Geography class may seem like a lifetime ago but it’s never too late to brush up on those skills. With a population of 52 million and an extraordinary total of 11 spoken languages South Africa has way more to offer than you may think!

The Pride of Africa is a train!

That’s right, South Africa is home to one of the world’s most luxurious trains! A private railway company called Rovos Rails operates out of Capital Park Station in Pretoria. The train is suitably called The Pride of Africa and has been placed in a list of the World’s Top 25 most luxurious trains due to its excellent accommodation, champagne reception, off-train sightseeing and luxurious suites. Umm, why aren’t we going to South Africa right now?

Fancy going for a 70 foot bungee jump?

South Africa is home to the world’s largest commercial bungee jump. Its 216 meters high, that’s a huge 70 feet above the ground, even Prince Harry has been seen jumping head first from the bridge! I don’t know about you girls, but I think I might give this one a miss.

They’re pioneers of heart surgery!

The World’s first heart transplant was performed in South Africa by surgeon Christian Barnard in 1967. The operation was considered to be successful, despite the fact the patient passed away just a mere 18 days later. We’re quite glad that medicine has come a long way since then, but it’s pretty incredible!

South Africa is too good for just one capital city

Unlike most places in the World South Africa has a whopping total of 3 Capital Cities. Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town, the city we know best for its amazing coffee and chocolate.

The Palace of the Lost City is actually a place you can stay!

South Africa is home to the largest resort hotel in the world, The Palace of the Lost City is a hotel based on the lost African palace, surrounded by a world of greenery it really is a truly beautiful place to rest your head of an evening.

There’s a lot of language in South Africa

South Africa has a huge total of 11 languages floating around! I thought it was impressive to be able to say hello in three different languages but this just puts me to shame. You may be surprised to hear that English is the most common spoken language meaning language barriers are often not a problem.

You can visit one of the world’s largest National Parks

Kruger National Park is one of the world’s largest National Parks, and has more species of large mammal than any other African game reserve. The animals include cheetahs, hippos and elephants as well as packs of African endangered wild dog of which there is thought to only be around 400 left in the whole of Africa.

Great for wine enthusiasts

Now I’m not saying that CGD are wine experts, but we’d be right at home in the over 500 wine farms placed around South Africa. They are all open for wine tasting with the majority regularly hosting market events, perfect for those of you would enjoy a tipple or two!

Featured Photo: Kenza Zouiten