Almanac Travel: South Africa Reprise

 

 

Singapore 1/1/26

Just arrived so I thought we would provide a few thoughts if you decide to travel to South Africa while they’re fresh.

• It is a long way. Twenty-seven hours because of delays was horrible so allow plenty of holiday time to recover.
• The conversion from SA Rand to AUD is simple. Divide by 10. 100 Rand = AUD$10 approximately.
• Cost of living in SA is very similar to home, if not cheaper. Certainly food is especially. Meat, poultry, fish and the quality of all fresh food was exceptional.
• SA is a tipping nation. The gap between rich and poor is ridiculous so perhaps before you leave, exchange say AUD$500 over for 10, 20,50 and 100 RAND notes. It will make life a lot easier for you.
• Cape Town and Johannesburg aren’t places where you can just wander off for a walk. Get advice from the locals before any movement out of your accommodation.
• Cape Town has a lot of security on the streets but very little in Jo-Burg. Jo-burg was a highlight of the trip but you will need pre-booked professional guidance.
• Try and avoid going to Cape Town when we did if you don’t like crowds. Christmas/New Year no, and the locals reckon early December is best.
• This was the first time we haven’t planned our trip on line and relied on an agent to book everything. We would definitely recommend you doing that as there are complexities, including vaccines, to consider.
• Common sense says don’t be flashy. Keep your valuables secure on your person.
• There are no maps so you will have to rely on Google unfortunately. Consider having roaming for your phone for that reason alone.
• It gets hot and there isn’t a lot of taps. Take water with you and fill up at public toilets.
• If you are overly concerned with crime, there are some upmarket townships on either coast within an hour of Cape Town that you can stay at which are more predominately ‘white’ and accessible by train.
• Kindness is reciprocated in spades with the locals, so dish it up and tip accordingly.
• Apologies if I’ve painted a bit of a ‘black hat’ overview here, because what South Africa provides is way beyond expectations. It’s just that there are few things to consider in your planning.

The above photo sits on the wall of Cape Town airport. South Africa is like nothing we had experienced before and we intend on getting back one day before we kark it!

And now for something completely different. The antithesis of South Africa, shiny and spotless Singapore.

 

To read more by Ian Wilson click HERE.

 

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