Yup Haven't had too much time to bugger about yet though, been a little busy and all that. (Did I scare the widdle bunny wunny?)
haha! I doubt even we could get banned from this place darlin'.....have fun here when yer find the time
Hhmm, africa is kinda a big place for a safari. As for Hannah Flett, our winters are slightly milder down here, however, it can get cold, and in the south it's usually wet, rainy, cold and windy. However, that said, we often have fab warm day s in between. So, I would pack something for every season. Other than that, just use common sense...don't do something here that you wouldn't do while walking in London. People often forget these rules when they're down here on holiday and become easy prey for pick pockets. Let us know if you need anything else.
Heard in the news today that a British tourist is about to be tried for arson because he flicked a cigarette butt out of his window, which started the darned fires that's been destroying Table Mountain??? Bloody good I think.
Fucking poms.... My great grandparents owned the last house before city became mountain.... There goes my inheritance
You assume that just because the bloke's parents are yanks they won't be able to handle the culture shock, eh? That is a bit presumptuous, isn't it? I'll bet they do there research and expect to see many difference. In my week in Cape Town and Jeffery's Bay I didn't see anything that made it so extremely different that they states. Don't be so prejudiced, mate. There might be some culture shock, but probably not so much. They might be taken aback by the massive shanty towns. But I believe they have those in Michigan, as well. It's called Detroit. Hannah, there were two things that I noticed when we went to SA. I got roped into the trip and I didn't want to go. I had just finished 14 months in Australia, working in a pub and traveling around the country. The Australians talk crap about everyone. They're just takin the piss (and I love them for it too. Great place Australia). So for the better part of a year I was constantly told that the whole of South Africa is a bunch of wankers. Furthermore, I had read about Jo-burg and heard that it is over-run with crime. I don't know if that is true or not, but I doubt it. (Cape Town is beautiful though, we stayed in Fishhoek down the cape, very nice area.) Then right before we left Australia came the pitch invasion. A rugby fan, Piet Van Zyl, took a little stroll out on a pitch and attempted to tackle David McHugh, the Irish ref. Shit tackle, but it did dislocate the old man's shoulder. Anyways, that just furthered the idea, to me, that the boers were not to be dealt with, if at all possible. Then I went there. For instance, twice in a week people stopped and asked me if I were lost. Not very often am I lost, and never anywhere in the world has anyone ever asked me if I were lost, and could I use help. Then it happens twice in 3 days in Jeffery's Bay, South Africa. All around the country we constantly found people that were real cool. I was used to the pom, mickey, Jamaican, Australian, and kiwi dialects and accents, but South Africa is different. And people would be real patient while I worked out what the fuck they were talking about. And the service everywhere was great. We would stop for gas and 3 or 4 guys would come out, pump gas, check tire pressure, wash the window, etc. Every waiter we saw was great, just wanted to get exactly what we wanted. They do expect a tip, but it don't have to be much. Anybody chip in here and tell me if I'm wrong, cause maybe my memory left me, but I seem to remember that people were happy to get a tip equivalent to 50 pence. The other thing is that it was so cheap. Now, I was there in 2002, and I wonder if it is still the same cheap. I remember sitting in a bar drinking pints of carling for 0.70 USD each. Brilliant. We had hired a Toyota SUV that cost 10 USD a day. Brilliant. While I love your country, Hannah, it's just to damn expensive. I fully believe in going to places where it is cheap. Then you have more money to do stuff. Well, we do get a bit verbose sometimes don't we. Anyways, hope it helps, and I hope you have a great time. Wish I were going back, cause there were a couple things I missed doing.
Fawkes, I'm a South African, and I must say, you paint a pretty acuurate portrait of South Africa. I'm glad you had a good time there! Yeah, it's cheap (especially beer!), service is great (you need to tip 10% minimum though usually), and there are some really cool people to be met, awesome places to see. Unfortunately, crime and poverty are the two biggest problems in South Africa. Whoever told you that Johannesburg is crime ridden and dirty was telling the truth. We've got one of the highest murder rates in the world, and I think the highest rape rate in the world too. Violent crime is prevalent everywhere, although as a tourist, thankfully, you probably wouldn't have seen much of it. But live there for a while, and you're guaranteed to encounter crime in some form of another. It's a damn shame, and a stain on a great country. But otherwise, it's a great place!
