20 fun African wildlife facts to liven up your Monday ....

• The flamingos' diet of shrimp-like crustaceans are responsible for its pink color
• Hippos secrete a natural sunscreen that is colored red and eventually turns brown
• Giraffe tongues are dark blue and average around 20 inches in length
• Leopards are strong swimmers and eat fish
• Lions are the only cats that live in groups (prides)
• Warthogs can jump
• Chimpanzee females reach reproductive age at 13
• Male Nile Crocodiles attract females by bellowing, slapping their snouts in the water, and blowing water out of their noses
• Every zebra has a unique stripe pattern, just like human finger prints
• Hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs
• Impalas can jump over 10 meters (33 feet) in a single leap
• Aardvarks have ears like a rabbit, long tails, webbed claws, sharp nails, long snouts, and are not related to pigs (despite their name)
• Both Black and White rhinos are actually gray
• An elephant's trunk contains about 100,000 different muscles
• Cheetahs only need to drink every 3 or 4 days
• Cape Buffalo have good memories, they've been known to attack people that have harmed them years after the event
• Jackal males and females mate for life
• Male Vervet monkeys have a turquoise blue scrotum and a red penis
• Ostriches can sprint up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) an hour and use their wings as rudders to change direction
• An adult Mountain Gorilla will eat about 60 lbs of vegetation per day

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_{Source: National Geographic and Image -- © Getty Images/Frank & Joyce Birek}

Surfing is big in South Africa. The last time I drove past Muizenberg, just outside of Cape Town, I was amazed at the amount of people in the water. Young, old, big, small, male, female -- all decked out in wetsuits and enjoying the ocean. Our regular contributing writer David Bristow, an avid surfer himself, has a managed to pinpoint the Top 10 Surfing Spots in South Africa. In Muizenberg apparently the swell is consistently good hence the crowds, but David mentions that "the hotties wait for a big south to south-east swell, when the right-hand point break really grinds". I guess that's what was happening when I happened to cruise by.

Dotted around South Africa's Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, there are bays that are excellent 365 days a year, and some like the Dungeons near Hout Bay, that only work in winter. Whether you're a veteran surfer, or would like to try for the first time, you'll find that surfing in South Africa is just swell. Find out more about South Africa's Top 10 Surfing spots.

_{Image of a Surfer in J-Bay, South Africa -- © Getty Images/Pierre Totsee}

The Winter Olympics are on the horizon and I am keeping track of African athletes who will compete in Vancouver. Since snow is thin on the ground, money is tight and training facilities scarce, it takes an awful lot of determination to make it to the Winter Olympics as an African. It should come as no surprise then, that the athletes representing 7 African nations no less, are a colorful bunch with some very interesting stories.

Ghana will be competing in their first Winter Olympics. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong (aka "The Snow Leopard") managed to get enough points to qualify by racing in Iran, Bosnia and Turkey. He wears a dazzling leopard print suit to match his dazzling smile. He saw snow for the first time at the tender age of 22. He's a self-taught, self-financed skier, and has been training hard for 5 years. No doubt about it, he's going to be a hit in Vancouver.

Ethiopia's Robel Teklemariam has been training on roller skis at home while waiting for his Canadian visa to come through. Philip Boit of Kenya will compete in his fourth Winter Olympics. Last year his farm in Kenya burned down. With the help of fellow Olympic athletes he managed to raise enough money to rebuild, just in time for his retirement. This will be his final shot at a medal. Samir Azzimani of Morocco was sent to a holiday camp in the French Alps as a foster child, where he learned to ski. At the age of 10 he was back in Morocco with no real chance of skiing ever again. But a determined Samir worked his way back to France in his late teens and will finally realize his Olympic dream at the age of 32.

None of these African athletes are expected to medal, but all deserve our applause. Find out more about Africa at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

_{Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, "The Snow Leopard" Ghana's first Olympic Skier -- © Getty Images/Mike Hewitt}

On February 2, 1659, Jan van Riebeeck wrote in his diary "Today, praise be to God wine was pressed for the first time from Cape grapes", and so South African wine came to fruition. Jan Van Riebeeck had been sent to settle Cape Town a few years earlier by the Dutch East India Company with instructions to plant vineyards and fruit orchards in order to supply sailors on their way to the East. Wine was much sought after because it could ward off scurvy (what a happy coincidence). Within a few decades more vineyards were established in Constantia, and South Africa was already on its way to becoming world renowned for its wine.

Today, the 351 year-old South African wine industry directly supports around 280,000 jobs and exports around 400 million liters of wine per year. I'm personally grateful having consumed my fair share. But nothing beats actually going to visit South Africa's wineries in person.

Many of South Africa's best known wineries can be found just outside of Cape Town in Contsantia, Stellenbosch and Paarl. I think this area is even more beautiful than California's Napa Valley. The understated Cape Dutch architecture with stunning mountain ranges as their backdrop is quite awe inspiring. This region is also home to some of the finest restaurants in South Africa. It's really a taste sensation all around, and culinary tours are becoming a very hot item.

If you can't afford to go, check out this Savor South Africa contest run by African Portfolio. They're offering a gourmet trip for 2 to South Africa's Winelands as well as a safari. And my personal favorite South African winery I hear you ask? A little gem called Meerlust. it's just south of Stellenbosch, where I believe I tasted a little slice of heaven when I put their Rubicon to my lips.

More About: Cape Winelands l Culinary Tours l South Africa

_{A slightly doctored image of Jan van Riebeeck from Wynsa.co.za and Cape Winelands -- © Dave Hutchinson}