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Quiz about My African Safari South Africa
Quiz about My African Safari South Africa

My African Safari: South Africa Quiz


I've been writing quizzes about a recent safari my wife and I took in southern Africa. Earlier quizzes covered stops in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. Here's the final quiz about our last stop, South Africa, including a couple of "non-safari" side trips

A multiple-choice quiz by wilbill. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
wilbill
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
369,805
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
458
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: BlazinCooper (8/10), Guest 102 (5/10), Guest 73 (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. South Africa's flag contains six colors representing the nation's nickname, The Rainbow Republic. To what does the nickname refer? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. We took a day of non-safari activity to visit the site of a famous battle which occurred during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. What is the name of this battle for which the most Victoria Crosses ever were awarded to a British regiment for a single engagement? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. We arrived at our first safari camp in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve near Kruger National Park. Kruger, of course, is Africa's largest national park.


Question 4 of 10
4. At earlier stops on our safari we had seen some of the Big Five - animals coveted by tourists and hunters. Naturally we were anxious to check off the last couple of animals on the list. Which of these animals is NOT one of the Big Five? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. On our first morning in Sabi Sand, our guide and tracker located a pair of bachelor male white rhinos. If you saw a white and a black rhino standing next to one another, what would be the easiest way to tell them apart? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. On another morning game drive, we met a spotted hyena coming toward our Land Cruiser. A short distance away we saw two hyena cubs outside the entrance to their den curled up and taking a nap. True or false: hyenas hunt small game such as rabbits, but survive primarily by scavenging other predators' kills?


Question 7 of 10
7. South African banknotes are issued in five denominations. Since 2012, the obverse (front) of all values bear the likeness of Nelson Mandela. What picture is on the reverse side? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. We drove north to Timbavati Game Reserve for the final few days of our journey. Timbavati is home to genetically mutated white lions. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the white lions? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Our lodge at Timbavati was on the banks of the Nhlaralumi River which was quite dry at the time we were there. Several times we saw families of elephants in the riverbed and noticed the adults pounding holes in the sand with their front feet. What were they doing? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Before departing South Africa, we spent a day touring one of the "Townships" - areas where the former apartheid government required non-white residents to live. This township became famous during the nation's racial struggle due to a deadly uprising in 1976. What area that's now incorporated into Johannesburg did we visit? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Feb 21 2024 : BlazinCooper: 8/10
Feb 21 2024 : Guest 102: 5/10
Feb 05 2024 : Guest 73: 8/10

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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. South Africa's flag contains six colors representing the nation's nickname, The Rainbow Republic. To what does the nickname refer?

Answer: It refers to the union of many nationalities in post-apartheid South Africa.

For most of its history, the South African Republic was known for strict segregation of its people by skin color. Archbishop Desmond Tutu referred to the "Rainbow People of God" after the nation's first fully democratic election in 1994. Nelson Mandela later expanded on the phrase when he called South Africa "a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world".
2. We took a day of non-safari activity to visit the site of a famous battle which occurred during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. What is the name of this battle for which the most Victoria Crosses ever were awarded to a British regiment for a single engagement?

Answer: Rorke's Drift

About 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the small mission/trading post at Rorke's Drift in Natal against three to four-thousand Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders; seven of them went to soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Regiment of Foot.
3. We arrived at our first safari camp in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve near Kruger National Park. Kruger, of course, is Africa's largest national park.

Answer: False

Kruger is a fantastic park, and South Africa's oldest. At almost 20,000 sq.km, it's enormous and South Africa's largest, but it's still smaller than several other national parks on the continent. Kruger is very tourist friendly. A family can drive through the park on paved roads and see loads of wild animals. Camps, lodges and safari lodges are available through private concessions. Sabi is one of several privately owned game reserves which maintain a more rustic environment for tourists. Along with other reserves, Sabi has removed fences to allow animals to move freely to and from Kruger.
4. At earlier stops on our safari we had seen some of the Big Five - animals coveted by tourists and hunters. Naturally we were anxious to check off the last couple of animals on the list. Which of these animals is NOT one of the Big Five?

