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Camps Bay, Cape Town
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| Quick facts about South Africa |
| Country code: ZA | | Zone: Africa | | Demonym: South African | | Official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | | Driving on the left side of the road | | Currency: ZAR (South African Rand) | | Internet TLD: .za | | Calling code: +27 | | Time zone: SAST (UTC+2) | | Population: 47.432.000 | | Capital: Pretoria | | Biggest city: Johannesburg |
| Borders: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe |
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The climatic zones vary, from the extreme desert of the southern Namib in the farthest northwest to the lush subtropical climate in the east along the Mozambique border and the Indian ocean.
The extreme southwest has a climate remarkably similar to that of the Mediterranean with wet winters and hot, dry summers, hosting the famous Fynbos Biome. This region is also particularly known for its wind, which blows intermittently almost all year. The severity of this wind made passing around the Cape of Good Hope particularly treacherous for sailors, causing many shipwrecks.
Further east on the country's south coast, rainfall is distributed more evenly throughout the year, producing a green landscape. This area is popularly known as the Garden Route.
When to go
South Africa is year round vacation destination. Still, winter (June to September) is best as climate, cooler, drier, good for trips and mountaining.
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