Unit 1 Tourist attractions: Tourist attractions in South Africa, Gauteng, KZN - CR SWART

Unit 1 Tourist attractions:
Tourist attractions in South
Africa, Gauteng, KZN

• South Africa has nine provinces. South Africa has three capital
  cities: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative) and
  Bloemfontein (judicial).
• South Africa has eleven official languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa,
  Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga,
  isiNdebele, Tshivenda and siSwati.
• There are many airports in South Africa; the main international
  airports are OR Tambo International Airport (in Johannesburg),
  Cape Town International Airport and Durban International
  Airport.
• The main ports in South Africa are Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,
  Durban and Richards Bay.

Gauteng attractions

Gauteng is well known for its large gold mines. Johannesburg is
called the “City of Gold”. Johannesburg is the capital city of
Gauteng. Attractions in Johannesburg include Sandton, Soweto
with its lively shebeens, the Johannesburg Zoo, and Parkhurst with
its many sidewalk cafés and boutiques.

The Cradle of Humankind is the only World Heritage Site in
Gauteng and one of eight in South Africa. It is close to
Johannesburg, Pretoria and Krugersdorp. It is a popular attraction
because it is the place where humankind originated.

The Apartheid Museum
When you enter the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, you have to
walk through a gate for “blacks only” or “whites only”. This might
sound completely strange to you, but during apartheid, the
government separated black and white people in most aspects of
everyday life.
The museum displays information about apartheid in various ways.
Television clips; human-sized photographs; a cage full of weapons; 121
nooses hanging from the ceilings, which represent the number of
political prisoners killed during apartheid; music and radio broadcasts
from the past that give a glimpse of what life was like during
apartheid. Each of these items is part of a larger story that is told as
you move through the various rooms and hallways in the museum.

Gold Reef City
Gold Reef City is an amusement or theme park built on an old gold
mine in Johannesburg. The theme of the park is gold and the gold
rush of the Transvaal during the 1880s. When you enter the park, an
employee might greet you wearing a costume that looks like the
clothing from the 1880s.

Once you have seen the museum and learnt about the history of the
mine and the gold rush, you can view a gold pour, where gold is
melted in a hot oven and poured into a mould. You can also go
down an old mine shaft wearing a hard hat to experience what it is
like to be a miner. Other attractions to enjoy are the roller coasters
and other rides.

Soweto
It is rich in culture and history. Tourists can visit Baragwanath,
where they see sites like open-air butcher shops, herbalists,
markets, barbers and shebeens. Diepkloof Extension and Orlando
are other areas to visit. The Hector Pieterson Memorial and
Museum is a reminder of the student uprising of 16 June 1976.
Vilakazi Street was home to former President Nelson Mandela.
Visitors can also experience local township food, such as dombolo
(steamed bread), moroga (spinach) and umngqhusho (Xhosa samp
and beans) and visit Mshenguville squatter camp where locals
show visitors around.

Profiles and statistics of tourists visiting this province
According to Stats SA, of all the people who visit Gauteng, 62% of
them are there to visit family and friends. Only a few, 14,7%, visit for
a holiday or for a leisurely break.

Unit 2 Tourist
attractions: KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal attractions

KwaZulu-Natal is also known as the Zulu Kingdom. It is a popular tourist
destination because of its warm climate, warm ocean currents, water
sports, golfing and leisure. Its capital city is Pietermaritzburg.

iSimangaliso means “miracle” or “wonder” in isiZulu. The name of this World Heritage Site
has been changed from Greater St Lucia Wetland Park to reflect the many areas it
represents, which include Lake Sibaya, Sodwana Bay, Mkuze Game Reserve, False Bay,
Fanies Island, Charters Creek, Lake St Lucia, Cape Vidal, Kosi Bay and Maphelane. It is close
to Richards Bay. These areas include a wide variety of habitats including the Ubombo
Mountains, grasslands, forests, wetlands, mangroves, swamps, vegetated dunes, as well as
magnificent beaches and coral reefs.

Tourists can experience great diversity in this area. All of the different ecosystems, support
different animals from the Nile crocodile, black rhino and kudu to a variety of fish species
inhabiting the coral reef. Lake St Lucia has many small islands and estuaries. Swimming in
the lake is not allowed because of the crocodiles and hippos, but tourists can dive and
snorkel in nearby coral reefs, walk along beaches, take guided hiking tours through
canopied forests, go on safaris, do water sports, go on horse rides, go birding and go turtle
tracking. Because of all this natural beauty and diversity, it is not a surprise that
iSimangaliso was declared South Africa’s first natural World Heritage Site.

