SOUTH Africa is ranked fifth on the list of top 20 Most Beautiful Countries in the World, ranked by travel guide readers.
The country has a lot to offer with its beauty, diverse and stunning landscapes, friendly locals, vibrant cities and gorgeous weather.
There are a list of well known landmarks that attract travellers from all over the globe.
But many are unaware that South Africa has unusual, strange and downright weird features and customs that are interesting and worth exploring.
Below is a short list of some common and uncommon things in this country.
1 The Mompane (or Mompani) worms in Limpopo
The official Latin name is Gonimbrasia belina and it is actually a caterpillar, which emerges into a pretty-looking moth.
Mompane are a great source of protein and the process of cooking it is minimal.
The selected worm is squeezed and then dried or smoked and can be eaten fried to made into a crispy snack.
Mompane can be found in rural supermarkets across the country preserved in either brine, tomato or chili mix.
2 Barberton greenstone belt
The Barberton Mountain range in Mpumalanga is over 3.5 billion years old and remains one of the best preserved and least altered early Archaean rock formations in the world.
A bacterial micro fossil Archaeospheroides barbertonis was discovered here and is believed to have been one of the first forms of life on earth.
NASA personnel are reputed to often visit this area and study the rocks, to gain a better understanding of how life could form on other planets.
3 The Vredefort Dome
The Vredefort Dome is currently the largest, as well as one of the oldest meteor sites in the world.
It has it’s own magnetic field and can be found just outside of Parys.
The meteor impact site was believed to have occurred over two billion years ago.
The crater is 300km wide, and the meteor was believed to have been roughly 10km across.
4 Milnerton fault line
The Koeberg nuclear power station is built over a fault line.
The last activity reported was over in 1809 and measured 6.5 on the Richter scale.
Scary thing is, scientists believe that the Milnerton fault is due for another quake soon.
5 Shoe House
There is a home that was built in the shape of a shoe, which can be seen in the area of the Abel Erasmus Pass in Mpumalanga.
6 A Nobel street
South Africa is the only country in the world to have two Nobel Peace Prize winners, who had homes on the same street.
Vilakazi Street in Soweto was where both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu resided.
7 Route 62
Route 62 in the Western Cape is the longest wine route in the world, spanning a distance of 850km from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.
8 Adams Calendar
A circular stone structure was discovered in Mpumalanga in 2005, which dates back to around 75 000 years ago.
The two central marker stones of this megalithic monument trace the daily increment of the shadow of the sun as it traverses the skies over the course of a year from solstice to solstice and back again, with the cardinal points marked with carefully placed stones.
9 Stable, starry Sutherland
Founded in 1858, Sutherland in the Northern Karoo is known for it’s cold weather and the astounding star-filled skies.
Since it’s set at an altitude of 1 500m, it rarely receives rainfall and has no light pollution.
When the sun finally sets you’re treated to a sky that is so bright, you feel you can almost reach out and touch the stars.
According to scientists, Sutherland is also one of the most stable areas in the world – despite being situated near a 66-million year-old volcano.
10 Return from extinction
Scientists have been working on reintroducing quagga through the use of a careful breeding programme since 1987, after discovering that they were a subspecies and not a separate species of zebra.
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