South Africa - Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay, South Africa

Sent by Mossel Bay Tourism.

Mossel Bay (Afrikaans: Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Cape Town (which is also the capital city of the Western Cape Province), and 400 km west of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape Province. The older parts of the town occupy the north-facing side of the Cape St Blaize Peninsula, whilst the newer suburbs straddle the Peninsula and have spread eastwards along the sandy shore of the Bay.

The town's economy relied heavily on farming, fishing and its commercial harbour (the smallest in the Transnet Port Authority's stable of South African commercial harbours), until the 1969 discovery of natural offshore gas fields led to the development of thegas-to-liquids refinery operated by PetroSA. Tourism is another driver of Mossel Bay's economy. (read further)

South Africa - Shaangan Warriors

Shaangan warriors.

Sent by Ana, a postcrosser from South Africa.

South Africa - Pietermaritzburg - City Hall

The city centre with a view of City Hall, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Sent by Batu, a postcrosser from South Africa.

Pietermaritzburg's City Hall, which claims to be the largest brick building in the southern hemisphere, lies in the middle of the Pietermaritzburg city centre. The building is a national monument and is a beautiful piece of Victorian architecture, with its 47m high bell tower. Constructed in 1893, the building was ravaged by fire in 1895, with reconstruction taking place some six years later.

On entering the hall one is struck by the magnificent stained glass displays and massive pipe organ, which is the largest south of the equator. Various exhibitions and concerts are held at the City Hall, including frequent visits by the KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Just outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall stands a 5.5kg naval gun known as the One O’Clock Gun, for the obvious reason that it used to fire every day at exactly one o’clock, with the exception of Sundays. The gun’s history is rich, starting with its journey during the 1840s on the HMS Fawn. The ship carried out the worthy cause of capturing slave ships and releasing their human cargo, ultimately putting an end to the slave trade.

In 1847 the HMS Fawn was sent to Durban to reinforce Port Natal as it was then known. The ship ran aground some twenty months later, on exiting the harbour, and was subsequently scrapped. The gun was transferred to Durban’s Point where it stood for some time until it was moved to Pietermaritzburg, to serve as the one o’clock gun or to announce the arrival of post from Durban. The gun was once again conscripted during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War, and was placed in its current location in 1901, where it has stood for over a century.(Source)

South Africa - Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (3)

CAPE TOWN
Table Mountain experience. Top right clockwise : King Proteas, Dassies, Table Mountain from Rotair and Lion's Head.

One of the five postcards sent by Whardah from Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa - Stellenbosch

STELLENBOSCH
The university town of Stellenbosch, famous for its wines and specctacular mountain scenery, has many fine examples of architecture dating back to the early 1800'2.

One of the five postcards sent by Whardah from Cape Town, South Africa.

This is from Wikipedia : Stellenbosch ( /ˈstɛlənbɒs/) is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Cape Town, along the banks of the Eerste Rivier. It is the second oldest European settlement in the province, after Cape Town. The town became known as the City of Oaks or Eikestad in Afrikaans and Dutch due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by its founder, Simon van der Stel, to grace the streets and homesteads.

Stellenbosch has its own municipality (incorporating the neighbouring towns of Pniel and Franschhoek), adjoining the greater/metro area of the city of Cape Town. The town is home to Stellenbosch University. Technopark is a modern science park situated on the southern side of the town near the Stellenbosch Golf Course.

The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself — Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's forest". It is situated on the banks of the Eerste Rivier ("First River"), so named as it was the first new river he reached and followed when he went on an expedition over the Cape Flats to explore the territory towards what is now known as Stellenbosch. The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a magistrate with jurisdiction over 25,000 square kilometers (9,700 sq mi) in 1685.

The Dutch were skilled in hydraulic engineering and they devised a system of furrows to direct water from the Eerste Rivier in the vicinity of Thibault Street through the town along van Riebeeck Street to Mill Street where a mill was erected. Early visitors commented on the oak trees and gardens.

During 1690 some Huguenot refugees settled in Stellenbosch, grapes were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African wine industry.

In 1710 a fire destroyed most of the town and including all the Company property and twelve houses. Only two or three houses were left standing.

The first school had been opened in 1683 but education in the town began in earnest in 1859 with the opening of a seminary for the Dutch Reformed Church. Rhenish Girls' High School, established in 1860, is the oldest school for girls in South Africa. A gymnasium which was known as het Stellenbossche Gymnasium was established in 1866. In 1874 some higher classes became Victoria College and then in 1918 University of Stellenbosch. The first men's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Wilgenhof, in 1903. In 1909 an old boy of the school, Paul Roos, captain of the first national rugby team to be called the Springboks, was invited to become the sixth rector of the school. He remained rector till 1940. On his retirement the school's name was changed to Paul Roos Gymnasium.

