The Protea

The Protea is another national symbol. The South African sports teams were called Springboks and are now called Proteas.

Springbok

The springbok is the national emblem of South Africa. It forms some of the largest herd and is one of the fastest runners who jump and "pronk" which is an action that fans its tail and is probably pea-cock-like. They inhabit dry areas and it is said they can live their whole life without drinking water since they can get moisture from succulent plants. Even though they are a national animal they are bred for hunting. Their numbers decreased significantly during the 19th and 20th century because of hunting and farm fences cutting off their migratory paths but they are resurging now due to conservation efforts.

Hippopotamus

The hippo is known as the most dangerous animal because it is aggressive and attack humans. It is however a plant-eater and lives in water to keep cool and on land to feed. Under water it moves like a ballerina since its body is buoyant under water as it walks and runs along the bottom. It may look more like a pig but is evolutionarily closer related to the whale.

Giraffe

The Giraffe has a long neck but only seven bones like other mammals. It has special adaptions to allow its heart to provide blood to the brain and to limit the flow when the giraffe bends down to drink. Its legs also are adapted so that the blood pressure does not cause damage. It has the lowest need for sleep of any animal ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours a day. A new born is about six feet tall and walks almost immediately.

The Big Five: Lion

The lion is the king of the jungle. He has a roar that makes that point. He is easy to spot in a game reserve but that is because they are pointed out by the wardens. Once you watch them for a while you must be impressed by how lions merge in with the environment. They melt into the brush. It is as if they are chamelions that take on the color and texture of the grass surrounding them. They tend to be relaxing all the time and simply arrive after the females have made the kill to collect the meal.

The Big Five: Leopard

The Leopard is nocturnal and opportunistic predator. All the Big Five are dangerous for hunters and the Leopards are known to brazingly hunt humans when they gain a taste. Usually they only hunt humans when they are injured since they have a preference for wild prey.
They are most easily spotted and can be seen up close in South African safaris even though they are widely dispersed around the world.

The Big Five: Water Buffalo

The Cape Buffalo or African Buffalo is one of the Big five. It has few predators and can kill humans and lions. They protect their young by herding and keeping the young inside the herd. They will rescue their young in distress. They have not been domesticated like the Asian Buffalo which is not a close relation.

The Big Five: Rhino

The Rhino is the most dangerous animal which kills more people than any other. It is solid like a rock.

The Big Five: Elephant

Elephants require great tracts of land to roam in order to get their daily diet of about 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of grass, leaves, and twigs, and they are increasingly coming into conflict with people in the competition for land.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron, born in Benoni, won the best actress Oscar 2004 for Monster. She has just been sued for $20 million for wearing a competitor's watch. Today these famous personalities are paid huge amounts to wear clothing and jewelry.

She is probably this generation's most famous South African personality besides Mandela and Tutu of the previous generation.

Dr. Barnard

In 1967 Dr. Christiaan Barnard put Cape Town on the medical map when he performed the world's first heart transplant on Louis Washkansky who succumbed to pneumnia after 18 days.

Madiba

South Africa is fortunate to have a leader of the caliber of Nelson Mandela, affectionately called "Madiba."
He brings a brand of leadership that is not known in the modern world. His charisma captures the hearts of all. Recently he celebrated his 90th birthday, an elder amongst elders.

Kuruman

The Kuruman Caves have some bushman paintings but the most amazing part is the explanation of humans using fire described in the adjoining museum.

It shows when Europe used fire. It then shows how much earlier China used fire. Then it showed the earlier, much earlier time when fire was used in this cave. As you look at the cave you can see the soot on the walls and roof and as you look at the excavation you can see the layers and layers of soot that provide the proof of fire being used through the eons. When you read a myth about how fire was discovered or provided by the Gods, this is where that myth took place.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Kirstenbosch grows only indigenous South African plants. The Kirstenbosch estate covers 528 hectares and supports a diverse fynbos flora and natural forest. The cultivated garden (36 hectares) displays collections of South African plants, particularly those from the winter rainfall region of the country.

Lesedi

Lesedi Cultural Village provides a taste of South African diversity.

The Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum covers a longer history than the 46 years of Apartheid. It does show the legislation, its effects, and the protests that lead to its demise.

The beauty of South Africa

During the Apartheid era the one constant was the beauty of South Africa. The Cape Town skyline of ocean and Table Mountain could not be contained and reserved for "whites only."

Apartheid Era

The Apartheid period started in 1948 with the election of the Nationlist Party and ended in 1994 with the election of the African National Congress (ANC) with Nelson Mandela as President.
Starting in 1948 the Nationalist Party started passing blatantly racist legislation and forced its implementation using every means available, police, army, church, and legislature.
The minority white society maintained a christian democracy for 46 years through "swart gevaar" or "fear of blacks" and every rationalization of white superiority provided by anthropologists, philosphers, Dutch Reformed Ministers, and the racist examples set by Europe and America.

Modern Period

The colonial period was extended in South Africa for a long time. South Africa remained under white minority rule until 1994. Even though it did achieve an independence from colonial power in 1960, the colonial legacy was continued under exclusive white rule for decades.
The modern South Africa called itself the New South Africa for the first few years. There were transitional periods of Truth and Reconciliation, and collaborative power sharing. Now South Africa is accepted into the realm of nations and has to define itself in a post-Madiba era.

Post Colonialism

The post colonial period is the peiod in the 20th century after colonized people became independent. Gandhi lead India to independence in 1948 and African countries scrambled for independence in the sixties. Some countries had to fight harder for independence and some countries are still colonized.

Colonial Period

The colonial period started with the shipping route from Europe to the East. Marco Polo had established a land route. Portugal and Spain became the initial explorers of Africa and the Americas but soon were joined by other European countries.

Pre-colonial Period

When the colonists arrived in South Africa they controlled the teaching of history. Part of the program to imprint their history was to eradicate indigenous history. There are some who wrote about that eradication so even though manuscripts may not have been published the remnants were passed down from generation to generation.
Archaeologists and anthropologist did discover artifacts that indicated a indigenous history and much of these discoveries were suppressed under colonial and apartheid rule.
Today it is recognized that there is a rich pre-colonial history as depicted in the bushman cave drawings. I was able to visit the caves at Kuruman and visited the museum that showed proof of the use of fire in the caves.

2.6 Billion BC

African rocks from South Africa’s Eastern Transvaal in 2000 indicated primitive microbes on dry land from about this time.

History of South Africa

The history of South Africa is rich and varied. This will be split into a number of periods:

Ancient History
Pre-colonial Period
Colonial Period
Post Colonialism
Modern Period

Welcome

Welcome to OL South Africa blog or Oliver Lawrence's South African blog.
I was born in Cape Town and design coursework to include my South African experiences. I hope students of South Africa will learn much on this blog and also share your own experiences.