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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Useful Information (time zones; currency converter, maps, South African slang etc.) Time Zone: South Africa's time zone lies two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+2). We do not participate in daylight savings time. Currency: The official currency of South Africa is the South African Rand (ZAR), abbreviated with an "R" in front of the numerical amount. There are five colourful paper bills in the currency, a R10, R20, R50, R100, and R200, and coin denominations varying from multiple cent coins, to R1, R2, and R5 coins. For live exchange rates, please visit http://www.xe.com. Land: South Africa's terrain is as diverse as its people, varying from the lush vineyards outside of Cape Town to the dry climates in the Limpopo Province in the North of the country. Excellent maps of South Africa can be found on http://maps.google.com, as well as GoogleEarth http://earth.google.com. Weather: With South Africa taking up roughly the same amount of land as twice the size of the US State of Texas, weather patterns can be quite different from place to place, and change rapidly. Not to mention that while the Northern Hemisphere is in its summer months during the June-August Soccer Season, South Africa will be in the middle of its winter season. Live weather reports and seven-day forecasts are available at http://www.weathersa.co.za, so you can find out exactly what kind of clothes you need to take with you on your visit to South Africa. Language: With over 11 different official languages, speaking to people in South Africa can be very interesting, to say the least! Although English is spoken widely throughout the entire country, you will hear dialects of Afrikaans in the Western Cape around Cape Town, Xhosa in the Eastern Cape around Port Elizabeth, Zulu in KwaZulu-Natal around Durban, and all of the above languages, plus many more, in Gauteng around Johannesburg and Pretoria. Want to know what people are talking about when they ask if you want a lekker piece of boerewors or biltong? Visit http://www.southafrica.info to understand just what the locals are saying. |
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