South Africa, Namibia, Botswana Info

Bruz82

Hi all,
Im a seasonal solo traveller and looking to go to southern africa for 2-3 weeks sometime this year.
Main places Im looking at....

-Cape Town (Shark Diving)
-Namibia ( Sossusvlei Sand Dunes)
-Botswana (okavango delta and Chobe national park)
-Victoria Falls
-Johannesburg

I interested in any one who has experience in this region.
- Buses ( Are there night buses?, How Long?)
- safety issues
- tour groups/DIY
- do's and dont's

Any info is appreciated
Thanks

Victor

Don't go alone. Don't go out at night. Have a guide that is recommended.

sarkozy

That's not very helpful advice. I lived in Lesotho for a year-and-a-half and have been to all all around the region (but didn't get to Botswana or Victoria Falls).

The first question is: do you drive? If yes, and can (afford to) rent a car, that makes things much better.

By and large all those places, bar Johannesburg, are safe. And even in Jo'burg, the same stuff applies: keep your street smarts about you. I *do* know people who were carjacked in the evening time at traffic lights in Jo'burg. Never heard of it in Cape Town, but friends there (locals) were very safety conscious.

Once out of major cities in South Africa, you have little to worry about. The nearest town to me, Ladybrand, was fine to walk around at night; the nearest city, Bloemfontein, had a central strip which was also fine to walk around at night if part of a group.

I would say South Africa is, relatively speaking, not the safest country but it's not as dangerous as people make out. I ended up feeling safety conscious, but not paranoid except in city centre locations.

Namibia is totally, totally safe - very low crime rate. It's a weird country. Because of the German legacy, it's very organised, clean, etc.

OK, so if you're not driving, then you'll be on the backpacker trail. In SA and Swaziland, there's the Baz Bus which runs a backpacker circuit around the region. Then there's South African bus services. Basically, Intercape is the best. That runs right from Windhoek in Namibia right down to Cape Town (I did that trip - it takes 23 hours overnight); Intercape also runs across to Durban, Jo'burg, Pretoria, etc. And it also goes up to Vic Falls. Intercape is totally and utterly safe. Getting to Sossusvlei means going into central Windhoek and getting a minibus from Windhoek to somewhere, and from there you can go on to Swakopmund on the coast. I can't tell you about other internal bus services north in Namibia, but it's well-served and the city centre is very sedate and safe. A tourist office is close to the main bus terminal for Intercape.

I think when within SA cities like Johannesburg, which is really spread out, you would want to get around by taxi, and all the better if you make travel buddies and split the fares. The Rosemount/Sandton area is the safest (if bland like much of SA's big city outskirts) and usually OK to walk around by day. Getting taxis, you want to make sure you get your hostel/hotel/restaurant to call for one to be on the safe side and ask them for the likely fare. While in Cape Town, you'll probably stay in the 'City Bowl', somewhere in the vicinity of Long Street. There are plenty of nice hostels and boutique hotels there. It's the tourist hub and a great spot so that is well policed. By day, its absolutely fine to walk around the city centre.

Look, if you don't do the usual dumb tourist crap like have expensive cameras and bling hanging off you, don't look visibly lost, talk to beggars, don't walk alone at night, etc., you should be fine. But don't be complacent. I would say this travelling anywhere, even European cities like Barcelona.

I'll also put a shout in there for Lesotho. Mountainous, beautiful, fun, safe. If you make it to Maseru, and have the cash, stay in Lancer's Inn or if you stay in a hostel and need transport, use Perfect Taxis. But the little '4-plus-one' taxis are safe enough during the day.

General tips as in cool things to do? Hmm ...

Cape Town: Tour bus/Tour out to the cape and tour to the wine regions are fun; eat amazing burgers in Royale Eatery on Long St.; the District 6 museum; Vida e Caffe for coffee and pastries.

