Random Facts About South Africa

• Cape Town is the only area of the country that is a Mediterranean climate. This means that the area has a winter and spring rain, while the remainder of the country has summer thunderstorms.
  
• The Mediterranean climate is great for rainfall, making South Africa the #7 exporter of wine, as well as a large exporter of citrus fruits.
  
• There are very strong summer winds (December to early March) because of the easterly winds.
  
•  Cape Town is a great city to travel to during the change of the seasons.
  
• Up to where the convention center is located is all reclaimed land. This took place in 1948 when the government dredged out the sand to make the land habitable. They dredged 148 hectares of land, making it the largest reclaimed city in the world.
  
• Around 70,000 people live in the bowl of Cape Town (the area between Table Mountain and Lion's Head.
  
• The District 6 area remains empty because businesses made an anti-building pact.
  
• Trees grow at an angle on Hospital Bend because of the summer Easterly.
• There are two main highways in South Africa, the N1 and the N2. The N1 leads from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and the N2 goes along the southern coast from west to east. There is a lot of traffic on the N2 during morning and afternoon rush hours in and out of Cape Town.
• Around 80% of the population of Cape Town live in the Cape Flats. This is a very flat and sandy area that was once underwater.
  
• The West Cape relies on nuclear energy, while the rest relies on coal power.
  
• It would take 30 years to resettle the informal settlements of Cape Town.
  
• Around 15% of South African citizens live in informal settlements, which are houses that look like sheds or shacks. Some of the people in these settlements are waiting for homes to be built for them.
  
• The townships have schools within their perimeters. They provide lunch for the students, which is sometimes the only meal they receive each day. They are also provided with free medical care.
  
• There is not enough work to employ all of the informally housed people.
• Unemployment rate in South Africa is around 27%. It was previously 42%, so there has been a lot of improvement.
  
• There are "township taxis" that take the people from the townships to their jobs in Cape Town. These taxis are small buses that squish as many people as possible into them. The taxi owners have a lot of power.
  
• The purple flowers you may see are called "Lucerne," and they feed the cattle.
• Proteas, Ericas, and Reeds are Cape Bushes that require fire to spread the seeds. If there are no natural fires for 15 years, they will do a controlled burning.
  
• False Bay is the breeding ground for the Great White Shark. The largest concentration of the sharks in the world is located around Seal Island. The Southern Right Whale may also be found in this area.
  
• The False Bay's water temperature greatly varies depending on what season it is. The temperature may be in the mid 70s in the summer due to the Indian Ocean current.
  
• The Cape of Good Hope is the meeting point of two major currents, not oceans.
  
• The Steenbras Dam is one of the five dams used for the Cape water supply.
  
• There are over 450 million apple trees outside of Cape Town. There are four main types of apple grown here, including the golden delicious and the granny smith.
  They are exported to Europe through the United Kingdom.
• People in Cape Town have summer homes in Manaus, which is where the best land whale watching in the world is located.