Aloe ferox can grow to 10 feet in height, and can be found on rocky hills, in grassy fynbos and on the edges of the Karoo. The plants may differ physically from area to area due to local conditions.
Its leaves are thick and fleshy, arranged in rosettes, and have reddish-brown spines on the margins with smaller spines on the upper and lower surfaces. Its flowers are orange or red, and stand between 2 and 4 feet above the leaves.
With its rugged cliffs plunging into the sea, remote coves sheltering sandy beaches and a history of shipwrecks and stranded sailors, the aptly named Wild Coast is a place for adventure and intrigue.
The Wild Coast stretches for 350km from East London to Port Edward. Dotted along its shore are tiny Xhosa settlements and the occasional holiday resort or backpacker hostel.
Nelson Rohihlahla Mandela, born in a tiny Xhosa village in the Eastern Cape, became the first black president of South Africa. In 1961 he abandoned peaceful protest and became head of the ANC's new military wing. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Mandela came to symbolize black political aspirations and was named head of the ANC after his release. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating South Africa's peaceful transition to multiracial democracy. After the ANC victory in the 1994 elections, Mandela worked to ease racial tensions and provide services to the victims of apartheid.
The Transkei, home to the Xhosa people, is the only part of the country still governed by tribal authorities, and most of the region's inhabitants maintain a traditional lifestyle. The Xhosa people live in the traditional way, with ancient tribal systems still intact.
The people live in thatched mud-brick huts peppered across the hills, without running water or electricity, and subsist through growing mainly maize.
More than 450 elephants, 400 Cape buffalo, over 48 endangered black rhino as well as a variety of antelope species are situated in the Addo Elephant National Park.
Lion and spotted hyena has also recently been re-introduced to the area. The largest remaining population of the flightless dung beetle is located within the park.
The Hilltop Empowerment Centre is running projects all over the Eastern Cape that cover a large variety of subjects. From the reduction of poverty, to the creation of job opportunities and the delivery of much needed skills, the team at Hilltop tries to make the world a better place - every day!