Written by Kate Collins
“Some Say… I am In Africa
The Truth is… Africa is in Me”
Under the roof of the Ubuntu Hut in the Londolozi village, staff from a variety of departments joined to listen to guest speaker Steuart Pennington, CEO of South Africa: The Good News. A friend of the Varty Family, Steuart came to visit but also to share his wealth of knowledge about our country.
After the talk, the Londolozi staff who had gathered to listen felt inspired by the positive news and interesting facts – information that many of us in attendance had been unaware of.
His talk made me think about the many incredible reasons that we have to love our country and why South Africa is simply awesome.
Here are just a few impressive facts.
1. Biggest man-made forest in the world
Caption: It’s estimated that there are around 10 million trees in Johannesburg, from pavements and sidewalks to trees in private homes. Credit: Google Images, unlicensed footage.
Johannesburg is the economic hub of the country but it is also famous as the biggest man-made forest in the world with as many as 10 million trees. The next time you visit this city take note of how many beautiful trees can be seen along pavements and in people’s homes.
2. The largest green canyon in the world
Caption: The greenest canyon in the world – the Blyde River Canyon. Credit Rich Laburn
A short drive from Londolozi and the Kruger National Park and you’ll come across the world’s largest green canyon. The Blyderiver Canyon in Mpumalanga forms part of the northern Drakensberg escarpment and boasts verdant landscapes, unearthly rock formations and animals such as hippos, monkey, crocodiles and antelope to name a few of its residents. Bird watchers must look out for eagles and falcons. Apart from being the greenest, the canyon is also the third largest in the world.
3. Home to eight World Heritage Sites
Caption: The serenity of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Credit: Tim Nicholas
South Africa is a place of great beauty and this has been recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) that declared eight sites with World Heritage status. The following eight destinations in South Africa are World Heritage Sites: Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Cape Floral Kingdom, Mapungubwe National Park, iSimagaliso Wetland Park, Robben Island, The Vredefort Dome, The Cradle of Humankind and uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park
4. The first country outside of Europe to gain Blue Flag Status for its coastal management
Caption: Long Beach, Noordhoek, Western Cape.
The Blue Flag is an award in recognition of beaches and marinas where a standard of excellence meets all 27 criteria of coastal management including safety, services, water quality and cleanness. South Africa has as many as 41 beaches and five marinas with this status.
5. 11 Official Languages
South Africa is rich in culture and boasts equal status to 11 official languages. The languages include: English, Sesotho, Sepedi, Xitsonga, Siswati, Afrikaans, Tshivenda, isiXhosa, isiNdeble, isiZulu and Setswana. The Xitsonga language is spoken by as many as 2.3 million people and is the home language of the majority of Shangaan staff working at Londolozi.
Written by Kate Collins, Londolozi Blog Editor
