My African Safari: South Africa Quiz

Answer: It refers to the union of many nationalities in post-apartheid South Africa.

For most of its history, the South African Republic was known for strict segregation of its people by skin color. Archbishop Desmond Tutu referred to the "Rainbow People of God" after the nation's first fully democratic election in 1994. Nelson Mandela later expanded on the phrase when he called South Africa "a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world".

Answer: Rorke's Drift

About 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the small mission/trading post at Rorke's Drift in Natal against three to four-thousand Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders; seven of them went to soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Regiment of Foot.

Answer: False

Kruger is a fantastic park, and South Africa's oldest. At almost 20,000 sq.km, it's enormous and South Africa's largest, but it's still smaller than several other national parks on the continent. Kruger is very tourist friendly. A family can drive through the park on paved roads and see loads of wild animals. Camps, lodges and safari lodges are available through private concessions. Sabi is one of several privately owned game reserves which maintain a more rustic environment for tourists. Along with other reserves, Sabi has removed fences to allow animals to move freely to and from Kruger.

Answer: Giraffe

Elephant, lion, rhinoceros, leopard and cape buffalo are the Big Five. The term is a carryover from the days of African big game hunting when they were considered the most difficult and dangerous animals to hunt as trophies. These days, with limited legal hunting, the Big Five is primarily a list maintained by tourists on photo safaris.

Answer: Black rhinos are considerably smaller than the white.

Black and white rhinos are two of five species of rhinoceros in the world. Black rhinos are somewhat shorter than their white cousins and weigh about half as much. The white rhino has a flat, straight lip while the black rhino's lip is pointed. Both white and black rhinos are the same shade of grey, but the color you actually see is that of the last mud the rhino rolled in.

The commonly held explanation of the species names is that early Dutch settlers in South Africa named the white rhinos for their wide mouths - "wijd" or "weit" in Dutch.

Two subspecies of rhino, the Western Black and Northern White, have become extinct in the early years of the 21st century.

Answer: False

Actually spotted hyenas are skilled and patient pack hunters, doing much of their hunting at night. Like all African predators, hyenas are happy to scavenge another animal's kill when the opportunity arises. A small group of spotted hyenas is quite capable of taking a meal away from a leopard or even a solitary lioness.

Answer: One of the Big Five wild animals

The reverse of a 10 Rand note shows a rhinoceros, 20 Rand shows elephants, 50 Rand lions, 100 Rand Cape Buffaloes and the 200 Rand note has leopards. Jan van Riebeeck founded Cape Colony in 1652. His likeness appeared on South African currency prior to 1992.

Answer: They suffer from a form of albinism.

Now thought to have existed for centuries, white lions were only discovered in the mid-20th century. It was mistakenly thought that they couldn't adequately feed themselves due to their coloration so virtually all were captured and sent to zoos. It's now known that white lions are capable hunters, and several litters have been reintroduced into the wild.

Not true albinos, white lions suffer from a condition in which the eyes and skin contain normal pigment, but the coat is white.

Answer: Digging for water

There's a water table a few feet beneath the sandy riverbed. Elephants dig deep enough that water seeps into the hole. The waterholes also provide salts and minerals which the animals need.

Answer: Soweto

The Soweto Uprising was sparked by the government's decision to require schools to teach in Afrikaans rather than English. Protestors, including school children, were fired upon by government forces leaving many dead. Soweto's Vilakazi Street claims to be the only street ever to have had two Nobel Prize winners as residents. Both Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu lived on the street at different times.