- The iconic Table Mountain, which is the symbol of Cape Town and a huge landmark in the country, is actually one of the world’s oldest mountains.
- Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Soweto both won a Noble Peace Prize and they once lived on the same street of Vilakazi, Soweto. This means that South Africa is the only country in the world to produce two Noble prize winners who both had houses on the same street.
- The largest known visible crater in the world is located in South Africa, referred to as Vredefort Dome.
- South Africa has three capital cities: legislative capital of Cape Town, administrative capital of Pretoria, and judicial capital of Bloemfontein.
- South Africa has produced the oldest and most valuable fossils on the planet. It is a treasure for archaeologists and palaeontologists.
- A total of eight heritage sites in South Africa are recognized by UNESCO: the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape; Robben Island; the Cape Floristic Region; the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape; Vredefort Dome; the Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and environs fossil hominid sites; the iSimangaliso Wetland Park; the Ukhahlamba/Drakensberg Park.
- Springbok, the only gazelle native to South Africa, is the national animal in the country. They can be spotted by the water on the grassland.
- The largest bicycle race in the world is hosted in South Africa with 35,000 riders participating in the 109-km race along the scenic coastal road of Chapman’s Peak Drive in Cape Town.
- The largest diamond ever found was in Pretoria, South Africa. It was discovered on the 25th of January, 1905. The stone was 3,106 carats and weighed 1.33 pounds. It was called “Cullinan,” which was the name of the mine owner.
- The first successful heart transplant was performed by Dr Christiaan Bernard on the 3rd of December, 1967, in a hospital in Cape Town.
By Amal Ahmed