No-one can deny that South Africa has more than its fair share of crime and a lot of it is violent crime, whether it be house-breaking, car-hijacking or street-mugging. When you live here, you tend to get used to it, like the 'boiling frog' syndrome. Many residents have adapted to the threat by living in walled and electric-fenced complexes with security guards at the gates, although many people still live in ordinary houses without much more security than a couple of large dogs. Up to 10 years ago, a lot of people only knew a friend of a friend of a friend who had been the victim of crime. Nowadays most people have themselves been victims to some extent.
On the other hand life goes on. We go shopping, we go to work and the kids go to school. We go to the beach, we go to restaurants, we go to each other's houses for braais (barbecues) and we go to sporting events.
So you shouldn't let the crime put you off coming to South Africa. The chances are that you will have a fantastic visit here without being affected by crime at all, if you take sensible precautions:
1. Keep your hotel/B&B rooms locked when you are in them as well as when you are out. Put money, valuables, passports and tickets in a safe.
2. Don't wear a lot of shiny jewellery when you are out and about, and keep your cameras and mobiles out of sight as much as possible.
3. Keep your car doors locked when driving around and be particularly observant at traffic lights. Leave space in front of your car, so you can drive around around the car in front of you, if you feel threatened.
4. Don't be a hero - if you are threatened by someone with a knife or gun, give them your car, cash and mobile.
5. Don't walk around alone, especially at night or in isolated places - stay in a group as much as possible.
6. If you see unsavoury characters looking at you, move away to a safer more crowded area.
The more aware you are, the safer you'll be.
The National Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele, has said that security plans for the World Cup meet international standards. The SA government says that:
"Some R665-million will be spent on procuring special equipment, including crowd-control equipment, crime scene trainers, unmanned aircraft, helicopters, 10 water cannons, 100 BMWs for highway patrol and up-to-date body armour. About 300 mobile cameras will also be used. There will be four mobile command centres at a cost of around R6 million each. These centres will feature high-tech monitoring equipment, which will be able to receive live footage from the airplanes and other cameras. The South African Police Service (SAPS) will spend R640 million on the deployment of 41 000 officers specifically for the event. Recruitment and event-specific training for this force is under way. The SAPS is on a massive recruitment drive to increase general police numbers by 55 000 to over 190 000 by 2009. The number of police reservists will also double before the FIFA World Cup, from 45 000 members to 100 000. So, by 2010 South Africa will have a significantly larger and well-trained police service."
It's also worth reading the excellent advice given by the British Foreign Office on their website - http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/your-trip/travellingfans1/worldcup/
but please note that 9.5 million tourists visited South Africa in 2008 and the vast majority of them had no problem with crime whatsoever. So come on over, be safe and have a great time!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
World Cup Travel
South Africa is abuzz with excitement for the 2010 Soccer World Cup - it is in the newspapers every day, on the television every night and in the magazines weekly and monthly. Excitement definitely, but also a level of anxiety, with well-founded rumours of hikes in airfares, car hire and accommodation, and even shortages of food!
As far as flights are concerned, a quick check on two of our local airlines (Mango and 1Time) shows that flight prices during the world cup will be two to three times more than normal. For example, the Joburg/Cape Town flights will be R2300 each way compared to the normal R700 on those airlines. The Joburg/Durban route will be R1200 each way compared to about R500 normally. These prices could increase even more if the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) is allowed to raise its fees to airlines by the proposed 133%, which will have a knock on effect on airport taxes!
(Today's exchange rates are R12.22 = 1GBP, R7.55 = $1 and R10.86 = €1).
Car hire prices will be similarly affected: a normal rental for the cheapest car at R260 per day will increase to R400 per day for the world cup period.
Accommodation will be even worse. Here's an example: A "three star" self catering cottage at Kyalami Estate at Midrand, just north of Johannesburg, which normal costs R500 per person per night, will cost R3000 per person per night during the world cup. Here's another example: a bed in a backpackers dormitory near Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo) International Airport usually costs R180 per person per night. During the world cup it will cost R750 per person per night.
By the way, when you are searching for this kind of information in South Africa, go to http://www.google.co.za/ and click on "pages from South Africa" - you'll get much better search results than using Google in your own country and it will all be in English. The majority of people in South Africa (particularly in the towns and cities) have a good understanding of English, even though their mother tongue may be one of eleven official languages!
That's all for now - look out for more useful information on our regular blog posting. We'll be covering security and crime, fan parks, soccer hooligans, stadia, travel times and distances etc etc.
As far as flights are concerned, a quick check on two of our local airlines (Mango and 1Time) shows that flight prices during the world cup will be two to three times more than normal. For example, the Joburg/Cape Town flights will be R2300 each way compared to the normal R700 on those airlines. The Joburg/Durban route will be R1200 each way compared to about R500 normally. These prices could increase even more if the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) is allowed to raise its fees to airlines by the proposed 133%, which will have a knock on effect on airport taxes!
(Today's exchange rates are R12.22 = 1GBP, R7.55 = $1 and R10.86 = €1).
