The Republic of South Africa is a huge country occupying an area of 1.23 million sq km and with a population of almost 45 million people. Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland run from west to east along the northern border, with Lesotho hovering in its midst above the grassland to the south-east of the country. South Africa is divided into three main regions - the vast interior plateau, known as the highveld, the Kalahari Basin, and a narrow coastal plain, known as the lowveld. The South African society is a melting pot of races, cultures and traditions that has come a long way since the oppressive years of apartheid, and a more cosmopolitan attitude has brought with it a thriving tourist industry with top quality holiday apartments and villas in South Africa available to the thousands of visitors that arrive each year.
South Africa has basically a dry and sunny climate due to its position just south of the Tropic of Capricorn; a climate moderated by the oceans that surround it. The weather along the south coast is temperate becoming tropical heading north up the eastern coast, where it can be wetter with high levels of humidity. The western coast is dry and hot, increasingly so the nearer you get to the desert region just south of the Namibian border, and it can become stifling in the lowveld. High altitude areas are warm and fresh and an ideal place to escape the sticky heat and dust. Spectacular summer storms are frequent on the higher ground of the north-east and winters are mild across the whole country, except at the highest levels where it sometimes snows. South Africa's resident population is fairly well distributed across the entire nation with higher concentrations in the larger towns and cities, such as Pretoria, the official capital in the north-east, and Cape Town, but traditional groups of black communities still live in remoter parts of the countryside where their cultural heritage plays an important role in their mode of existence.
As a holiday destination, this is a country that has so much to offer and its popularity means that self catering apartments and villas in South Africa, some with luxurious facilities like private pools, are booked quickly. The diversity of South Africa's dramatic landscapes and natural environments mean the vacation opportunities are endless; anything is possible here, from renting the holiday villas in Mpumalanga for action-packed bush safaris to planning gentle walks through vineyards and forests from a holiday rental in Cape Town where you can also expect to cram in anything from museum visits and shopping to relaxing on glorious sandy beaches. The flora is spectacular countrywide, ranging from savanna, covering huge swathes of the north, through grasslands to forest and wilderness, with many unique species of plants and flowers of exceptional beauty. But wildlife is what this part of the world is really all about, with some of the world's biggest, smallest, tallest and fastest examples known to man. The National Parks are teeming with them, and even other rural parts have their fair share of rampaging rhinos and crafty crocodiles!
A holiday villa in Cape Town will introduce you to one of the most exciting cities in the world. With its stunning backdrop of the Table Mountain, this is a beautiful location, and a holiday apartment in Cape Town makes an ideal base from where you can take advantage of the superb beaches with many water sport facilities, or investigate the vineyards, museums and shops. Or maybe take in the breathtaking views from the Table Mountain and all the weird and wonderful vegetation that is supported in the Cape Floral Kingdom; one of the world's six floral kingdoms that is carried through to the Garden Route. This is a narrow coastal plain in southern Western Cape that is every bit as fragrant as its name implies! In this part of South Africa, lagoons run behind a barrier of sand dunes that descend to a beach of pure white sand, and forests of indigenous giant yellow-wood trees languish beside plantations of eucalyptus and pine. A floral paradise that is holiday heaven for anyone with green fingers. Alternatively, explore another outstanding area along the coast near Durban from the luxurious comfort of a holiday villa in KwaZulu Natal. And if wander-lust grabs you, take a trip through the mountains of Little Karoo, that rise up between Cape Town and the Garden Route, and witness some of the most outstanding landscapes in this region with more than a good chance of encountering an ostrich or two on the way!
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