Johannesburg: ha, I only ever went to a cricket match and got pissed in Melville area, which is safe. I hear there are a few good museums (the Apartheid Museum) and the Soweto tour are meant to be worth it.

Namibia: Windhoek is kinda boring but nice - if you're into meat, go to Joe's Beerhouse for amazing sampler menus - on one plate we ate amazing kudu, springbock, zebra, ostrich, oryx. The city tour is quite interesting. All these tour things can be arranged through hostels/hotels. We booked a driver to take us to Sossusvlei. Long distances and stunning scenery, so it's well worth it. We ended up in Swakopmund, an old German colonial port. Safe, surreal, good beer and food (man Windhoek lager is so amazing).

If you're going across the veld in South Africa, then you may as well visit the Drakensberg mountains. A good point to see that is the surreal and pleasant town of Clarens. Decent microbrewery and restaurants there. The edge of the Drakensberg escarpment 1500ft up is literally the edge of Lesotho - beautiful, but steer clear of the baboons.

Ah, I dunno, the region's just so awesome. Don't let people's safety fears put you off. They're usually exaggerated.

Bruz82

Sarkozy,
Thanks alot for your time and effort in your message.
I would consider myself a very safe conscious person. I time I would feel most vulnerable is when Im on the move with my backpack e.g. looking for hostel at night or getting off at a bus stations after long journey and your wrecked.
I would only be in Johannesberg to fly home actually. I was interested in the buses services say from Cape Town - Namibia - Botswana-etc.
Im at the early stage of organizing this trip so I wont rule anything out that you said. Yes I do drive so I might look into that iswell. Thanks:D

sarkozy

Cars aren't crazy expensive to rent down there and fuel is relatively cheap. Certainly something to consider for travel in rural areas as you'll have much greater degrees of freedom. For the most part, the roads are very good, but not always. Do yourself a favour and rent a small 4x4 (e.g. Rav4). I wouldn't say police bribery is an issue for tourists/ex pats, but do not speed in South Africa. You'll get caught and many drivers are so bad you'll be cutting your margins for safety. Driving in Namibia is totally safe - no one seems to speed, etc.

You're definitely right to be very safety conscious in the major cities at night, particularly Johannesburg. In fact, if you arrive in a bus station in Jo'burg, you will probably not be allowed out onto the street by security guards. However, arriving into Cape Town by day is totally fine to lug your backpack to Long Street (only 8 minutes walk away); as I said, the same with Windhoek. In fact, buses usually are timed to ensure you arrive in such places in broad daylight.

Your best bet is to book ahead with recommended hostels in good locations who run a private shuttle service. If that's not available, book a taxi through a reliable office in the station.

I'd also like to recommend Mozambique. Maputo is not far (by distance) from Durban, though it can take some hours to get there. It's a very different experience, safe, vibrant, excellent seafood, amazing caiparinhas. And it's absolutely fine to walk around in the daytime, and even some central streets at night (e.g. Julius Nyerere Ave., or central where the jazz bars are). Inhaca and Portuguese islands have ace beaches. Not sure how much visas are now. They used to be US $25 but now I think they're more like US $80. Just thought Mozambique mention it if you had the time.

CountryJoe

Bruz82 wrote: »

Hi all,
Im a seasonal solo traveller and looking to go to southern africa for 2-3 weeks sometime this year.
Main places Im looking at....

-Cape Town (Shark Diving)
-Namibia ( Sossusvlei Sand Dunes)
-Botswana (okavango delta and Chobe national park)
-Victoria Falls
-Johannesburg

I interested in any one who has experience in this region.
- Buses ( Are there night buses?, How Long?)
- safety issues
- tour groups/DIY
- do's and dont's

Any info is appreciated
Thanks

Hi Bruz, not sure if you like hiking. But the wild coast trek from Port Saint Johns to Coffee Bay on the Eastern Cape would be worth it if you had time. Although if your going to both Namibia and Botswana aswell it would be too much of a stretch. However, its a lovely part of the world, hope you have a fantastic time