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CURRENTS
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Overview: Cape Town, South Africa
REGION: In 1994 the four South African provinces were subdivided into nine. The Cape Province now consists of three, the Northern, Eastern, and Western Capes. Not surprisingly, it is diverse in climate and land form, ranging from true desert in the northwest, to rich temperate valleys in the southwest and subtropical forests in the southeast. Although South Africa is in many respects a developed country, much of its population lives in poverty. GOVERNMENT: Pretoria is the administrative capital, Cape Town the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein the judicial capital. On May 8, 1996, the Constitutional Assembly voted 421 to two to pass a new constitution which, after certification by the Constitutional Court, gradually went into effect over a three-year period and came into full force with the national elections in April 1999.
RELIGION: 80% are Christians with Hindus, Muslims, Jews and traditional religions making up the other 20%.
LANGUAGES: There are 11 official languages of South Africa. English and Afrikaans are the two most widely spoken. Several African languages are spoken, of which the most common are Xhosa and Zulu. Many foreign languages are spoken in the larger hotels and shops. CURRENCY: The currency unit in South Africa is the Rand (ZAR) which is divided into 100 cents. FOOD: Fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables are abundant. South African rock lobster tails and other seafood have become world famous. Traditional food has been influenced mainly by the Malays in the Cape who serve mild curry dishes such as bobotie (curried minced lamb) and bredies (vegetable stews). The Indians in Natal introduced South Africans to a variety of curries and chutney. Other indigenous delicacies are biltong (dried, salted meat), and boerewors (spicy hand-made beef or lamb sausages, grilled on an open flame).
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Cape
Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and has a lively, cosmopolitan
atmosphere. It is surrounded by mountains, beaches and vineyards. Table Mountain
is Cape Town's most famous natural landmark. When Table Mountain is blanketed
in clouds, the cloud cover is referred to as a "table cloth." 
CLIMATE: Cape Town has what
is described as a Mediterranean climate. There are no terrible extremes of temperature.
The city also boasts having more hours of sunshine (annually) than Hawaii, the
Riviera, Southern California, or the Florida Keys. In March and April, the average
temperature is around 66°F, with highs in the low 70s and lows of mid 50s.
One of the Cape's most characteristic phenomena is the famous Cape Doctor, the
southeasterly wind that can be a welcome breeze or a wild gale.