In the early days of the Second Boer War (1899–1902) Stellenbosch was one of the British military bases, and was used as a 'remount' camp; and in consequence of officers who had not distinguished themselves at the front being sent back to it, the expression 'to be Stellenbosched' came into use; so much so, that in similar cases officers were spoken of as 'Stellenbosched' even if they were sent to some other place.

South Africa - Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (2)

CAPE TOWN
Chapman's Peak Drive is a spectacular mountain pass which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean between Hout Bay and Noordhoek.

One of the five postcards sent by Whardah from Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa - Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (1)

CAPE TOWN
The wonder world of beauty, history and splendour. The Republic's legislative capital beneath Table Mountain with the magnificent V&A Waterfront in the foreground.

One of the five postcards sent by Whardah from Cape Town, South Africa.

The Cape Floral Region is located in the south-west corner of South Africa in the Cape Province. The site's eight clusters form a representative sample of the eight phytogeographical centres of the region. Elevations range from 2,077 m in the Groot Winterhoek to sea level in the De Hoop Nature Reserve. A great part of the area is characterized by rugged mountain passes, rivers, rapids, cascades and pools.

The area has been called the world's 'hottest hot-spot' for plant diversity and endemism and has been designated as one of the World Centres of Plant Diversity. It has some 44% of the subcontinental flora of 20,367 species (vascular plant species), including endemic and subendemic families and threatened species. The Cape Peninsula contains almost half of these species, with 25% of the flora of the whole region. The richness is due to the wide variety of macrohabitats and microhabitat mosaics resulting from the range of elevations, soils and climatic conditions, including the co-existence of winter-rainfall species with summer-rainfall species from further east. The flora is also characterized by concentrations of relict endemics and massive ongoing speciation due to its isolation in an area of very long established climatic stability. The flora of each area is sufficiently distinct to justify representation of the region by several sites, each of which is large enough to preserve the genetic viability of its types of diversity and to accommodate large-scale natural processes such as fire and drought. Eight phytogeographical centres of endemism have been distinguished in the Cape Floral Region.

The distinctive flora of the region, comprising 80% of its richness, is the fynbos (fine bush), fine-leaved vegetation adapted to both the Mediterranean type of climate and to periodic fires, and defined by the location or dominant species. Plant variety is based on soil types which vary from predominantly coarse, sandy, acidic nutrient-poor soils, to alkaline marine sands and slightly richer alluvials. There are pockets of evergreen forest in fire-protected gorges and on deeper soils; in the east are valley thickets and succulent thickets, which are less fire-dependent, and in the drier north, low succulent Karoo shrubland.

Four other characteristics of the Cape Floral Region of global scientific interest are:

• the responses of the plants to fire;
• seed dispersal by ants and termites;
• the high level (83%) of plant pollination by insects, mainly beetles and flies;
• its linkages to Gondwanaland allowing reconstruction of the flora's ancient connections.

Adaptation to fire include geophytes that sprout from underground and seed storage both underground and in the canopy, some species requiring fire for germination. Ants take the seeds to eat the lipid deposits; about 28% of the region's flora, including over half of the Proteaceae, is dispersed by them. Most of the shrubs so dispersed are both endemic and threatened species but the latter lack a way of regenerating after fire. Pollination and nutrient-cycling by termites, and termite-mound communities are notable and the region has very high levels of bird- and mammal-pollinated plants. (Source)

South Africa (2)

SOUTH AFRICA
The wonderful diversity of South Africa where magnificent wildlife and scenic splendour are found in abundance.

Sent by The Stops Family, postcrosser from Durban, South Africa.

South Africa - Cape Town - Mapcard

Map from the book SOUTH AFRICA by Gerald Hoberman, 2001.

Sent by Ana, a postcrosser from South Africa.

This is from Wikipedia : Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad; Xhosa: iKapa) is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is also Africa's most popular tourist destination.

Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa.

Today it is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa. As of 2007[update] the city had an estimated population of 3.5 million. Cape Town's land area of 2,455 square kilometres (948 sq mi) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,425 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,690 /sq mi).

South Africa - Flag

SOUTH AFRICA
The Republic's new flag is ethnic in design and concept and heralds an era of optimism, progress and peace for all its varied race groups.

Sent by Caylee from South Africa.