Car hire prices will be similarly affected: a normal rental for the cheapest car at R260 per day will increase to R400 per day for the world cup period.
Accommodation will be even worse. Here's an example: A "three star" self catering cottage at Kyalami Estate at Midrand, just north of Johannesburg, which normal costs R500 per person per night, will cost R3000 per person per night during the world cup. Here's another example: a bed in a backpackers dormitory near Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo) International Airport usually costs R180 per person per night. During the world cup it will cost R750 per person per night.
By the way, when you are searching for this kind of information in South Africa, go to http://www.google.co.za/ and click on "pages from South Africa" - you'll get much better search results than using Google in your own country and it will all be in English. The majority of people in South Africa (particularly in the towns and cities) have a good understanding of English, even though their mother tongue may be one of eleven official languages!
That's all for now - look out for more useful information on our regular blog posting. We'll be covering security and crime, fan parks, soccer hooligans, stadia, travel times and distances etc etc.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
World Cup Weather
One thing you'll find, travelling around South Africa in June or July is that, although it will be winter, the weather will vary quite considerably from one city to another. Here's a summary of probable weather conditions for each of the 2010 venues during the world cup period:
Bloemfontein (Free State Stadium) will be dry - no more than 2-3 days of rain, if any. Daytime temps will be 16-17 degrees Celsius, although in some years it has been as high as 24. Night temps will be -2 degrees C, but it has been as low as -12 in some winters.
Cape Town (Green Point Stadium) has a wet and windy winter - up to 15 days of rain in the month of June. Daytime temps will be 17-18 degrees C, but have been up to 30 in some years. Night temps will be 7-8 degrees C, but have been as low as -1.
Durban (Moses Mabhida Stadium) will be mainly dry - no more than 6 days of rain. Daytime temps will be 22-23 degrees C, but have been as high as 36 on rare occasions. Night temps will be 10-11 degrees, but could be as low as 4.
Johannesburg (Soccer City and Ellis Park Stadia) will be dry - no more than a couple of days of rain, if any. Daytime temps will be 16-17 degrees C -although in some years it has reached as high as 24 in June. Night temps will be 1-2 degrees C, but have been as low as -7.
Nelspruit (Mbombela Stadium) will be dry - maximum of 2 days rain. Daytime temps will be 21-23 degrees C, but have been up to 33. Night temps in winter are usually 5-7 degrees, but have been down to -2.
Polokwane (Peter Mokaba Stadium) will be very dry - one day of rain if any. Daytime temps will be 19-20 degrees, but have been up to 29. Night temps will be 3-4 degrees, but could be as low as -3.
Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium) will be fairly wet, up to 9 days of rain. Daytime temps will be 19-20 degrees C, but could be as high as 32. Night temps will be 8-9 degrees but have been as low as 0.
Pretoria (Loftus Versfeld Stadium) will be very dry - no more than a day of rain. Daytime temps will be 18-19 degrees C, but have been up to 27. Night temps will be 2-3 degrees, but some years have been as low as -1.
If you know where your teams will be playing, you'll know what clothing to bring with you.
Bloemfontein (Free State Stadium) will be dry - no more than 2-3 days of rain, if any. Daytime temps will be 16-17 degrees Celsius, although in some years it has been as high as 24. Night temps will be -2 degrees C, but it has been as low as -12 in some winters.
Cape Town (Green Point Stadium) has a wet and windy winter - up to 15 days of rain in the month of June. Daytime temps will be 17-18 degrees C, but have been up to 30 in some years. Night temps will be 7-8 degrees C, but have been as low as -1.
Durban (Moses Mabhida Stadium) will be mainly dry - no more than 6 days of rain. Daytime temps will be 22-23 degrees C, but have been as high as 36 on rare occasions. Night temps will be 10-11 degrees, but could be as low as 4.
Johannesburg (Soccer City and Ellis Park Stadia) will be dry - no more than a couple of days of rain, if any. Daytime temps will be 16-17 degrees C -although in some years it has reached as high as 24 in June. Night temps will be 1-2 degrees C, but have been as low as -7.
Nelspruit (Mbombela Stadium) will be dry - maximum of 2 days rain. Daytime temps will be 21-23 degrees C, but have been up to 33. Night temps in winter are usually 5-7 degrees, but have been down to -2.
Polokwane (Peter Mokaba Stadium) will be very dry - one day of rain if any. Daytime temps will be 19-20 degrees, but have been up to 29. Night temps will be 3-4 degrees, but could be as low as -3.
Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium) will be fairly wet, up to 9 days of rain. Daytime temps will be 19-20 degrees C, but could be as high as 32. Night temps will be 8-9 degrees but have been as low as 0.
Pretoria (Loftus Versfeld Stadium) will be very dry - no more than a day of rain. Daytime temps will be 18-19 degrees C, but have been up to 27. Night temps will be 2-3 degrees, but some years have been as low as -1.
If you know where your teams will be playing, you'll know what clothing to bring with you.
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