Travel costs and information for South Africa - Johannesburg, Upington, Cape Town

Note that all information in here was valid at the time (September and then December 2009) - it may well have changed since.  It's also possible that I was ripped off, that I did some exceptional haggling, or that I accepted a price that I should have haggled over :-)  Currency indicators are £ (British pound), $ (US dollar), and R (South African rand).  At the time, the official exchange rates were roughly R7.91=$1 and R12.77=£1 (September), and R7.31=$1 and R12.14=£1 (December).

South Africa

• No hassle at all, with generally helpful and friendly local people.  Most people speak English.
• All the ATMs I tried would accept my Mastercard ATM card (didn't try Visa).
• I changed some rand to $, for which the bank needed to see my passport, proof for how I'd obtained the rand in the first place (the ATM slip was fine for this), and my ATM card, plus they wanted to know why I needed the money, where I lived in the UK, and where I'd be in Zimbabwe (my next destination and the reason for me needing $). 
• Internet throughout South Africa is expensive.
• Books are expensive. 
• It's difficult to buy a South African SIM card outside of an airport because you'll need to get your accommodation to provide a letter confirming that you are residing at their address (which they may not be willing to do) - this is some legal requirement to try to stop people using phones for criminal activities.  However this requirement is waived if you buy the SIM at the airport, so if you think you'll need a SIM, get it at the airport.
• Sodas (US) or soft drinks (UK) are called "cool drinks" here.
• A "waitron" is the non-gender-specific term for a member of the waitstaff.
• A "robot" is some traffic lights. 

19th September 2009 I entered initially from Swaziland at the Oshoek border crossing on the Baz Bus (see Swaziland entry for more information).  Brits are given a free 3 month visa, but you don't necessarily get a new one if you exit/re-enter before that time is up, i.e. you may need to get an explicit extension if you're planning on popping in and out of the country for more than 3 months.  It really depends on the customs officials.  It was maybe 30 minutes from the border to Nelspruit, then maybe another 5 hours to Joburg (this was about 2 hours faster than the overall schedule because of the general lack of passengers).


Joburg

• The only Internet cafe I tried was R40 per hour.  I inquired about getting a couple of my camera cards burned to CD and was told it would cost R30 for a maximum of 200 images, i.e. bloody expensive!
• A taxi from Shoestring Lodge to the bus station in central Joburg will cost R250.
  
• Though I didn't use this service, there are buses from Joburg to Gaborone in Botswana for R220, leaving at 2:30PM and arriving at 9:10PM.

19th September 2009 R150 Nightly rate for a dorm bed in an 8 bed dorm (shared bathroom, obviously) at Shoestring Lodge, a hostel near the airport.  Basic breakfast included.  There's a shared kitchen, swimming pool, and free Internet (though the Internet may be shut down if the owner feels guests are using it excessively - I think the cost of it is quite high).  There are some shops about 15 minutes' walk away, and a big shopping mall (Festival Mall - the biggest I saw anywhere in Africa) maybe 40 minutes' walk away.  The hostel owner will give round trips to the mall by car for R50 if you can't be bothered walking.  Even this far from the centre of Joburg, I was warned that it was unsafe to walk around at night.  The hostel has a lot of 1 night guests, partly due to being close to the airport and partly due to offering free lifts to/from the airport, and I met a real variety of people in the times I was there (first when I came in from Swaziland, then when I returned from Madagascar in October, and again just before I flew to Paris in December at the very end of my Africa jaunt).  I was allowed to leave some of my stuff here in between October and December, which was really helpeful.  The only slight downer is that the owner's family lives there, so sometimes it can feel as though you're intruding on someone's home (well ... you are!)
21st September 2009 R250 Nightly rate for a private room (still with shared bathroom though there was a toilet and sink in my room) at Shoestring Lodge.
22nd September 2009 R5,763.3 Return flight from Joburg to Antananarivo in Madagascar, taking about 2 hours 30 minutes.  I bought the ticket from the Flight Centre in Festival Mall.  This was R363 more than the price on the Air Madagascar site but I wasn't convinced that I would be able to get an order through on the web as the site was rather unstable.  Either way, this is ludicrously expensive but there is very little competition for the route.  I think you may be able to get it cheaper if you buy the ticket in conjunction with your original ticket coming from Europe (or wherever) to South Africa.
22nd September 2009 R149 Globetrotters guide to Madagascar (purchased at Joburg Airport).  A slim book, but a good example of how expensive books are in South Africa - 25% more than the cover price in $.  The Lonely Planet guide was R280! 