Hey, I just found out that y'all are hosting the world cup next time around. I might just come round for a little visit. There were so many things that I didn't get to see when I was down there, that I gotta go back. I'm pretty excited about this.
Im proudly south african too....but living in the UK..just for survival.:-( Where are you based? were in herefordshire..are there more SA on this list??? Bee~
Wish I were going back, cause there were a couple things I missed doing.[/QUOTE] Me too ;-( i miss the crickets at night, the warm sun and warm breeze, the warm sea and beaches...and of course my family the most....I lived in Pinetown/Durban.... now in Herefordshire Bee~
^ also had to live in the uk for a while just for survival kinda sucks hey! btw i used to go to durban all the time whilst i lived in zim, was probably everyone's no.1 holiday destination haha as for the original poster...who seems to have deleted their posts, looks like everyone's given you good advice, it would be very wise to take it! africa's pretty damn dangerous, as i've said before, it aint animals you're looking out for watch out for crime and everything should be good.
I was born in Northern Rhodesia, grew up in Durban, spent a year in Joburg and then rest of time here in Northern California. My Mother still lives in Durban and my Dad lives just outside of Joburg. My Mom and Aunt and their friend were stabbed in my Moms house, My Dad says Joburg is so unsafe that he refuses to even go there anymore. All of my old friends have been victims of crime, some have been killed. I read recently that about 4000 Iraqi policemen have been killed over the past two years, compare that to about 5000 South African policemen killed each year. Highest crime rate in the entire world, more dangerous than ANY war zone, highest murder rate at over 50,000 murders per year in a population the size of California, Highest rape rate plus highest HIV rate means big probability of getting something very unpleasant, assuming that one is not murdered in the commission of the crime. Highest carjacking rate in entire world, etc etc etc. Probability of being a victim of violent crime almost a certainty and dont get attached to your things, expect your house to be robbed, if you are lucky its not going to be more than once a year. O yes, I almost forgot, dont forget, when you make it home to make sure your barb wire fence is in good repair, your two guard dogs are doing their job, make sure to lock the outside gate to your front door, then your front door and nowadays many people even have locked gates to their own bedrooms so that they can sleep at night without the worry of being murdered in their own homes. To me its like living in a prison cell. Whatever you do, dont visit or stay on any farm, right now there is a genocidal campaign to kill white farmers so that the land can be given to black Africans. I could go on and on about just how dangerous South Africa is right now, just google crime in South Africa is you really want to get the true picture. Other than the crime problem I really must say South Africa is a great country, many people are very friendly, beer and wine is 1st rate, food selection is very tasty and different. Dont forget to taste the fine curries. Allan.
proudly South African here as well! Boorn and bred!! We got the best in the world as well!! Come one, come all!!!!
Steady on!!! Was I wrong about anything. I humbly request your correction to any errors I may have made. I don't profess to be any kind of expert. I simply was expressing my opinions and observations on a country that quite enjoyed. I had prejudged SA unfairly, but then was pleasantly surprised to discover that my opinion prior to travel was quite wrong. Sometimes it takes an outsider to point things out. We take some things for granted, which a foreigner may find strange. I know that when my buddy came and visited from London, he pointed out somethings that he thought for wierd, but that are the norm here in the USA. Same her; I point out somethings, for our soon to be new citizen of RSA that maybe you wouldn't mention. Surely you know more about the place than I do, but I just see it from a different perspective Let me explain something to you. SA is not that different than the US. South Africans speak english. That alone makes SA much more similar that most of the countries of the world. Culture Shock? Try Japan. Saudi Arabia. Vietnam. China. Even Greece or Russia. What do these countries have in common? They all use something other than the latin style of alphabet. That would make things infinately more difficult. Furthermore, the It is unfortunate that you have made up your mind about Americans with such a negative opinion. While there are close-minded prejudiced dunderheads like yourself in America, that is by no means a discription of the populace as a whole, despite the stereotype that prevails throughout much of the world. Don't make assumptions about people.
