Let me help you out a bit.

SA’s nine provinces

• The Eastern Cape
• The Free State
• Gauteng
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Limpopo
• Mpumalanga
• The Northern Cape
• North West
• The Western Cape

Interesting fact – before 1994 SA had only four provinces. I was really surprised to remember that little fact. These provinces were: Transvaal, Orange Free State, Natal and the Cape. Who would’ve thought!?

I’m going to be following up this post with other small snippets of information such as Beaches in SA, Mountain Ranges and more!
Similar Posts:

• Best Beaches in SA
• Cape Town is Africa’s best city
• Why don’t we all live in Mauritius?
• Cape Town Helicopter Flight
• 8 moments in South African history

According to the Travel and Leisure magazine in the US-of-A CapeTown rocks.

CT beat off a multitude of other cities in Africa and the Middle-East to be voted number one in these areas and number 10 in the entire world. Spot on too.

What a great achievement. It is achievements such as these that help to promote our country and increase tourism to SA. This is what our country needs. Negative publicity serves to prolong and repeat the cycle of negativity in SA while positive publicity will, in some way, help to curb the bad perceptions.

Cape Town’s mayoral committee member in charge of tourism, Simon Grindrod agrees with me on this point stating that this sort of achievement “will thus have a direct and positive effect on job creation and growth in the economy for the residents of Cape Town.” Well said I think.

It is hard to disagree with the result looking at the photos in this post. Click through to the SA Rocks Flickr pool and the featured photos and photographers for more stunning photos of Cape Town and South Africa.

Source: SouthAfrica.info
The all-in-one official guide
and web portal to South Africa. Similar Posts:

• SA fact for the day: Cape Town
• Surfing offline offshore off.the.hook!
• South Africa’s Online Presence is Growing
• Cape Town Rocks a Whole Lot
• Best Beaches in SA

..this could be one of those obvious no-brainers – but then again it might just be one of the deepest questions we can ask ourselves (if existential’s your thing)..

but just for today – why are you literally here: why do you live in the city that you do, the continent , the climate, the neighbourhood that you do? What makes a place feel like home.

I was chatting to a guy from Burundi who sought to assure me that “white people like the cold“, or at least extremes of temperature (WTF?! was my initial reaction followed in due course by much uproarious laughter.. then curiousity).

It got me thinking about how we humans move about on our great big home.ball. Why do we cluster where we do? If every modern human, [no matter how different we look 50 000 years on] started walking from the deserts of Southern Africa, why hell didn’t we all stop when we made it to the tropics, kick it back on the beaches, pick low-hanging fruit & make music? Surely that would be sensible?

If there’s one thing that I have learnt from studying the learning patterns & cognitive evolution of our species it’s this:

Humans aren’t machines. (oh yeah max, how profound!) smirk if you will, but governments around the world, incredibly smart people with MBA’s, multinational companies and grade 8 teachers are true believers. No matter how efficient the system, it’s never a guarantee that humans will work efficiently or be perfectly trained. We just aren’t an engineering problem. We are fundamentally counter.intuitive in our behaviour, and though we may honestly believe that we would be happiest lolling in an endless summer, that we truly want peace, that we really really want to live in luxury and ease.. our history says otherwise.

The weird thing about humans is that we ACTIVELY choose challenge. We yearn to grow beyond ourselves, to make a dent in history. It may be part of a greater plan (Orgel’s 2nd Law – “evolution is smarter than you are”). Yet for some peculiar reason, you have chosen to live where you do (even if you feel like you’re irrevocably bound – mortgage, marriage or money – remember there were decision points along the way).

If, today, you find yourself living in a place that irritates you, scares you but occassionally inspires you & makes your heart leap – you’re home. This place has a challenge level appropriate to your spirit.

If you’re one of those people who works best under pressure, and you love the rush when you’ve accomplished something that you thought was impossible; this is doubly true for you. We have the ability to be digital nomads, free to roam our world & ply our trade. Why are you here? What did you come to do here? Is it just to ingest info, to be productive, manage efficiently, reproduce, consume goods to keep the wheels of the economy going. Work.Buy.Display.Repeat ?

When we try to apply the rationality of engineering processes to our lives, somehow the wheels come off. [Admittedly there are some for whom it works - but generally they're not the kind of people you enjoy hanging around with at a braai]. You’re here for a reason, and it’s probably not a rational one, or you too would probably be Shaiking in your boots and packing for Perth.

It’s the one in your heart. Remember why you stay here.Similar Posts:

• Nine years ago
• Do we need a ZA 12 step program here?
• SA Talent Banking 1: the Fairy Godmother rocks the house
• Talent Banking : SA’s best & brightest
• Why SA can’t afford to be a tarty date

Winter’s on it’s way.. the Southern Hemisphere has taken the tilt into cooler days to come.
…sounds a bit bleak? Not a chance!

