The Giraffe is easily the tallest of the mammals at 18 feet. Apart from its legs and neck another long feature of the giraffe is its tongue. When fully extended to pluck a distant leaf or twig, the Giraffe’s tongue is 17 inches long. The Giraffe feeds on the foliage of acacia trees on the savannahs of South Africa, and …

Diamonds are measured in Carats (not carrot). A carat weighs 0.2 grams. The largest fine quality, colorless diamond ever found was called “The Cullinan”. It was mined in South Africa and weighed 3,106 carats. It was cut into 106 jewels and produced the finest, largest gemstone ever, weighing 530.2 carats.

Neol Langley, who was born in South Africa, December 25, 1911. The title of the book is The Land of Green Ginger. Like the original story of Aladdin as told in The Arabian Nights Entertainment, it concerns the adventures of a day amid wizardry and magicians. So far as writing is concerned, Noel Langley was a man of many parts. …

The word ‘Bafana’ is a Zulu word, plural for ‘umfaan’, meaning boy. There is also a movie about Mandela in jail called “Goodbye Bafana”. Bafana Bafana is the national football team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, which will be hosting the 19th FIFA World Cup in June 2010. Bafana Bafana, meaning Boys Boys, …

Jacques Rossouw — As far as medical research was concerned, males were forever the default sex and women little more than a footnote. Long-term studies of health issues usually excluded women as too hormonally variable, so their medical care tended to be based on hunches rather than science. The most famous one went like this: estrogen cures hot flashes, so …

Jacques Kallis — Jacques Henry Kallis (born 16 October 1975) is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swing bowler. He is one of the greatest cricketers of all time, particularly all-rounders, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 10,000 runs and 250 wickets in …

Hashim Mahomed Amla (born 31 March 1983) is a South African cricketer. Born to a South African Muslim family, Amla’s grandparents are originally from Surat, Gujarat (India), having emigrated to South Africa numerous years earlier. His elder brother, Ahmed, is also a professional cricketer, having made his debut two years earlier, and currently captains the Dolphins. Upon his Test debut, …

Graeme Smith became the youngest ever South African cricket captain at the tender age of 22, taking over the captaincy reigns from Shaun Pollock. Today, he has matured into one of the best captains in the world of cricket. Born and raised in Johannesburg to parents Graham and Janet, Graeme was educated at King Edward VII School. He played three …

Gonzalo Higuain — Gonzalo Gerardo “El Pipita” Higuain (born 10 December 1987) is a French-born Argentine footballer who currently plays as a striker for Real Madrid and the Argentine national team. He is the son of former footballer Jorge “El Pipa” Higuain, and the younger brother of footballer Federico Higuain. In a similar case to David Trezeguet, who could have …

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst — “This World Cup is my ultimate dream,” the Oranje captain told FIFA.com in April 2009. Handed the armband when Bert van Marwijk took over the Netherlands reins in the summer of 2008, the evergreen Feyenoord full-back will be bringing an end to a 14-year love affair with the national team in South Africa. Unsurprisingly, he hopes …