Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

...South Africa has never lived up to any of their potential at tournaments. Up until 1992 they were excluded from international competitions in response to the apartheid regime and have to watch on TV as other emerging African nations like Cameroon in Italia ’90, Tunisia and Morocco all outstripped them on the field. Having qualified for the last two finals South Africa are keen to make up for lost time. South Africa qualified for their first ever World Cup finals for France ’98. They backed this up by qualifying for Japan and Korea as well. France was disappointing for many, having won the African Nations Cup in 1996 showing them as the best in Africa they should have done better than being eliminated at the group stages. The team is known as Bafana Bafana hence the title of this opinion. Some of the players you could... Read review

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Advantages: beautiful; scenic; a highligt to any trip to South Africa
Disadvantages: NONE

...Table Mountain is one of the Jewels in South Africa's Western Cape. It takes its name from the simple fact that on most days the mountain top, which is relatively flat, is covered in a thin layer of clouds which creates the table-like effect. The Mountain looks down upon the city of Cape Town which surrounds it. All this information, however, can easily be found on any other website. I would like to describe, briefly, my Table Mountain experience. To go up the mountain and look down upon the most southern tip of Africa and not only marvel at the beautiful view but also, quite remarkably, acknowledge that you are staring down upon a point in the distance where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, separating, arguably, the Western World from its Eastern counterpart - this is a truly remarkable experience.... Read review

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Advantages: So much talent
Disadvantages: Wilt under pressure

...South Africa are the chokers of world cricket. With the talent they have at their disposal, they should be challenging and beating Australia, the best team in the world. When you look at the South African batting lineup, it is difficult to imagine any team bowling them out cheaply, especially with Mark Boucher batting as low as number nine on a regular basis. This shows just how good the middle order really is. The bowling talent is also formidable, with Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald being the best fast bowling duo in the world at present. Mornanteau Hayward also looks to be a promising addition to the pace attack. In Paul Adams they have a very useful wrist spinner, despite a freakish delivery. As far as all rounders go, South Africa can call on Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener. Yet, with all this talent, they lost... Read review

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Advantages: Solid performance
Disadvantages: Too many mistakes

...South Africa played with a great deal of purpose yesterday to beat the world champions Australia by 20 points to 15 in Pretoria. The Boks were very disappointing last week against the All Blacks and I always suspected that they would up the tempo against Australia, who had beaten South Africa in the last four matches. The Boks went into an impressive 14-0 lead at half time, including a try from captain Bobby Skinstad and penalties from Braam van Straten. Two successful kicks from Matt Burke helped Australia start to claw their way back at the start of the second half, but South Africa were resilient and determined to hold their lead. van Straten's kicking made such a difference from last week when Percy Montgomerie was struggling to find his range. The Wallabies seemed to be operating in second gear throughout the match and couldn... Read review

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Advantages: Displays relate to South Africa in particular.
Disadvantages: A little sparse in places

...Situated close to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, the aquarium only costs about £3 to get in. I found it a little sparse, but they do have some great stuff there. It really depends on what you like, I am fascinated by the sea, but am too scared to ever go scuba diving, so a place like this is fantastic for me. They have a fantastic display of moray eels, on loan from Singapore, so I don’t know how long they will be they for. They have many sharks and other large species in a huge 2-storey tank, which you can view from different areas, and also walk through the glass tunnel. The Japanese spider crabs are incredible, they just don’t look real and are huge, you could them as dining chairs!! They also have the usual type of aquarium ‘stuff’, but particularly related to South Africa and its coastline. It is very well laid out... Read review

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Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...Set in his native South Africa 'Disgrace' is the story of a lecherous college lecturer who is dismissed from his post as a result of an affair with his pupil. He goes to live with his daughter at her remote small-holing cum dog sanctuary. At first it seems as if this will provide him with the peace he needs to reorder his life and write his 'great' book on Byron. A brutal attack shatters his illusions. 'Disgrace' deals with the situation of whites in South Africa and the way that it is changing. In the big towns, the whites still enjoy a better standard of living than the blacks. They are able to protect their homes with security guards and razor wire. In the country no such protection exists and the white mans status as an interloper is brought into sharp relief. This is a dark and unsettling book but it is well worth reading.... Read review

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Advantages: Good cricketers
Disadvantages: Bribery

...South Africa is a country bursting with cricketing talent. We have seen this through such players as Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Alan Donald. The list goes on and on. Why did they have to spoil it? They are or were the second best team in World Cricket, behind only the mighty Australians. They can bat right down to number 11 and had a good captain - Hansie Cronje, or at least thats what i thought until the match fixing scandals came out. He is a disgrace to the World of cricket along with Gibbs and Williams. It seems such a waste, as they are are all excellent cricketers. They must have been getting paid quite a bit of money already. If so, then why did they resort to match fixing. I don't know.... Read review

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Advantages: The attractions and the peace and quietness
Disadvantages: The temprature scan get hot!!

...... Read review

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Advantages: Climate, Nature
Disadvantages: Expensive to get to

...Anyone fortunate enough to spend time in Angola will quickly see the limitless potential of this amazing coutry. Blessed with an abundance of natural resources this former Portugese colony off the south west coast of Africa is primed to be one of the rising stars of the developing world. Having survived the turbulent years of post independance civil conflict the people are emerging into the modern era hungry for modernisation and a desire to embrace democracy. Having made astonishing progress in the last five years Angola still has a long way to go before it can call itself the commercial heart of Southern Africa. However, guided by the sound leadership of President Dos Santos all signs indicate they are heading in the right direction. Like the climate, the average Angolan is warm, friendly and guaranteed to put a smile on your face... Read review

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Advantages: Plenty of Rands to the Pound
Disadvantages: Being careful of the crime rate

...Hazyview was the first time holiday I had in South Africa ,a a visit to the Kruger park I have been visiting South Africa since the seventies ,my second home in fact . It is a fantastic place to be ,from Table Mountian to going on Safari to eating in good resturants . I have had some fantastic experiences Ive walked with Elephants ,had been on many a Safari ,thebest one was at the Phinda Mountian lodge ,and we had an amazing ranger that took us to see the big 5 and there babies ,we had an amazing feast in the bush you cant get better that that. Sun City is also a great place if you like a flutter in the Casino ,we stayed at the Palace hotel as a gift from my family, a palace ! it is 5star 's and more. Kimberly mines is another great place to visit the diamond mines. Gold reef City a trip down the gold mine and a chance to see how... Read review

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