One of the top reasons stated for people coming to live in South Africa is the great weather. It’s been another glorious Southern summer, but the winter wonderland is about to unfold: and Cape Town is one of the best places to be, if you must endure winter*

If you happen to live here it’s the beginning of the fireside, friends, wine & wild wave season. It’s the season for the locals & secret spots. If you’re a surfer this is when it starts getting really exciting..
Big ripples from the powerful Antarctic storms start rolling towards our shores.

I know one friend who will be missing it madly because he’s moved to Jozi, bigwave surfer and wonderbeing Christof Appel, know he’ll be finding lots of excuses to come home in the months to come. The best way to find out when you should be heading to shore to meet the thundering giants is to get the feed from Dr Spike (of Wavescape fame). If you’re a surfer I don’t need to introduce you to the legendary Wavescape, but if you aren’t: I’d be honoured to introduce you to one of my favourite SA Rocking it hard sites.. don’t miss out on the catching this one. It’s right at the heart of SA surf culture’s adrenalised pulse.

You can get THE country’s best surf report in your mailbox/sms, check the pics of Durb’s being hammered by some early monster sets, learn some surfrican slang, meet the ZA surfstars, get insider travel info for a little SA surftripping.. etc.etc. it’s jammers with goodstuff. Just go, it’s kif, promise. Okay, I am a little biased because I learnt surf.reporting and general surfstoke from working with Spike.. but it’s no exaggeration to say that Wavescape is among the planet’s best surf portals, you can be seriously proud of this South African product.

[And yes, I used to surf (this was my 2nd beloved board that would toss me about like an untamed horse in the waves) but I'm shocking at it. Wearing a 4:3:2 wetsuit and still getting screaming ice-cream headaches from the friggid Atlantic waters is not superfun. However: pop me in the worldclass J-Bay waters at play with dolphins and the solid chance of spotting a surfing legend like the delicious Kelly Slater or our local heroes like Cass Collier out on the back.line & I’ll paddle in for sure

In the meantime.. I’m looking forward to enjoying a season of Stormhoek & watching the storm.spawned surf from the cozy shore, yum..

* hmmm.. I think somebody ought to give me an honourary position in Cape Town Tourism – this is absurd! I heart Cape Town. reaaaally?!.. no kidding Max.

Similar Posts:

• SA Train Surfing Documentary Hits CNN
• Why don’t we all live in Mauritius?
• Hunting Genius SA :: Guy with his eye on a BRIGHT FUTURE for SA
• SA fact for the day: Cycling and Swimming
• Golf in the sun in Winter

On the SA Rocks Facebook group I posted a question about the beaches in South Africa: Which beaches people loved and why. Here are some of the responses:

Paul Jacobson wrote:

There used to be an awesome beach in Plett called Lookout beach but I understand it has been eroded to the point where it isn’t quite so sexy … Just the same beaches in Plett get my vote cause I’d secretly love to have a home there …

Sandra Pitcher wrote:

Well I reckon it’s gotta be Salt Rock up the North Coast. It’s awesome there

Shaun O’Connell wrote:

The best beach in SA has to be the white sands of Nature’s Valley.
As you descend from the cliff-tops on the last day of the Otter Trail, you’re greeted with the beautiful view of Nature’s Valley and its beach. After 5 days of hiking, your feet almost become numb. The beach is like a soft massage to those tired feet and toes.

Tim Cohen wrote:

There are so many & it really depends on what you are after… One of the coolest for unspoilt beauty & space is Mtunzini North coast:

Mtunzini located in a naturally beautiful and unspoilt setting of dune forest, coastal wetland, golden beaches, and tidal lagoon, offers a host of outdoor and sporting activities, from ski-boating and fishing to birding and bush trails. Permission can also be obtained from the local KZN Conservation Service office to take four-wheel drive vehicles along a 40km stretch of beach. The town boasts a spectacular natural attraction in the form of a national monument of giant 20m high Raphia Palms, which in turn attract the rare Palmnut Vulture.

Kate Thompson wrote:

Nahoon is a great surfing and tanning beach, but I’d choose a beach in the Transkei – deserted, white sand, beautiful blue water, lots of wildlife!

I have added Kenton (left) and Port Alfred (top) Beaches to the list, they are both magical.

Thank you all for your responses to the question, if you have any more beaches to add to the list please leave a comment on this post!

Cape Town Hotels
Similar Posts:

• Do you know SA geography?
• Cape Town is Africa’s best city
• Why don’t we all live in Mauritius?
• 50 best SA websites
• Surfing offline offshore off.the.hook!