Moving to South Africa

Relocating to any new country is an expensive, time-consuming, bureaucratic and stressful task. Throw into this the wealth of information on the Internet – much of which contradicts what other sites are saying – and you have a recipe for utter confusion!

From accommodation to schools, doctors and all things medical to legal requirements, visas, the cost of living and more, we’ve created a concise overview of life in South Africa, so that you can safely explore your new home from the comfort of your couch.

Fun facts on SA

  • There are robots on every street corner - this is how locals refer to traffic lights.
  • South Africa is the seventh largest producer of wine in the world and exports about 400-Million liters a year. Route 62, the tourist route between the Western Cape and Eastern Cape takes you along what could be the longest wine route in the world.
  • South Africa utilises UK English as its English language-standard.
  • Vilakazi Street in Soweto is the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel prize winners: Nelson Mandela once lived at number 8115 and Desmond Tutu's house is also nearby.
  • Vilakazi Street in Soweto is the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel prize winners: Nelson Mandela once lived at number 8115 and Desmond Tutu's house is also nearby.
  • The Vredefort Dome is the site of the biggest meteor crater that's ever been discovered on earth, with a radius of 300km.
  • Four of the five fastest land animals in the world live in South Africa: cheetah, wildebeest, lion and Thomson's gazelle.
  • South African grasslands have a greater biodiversity than rainforests, with about 30 species per square kilometre.
  • South Africa is home to: The largest bird – ostrich The largest land mammal – elephant The tallest creature – giraffe The largest reptile – leatherback turtle The largest fish – whale shark The heaviest flying bird – khori bustard The largest antelope – eland The fastest land mammal – cheetah The smallest mammal – least dwarf shrew
  • 46664 – Imprisoned on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela was categorised by his prison number and year of imprisonment. Mandela’s prisoner number was 466, and he was imprisoned in 1964, hence 46664.
  • Ranked third best overall in the world, South Africa is one of only 12 countries supplying tap water that is fit to drink.
  • The largest cut diamond in the world, Cullinan 1, was found in 1905 at the Premier Diamond Mining Company in Cullinan. Also known as the star of Africa, this diamond forms part of the British Imperial Sceptre.
  • The first ever human heart transplant was performed by South African surgeon, Dr Christiaan Barnard, at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town in 1967. A talented man, he was also the first to do a heart-lung transplant as well as pioneering post-operative intensive care system that noticeably decreased patient mortality.
  • The world's first automatic pool cleaning unit, the Kreepy Krauly, was invented by South African Ferdinand Chauvier in 1974.
  • Kimberly was the first town in the southern hemisphere to install electric street lights on September 2nd, 1882.
  • Table Mountain in Cape Town is believed to be one of the oldest mountains in the world.
  • The world is divided into six floral kingdoms. All these kingdoms encompass several countries, and in some cases, several continents. South Africa, which has a floral kingdom wholly contained within the country, is the one exception. The Cape Floral Kingdom has 9,600 plant species, 70% of which are not found…
  • Table Mountain alone has over 1,500 species of plants, more than the entire United Kingdom.
  • South Africa is the second largest exporter of fruit in the world.
  • Kruger National Park supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the African continent.
  • South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique are tearing down fences between the countries' game parks to create a 13,500 square mile game park, which will become the largest conservation area in the world. It will be bigger than Switzerland, Belgium or Taiwan.
  • The deepest mine is a gold mine in South Africa. In 1977 the Western Deep Levels Mine reached a depth of 3,581 kilometers. Most mines descend to about 1 kilometer.
  • South Africa is the only country in the world to voluntarily abandon its nuclear weapons program.
  • Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world - and the largest green one. The Grand Canyon in the U.S. is the biggest, and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia the second, but both are very dry.
  • South Africa is home to the world's smallest succulent plants (less than 9.9 millimeters) and the largest (the baobab tree).
  • South Africa is the world's leader in mining and minerals. It has nearly 90% of the platinum metals on earth, 80% of the manganese, 73% of the chrome, 45% of the vanadium and 41% of the gold.
  • South Africa is one of the most generously endowed geographic solar hotspots in the world, soaking up just over half of the world's highest category of solar wattage per square yard of land.
  • South Africa has deserts, mountains, escarpments, plateaus, grasslands, bush, wetlands and subtropical forests.
  • The Karoo region is home to some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs.
  • Although Pretoria is considered to be the capital of South Africa, the country actually has three capitals: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial).
  • Approximately 900 bird species are found in South Africa alone, which represents 10% of the worlds total bird species.
  • South Africa has the highest commercial bungi jump in the world (710 feet).
  • Mossel Bay is in the Guinness Book of records as having the second most moderate climate in the world.
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