There has been a lot of publication about unrest in the RSA, killings on farms, etc.

How safe is it to travel within the RSA these days?

I have planned to spend a few days in Sun City with my wife in July. This would require driving from Johannesburg to Sun City. We would have a driver take us. I am wondering if this is safe?

Like anywhere else there are always risk, last year a friend of mine was carjacked and murdered while driving home from work at a stoplight in Pretoria.

I would only travel in RSA with either a person I know, or a well known and trusted employee of a corporation.

A wife of a South African friend once told me "I know if I ever get a flat tire outside of a few blocks of my home, I will probably be raped." This is from a woman who was born and spent her entire life living in RSA.

I would opt for a flight to Sun City or a find a bus that makes direct runs to Sun City for tourists.

JMO.

BH63

If you are transiting through Joburg on your way to the hunting grounds and your PH or guide service is picking you up at JNB, then you are as safe as you're going to be in any large city.

On the other hand, if you're renting a car and driving around on your own... forget about it.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
There has been a lot of publication about unrest in the RSA, killings on farms, etc.

How safe is it to travel within the RSA these days?

I have planned to spend a few days in Sun City with my wife in July. This would require driving from Johannesburg to Sun City. We would have a driver take us. I am wondering if this is safe?

You'll be absolutely fine. Thousands of people do that same trip every day. The amount of self driving foreign tourists touring South Africa is staggering. Sure, like everywhere else, there are incidents but to say that visiting South Africa on your own is unsafe just isn't true. I question the motives of some who like to paint a picture of SA of being like a war zone.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
If you are transiting through Joburg on your way to the hunting grounds and your PH or guide service is picking you up at JNB, then you are as safe as you're going to be in any large city.

On the other hand, if you're renting a car and driving around on your own... forget about it.

Forget about driving from Joburg to Sun City?? Are you kidding me..

There and back isn't a big deal. Driving around SA on your own can be a very big deal - as I am sure you know.

Well, in 4 weeks the wife and I will be sightseeing all over the country- from Kruger to Cape Town for 3 weeks. We will be in the company of a member here who is acting as tour guide/ driver. I am not concerned.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
There and back isn't a big deal. Driving around SA on your own can be a very big deal - as I am sure you know.

Driving around SA on your own isn't a big deal. Have had lots of hunting clients and tourists doing it and they found it safe.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
Well, in 4 weeks the wife and I will be sightseeing all over the country- from Kruger to Cape Town for 3 weeks. We will be in the company of a member here who is acting as tour guide/ driver. I am not concerned.

You have no reason to be. You'll meet friendly people along the way. Enjoy it, that's a great trip

quote:

Originally posted by Victor Watson:

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
There and back isn't a big deal. Driving around SA on your own can be a very big deal - as I am sure you know.

Driving around SA on your own isn't a big deal. Have had lots of hunting clients and tourists doing it and they found it safe.

Translation - They didn't run into any problems...

I have driven all around RSA and Botswana with no problems. It takes a while to get use to driving on the left side. The main highways like the N1 are no problem but pay attention on the secondary roads. You need to be more concerned with getting in a car wreck. I would stay off the roads at night and try not to look like a tourist. Use common sense and not stop near any of the big slums.

I drive over 15,000 miles a year in Africa between SA, Botswana and Namibia. Not a day goes by that I do not see a car accident, hear about a car break in, or hear about an armed carjacking (mostly SA but now happening in Namibia). Crime and accident reports do not lie - Africa is a dangerous place even for the locals but especially for the tourists who are not in hypervigilance mode.

While I do tell people that Namibia is a relatively safe place (in Africa terms) to self drive, do so with the understanding that you're not at Disneyland. If someone sees something in your car they like, expect it to be gone. In regards to SA, I would not tell folks it is a safe place to self drive. If you don't believe this, talk to the car rental companies about how many stolen and/or damaged cars they deal with on a daily basis.

