South Africa Photos

Elephant Tusks

Photograph by Mattias Klum

A look at the world’s largest land animal reveals the attribute that nearly drove it to extinction—its ivory tusks. African elephants use their tusks to strip trees of their bark and to dig for water and food to sustain their massive frames. But human lust for elephants' ivory spawned a now illegal trade that decimated many populations, some of which remain endangered.

Xhosa Woman

Photograph by John Costello, My Shot

Most of South Africa's seven million Xhosa people—such as this matriarch enjoying a traditional pipe—live in the Eastern Cape. Though many Xhosa embrace modern ways, ancient traditions endure, including belief in descent from a single ancestor, known as Tshawe, and their “click” language.

Canola Fields, Overberg

Photograph by Liandi Slabbert, My Shot

Resplendent in spring bloom, a canola crop colors fields in the Western Cape’s fertile Overberg region. The Overberg lies at the continent’s southernmost tip, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans converge.

Lions

Photograph by Mattias Klum

A male lion nuzzles a female during a moment of repose on the African plains. Lions are the only big cats that live in groups—prides are extended families that include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. As recently as the 1940s some 450,000 African lions lived in the wild but today only about 20,000 remain, scattered across an ever shrinking range.

Richtersveld National Park

Photograph by Chris Johns

Richtersveld National Park holds the world's richest diversity of succulent plants, including the aloe trees pictured here. The Nama people, landlords of Richtersveld, collect rent from the parks board for use of their desert homeland.

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Yellow-Billed Hornbill

Photograph by Daniel Born

Some two dozen hornbill species call Africa home. With their outsize namesake beaks, bright colors, and loud calls they stand out in a crowd—even when more camera shy than this cheeky individual.

Vineyards, Franschoek Valley

Photograph by Clay McLachlan/Aurora Photos

Franschoek Valley (French Corner Valley) was settled by French Huguenot refugees in 1688, when Old World traditions of winemaking and fine cuisine were transplanted to Africa’s rich soils. They’ve taken root with glorious results here in one of the world’s most picturesque wine regions.

Game Lodge, Limpopo Province

Photograph by Susan McConnell, My Shot

“Savannah” watches the goings-on at the Tshukudu Game Lodge in Limpopo Province, where she was adopted by staff after being orphaned as a cub. Though she enjoys the lodge’s amenities the big cat comes and goes as she likes, and earlier this year she gave birth to four healthy cubs.

Heritage Day, Railton

Photograph by Bruce Geils, My Shot

With a warm smile a woman celebrates Heritage Day in the township of Railton in Swellendam. The post-apartheid government set aside each September 24 to celebrate diversity and the things that bind all South Africans together. As Nelson Mandela explained, ”We knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.”

Cape Town

Photograph by Tino Soriano

Dusk shows off the jewel-like lights of Cape Town, nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the majestic Tafelberg, or Table Mountain. With tongue firmly in cheek, locals dub this type of distinctive and not uncommon cloud cover “the tablecloth.”

Soccer Fans

Photograph by Getty Images

Flag-waving soccer fans cheer on South Africa’s Bafana Bafana (the Boys) during an international match. The country, passionate about sport, will host the entire world for the 2010 FIFA World Cup—the first to take place on African soil.

Gold Bars, Johannesburg

Photograph by Tomasz Tomaszewski

A gloved hand polishes gold bars in Johannesburg. Built on the metal more than a century ago, Jo'burg is still a money machine, having long since reinvented itself as the commercial and financial capital of Africa.

Cape of Good Hope

Photograph by Christopher Thomas/Getty Images

The Cape of Good Hope, Africa’s southwesternmost spot, is legendary in seafaring lore. Fifteenth-century Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias (or Portugal’s John II, depending on the account) bestowed its optimistic name because rounding the cape suggested that a feasible sea route existed from Europe, around Africa, to India. The promontory might also have been called the Cape of Storms for the brutal seas often found here, where warm Indian Ocean and cool Antarctic currents collide.