When you picture huge, jagged mountains, do you imagine massively high spears standing
alongside each other? The isiZulu name uKhahlamba means “barrier of spears” and the
Afrikaans name Drakensberg means “dragon mountains”. Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is
southern Africa’s highest mountain range. Within these mountains, people have discovered
caves with the largest and most concentrated series of rock art paintings in Africa. It is close
to Underberg, Mooi River and Estcourt.

This site is known for its natural beauty and cultural significance. The mountains form a 200-
kilometre barrier separating KwaZulu-Natal from Lesotho. The Sani Pass is the only access
by road from KwaZulu-Natal to Lesotho through the Drakensberg. At the top tourists can go
to the highest pub in Africa, which is 3 000 metres above sea level. There are many San rock
paintings made over a period of 4 000 years in the caves and rock shelters. For adventure
tourists, there are activities like sheer rock climbing, abseiling, white water rafting and
helicopter rides over the mountains.

Durban beachfront (The Golden Mile and Marine Parade)

During peak holiday season, which in South Africa is from June to July and December to
January, the Durban beachfront buzzes with activity. The Golden Mile, or “the mile” if you
are a local, is the name given to the six-kilometre stretch of Durban beachfront. The
promenade runs alongside it. It stretches from South Beach, next to uShaka Marine World,
to Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World.

Tourists visit “the mile” to ride a rickshaw, buy African crafts, lie in the sun, fish, swim, surf
or just walk along the boardwalk. The sub-tropical climate and warm Indian Ocean water
are perfect for leisure tourists. Surfers are common in this area, particularly on South
Beach, because the waves are good, the currents are warm and the shark nets are up.

The rickshaw-pullers wear colourful headdresses and pull tourists along in their two-
wheeler carts. They are an additional transport option for those visiting the city. People
can hop on and off to view the local hand-made crafts on the beachfront.

uShaka Marine World

uShaka Marine World opened in Durban on the Golden Mile in 2004 and is a popular
tourist attraction. uShaka Marine World offers non-stop entertainment with Sea World
and uShaka Beach. Some of the activities that are offered include:

• The shark cage experience lets you climb into a cage that is lowered into the sharks’
  environment. You get to see the sharks close up as they circle slowly around you.
• The Snorkel Lagoon offers you a chance to swim in a lagoon among some of the fish
  species found off the KwaZulu-Natal coast.
• The Ocean Walker allows you to walk slowly on the ocean floor to see fish, sand
  sharks and rays.
• In the aquarium, you can see jellyfish, sharks, crabs, eels and a variety of other fish
  species.
• At the dolphin show you can watch dolphins do tricks.

The Comrades Marathon

“Celebrate mankind’s spirit over adversity”. This is the reason why the Comrades
Marathon was started. It is the world’s greatest ultra-marathon, a 90-kilometre run
between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. The race alternates annually between the up run
from Durban and the down run from Pietermaritzburg. The Comrades Marathon first took
place on 24 May 1921 with 34 runners and has been run every year since, except from 1941
to 1945 when it was stopped during World War II.

A World War I veteran named Vic Clapham founded the race. He wanted a living memorial
to remember and honour those South African soldiers killed in the war. The Comrades
Marathon highlights camaraderie and overcoming weakness. Today it is a world-famous
race and athletes travel from all over the world to run it.

The sardine run

During the sardine run, a massive shoal of sardines leaves the west coast of Africa during
the winter months of the year and follows a cold ocean current, rich in plankton, up the
south coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Thousands of different birds and sea animals, such as
common and bottlenose dolphins, sharks, shoals of game fish, seals and sea birds, chase
and hunt these sardines for food. The sardine run is now a tourist attraction. Visitors
watch this ocean spectacle in towns along the coast, including Margate, Port Shepstone
and Amanzimtoti, while they enjoy cultural activities and musical performances. Many
fishermen enjoy fishing during this event.

Profile and statistics of tourists visiting this province

According to Stats SA, 27,1% of tourists visited KwaZulu-Natal for leisure and
holidays and 56,2% visited with the purpose of seeing family or friends.