South Africa

General Info

Last visited

February 1994 (before the election of Nelson Mandela)

Food

Steaks are delicious and fairly cheap. South Africa is also famous for its wines.

Season

February is summer time in South Africa. Nevertheless water temperatures are between 15 and 18 degrees celsius in Capetown.

Transport

Black taxis are small buses (space for 8 to 10 people) which regularly operate untill late at night on the main routes in cities and between city centers and suburbs.

Capetown

Some people say it is the most beautiful city in the world. In fact it is quite scenic, located between table-mountains and the sea. There's a couple of Bead and Breakfast places at Sea-Point which is a suburb along the coast. You can get there by black taxi. Clifton-beach one of the nicest beaches and is not far away from Sea-Point. Waterfront is good for having a couple of drinks and dining out. From the top of the table mountains you have a superb view over the city. In fact, it is a big rock which is completely flat on the top. You get up there by cableway. A possible destination for a day excursion is Simonstown, the last town before Cape of Good Hope. You can easily get there by public transport.

Johannesburg

Some people say Jo'burg is the most dangerous city in the world. I stayed in Hillbrow and was walking around at night. Maybe I was just lucky for not getting robed. The hotel called Hilton Plaza is all but a 'Hilton Plaza'. If you turn on the light at night in your room hundreds of little cockroaches are running away. So the name for the hotel should be Hilton Cockroach Plaza. Three Sisters Café is a good place for people watching. Order steaks at restaurant Porterhouse, they are huge and taste good. Don't miss an excursion to Soweto. Jimmys Face to Face tours is one of the tour-operators. Soweto is a black township also called the slum of Jo'burg, which isn't really true. There's even areas with nice parks and villas, such as the house of bishop Tutu or the one of Winnie Mandela which are including in the sightseeing tour. Of course they were not accessible. At the end of the excursion we had a beer in a Shebeen, which is a black people's bar. That time we were served.

Township - Soweto

Hillbrow - Johannesburg

Beach - Capetown

Residential area - Capetown