Country-guessing Southern Africa
In Geoguessr, if you see an African country with left-hand traffic, yellow road markings and no unique Google Car meta like the Kenyan snorkel, then you are in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, or Eswatini. Identifying which of the 4 countries you're in can be difficult at first, but there are some easy metas to learn to help you out.
General Landscape
Each of the 4 countries has distinct landscapes. Try identifying Botswana, Lesotho, or Eswatini by the landscape. South Africa is the most diverse country in Africa, so it's harder to identify by landscape.
🇧🇼 Botswana
Botswana’s main roads are typically of high quality and the landscape across the country is dry and flat.
🇱🇸 Lesotho
A key identifier of Lesotho is its characteristic 'Lesotho mountains', which are bare and treeless, often showcasing tabletop-like shapes and distinct horizontal rocky ridgelines. Grass tends to be short in Lesotho.
🇸🇿 Eswatini
Eswatini is green, very hilly, and typically has trees visible.
🇿🇦 South Africa
South Africa's landscape is quite diverse. You can find anything from rocky, treeless mountains to dry landscape with red soil to vineyards and sugarcane plantations.
Road Names
Thankfully, the 4 South African countries share the same highway sign design, which is a great way to identify the region. When you see a sign, you can use the highway letter prefix to identify the specific country.
🇧🇼 Botswana
Botswana's highway signs have a "A" prefix.
🇱🇸 Lesotho
Lesotho's highway signs have a "A" prefix as well, but many signs don't show the letter at all. If you see signs without a letter, you're probably in Lesotho.
🇸🇿 Eswatini
Eswatini's highway signs have a "MR" prefix.
🇿🇦 South Africa
South Africa's highway signs have a "N", "M", or "R" prefix.
Unique Metas
Each South African country has some distinct metas that are easy to find and help to quickly identify the country.
Red & White Chevrons
🇿🇦 South Africa has these red and white chevrons on many roads.
🇧🇼 Botswana uses them as well but less frequently than South Africa.
Gen 2 Halo & Blur
🇿🇦 South Africa has Gen 2 camera coverage. You will often see the halo in the sky, the circular blur beneath the Street View car, and a more blurry picture quality.
Black & Yellow Signposts
🇧🇼 Botswana uses black & yellow signposts for some, but not all, of their signs.
Round Huts with Thatched Roofs
🇱🇸 Lesotho has many of these traditional round huts with thatched roofs.
Basotho blanket
🇱🇸 Lesotho is known for people wearing the traditional "Basotho blanket".
Simple Pole with 3 Insulators
🇸🇿 Eswatini's most common pole is wooden with three insulators on the side and has an overall simple design.