Rent a Car South Africa - Geography South Africa

The tourist pitch phrase ‘a world in one country’ certainly does ring true for this geographically diverse country which boasts sun-baked savannah, temperate coastal regions, snow-capped mountains and stark desert.

Shaped vaguely like a rugby ball, South Africa is nearly 2,000kms long and 1,500kms wide. Forming the southern tip of Africa, 60% of its borders are coastal, the remainder abutting Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique, while the tiny Kingdom of Lesotho is complete surrounded by South Africa.

The country can be divided into three major parts: the vast interior plateau (the highveld), the dry Kalahari Basin (west), and a narrow coastal plain (the lowveld).

The Cape Town area is similar to the south of France, temperate with a lush hinterland hemmed in by mountains. Beyond it, stretching northwards, is the unique semi-desert great Karoo, and Kalahari desert. Plenty of flat arable land surrounds Johannesburg on the highveld plateau (1700ms above sea level), while the lowveld savannah to the east is home to the vast Kruger park.

The towering Drakensberg mountains form an arc-shaped escarpment in the middle of the country, separating the highlands of Lesotho from the lush pastures of Kwa-Zulu Natal and its balmy coast. St Lucia wetlands, north of Durban is a World Heritage site. The lakes, mountains, inlets and endless beaches of the Eastern Cape, known as the Wilderness, are among the country’s prettiest coastal areas.