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The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) coastline[6][7] on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.[8] To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.[9]
Some quick facts about South Africa:
- Capital: Pretoria (Joburg is the largest city)
- Official languages: 11, including Afrikaans, English, Xhosa
- Population: ~50 million
- Distance: Washington, DC - Port Elizabeth = ~8250 miles, bearing SE
- Time difference: UTC+2 (or +6 hrs ahead of Washington DC)
- South Africa is about twice the size of Texas, and ranks 32d in the world for area.
Sources:
I awoke to a cloudless, spectacular day on the Eastern-most shore of South Africa, with its lush greenery, palm trees, and colorful birds. The small, mushy waves mean no surfing for me today, sadly. I'll spend the day visiting the University and PE Museum as I await the arrival tomorrow of the other 100 Enduro Africa riders.
I am here.
It's 3 AM ET and dawn is breaking over the Western Sahara.
We're being treated to a 60-min pitstop in Dakar, following an unremarkable 8.5 hour trans-Atlantic flight. Approximately 50 people departed and others boarded. Another 9 hrs to Joburg. I learned later from a South African Airlines (SAA) pilot that the planes make this stop only when warmer temperatures in departure cities prohibit loading enough fuel to make the trip nonstop.
I'm running a GPS logger on the flight (don't tell SAA), which captures speed, altitude, and bearing, as well as coordinates. Will run it on the trek, if it works.