Answer: Giraffe

Elephant, lion, rhinoceros, leopard and cape buffalo are the Big Five. The term is a carryover from the days of African big game hunting when they were considered the most difficult and dangerous animals to hunt as trophies. These days, with limited legal hunting, the Big Five is primarily a list maintained by tourists on photo safaris.
5. On our first morning in Sabi Sand, our guide and tracker located a pair of bachelor male white rhinos. If you saw a white and a black rhino standing next to one another, what would be the easiest way to tell them apart?

Answer: Black rhinos are considerably smaller than the white.

Black and white rhinos are two of five species of rhinoceros in the world. Black rhinos are somewhat shorter than their white cousins and weigh about half as much. The white rhino has a flat, straight lip while the black rhino's lip is pointed. Both white and black rhinos are the same shade of grey, but the color you actually see is that of the last mud the rhino rolled in.

The commonly held explanation of the species names is that early Dutch settlers in South Africa named the white rhinos for their wide mouths - "wijd" or "weit" in Dutch.

Two subspecies of rhino, the Western Black and Northern White, have become extinct in the early years of the 21st century.
6. On another morning game drive, we met a spotted hyena coming toward our Land Cruiser. A short distance away we saw two hyena cubs outside the entrance to their den curled up and taking a nap. True or false: hyenas hunt small game such as rabbits, but survive primarily by scavenging other predators' kills?

Answer: False

Actually spotted hyenas are skilled and patient pack hunters, doing much of their hunting at night. Like all African predators, hyenas are happy to scavenge another animal's kill when the opportunity arises. A small group of spotted hyenas is quite capable of taking a meal away from a leopard or even a solitary lioness.
7. South African banknotes are issued in five denominations. Since 2012, the obverse (front) of all values bear the likeness of Nelson Mandela. What picture is on the reverse side?

Answer: One of the Big Five wild animals

The reverse of a 10 Rand note shows a rhinoceros, 20 Rand shows elephants, 50 Rand lions, 100 Rand Cape Buffaloes and the 200 Rand note has leopards. Jan van Riebeeck founded Cape Colony in 1652. His likeness appeared on South African currency prior to 1992.
8. We drove north to Timbavati Game Reserve for the final few days of our journey. Timbavati is home to genetically mutated white lions. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the white lions?

Answer: They suffer from a form of albinism.

Now thought to have existed for centuries, white lions were only discovered in the mid-20th century. It was mistakenly thought that they couldn't adequately feed themselves due to their coloration so virtually all were captured and sent to zoos. It's now known that white lions are capable hunters, and several litters have been reintroduced into the wild.

Not true albinos, white lions suffer from a condition in which the eyes and skin contain normal pigment, but the coat is white.
9. Our lodge at Timbavati was on the banks of the Nhlaralumi River which was quite dry at the time we were there. Several times we saw families of elephants in the riverbed and noticed the adults pounding holes in the sand with their front feet. What were they doing?

Answer: Digging for water

There's a water table a few feet beneath the sandy riverbed. Elephants dig deep enough that water seeps into the hole. The waterholes also provide salts and minerals which the animals need.
10. Before departing South Africa, we spent a day touring one of the "Townships" - areas where the former apartheid government required non-white residents to live. This township became famous during the nation's racial struggle due to a deadly uprising in 1976. What area that's now incorporated into Johannesburg did we visit?

Answer: Soweto

The Soweto Uprising was sparked by the government's decision to require schools to teach in Afrikaans rather than English. Protestors, including school children, were fired upon by government forces leaving many dead. Soweto's Vilakazi Street claims to be the only street ever to have had two Nobel Prize winners as residents. Both Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu lived on the street at different times.
Source: Author wilbill

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