Simply South Africa Trivia Quiz

Answer: Orange

The Orange River flows for 2200 kilometres or 1367 miles from where it starts in the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho across South Africa to where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms part of the international border between South Africa and Lesotho and also between South Africa and Namibia. It was named the Orange River by the Dutch settlers after the name of their royal family, the House of Orange. It is also called the Gariep or "great river" by the local people in the area.

Canoe and rafting trips down the Orange River are very popular holiday activities.

Answer: Table Mountain

Table Mountain was so named by the early Dutch settlers because of its flat top. It overlooks the city of Cape Town and is 1084.6 metres or 3558 feet high. The mountain has been declared one of the "seven wonders of nature". If you want to go to the top of Table Mountain, you can do so on foot and climb one of the many trails or, if you are not feeling that energetic, you can take the easy way and ride a cable car to the top.

Table Mountain has its own tablecloth. This is the name given to the layer of fluffy, white cloud which sometimes comes down and lies across the top of the mountain on sunny days.

Answer: Pretoria

South Africa used to be made up of four separate colonies which each had their own capital. When it unified to become the Union of South Africa in 1910, it was decided to name three cities as capitals to avoid arguments about which one city should be the capital. Pretoria is the administrative capital and is home to many government building and foreign embassies. The city is famous for its beautiful jacaranda trees which carpet the city in a layer of purple when they are in flower.

Cape Town is the legislative capital and is the seat of Parliament where the country's laws are made and passed. It is the second largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg and began life as a trading post for Dutch sailors in 1652. Bloemfontein, whose name means "flower fountain" in Afrikaans, is the judicial capital where the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa is housed. It is also the capital of the Free State Province.

Answer: Rand

Since South Africa became a republic in 1961 their currency has been the rand. It takes its name from the Afrikaans word "rand" which means ridge. This name was chosen because gold mining plays a very important part in the South African economy and most of the country's gold deposits are found along the Witwatersrand (White Water Ridge in Afrikaans).

The rand is a decimal currency and is divided into 100 cents.

Answer: Eleven

To avoid arguments and to include as many of the different groups as possible, South Africa has eleven official languages. They are English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. Most people in the country can speak at least two languages. So to say hello to someone you could say either Dumela, Sawubona, Bhota, Lotjhani, Ndaa, Avuxeni, Hallo as well as Hello.

The variety of different groups which make up South Africa have led to the country being nicknamed "The Rainbow Nation".

Answer: Drakensberg

The Drakensberg mountains, whose name means Dragon's Mountains in Afrikaans, runs for over 1000 kilometres or just over 621 miles through South Africa. They form part of the international border with Lesotho. The Zulu name for the Drakensberg is "uKhahlamba" which means "barrier of spears".

The mountains are a very popular holiday destination for both hikers and nature lovers. They form part of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg National Park and the Sehlathebe National Park in Lesotho which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. Mafadi, the highest peak, is on the border between Lesotho and South Africa and is 3450 metres or 11320 feet in height.

Answer: Indian Ocean

South Africa's coastline is 2798 kilometres or 1739 miles long. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west side of the country while the Indian Ocean surrounds the eastern side. The two oceans officially meet at Cape Agulhas, which is the southernmost point on the African continent. If you visit Cape Agulhas, there is a little monument where you can stand with a foot in each ocean at the same time!

The Atlantic Ocean has the cold Benguela current which makes the water a bit on the chilly side for swimming and surfing. It is much more comfortable to swim in the Indian Ocean as it has the warm Agulhas current so the water temperature is more pleasant.

Answer: King Protea

The Protea family of plants is found only in South Africa and the King Protea has the largest flower head of all of the Proteas. This has led to it being named as the official flower of the country. King Protea flowers can grow up to 30 centimetres or 12 inches across. They are also known as the Sugar Bush or Honeypot because of the sweet nectar they contain.

The national cricket side of South Africa are called "The Proteas" after this flower.

Answer: True

Wildlife safaris are a very popular activity in South Africa and most people who go on safari want to see the group of animals known as the "Big Five". They are lion, leopard, African elephant, rhinoceros and Cape buffalo. These animals were given the name the "Big Five" by hunters who declared them to be the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot. There are two kinds of rhinoceros, the white and the black, but seeing either one of them counts as a "Big Five" sighting. Of course, a very nice bonus would be to see both.

If you are very lucky, you could also see the "Super Seven" which is the "Big Five" together with African wild dog and the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah.

Answer: Rugby

The South African rugby team is known as the "Springboks" after the small antelope which is the South African national animal. The name was first given to the team in 1906 and they wear an emblem of the springbok on their green and gold outfits. The Springboks have twice won the Rugby World Cup. The first time was in 1995 when the tournament was held in South Africa. They also won it again in 2007.

The springboks' name comes from the Afrikaans words "spring" which means jump and "bok" which means antelope or goat. Springboks are exceedingly fast and agile animals and can jump distances of 4 metres or 12 feet into the air which is known as "pronking".