Extraordinary things happened on the day of the 1995 Rugby Word Cup final in South Africa. As the stadium reverberated to the spine-tingling chorus of Shosholoza it seemed that overnight an entire population of white South Africans had learnt the words to a Zulu worker's anthem. Then our first black president walked onto the rugby pitch - traditionally a stronghold for white male Afrikanerdom - wearing the same Springbok jersey as our blue-eyed captain. When Nelson Mandela handed the victory cup to Francois Pienaar, it was a moment steeped in ‘Madiba Magic'. Mandela's simple gesture to embrace a white man's game that day went a long way to showing his infinite capacity for reconciliation and his unflagging commitment towards uniting a country.

The journey away from apartheid and towards democracy has continued to this day, spurring South Africans to rediscover the spirit of ubuntu - the African philosophy of being part of a community. Literally the word means ‘humanity towards others' or ‘I am because we are', and its ethic suggests that we only exist as a person through other people.

Even South Africa's national motto, ‘strength through diversity', resonates with ubuntu wisdom. Preservation of individual cultures and human rights are both priorities of the country's enlightened constitution.

Take South Africa's diminishing shanty towns, for example. Some 500 houses per day have been built since 1994 to grant 8 million people the basic right to adequate shelter. And if ever there was a metaphor for ‘emerging from the dark' it is embodied in the fact that 70% of the population (from a previous elite of just 11%) now have access to electricity. Literacy levels have also been given a boost, rising from 63 to 80% over the last ten years. During the same period unemployment has been reduced by half.

No one is suggesting that South Africa doesn't have its fair share of problems. For the new generation of young South Africans the inheritance of a free country has been made bittersweet by one of the highest levels of HIV and AIDS in the world. Today 5.3 million people out of a total population of 44.8 million are known to be infected. South Africa also has to contend with crime and poverty. All these adversaries might seem invincible - but then so did apartheid.

The government's response to HIV and AIDS involved a ten-fold increase in expenditure from R30 million in 1994 to R296 million for 2003 - and it is estimated that a massive R4.5 billion will be required by 2007 to bring the epidemic under control.

As far as crime is concerned, the National Crime Combating Strategy, known as Operation Crackdown, is also beginning to make an impact. Murders are down 30.7% since 1994, while street crime has been reduced by as much as 80% in Johannesburg's city centre through the use of 24-hour surveillance cameras.

Since 1994, government social spending has shifted to the poor, while empowerment in the workplace also continues with the proportion of black senior managers, for example, rising slowly to 16%.

South Africa's economy is now in better shape than anyone thought possible. The country's budget deficit fell from 9.5% in 1993 to 1% in 2002/03 - lower than some European countries, including Germany.

A boom in tourism has played a key role in supporting South Africa's economy - as well as raising its international profile. Last year it became the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world, with overseas arrivals increasing by 9.6% compared to 2002. In recent years, South Africa has also attracted several major events, such as the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, the World Parks Congress and the ICC Cricket World Cup. If the country succeeds in winning the 2010 World Cup soccer bid it will be the first nation to host the event on African soil. Ordinary South Africans are benefiting from the flourishing tourism industry, not only through employment, but also by setting up their own small enterprises. Broken and destitute, Golden Nonquase, from the township of Khayelitsha, was told in a dream to go and pick flowers at a rubbish dump and sell them. Twice he returned empty-handed and demoralized, before noticing the brightly-coloured soda cans scattered amongst the trash. Today, his aluminium-sculpted daisies, poppies and roses adorn some of the most elegant décor shops in the country, creating something of a trend in recycled art.

While some consider South Africa's townships to be the ‘zoos' of the old order, shunning their lively taverns and bustling streets serves only to diminish the spirit and livelihood of their inhabitants. Visiting a township is a powerful mechanism for redressing the imbalance of wealth. In the Western Cape alone, craft-related industries are said to account for 25% of informal jobs. For township artists, selling their work direct to visitors not only reduces the chances of being exploited by middle men, but instils in them a strong sense of dignity.

Currently, South Africa is enjoying its highest levels of investment since the mid-90s - a massive 8% up from the previous year. With the stability of its economy well on track South Africa is also unlikely to comply with doom-laden prophecies of following in Zimbabwe's footsteps. Of the 65,000 land claims submitted since 1996, 40,000 have already been amicably resolved. In fact, community-owned land continues to be at the heart of some of the country's most successful ecotourism models.

South Africa is working hard to protect its vast reserves of wildlife. The government-run South African National Parks have increased the area under formal protection by 500,000ha since 1995. The target for 2010 is to increase the country's terrestrial protected areas from 5.4 to 8%, and its marine protected areas from 17 to 20%. In the latest announcement from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, seven national parks (Addo Elephant, Agulhas, Bontebok, Cape Peninsula, Karoo, Marakele and Tanqua-Karoo) benefitted from a 121,000 hectare, R76 million expansion. If South Africa's wildlife and rich botanical heritage are to survive the pressures of global warming and the constant threat of drought they must be given space to adapt.

