Tips for traveling to South Africa: the best things to see and do

Mi trip to south africa It was the first contact I have had with the black africa, beyond previous trips to that continent, specifically, to Muslim countries such as Morocco, Tunisia or Egypt.

When starting the trip with the agency Africa Adventure I preferred not to deepen my knowledge of that country beforehand, which was really scarce.

On a historical level it was limited to the memory of films about the wars between boers, English and black populations, apartheidAs Nelson Mandela.

Of course, also to the victory of the national team in the Football World held in that country.

This has allowed me to discover a country with many edges and contrasts and, at the same time, very interesting to make a tourism trip.

What to see and do in South Africa

At the outset I will tell you that on a trip to South Africa You will find the most topical image of an African country.

Kruger Park Safari

In that country you can participate in safaris in areas like the Kruger Park. where there are no roads but dirt tracks, and where the populations have enormous precarious resources.

Here you have information on how to participate in a safari in kruger park and about the experience of sleep in a lodge in Kruger.

Cape

But in South Africa you can also visit a city of special interest such as Cape, with a beautiful location under the curious mountain formation known as Table Mountain.

You should know that Cape Town has also recently been considered one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.

And in this African city there are corners that may remind you of San Francisco or New Orleans.

Vineyards and wine tourism in South Africa

In South Africa you can also see valleys covered with vineyards with towns with charming architecture.

These scenes take you to European corners of the Mediterranean or to California, since you hardly see anything that makes you think you are in Africa.

And you can also see inland landscapes that will remind you of Germany or France, or a coastal coastline that could well resemble the Mediterranean coast Spanish.

Virgin beaches in Walker Bay

It is a coast with virgin beaches 30 kilometers long nestled in natural reserves such as Walker Bay, to whose shores whales arrive and, yes, they are plagued by white sharks.

This african country of landscape contrasts also currently shows you an enormous social and economic contrast that you will not be able to ignore during your trip.

Curiosities history South Africa

He thinks that the first aboriginal population of what is now South Africa were the St., better known as bushmen, who arrived 15.000 years ago.

Then, about 2.000 years ago, the Khoi, and between the 12th and 17th centuries the bantu tribes of North Africa, among which are the zulus, they came down to these lands.

It was from 1652 when white colonization began with the arrival of the Dutch associated with the commercial development that was promoted after the creation of the Dutch East India Company.

It is the origin of the creation of the community that will later be known as African o boer.

With them came the Malay slaves, of Muslim religion, whose descendants now concentrate on the colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town.

The purpose of the Dutch was to establish farms that would provide fresh food to the ships that covered the long route from the Netherlands but also Far East going through the Cape of Good Hope.

In this way they wanted to avoid the high mortality rate that scurvy produced among sailors.

At this time the North Germans and the French Huguenots also arrived, the latter establishing the wine-growing tradition.

That is precisely the origin of the vineyards and wineries that you can now visit in the Franschhoek Valley.

At the end of the 18th century, it was the English who came to control these lands after their war with the boers in 1795.

Later it was in 1910 when the so-called South African Union achieved its autonomy Commonwealth British.

It is at this point where the origin of the black stage of the apartheid.

I remind you that it was a system of racial segregation with the black population that was legally established by the African starting in 1948, and which did not begin to be abolished until 1990.

You have a good and emotional example of what this system of racism meant in the visit of District 6 museum en Cape Town.

On this very instructive visit you will be surprised at the extent to which discrimination against the black population reached.

The reconciliation process initiated in South Africa by the then white president Frederik De Klerk, which led in 1994 to the victory of Nelson Mandela, It was the first essential step to face the development of the black population.

I can tell you that when you travel to South Africa you will find an enormous economic difference between the white and black populations.

You will see that whites maintain economic power, but blacks at least now have the political structure to facilitate their development.

But faced with a lifestyle and economic level very similar to that of Europe that white South Africans enjoy, the black population continues to live on one euro a day in the enormous congregations of shanties in the town ship.

And in that regard, I remind you that the white population only represents 10 percent of the almost 50 million inhabitants of South Africa.

Tourism in South Africa

From the point of view of , you should know that before 1994 it was an industry that did not exist in South Africa.

Now about 13 million tourists arrive in that country, with continuous annual increases, of which about 38.000 come from Spain.

In fact, tourism has become an engine of cultural and economic development for the country's black population.

An example in this regard is the Grootbos Foundation.

His founder Michael Lutzeyer defends that the economic development of tourist activities must go parallel to training, the creation of a community and the conservation of natural resources.

A sample is the Grootbos Nature Reserve hotel where the necessary training is provided so that the black population can develop economically.

For this purpose, a school for tourist guides has been set up, but work is also carried out in gardens where they have learned to grow food that is purchased by said hotel establishment.

In short, you tourist trip to south africa It has many more attractions than enjoying landscapes or tourist activities.

You will have the opportunity to appreciate the steps forward that are being taken in social evolution and in the disappearance of the reminiscences of the apartheid.

In this regard, a great experience will be to enjoy a braai, traditional South African barbecue, in a local Township de Gugulethu en Cape,

In this corner, to the rhythm of music DJ Mostly young people, white and black, and some tourists, shared a Sunday together in a multiracial environment.

It is still something exceptional, but it is an experience that you should not miss on your trip.