Leaving South Africa

There is much talk about security in South Africa: is it safe?


There is no doubt crime, including violent crime, is a problem. That comes with the huge income gap and the legacy of Apartheid. There are areas of Jo'burg where it is probably unwise for a couple of Canadian tourists to pull out their Canon and start snapping pictures. People get mugged. But when it comes to actual risk-to-life, these areas are probably safer than the highways.

We travelled in Jo'burg by car and by foot, we did the same in Durban (where others had warned us death lurked around every corner). We hiked in rural areas of three countries, and went shopping in grubby downtowns, we drove through multiple police stops some seeming more official than others. We parked our rental in various spots, some more secure than others. We were, I think, "aware" at all times. There was once we parked at a shopping spot in a small town, and drew the attention of one rather nefarious-looking gent, and decided maybe we would forgo shopping here and instead shop in the next town. But really, we had no problems. We almost got out of Africa without getting ripped off or robbed once.

I say "almost" because we were about 100 feet from entering the garage where we were to drop off the rental, and we got waved down by a guy in a police-like uniform. The alleged offence was failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. At the time, we were slightly lost in the maze of airport ramps and highways: we were approaching every corner with caution. I have little doubt we stopped. This in a country where people don't stop at red lights, and stop signs are generally treated with contempt. Clearly, this guy is shaking us down.

He suggested we would need to go to the station and pay the 500 Rand fine. He expressed concern that this may mean we will miss our flight. When Tig lied and said we didn't have 500 Rand on us, but that we only had 100 (about $15), he was happy to take that on the spot. Presumably, he would deal with the paperwork hassles back at the station for us.

We travelled almost 6000km in Southern Africa, and we were 30m short of not getting ripped off by anyone. I just want to thank that cop for completing our experience