One of the biggest threats to the country's biodiversity is the encroachment of alien vegetation. In such a severely water-stressed country, precious water is wasted by introduced plants like Port Jackson willows, wattles, gums and pine trees that are inappropriate to South Africa's arid conditions. The Working for Water Project, initiated by the government in 1995, employs 18,000 people, many from disadvantaged communities, to weed out these invasive plants and increase the flow of water to natural watersheds. These special task forces of ‘weed warriors' have cleared over 220,000ha of alien plants from South Africa's national parks alone. South Africans are also being empowered to help the environment through the hugely successful Collect-a-Can programme. Over the last decade, some R270 million has been paid to the 37,000 people who earn or supplement their income through this innovative waste management programme.

Working for Water and Collect-a-Can are just two examples of how South Africans are tackling the challenges that lie ahead. After ten years of democracy, South Africa can be proud of what it has already achieved. Just a decade after apartheid was dismantled by Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, the country is politically and economically stable. It has general and local elections, freedom of expression, a free press and equality for all. South Africans have turned their country around.

SOUTH AFRICA'S TOP TEN

Amazing Facts
1. South Africa has the only street in the world where two Nobel Prize Winners had their homes. Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela both lived on Vilikazi Street in Soweto.
2. The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest in the world, yet it comprises 10% of all known plant species.
3. Measuring depths of between 300 and 800m, Blyde River Canyon is the third deepest in the world, after the Grand Canyon and Fish River Canyon.
4. Johannesburg, with six million trees, has the biggest ‘urban forest' in the world. New York has fewer than 500,000.
5. Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape is home to the world's densest population of elephants.
6. St Lucia Wetland is not only a World Heritage Site but at 36,000ha it is also the largest marine lake in Africa.
7. In 1991 South Africa became the first country in the world to declare the great white shark a protected species.
8. South Africa has the third highest rate of biodiversity in the world, behind the tropical jungles of Indonesia and the Amazon Basin.
9. You would need to drive around the earth's circumference at the equator six times to cover the equivalent of South Africa's 240,000km road network.
10. The town of Sutherland in the Karoo will soon house the largest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, powerful enough to reveal distant stars and galaxies a billion times too faint for the human eye.

Views to Die-for
1. The Great Karoo's Valley of Desolation.
2. The Three Rondavels, Blyde River Canyon.
3. The Drakensberg's Mont-aux-Sources Amphitheatre.
4. The sandstone sentinel of the Golden Gate National Park.
5. Southern right whales from The Kelders, near Gansbaai.
6. The jagged peninsula at Cape Point.
7. Cape Town and Robben Island from the summit of Table Mountain.
8. God's window look-out over the Blyde River Canyon.
9. Orange River Canyon at Augrabies Falls National Park.
10. The Maltese Cross and Wolfberg Arch in the Cederberg Mountains.

Must-do Trips
1. Ride the cable car to the top of Table Mountain.
2. Drive or cycle the Chapman's Peak Drive.
3. Tour Namaqualand during flowering season.
4. Take a safari in Kruger National Park.
5. Visit a township.
6. Explore San rock art sites in the Cederberg Mountains.
7. Take the ferry to Robben Island.
8. Paddle a canoe on the Orange River.
9. Hike in the Drakensberg.
10. Tour the Winelands.

Festivals and Events
1. Splashy Fen Music Festival, 8-12 April, www.splashyfen.co.za
2. Prince Albert Olive Festival, 30 April-1 May, www.patourism.co.za
3. Sardine Run, late May to early July
4. Grahamstown National Arts Festival, 1-10 July, www.nafest.co.za
5. Knysna Oyster Festival, 2-11 July, www.visitknysna.com
6. Johannesburg Arts Alive Festival, September, www.artsalive.co.za
7. Stellensbosch Festival, September, www.stellenboschfestival.co.za
8. Hermanus Whale Festival, 23-26 September, www.whalefestival.co.za
9. Ficksburg Cherry Festival, 18-20 November, www.cherryfestival.co.za
10. Cape Minstrel Carnival, January 2005, www.capetourism.co.za

Hiking Trails
1. Blyde River Canyon, magnificent trek from God's Window to Bourke's Luck.
2. Robberg Peninsula, Plettenberg Bay, a superb trail from which to spot whales and seals.
3. The Otter Trail, a legendary five-day hike along the rugged Tsitsikamma coastline.
4. Nyalaland Trail, Kruger National Park, for Lanner Gorge, raptors and baobabs.
5. Skeleton Gorge, a steep ascent of Table Mountain from Kirstenbosch Gardens.
6. Golden Gate Highlands National Park, for Cathedral Cave and San rock art sites.
7. Drakensberg Sentinel Trail to the highest point of the Amphitheatre at 3282m.
8. Coffee Bay to Mbashe River, a four-day trail along the Wild Coast.
9. St Lucia Wilderness Trail, a five-day hike along the shores of Africa's greatest marine lake.
10. Wolfberg Arch and Maltese Cross, two hiking highlights in the Cederbergs.

Beaches
1. Camps Bay, near Cape Town
2. Scarborough, Cape Peninsula
3. Llandudno, Cape Peninsula
4. St James Beach, False Bay
5. Boulders Beach, near Simon's Town
6. Hole in the Wall, Wild Coast
7. Umhlanga Rocks, near Durban
8. Ballito Beach, Ballito, near Durban
9. Cape Vidal, Greater St Lucia
10. Lookout Beach, Plettenberg Bay