South Africa - uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park

DRAKENSBERG
Flowering cosmos and traditional African kraals make up the foreground while the heat of the morning sun causes cloud to form against the face of the 'berg.

Sent by Susi, a German postcrosser who is writing thesis in South Africa.

Ukhahlamba Park has outstanding aesthetic value. Soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks and golden sandstone ramparts all contribute to a spectacular environment. It contains significant natural habitats for in situ conservation of biological diversity, and has outstanding species richness of plants. It is recognized as a Global Centre of Plant Diversity and endemism, and occurs within its own floristic region: the Drakensberg Alpine Region of South Africa. The rock art is the largest and most concentrated group of rock paintings in Africa south of the Sahara and is outstanding both in quality and diversity of subject.

The park is the largest protected area on the Great Escarpment of the southern African subcontinent. It is located in an inland mountain along the eastern border of Lesotho. It comprises a northern and a significantly larger southern section. The mountainous area between these two sections, known as the Mnweni area, is tribal land. The park can be divided into two distinct physiographic regions: the foothills of 'Little Berg' are steep-sided spurs, escarpments and valleys occurring below 2,000 m in elevation, whereas the high main escarpment rises to over 3,400 m. There is considerable variation in topography, including vast basalt and sandstone cliffs, deep valleys, intervening spurs and extensive plateau areas. This topographical variation contributes to the outstanding scenic value. The Drakensberg is one of the best watered, least drought-prone areas of southern Africa, and has particular significance for catchments protection and the provision of high-quality water supplies for surrounding communities; a number of rivers originate from the park.

The geology of the Drakensberg is characterized by a thick sedimentary succession, capped by an accumulation of basalt, comprising the upper part of the Karoo Supergroup succession which has a composite thickness of up to 7,000 m in this area. The most distinctive physiographic feature of the Drakensberg foothills is the high cliffs formed of fine-grained sandstone comprising the Clarens Formation.

The vegetation in the park is influenced by topography and the effects of climate, soil, geology, slope, drainage and fire; it is attitudinally zoned, forming three belts coinciding with the main topographical features: the river valley system, the spurs and the summit plateau. These are the low-altitude belt with Podocarpus forest, the mid-altitude belt with fynbos (fine bush) vegetation and the high-altitude belt with alpine tundra and heath. Among a total of 2,153 species of plant are included a large number of internationally and nationally threatened species. A significant feature is the high level of plant species endemism. The park also includes significant grassland communities. The fauna includes a total of 48 mammal species, 296 bird species, 48 reptiles, 26 amphibians and 8 fish species. The invertebrate fauna is poorly known but includes many species endemic to the region. A number of globally threatened faunal species occur in this area, including the long-toed tree frog, the yellow-breasted pipit and the Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon.

The Drakensberg region is one of the most important archaeological areas in southern Africa. Archaeological sites from the early, middle and late Stone Ages and the late Iron Age indicate that human occupation in this mountain region may extend over the last million years. It was, however, the Neolithic settlers who arrived around 8000 BP that were the ancestors of the San. They were hunter-gatherers, often living in caves or rock-shelters. Paintings are to be found in diverse sites, ranging from large rock-shelters containing over 1,000 individual images to small rock overhangs with only a few paintings and the vertical sides of boulders strewn along the steep valley slopes. Many of them displayed painted scenes of hunting, dancing, fighting, food gathering, and ritual or trance scenes of hunting or rainmaking. Most of the human subjects were depicted naked, but the sex was indeterminate for most of them. Dressed figures were clad in a variety of garments, in some cases of European type. (Source)

South Africa - Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

The V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain as a backdrop is one of the biggest tourist attractions in South Africa. The V&A Waterfront has many Shops and Restaurants to visit.

Sent by jos-nijenhuis, a TravBuddy friend, and also an Oranje supporter who is now in South Africa. Thanks friend.

This is from Wikipedia : The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in the historic heart of Cape Town's working harbour is South Africa's most-visited destination, having the highest rate of foreign tourists of any attraction in the country. Situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain and set against a backdrop of sea and mountain views, it offers a variety of shopping and entertainment options to visitors, intermingled with office locations, hotels (such as the historical Breakwater Lodge - once a 19th century prison) and luxury apartments in the residential marina.

It houses the Nelson Mandela Gateway which offers boat trips to Robben Island, as well as the Two Oceans Aquarium.

South Africa (1)

The first postcard received from South Africa and was sent by my friend Marlize.

This postcard shows Mac Mac Falls, Ndebele woman, elephant, Blyde Canyon, and Cape Town.