23rd October 2009 R1,650 Flight (Comair - a subsidiary of British Airways) from Joburg to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, leaving at 11:30AM and taking 1 hour 30 minutes.


Upington

• I don't know if it was just the time of year, but it was quite difficult finding anywhere doing tours to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (aka the Kalahari).  I went with the cheapest place, as recommended by the owners of my accommodation, but it was still really expensive for just me on my tod.  The guy said that his company only charges a 5% profit - certainly the other quotes I got were anything up to twice what I paid.
• Internet available for R15 for 20 minutes then R1 per minute thereafter, i.e. R55 per hour, at Postnet.  I also found a place nearby (can't remember the name) for "only" R7.5 per 15 minutes but it was so slow I couldn't log in to Hotmail and they eventually let me off without paying. 

13th November 2009 R420 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at Affinity B&B, including a towel, TV, AC, fridge, kettle, and a massive buffet breakfast (which stops at 9AM). 
16th November 2009 R5,400 3 day/2 night safari to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.  This included everything except the park entries and campsite pitches (see next entry), i.e. food, fuel, camping equipment, etc.  The guy's name was Theo and he was based at the place that does river cruises in Sakkie's Ark (if I remember correctly).  Theo was full of information, was a good driver and animal spotter, and could happily chat non-stop for hours.  Downers were his smoking (though he did refrain from doing it in the car) and his casual racism.  The itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Theo picked me up at 8:15AM in his nice Mazda "bakkie" (pick-up truck), which was spacious and even had a freezer in the back.  We then did some food shopping before heading for the park entrance at Twee Riveren, which took 2 hours 45 minutes on good roads.  The trails in the park are all gravel, on which inexperienced drivers can easily come to grief.  We drove up to Auchterlonie then crossed over the old river beds, stopping occasionally when we saw things, e.g. wildebeest, jackal, springbok, red hartebeest, rain birds, ostrich, eagles, oryx/gemsbok, etc.  Arrived in Nossub at about 5PM.  Nice facilities here - each campsite has its own braai (barbecue), stone chairs, a stone table, and use of the ablution block (hot showers).  You'll be amused by the umpteen curious sand squirrels.  Went for a pre-sunset drive but the air was too clear for a good sunset, which was a bummer as the sunsets are one of the most famous things about the park.  Dinner was chops and sausages done on the braai.  Note that the water here is slightly salinated, which won't be to everyone's taste.  Even though there's a fence around the camp, jackals have found a way to get in, and they came close in the hope of getting some scraps.
Day 2: Went for a pre-breakfast drive at 5:40AM.  Unbelievable number of lions and cubs.  Then breakfasted before leaving camp at about 9AM.  Drove to Mata-Mata camp, arriving at 12:30PM - it was 45C!  There's a swimming pool here but the other facilities aren't as good as at Nossub - the campsite has a braai but nothing else, and the showers are smaller (and don't have hooks - grrr ...)  Light lunch then napping during the hottest part of the day.  Went out for a drive at 4:30PM, seeing a load more lions and some giraffes.  Again no sunset, this time because of massing rain clouds.  Another meaty dinner.  There's a waterhole just outside the perimeter fence, where animals can sometimes be seen.  Several hyenas were prowling the perimeter, having presumably smelled everyone's dinner.  The electricity goes off somewhere around midnight then comes on again at about 5AM.
Day 3: Left camp at 5:40AM, seeing more lions and a hyena den with a couple of cubs.  Stopped for breakfast at Auchterlonie.  Go back to Upingham at about 3PM. 
16th November 2009 R636 Entry to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and use of two campsites.
19th November 2009 R300 Bus (Intercape Mainliner) from Upington to Cape Town, leaving at 9PM (about 2 hours 30 minutes late ...) and taking 14 hours 10 minutes (i.e. we lost about another 2 hours during the journey).  I'd booked this online a few days before.  This was a Sleepliner, rather than the Mainliners I'd taken previously, the differences being that there were fewer seats and they could recline 150 degrees. 

