ZA Factoids

Africa

ZA, of course, being the international acronym for South Africa.

Cape Town is one of the world’s most beautiful cities:

The people somewhat less so, but that’s true of just about any city.

Durban looks like Miami Lite:

The Drakensberg range is quite spectacular:


They were named thus by Boer settlers who thought the mountains looked like dragons’ teeth.

The Wonderboom (Wonder Tree), a fig tree that is over a million years old:

…which is why you need to prune your fruit trees.  (It’s that thing in the center that looks like a bush.)

South Africa has its own version of the Grand Canyon, called the Blyde River Canyon:

Not as deep, but then again it’s a couple hundred million years younger.

Now for some other size comparisons:

Relative to the U.S. Lower 48:

Relative to Texas:

And here are the Big Five:

Anyway, those were some of the slides I made for New Wife’s “Where I Came From” presentation to the kids at her school.

4 comments

  1. And anyone with any sense is looking to leave. It’s so sad. I’m sure you know the situation far better than I do.

  2. Nice set of slides. IMHO all cites look better from a distance, far enough away so you can’t see any of the people that live there.

    Being a Ham radio operator, I associate that country with “ZS”, as the majority of South African callsigns I’ve worked start with those letters (with an occasional ZR). It’s where the majority of my contacts in Africa have been.

    Don’t ask me why they didn’t assign ZA. I just work ’em, I don’t write ’em. I assume it’s because it would have made too much sense for international bureaucrats to accept.

  3. It is just a crying shame that first Rhodesia and then ZA have been ruined by the communist schwarz. Sadly I was never able to visit either before ruination took place and don’t have much interest in doing so under present conditions.

    A good friend down in FL still has family back in Joburg and does visit on occasion, but with great care and planning. Maybe not all areas are as dangerous as say, South Chicago, but one has to wonder if it will ever improve.

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