Another tip - Discuss with the rental car company what happens should you damage or have your car stolen. Many are now demanding that you pay for the entire vehicle and then you must deal with your insurance company. ASCO Car has changed over to the pay first and then collect from your insurance company format and so are others. The comprehensive damage coverage is misleading to say the least.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
I drive over 15,000 miles a year in Africa between SA, Botswana and Namibia. Not a day goes by that I do not see a car accident, hear about a car break in, or hear about an armed carjacking (mostly SA but now happening in Namibia). Crime and accident reports do not lie - Africa is a dangerous place even for the locals but especially for the tourists who are not in hypervigilance mode.

While I do tell people that Namibia is a relatively safe place (in Africa terms) to self drive, do so with the understanding that you're not at Disneyland. If someone sees something in your car they like, expect it to be gone. In regards to SA, I would not tell folks it is a safe place to self drive. If you don't believe this, talk to the car rental companies about how many stolen and/or damaged cars they deal with on a daily basis.

Another tip - Discuss with the rental car company what happens should you damage or have your car stolen. Many are now demanding that you pay for the entire vehicle and then you must deal with your insurance company. ASCO Car has changed over to the pay first and then collect from your insurance company format and so are others. The comprehensive damage coverage is misleading to say the least.

It seems like you've spoken to the car rental companies. What are the stats then? Versus another African or European country.

What amazes is me is the number of female Millennials that are traveling throughout Africa solo. They are on tight budgets and for lodging they swap out volunteer work. Many times this is not through International Missions or some other Church Organization. They travel a ways and find an orphanage to stay in while they do volunteer work. Then move along to their next destination. I admire them for wanting to make the world a better place but they are a mouse playing in a snake pit. I talked to a young girl in the airport that was traveling this way. Her first time to Africa and she was not the least bit scared. She referred to me as a disgusting blood thirsty hunter when I tried to give her the number to the Zim Embassy. Looking back I think that she thought I was hitting on her. This was not the case. Three things that I am not attracted to are nose rings, dread locks and tattoos!

Victor, I do not have all the stats on rental car companies from around the world. I only know what I have discussed with car companies in both SA and Namibia. Needless to say, they keep the body and window shops quite busy.

That is why you are seeing a change in the way that they handle claims.

BTW - Have you been up KZN way lately? Things are getting very sporting there. Makes the Port Elizabeth look like Disneyland.

quote:

Originally posted by Capt. Purvis:
What amazes is me is the number of female Millennials that are traveling throughout Africa solo. They are on tight budgets and for lodging they swap out volunteer work. Many times this is not through International Missions or some other Church Organization. They travel a bit find an orphanage to stay in and do volunteer work then move along to their next destination. I admire them for wanting to make the world a better place but they are a mouse playing in a snake pit. I talked to a young girl in the airport that was traveling this way. Her first time to Africa and she was not the lea. She referred to me as a disgusting blood thirsty hunter when I tried to give her the number to the Zim Embassy. Looking back I think that she thought I was hitting on her. This was not the case. Three things that I am not attracted to are nose rings, dread locks and tattoos!

Idiotic millenials deserve what they get. Stupid is as stupid does. You can't fix stupid and I don't care to try....

Larry,

I've driven all over RSA three times with Sadie but we were with a PH or tour guide. We felt perfectly safe. My only consideration would be driving at night through the rural townships. The folks we stayed with in '15 had some ugly stories about cows being driven onto the the highway to cause an accident and then the car's occupants being robbed or the car hijacked.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Victor, I do not have all the stats on rental car companies from around the world. I only know what I have discussed with car companies in both SA and Namibia. Needless to say, they keep the body and window shops quite busy.

That is why you are seeing a change in the way that they handle claims.

BTW - Have you been up KZN way lately? Things are getting very sporting there. Makes the Port Elizabeth look like Disneyland.

I'm sorry Opus. I just totally missed you on that. Sounds like you had a chat to a lady at the front desk of the rental car company about it. So if anyone doesn't believe SA is safe, chat to Dorothy the clerkat XXX she'll set you straight!? No need to get proper stats and facts.

Was in KZN 4 weeks ago. Had a great drive there and back but like everywhere anytime in SA and like anywhere else in the world i used common sense.