20th November 2009 R2 Use of the filling station toilet at Springbok. 


Cape Town

• Internet available for anything from R5-10 per hour.
• Couldn't find any fast food places that were open late (as in after 1AM).
• Security seems to be a concern here, as you can't even enter some shops until the staff have given you a visual once-over and then unlocked the door.  There are also plenty of security guards and tourist police floating around.
• The Dubliner bar at Kennedy's on Long Street is a good place to go if you want to watch football and listen to cheesy music.  You'll pay about 10% more if you order from one of the waitrons rather than getting it yourself at the bar.  Also, the prices go up after 10PM.  There's live music (generally playing chart stuff) several times a week.  Good atmosphere.
• Apparently the cheapest way to get to Cape Point (no public transport) is to hire a car, which can cost as little as R240 per day.

20th November 2009 R260 Nightly rate for a private room with shared bathroom at Backpackers on Castle, including a fan, a towel, and a sink.  When I arrived, the person on reception claimed that someone had been waiting for me at the Intercape stop at 8AM but I'd never showed - in actual fact, I'd mailed them a few days before to ask for directions to the hostel (i.e. I hadn't asked for an escort) and they'd never replied.  I then found that my room was infested with bed bugs and some other insectoid beasties.
23rd November 2009 R190 Nightly rate for a private room with shared bathroom at Blue Mountain Backpackers, including a sink. Helpful staff.  This place gets a lot of travellers.  There's a nice balcony for sitting and watching the world go by below.
26th November 2009 R110 Haircut at the barber on Long Street.
27th November 2009 R69.95 Copy of Q magazine (i.e. about a 30% mark-up on the cover price in £)
30th November 2009 R20 Entry to District 6 Museum
30th November 2009 R88 Entry to Two Oceans Aquarium 
1st December 2009 R225 Increase in the nightly rate for my room at Blue Mountain Backpackers, because of it now being high season.
1st December 2009 R200 2-day ticket on the Citysightseeing bus, a hop-on/hop-off bus linking Cape Town's main sights on 2 routes, called red and blue.  The 2-day ticket is good because it lets you use both routes on both days - if you buy the 1-day ticket (R120), you have to choose just 1 of the 2 routes.  The reason you need both routes is that 2 of the best sights (Table Mountain and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens) are on different routes.
1st December 2009 R160 Return ticket on the Table Mountain cable car (a single is R85, if you fancy walking up or down).
2nd December 2009 R35 Entry to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (plus an extra R2 if you want a map)
3rd December 2009 R7 Stamp for postcard to US/Europe
6th December 2009 R180 Taxi from Long Street to Cape Town airport.  I booked this through the hostel.
6th December 2009 R685 Flight (Mango) from Cape Town to Joburg, leaving at 8:40AM and taking 1 hour 45 minutes.  I'd reserved this online, then paid in cash at Shoprite.  I had to pay a R10 service fee for doing it like this, but at the time it was cheaper for me to take out money from an ATM (1% commission) than pay by credit card (3% commission) - nowadays the commission rates are equal.  Note that taking the bus is at least R500 and takes 20 hours, so the flight isn't bad value.


Joburg (again)
6th December 2009 R250 Nightly rate for a private room with shared bathroom at Shoestring Lodge (see 19th September 2009 for more info).
9th December 2009 Since I was going to be leaving in the evening, I asked if I could keep my room and pay half the daily rate - this was granted. 
9th December 2009 £263 Flight (Egypt Air) from Joburg to Paris via Cairo