5 reasons South Africa is simply awesome

Source: Written by Kate Collins, 05/08/2015

"Some Say… I am In Africa
The Truth is… Africa is in Me"
Under the roof of the Ubuntu Hut in the Londolozi village, staff from
a variety of departments joined to listen to guest speaker Steuart
Pennington, CEO of South Africa: The Good News. A friend of the Varty
Family, Steuart came to visit but also to share his wealth of
knowledge about our country.
After the talk, the Londolozi staff who had gathered to listen felt
inspired by the positive news and interesting facts – information that
many of us in attendance had been unaware of.
His talk made me think about the many incredible reasons that we have
to love our country and why South Africa is simply awesome.
Here are just a few impressive facts.
1. Biggest man-made forest in the world
Johannesburg is the economic hub of the country but it is also famous
as the biggest man-made forest in the world with as many as 10 million
trees. The next time you visit this city take note of how many
beautiful trees can be seen along pavements and in people`s homes.
2. The largest green canyon in the world

A short drive from Londolozi and the Kruger National Park and you`ll
come across the world`s largest green canyon. The Blyderiver Canyon in
Mpumalanga forms part of the northern Drakensberg escarpment and
boasts verdant landscapes, unearthly rock formations and animals such
as hippos, monkey, crocodiles and antelope to name a few of its
residents. Bird watchers must look out for eagles and falcons. Apart
from being the greenest, the canyon is also the third largest in the
world.
3. Home to eight World Heritage Sites
South Africa is a place of great beauty and this has been recognised
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) that declared eight sites with World Heritage
status. The following eight destinations in South Africa are World
Heritage Sites: Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Cape
Floral Kingdom, Mapungubwe National Park, iSimagaliso Wetland Park,
Robben Island, The Vredefort Dome, The Cradle of Humankind and
uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park
4. The first country outside of Europe to gain Blue Flag Status for
its coastal management
The Blue Flag is an award in recognition of beaches and marinas where
a standard of excellence meets all 27 criteria of coastal management
including safety, services, water quality and cleanness. South Africa
has as many as 41 beaches and five marinas with this status.
5. 11 Official Languages

South Africa is rich in culture and boasts equal status to 11 official
languages. The languages include: English, Sesotho, Sepedi, Xitsonga,
Siswati, Afrikaans, Tshivenda, isiXhosa, isiNdeble, isiZulu and
Setswana. The Xitsonga language is spoken by as many as 2.3 million
people and is the home language of the majority of Shangaan staff
working at Londolozi.
Written by Kate Collins, Londolozi Blog Editor