent Lonmin share plummet, as an example (not that it is not worth the mileage it has received) – people cannot wait to paste the latest offense on FB or they send you emails filled with exclamation marks.
But there is a lot to love about South Africa. I spent time trawling the Internet to find out what others think.
Here is a list, in no particular order, of the reasons why South Africans (and Visitors) love South Africa…
1. Sunshine!
And a lot of it…you don’t find blue skies like this in Europe, or Canada, or New Zealand (okay, maybe in Oz – we’ll allow that…)
2. Bushveld
Big 5 country, a vast expanse of acacia trees, dry sand, the occasional water hole, the sighting of elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, lion…
3. Afrikaner hospitality
No better place than round a braai with a beer in your hand, followed by pap en sous,ย sugared sweet potato and maybe a four-bean salad (the vegetable afterthought)
4. Highveld thunderstorms
Nothing like that rolling, slate-grey approach, and the smell of the earth after rain
5. Bunny chows
Durban‘s famous hollowed out half loaves stuffed with curry is half the reason people return home
6. We don’t have a nuclear weapons programme
We might have a nuclear power station or two, but we’re the only nation to voluntarily dismantle our nuclear weapons
7. Table Mountain
One of the most recognisable icons, and one of the oldest mountains in the world
8. Incredible landscapes
The Drakensberg, the Tsitsikamma, the Karoo, the Panorama Route, and innumerable mountain passes
9. Shosholoza
The one song we all love to get wrong
10. The kreepy crawly
… Pratley’s putty, cats-eyes and Dolosse blocks โ we invented them all
11. Open roads and free parking
(most of the time)
12. The toyi-toyi
Because nobody dances quite like an oppressed or celebrating African
13. The price of coffee and petrol
Because, despite the hike in price of oil, both are still a lot more expensive elsewhere
14. Taxis
Where would we be without all that bass?
15. SA English
… is peppered with bits and pieces of the other official language
16. Our flag
The only national flag in the world with six colours
17. Platinum
We produce 80% of the world’s platinum
18. Wine
We have over 17 ‘official’ wine routes countrywide, claim the longest wine route (R62), and are among the top ten wine producing countries, in the world
19. Missing front teeth
… and horse drawn carts
20. Mrs Balls Chutney…
Biltong, Ouma rusks and Koffeehuis
21. Slap chips
(in the UK chips are crisps and slap chips are chips, but in USA they’re fries)
22. Nandos
For its controversial marketing and for exporting the brand overseas
23. Flat vowels
where else in the world?
24. Jacarandas
in Pretoria
25. Nelson Mandela
We โฅ Madiba
26. Our constitution
One of the most liberal and free constitutions in the world
27. Kief, lekker, shweet
Nowhere else will you hear this except, maybe, on a tube in London
28. Cape Town
… cape town
29. Whales
on the coastlines of the country
30. World Heritage Sites
We have 8 of them
31. Windmills of the Karoo
SA has something like 290 000 windmills throughout the country, second only in number to Australia
32. Sport
We got the World Cup right!
33. Shopping at the robots
anything from hats to wire art up for grabs
34. We have 3 capital cities
Pretoria, Cape town and Bloemfontein
35. Braais
who else celebrates a national braai day?
Plan your trip in South Africa
- South Africa Travel Guide
- South Africa Attractions
- Things to Do in South Africa
- Hotels in South Africa
- South Africa Accommodation
