Safety for International Visitors to South Africa

I am making this post to serve as a one-stop notice board of info pertaining to safety in the lead up to your mountain experience. There is enough info on being safe once on your hike, but what about the period before and after the hike\climb? Post your full intended pre and post hike itinerary to get advice from members on this forum.

Internationals, take heed of the following:

Dangerous and High Risk Areas
Never enter these areas alone, by foot or car. Having your buddy from Switzerland next to you does not count. Only ever move around here if you have a local escort or is on a controlled and arranged tour.
This also mean that you do not rent cheap accommodation in these areas.
If your situation dictate that you absolutely would have to enter these areas, ask on this forum for assistance - we are a great bunch of people that will assist in any way possible within abilities:

1) Jhb City Center and surrounds, Braamfontein, Hillbrow. This includes Park Station's bus terminal.
2) Jhb, Soweto.
3) Jhb, Alexandra close to Sandton area.
4) Jhb, Diepsloot
5) Jhb, Lenasia
6) Jhb, Rosettenville and surrounds
7) Ctn, Bokaap
8) Ctn, Atlantis
9) Ctn, Greenpoint - Seapoint (Always take a car to and from the V&A, dont walk at night)
10) Ctn, Cape Flats
11) Ctn, Michielsplein
12) Ctn, Nyanga, Manenberg, Hanover Park, Lavender Hill

This is not an exhaustive list, you need to be aware that incidents can happen anywhere, not just inside the above areas. Ask locals, your hotel staff, the taxi driver or even on forums if you are unsure.

International Airport Arrivals:
Both Cape Town and Johannesburg have international arrivals, and the below is relevant for both those airports upon landing:

1) Whether you are an independent traveller, travelling with a group or visiting friends be extra careful when filling in your landing cards (if you have to fill them in). OR Tambo has had a bad rep for tourists being followed and robbed on arrival at their hotel. This seems to not happen so much any more, but as a precaution best not to write the name of your hotel on your landing card as requested, as some airport officials may be involved in relaying this info to gangs. I always write 'staying with family' to throw them off the scent.

2) Same goes for arranging a driver to collect you from the airport. There have been reports of gangs receiving copies of the international flight lists and standing in arrivals with tourists name cards pretending to be their driver. If you need a driver, just register on Uber and use their service.

3) When you get into arrivals people will approach you to offer taxi. Here, it is best to look as if you know where you are going. Have your driver meet you at domestic arrivals instead - on exiting from baggage reclaim to international arrivals turn left (JHB) or go straight and right (CapeTN) and proceed to domestic arrivals which is a 1 minute walk away. Domestic travellers are not really targeted much.

4) If you are arriving in Johannesburg, make use of the the Gautrain which is super safe and heavily guarded.

Local Transport to and from your hike
As a visitor without a friend or a guide with a private car or no car rental, you would need to make use of public transport. The below are public transport that is available, see each point for details:

First prizes to:
Having a guide with transport, driving a rental yourself or making use of an organised tour and\or travel operator.

1) Localised and long range minibus taxi services. You will see these everywhere you go in South Africa. They are referred to as minibus taxi's and is used extensively by the local black population. There are little to no info on routes unless you have a guide.
Recommendation: We would absolutely discourage any tourist from using them as you would be an easy target for theft, this is before entering general vehicle road worthiness and road safety issues.

2) Private metered taxi services. Think New York cabs. Every bigger city have a private taxi service you can call on. They are relatively safe to use, but as far as pricing goes not worth it for medium to long range trips.
Recommendation: Great for hotel-and-back shopping, short range excursions. Uber's taxi service would also be an option, in some instances also the better priced and safe option.

3) Busses - think Greyhound long range bussing. For many this would be the preferred mode of transport from Jhb\Ctn to your hike or surrounds. It is relatively safe and affordable. One minder - The Johannesburg hub dealing with all bus operators is located in Jhb city center, Park Station Braamfontein. Do not travel directly from the airport to Park Station to embark a bus. There are a few upstream and downstream embarkation points on the bus routes. Get in contact with your bus operator for this info.
Another option under bussing is the Baz-Bus . It is a backpacker-to-backpacker's transport system and is highly recommended by some as safe and reliable.
Recommendation: Safe and reliable, but don't discard your common sense.

