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Is South Africa safe? Especially for women traveling alone?
That was a concern that I had frequently wondered, that I continued to ponder while traveling, as well as that I mused long after returning home.
South Africa does not have a great credibility when it concerns safety. much of this is overblown, or based on false pretenses. then again, its credibility didn’t come completely out of nowhere. South Africa still has issues with crime, including fierce crime.
The truth? South Africa can absolutely be safe. however you requirement to take precautions that you wouldn’t take elsewhere.
Know the Context
When numerous people believe of South Africa, they believe of the final years of apartheid — riots in the streets, violence on every corner, white flight, as well as exactly how South Africa was on the news every night.
But you have to keep in mind that this was 20 years ago. rather a great deal has occurred in the past 20 years, as well as the country has made amazing strides because then.
In fact, I don’t believe that any type of country has improved so much in such a short time as South Africa has. South Africa is now one of the emerging economic powers of the world, as well as race relations, though far from perfect, have improved significantly. Same-sex marriage is legal. before apartheid ended, South Africa guidebooks were blacklisted in the united states — whereas in 2011, 300,000 Americans went to South Africa.
Still, turmoil casts a long shadow. a few of my good friends as well as household were concerned about me traveling to the Balkans as well as Cambodia, associating them with their conflicts during the 90s. In reality, these have been extremely risk-free destinations for rather some time.
While that may be, South Africa isn’t as risk-free as the Balkans or Cambodia. Traveling in South Africa needs you to take some steps you wouldn’t take elsewhere.
Traveling Solo in South Africa
As much as I delighted in every minute of the very first part of my trip, I understand that we were in a bit of a bubble, staying at high-end properties as well as having escorts every step of the way. For that reason, I chose to prolong my time in South Africa and get an concept of exactly how it was to travel there alone.
Soon after touching down in Johannesburg, I was pleased to discover that a buddy of mine from college, Mark, just recently transferred to Cape town to be with his South African fiancée, Charmain. We made plans to get dinner the very first night I had free.
It was a fantastic night on the waterfront — warm breezes carried over the notes from a online band performing Toto’s “Africa,” as well as we gabbed about our post-college twenty-something lives. then I asked Charmain about security for women in South Africa. Was it as poor as people said?
Charmain grew up in Johannesburg as well as had rather a few stories to tell. Carjacking, she informed me, is still a major issue in Johannesburg. It’s mainly confined to specific neighborhoods, as well as carjacking hotspots have indications alerting drivers.
That said, Charmain never stops at red lights when driving at night in Johannesburg. She’s not alone — numerous South Africans do this in Cape town as well as Durban as well.
That night, I was a guest of the excellent Lawhill high-end Apartments, about an eight-minute well-traversed walk from the waterfront. If I were in Vienna or new York, I’d happily walk a distance like that on my own at night. however this was Cape Town, as well as mark as well as Charmain stated it would be a great concept for them to walk me back.
I was delighted they did. On the walk back, we passed a few panhandlers asking for change. nothing unusual there. But then they started complying with us, getting up in our faces as well as yelling, asking us why we didn’t provide them money. This occurred several times as well as I’m so delighted I didn’t have to deal with that on my own.
A few days later, I spent a few hours chatting with my South African seatmate on a long bus ride. He was a instructor in a colored township outside Plettenberg Bay on the garden Route. (FYI — “colored” implies mixed race in South Africa, as well as it’s not a derogatory term.)
Traveling the length of South Africa on your own can be extremely safe, he toldnullnull