So, I just returned to South Africa two days ago after finishing up our show schedule for the year.

Keeping an eye on the local news on what's happening back home, I became very despondent, expecting to arrive back to civil war.
Arriving back, I was shocked to find everything running as normal. Airport staff very helpful, friendliness within all races as normal. Again, it just became apparent how media sensationalize a story, whether it is from within the USA/Canada or within South Africa, simply to sell their story.

A point that was raised to me yesterday, also informed me that our President and his cronies(see Gupta's), were paying big money to reporters outside of South Africa, to portray them in a better light. This, as well as the purposeful racial incidents planted within our country as of late, is simply ploy to take the spotlight off the President and the failings of the ruling party to try and regain the support that they have been hemorrhaging over the last year.

I am not denying the incidents being reported on, but the situation in South Africa is certainly far from what is being reported. A couple of fake news sites, reporting completely false information, has also been exposed in the last couple of days.

Enjoy your booked safari to Africa gentlemen. We look forward to some great reports with great photos.

I hear what you all are saying. Then there are things like this:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1411043/m/8481036032

I am still planning on going at this point.

I think of it this way . . . if someone outside of the United States read a compendium of reports compiled each week on the murders, rapes and other atrocities committed every day in the United States (in Houston we just had one where the couple lured a stranger to his death, stabbed him and then burned the body) one could make the case that the United States is absolutely unsafe for travel too.

Have you all read about the people gunned down just outside of OR Tambo?

Yikes, i just left Joburg yesterday. Only thing happened while i was in country was a bad protest/burning up in Coligny. We drove out of our way to get around that area.

At this point, I am not changing my plans. I do have armed security escorting us to and from our destination in the RSA.

I am currently sitting in the airport in Cape Town, headed home via JOberg. We have been driving around SA, first from JOberg to Kruger, then wingshooting in the Marble Hall/ springbok flats area. Then drive to Tambo and fly to CT. More driving all over the Cape Province. A total of 2 1/2 weeks and thousands of kilometers driven with absolutely nothing eventful. Everyone, black or white was friendly. Great vacation.

Everything is fine until it isn't.

I can't shoot Egyptian and spur wing geese, francolin, rock pigeons and other assorted game birds in South GA, much less watch the Big Five, so I'll just have to take my chances. And I won't let fear drive my life....

It is not so much fear driving my life as it is protecting my wife.

My wife and I have driven thousands of mile in South Africa on our own, over the years.

This is our protocol.
- Rent a SUV AWD so that I can drive around /over obstacles.
- Must have good/new tires.
- NEVER, NEVER stop for anything, for any reason! No matter what their plight.
- Keep the gas tank at least half full. Use the big popular gas stations.
- Park in the right places.
- In parking lots there are unofficial parking attendants. Talk to him and promise him 10-20 ZAR when you come back for no trouble with your car.
- Always establish your accomadations by 3 PM. Remember its dark about 6 PM.
- Don't drive or walk at night unless you are with South Africans.
- For your first time in Africa don't drive yourself in JB. Your guest house will come and get you at the airport.
- don't count too much on the police or military.

We have never had any trouble but always have high situational awareness.

I used to carry mace and/or a stun gun. ( It's Legal and I used to be able to look after myself.) My white South African friends just laughed at me. I don't bother any more.

In Africa they say: "It's the spider you don't see that bites you."

You can carry a decoy wallet with some rands and out of date credit cards.
Don't go in the wrong places.
Dress Down. No bling. Watch the white South African move around. Light blue cheap sweater/ shirt, crumby shoes and look purposeful, almost ornery. When you are on foot, as soon as you stop and look at a map or joke around, you are a target for robbers and beggars. Go into a store or cafe to look at at your tourist map.
If you get robbed, just look at the ground, be passive, give them what they want.

Also, we keep a few cans of coke-cola in your car. I and my guides have found it useful for talking to the cops. They become very helpful when we talk and drink a coke together.

