South Africa - A Bit of This and A Bit of That Quiz

Answer: King protea

The spectacular king protea (Protea Cyaroides) is the designated national flower of South Africa. The genus of proteas are part of an eco-region unique to South Africa called "fynbos". This is an Afrikaans term which means "fine bush". They are endemic to South Africa and in particular to the Western Cape region. Because of the variety of shapes and sizes that occur within the genus, Carl Linnaeus named them after the ancient Greek God, Proteus, who was known for his ability to change shape. The king protea alone has around 81 varieties recognized by horticulturalists.

It is the largest member of the genus with a showy flower head that can reach up to 300mm. Colours range from creamy white to darkest red.

Answer: Eleven

Reflecting the diverse and complex nature of its society, South Africa has eleven recognized official languages. They are English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, SiSwati, Northern Sotho, Ndebele and Venda. Each of these languages is guaranteed equal status under the constitution which came into effect on 4 February 1997. Although is not the largest home language, English is the de facto language of business and politics and is spoken and understood by most South Africans. As far as home languages go, Zulu is the largest with around 23% of the population calling it their mother tongue.

Again reflecting the diverse nature of South African society, phrases from all the different languages find their way into the everyday speech of most South Africans.

Answer: Alan Paton

"Cry the Beloved Country", written by Alan Paton and published in 1948 is one of the best known of all South African novels. It is considered to be one of the most important works to come out of the country. The novel centres around a Zulu pastor, Stephen Kumalo, and his son, Absalom and is set against a backdrop of a country torn apart by racial segregation and injustice.

Alan Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg in what is today Kwa-Zulu Natal in 1903. He was a staunch opponent of the apartheid policies introduced by the National Party when it came into power. To fight against these policies, he established the Liberal Party of South Africa in 1953. He died in 1988, still a fierce anti-apartheid proponent.

Answer: Three

South Africa has three official capital cities: Cape Town, Pretoria and Bloemfontein. Situated in the Western Cape province, Cape Town is the legislative capital. It is the seat of government and home to the Houses of Parliament. Pretoria or Tswane as is it is now known, is situated in the province of Gauteng and is the country's administrative capital. It is home to the Presidency and the Cabinet. The judicial capital is located in Bloemfontein in the Free State province and is where the country's Supreme Court sits.

The reason behind the designation of three capitals dates back to the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. This Union was proclaimed after years of conflict and war between Britain and the previously independent Boer Republics and was made up of four entities. There were the two British colonies of the Cape Colony and the Natal Colony and the two former Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. As can be imagined, there was a deep division of opinion as to where the new Union's capital should be located and eventually a compromise was reached. Hence three capital cities.

Answer: Johannesburg

Johannesburg or "Egoli" or "Jozi" as it is sometimes called, is the largest city in South Africa and the financial powerhouse of the country. It is situated in and is the capital city of the wealthy Gauteng province. The city was established in 1886 as a result of the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a find which changed the course of both the South African economy and the history of the country. It is not quite certain after whom the city which sprung up around the goldfields was named as there were a number of men called Johannes who were in positions of influence at the time of the city's establishment. The city is the centre of the financial industry and is home to the country's stock exchange. Although not one of South Africa's capitals, Johannesburg is home to the country's Constitutional Court.

Although not always thought of as a tourist destination, Johannesburg boasts a number of attractions for the visitor including the Apartheid Museum, Gold Reef City and the "Cradle of Humankind", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Answer: Kimberley

A former open pit diamond mine, it has been claimed that the "Big Hole" is the largest hand excavated hole in the world. Although this claim has been disputed, what is not disputed is that where there was once a small flat topped hill, there is now a huge pit some 215 metres deep. The "Big Hole" is situated in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province. The city was established after diamonds were discovered in 1866 and was named after Lord Kimberley, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies at the time. Kimberley was home to the first stock exchange in South Africa which was established in 1881.

As for the "Big Hole", it covers an area of 17 hectares and is some 463 metres wide. Mining operations ceased and the mine was closed in 1914 after it was deemed too unsafe to continue excavations.

Answer: Springbok

A small brown and white antelope known as the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) is the national animal of South Africa. The name springbok is an Afrikaans word which means "jumping goat". This refers to the animal's habit of "pronking" where it performs multiple high leaps into the air with all four legs stiffly extended and its back arched. Springbok are naturally found in the drier, open plains of the country and live in mixed sex herds. Their most distinguishing feature is a white face and a dark brown stripe which runs along their flank.

As the springbok had been the national symbol of South African sports teams during the apartheid era, the new government which came to power after the 1994 elections changed the name of all teams to the Proteas. However, as a gesture of goodwill and conciliation, President Nelson Mandela allowed the South African rugby team to keep their historic name of "The Springboks".

Answer: Chris Barnard

On 3 December 1967, Dr Christiaan Neethling Barnard made history when he performed the world's first heart transplant at Cape Town's Groote Schuur hospital. Born in the small town of Beaufort West in 1922, Barnard received his doctorate in medicine from the University of Cape Town in 1953. After studying cardio-thoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota, Barnard returned to South Africa opening the first heart unit at Groote Schuur hospital in 1958. The recipient of the transplanted heart on that historic day in 1967, was the 54 year old Louis Washkansky. Washkansky went on to survive for eighteen days with his new heart before he unfortunately died from pneumonia brought on by a weakened immune system.

Dr Barnard continued to operate as a surgeon until 1983 when rheumatoid arthritis in his hands forced him to retire. He died while on holiday in Cyprus in 2001 at the age of 78.

Answer: African elephant

One of the members of the so-called "Big Five" of South Africa, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest land animal in the world. Found throughout Africa, the African elephant can weigh up to 6000 kilograms and stand some three metres at the shoulder. Besides its large size, the animal is characterized by its long highly maneuverable trunk and large ears. The African elephant can live up to 70 years in the wild.

The Big Five is a term first used by big game hunters to group together the five animals they considered to be the most dangerous to hunt on foot. This term has now been appropriated by the tourist industry to describe the five animals that feature most often on the "wish to see" list of visitors to the country. Besides the African elephant the other members of the Big Five are the lion (Panthera leo), the leopard (Panthera pardus), the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and the rhinoceros (both the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) and the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) are considered to be members of the "Big Five"). The Big Five appear on South African banknotes.

Answer: Real Yellowwood

A tall, beautiful tree, the real yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius) has been designated as the national tree of South Africa and has a protected status. It has been estimated that yellowwoods have been present in southern Africa for over 100 million years.

They are found throughout the country from Table Mountain in the west, all along the coast and up into the ravines of the Drakensburg Mountains and up into the eastern interior of the country. It is a large evergreen tree which can reach heights of up to 40 metres and have a trunk diameter of 3 metres and are quite slow growing.

Their wood is of exceptional quality and is highly prized for furniture manufacture. They are a popular garden tree providing much needed shade from the hot African sun. I am lucky enough to have a beautiful specimen in my garden.