Smell the braai (barbecue), hear kwaito music blaring out of a Soweto nightclub, feel the Capetonian sea breeze, see the stripy flash of a zebra as it zigzags through the bush. South Africa bombards the senses from the moment you step foot on its soil.
The infrastructure is constantly improving, the climate is kind and there are few better places to see Africa's wildlife. But if you want to understand South Africa, you'll have to deal with the full spectrum; poverty, the AIDS pandemic and violence remain a problem.
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