My wife was with me and she is a bit of a worrier, to say the least. She never felt threatened or uncomfortable. On several bird shoots she stayed at the truck by herself while we went out with the dogs after francolin. Tractors with farm workers drove by and she waved at them and they smiled and waved back. She was pleased and impressed with the hospitality. Of course we were on properties or lodges that my trip organizer/outfitter knew were safe. Same for the guest houses in the Cape area where we visited. We walked for several miles on the most beautiful beaches-were we were the only people in sight for miles. The secret is being with a local guy who knows the ropes. We would both do the same trip again in a heartbeat. And withe the current exchange rate, this trip was cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

How safe is it to travel within the RSA these days?

It depends on who you ask.

Folks that make a living off of folks visiting SA will tell you it is safe. Folks that rarely leave the basement will assure you that you will die.

The truth is in the middle.

State Dept has no current warnings or restrictions.

https://za.usembassy.gov/u-s-c...-travel-information/

Perhaps the main consideration should be that the atmosphere, for lack of a better term, in SA seems to be changing rapidly. The general impression is that violence, particularly towards whites, is increasing at an appreciable rate. This suggests that whatever ones experiences may have been in the past the present and, in particular, the future may be quiet different. I hunted SA (Melorani with a bow) in 2003 and 2005 and felt quite safe. Given current events and hostilities that seem likely to increase I'll pass on a third visit.

Things are changing rapidly.

If you stay out of the bade areas you should be fine.
That said a bus load of people were carjacked yesterday at the Airport, the driver was shredded by AK47 fire and left in the road, the bus was driven into a township and the occupants robbed.

While this is the exception to the rule, to tell people that it is safe is a lie.

With more than 50 murders a day and an active genocide against white farmers, no its not safe.

There have been 9 farm attacks in the last 4 days. 4 Fatal

If you want more information on whats going on in South Africa
Google "white genocide south africa", or farm murders south africa

It doesn't make the mainstream news when a 9 year old boy who stood up for his mother who was being raped gets thrown into a bathtub of boiling water.
But god help you if you happen to mention that Africans behave like monkeys.
Or worse yet, that colonialism brought progress to Africa.

The worst part is that many American liberals still support the communist ANC who are driving the hatred against whites.

Hell, our president and the Gupta family paid a UK PR firm to drive the racial agenda to take the spotlight off of them and allow them to further loot the treasury.

People say we are going the same route as Zimbabwe, but in reality this is far worse. The ongoing violent torture and murder of the innocent and the looting of every part of the countrys wealth is far beyond anything that happened in Zimbabwe.

Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58EgRdco3kk


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/58EgRdco3kk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://twitter.com/sagenocide?lang=en

http://www.news.com.au/finance...66b6b0b77522c06d6476

This is disturbing.

When I viewed the posts in the African Travel section discussing J'berg/SAA vs Dubai/Emirates, I thought J'berg, even with SAPS was a better play for me: shorter overall trip & no overnight.....

But after reading and following all this, Fuck them.

Next trip thru UAE.

Larry
As someone who lives, works and has a wife and two kids in South Africa I can tell you that there is validity in most of the posts above. There are thousands of tourists who self drive and hitchhike around the country with no incident yet there are also some horror stories that have occurred.

Brian Canada has it about right. Take some basic precautions and have a wonderful holiday. No different if I visited the States. Im sure if I was your guest, you wouldn't want me driving through some sections of Miami, LA or New York looking like a wealty tourist! No different here.

If you coming down to Durban, gives us a shout. We would be more than happy to show you around or point you in the right direction.

JCHB

Here is this mornings prize news report.

In what other "safe country" does a 3 year old get raped twice and then murdered and burried in a shallow grave.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfr...court-hears-20170517

The level of brutality that is seen in SA is second to none.
There are more deaths and brutality here than in the active war zones of the world.

Stop pretending that its all ok.
What is going on here is not ok.

Stop looking away and take the time to share this with the rest of the world.
Our lives matter too. All races or religeons.

19 000 murders per year and the highest child rape figures in the world.

A 3 year old? There is a special place in hell for that person.