4) Trains. There are very few options for trains. Avoid the yellow "Metro" train services, that is a short-cut to getting mugged. You could explore the Shosholoza Meyl website for options, there is a stopover at Ladysmith on the Jhb-Durban route, your closest point for a Drakensberg hike. Take note, this train also depart from Park Station, so all the points made under busses is relevant here too.
Recommendation: Only if you absolutely must or if you want a train experience. Be aware trains are sometimes stranded for hours due to cable theft.

Currency \ Wallet \ Passport

1) Carry a dummy wallet containing a few useless or old cards and some cash. If push goes to shove, just hand this over.

2) Always have copies of your travel documents on you and leave the original in a safe location like the complimentary safekeeping at the front desk of a hotel or a combination safe in your room.

3) Beware the money traders. R200 money notes are often faked, never accept them unless it's from a banking institution.

4) Don't be "flashy". Leave the upmarket branded bags, sacks, clothing items and accessories in your room or hotel.

Sources and further reading:

And what about local taxi driver or association
* I guess you include too them either in Harrismith or elsewhere near the Berg?

In order to squeeze Park Station
* Tony wrote me in the other thread

Many of the buses going towards the Drakensberg (Durban), have a stop at Lakeside Mall in Benoni, the area is in the east of Johannesburg...

* GreyHound answered me they have a stop in Midrand (not very far from Sandton)They depart from the Caltex Star Shop, N1 Highway in Midrand.
* Intercape answered me they have one in Vanderbiljpark. But it is too south far for us.
Thus have you other, better or more actual ideas?
Thks

There have been 57 whites murdered in the first 3 months of 2016. This is not counting hundreds of brutal attacks and these murders being mainly farmers and those living in the rural areas. If we are not safe on our farms, there cannot be any safe low risk area in SA. The chances of tourists being attacked or robbed in SA are high and they should be alert at all times in all areas!!! Even carrying expensive camera equipment in the Berg makes you a target. I am not being negative but real.

@Mayake: Coeta's Uber idea is probably a good one. Any flashy items (such as cameras) should be kept in your pack at this stage. I generally try to avoid taking my phone out of my pocket in public - although crime isn't a massive problem it my city (Pietermaritzburg).

Aside from the occasional problem, robberies in the Berg are relatively rare.

@Richard Hunt: while I won't argue that crime is a problem here, and it is true that only 2 cities in Africa make the top 20 for worst crime (Cape Town and Jo'burg) - there is crime everywhere in the world, and as long as you are careful, SA isn't actually that bad. When I was in Athens, I had to carry all my travel docs and cash in a waist belt on me at all times because theft in hotel rooms and pick-pocketing is quite common there.

Updated public transport options after arrival in SA.

If need be, and depending on the time, I stay very near OR Thambo International, and could always arrange that I can give someone a lift to central place to catch transport or whatever the case may be.

Just putting it out there for assistance

Richard Hunt wrote: There have been 57 whites murdered in the first 3 months of 2016. This is not counting hundreds of brutal attacks and these murders being mainly farmers and those living in the rural areas. If we are not safe on our farms, there cannot be any safe low risk area in SA. The chances of tourists being attacked or robbed in SA are high and they should be alert at all times in all areas!!! Even carrying expensive camera equipment in the Berg makes you a target. I am not being negative but real.

Just to contextualise Richard Hunt's comment.
Yes there are an astounding and terrifying number of murders. Each of those incidents have their own merits and details unique to each case, but the one overriding similarity is that it is mostly local residents being targeted at their homes. Those are scouted over a period before being hit.
The exception to this is girls off on their own somewhere getting ambushed and raped\killed. (No apology for being blunt, it is what it is.)

If you are a travelling tourist, your risk factor goes down exponentially just by being on the move. Your biggest concern should be not becoming a target of opportunity.
-flashy clothing
-expensive accessories
-leaving stuff on the passenger seats in a car
-moving about where you should not, especially at night
In short, disregarding some or all of the freely and googleable "travelling common sense" advice.

When you do get into a situation, comply, do what they ask and don't be threatening.
Your life is not worth it.

During one of my many insomnias, figured out how to get safely to Mataiele. Take the Baz-bus from Jhb to Kokstad, then pay someone for a ride from there. Reverse the process upon leaving.

I thank the group for making me rethink my plans, this is far safer.

Oneye wrote: Take the Baz-bus from Jhb to Kokstad,

Thanks for reminding me of the BazBus - I'll add it as an option on the opening post.