trip to south africa

A-I-S

05/01/2008 at 07:55

so my son is off to south africa in august with his school rugby team,they (the school) go every year.
it's a 2 week trip, playing 6-7 games,mainly around joburg,but they will be playing 2 games against some township sides.
its a wonderful opportunity for him to see the difference between his life here, and the hardship felt by others less fortunate.
my question for you well travelled types is this.
obviously the lads will have free time in the evenings etc, and 20 17/18 year old lads are going to be a handful for the teachers on the trip(though they are well respected by the team, the word legend is used quite a lot when they talk about the coach and his staff)
so what are the pitfalls of south africa, places in joburg not to go, things not to do etc

thanks in advance of any helpful advice,and yes he is a lucky little sod(well not so little ,6'2" built like a brick shithouse) he's a prop

Have you filled your GARAGE in yet?

Makman

05/01/2008 at 07:58

what ever they do, they must not wear tee shirts saying "I Love Zuma" or "I Love Mbeki", or opposition factions will give them a nice tyre present....

A-I-S

05/01/2008 at 08:00

noted

Have you filled your GARAGE in yet?

Road Pirate

05/01/2008 at 09:29

I was there in 2000/01.

Tell him to stay with the group in the cities, not to go to the townships or anywhere when not part of the organised trip.

Not to fuck anyone, massive AIDS problem.

Being a big lad won't matter, it's the gun crime capital of the world. It's not the place to go out on the piss in a strange town.

As long as he stays with the organised group he won't have any problems.

The Road Pirate - On the roads celebrating danger and undermining any Government road safety message with regard to speeding.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7928/roadpiratexo8.gif

http://fi.somethingawful.com/is/img35/4337/bikehaha2xh.gif

Storm29

05/01/2008 at 09:46

Road Pirate wrote

I was there in 2000/01.

Tell him to stay with the group in the cities, not to go to the townships or anywhere when not part of the organised trip.

Not to fuck anyone, massive AIDS problem.

Being a big lad won't matter, it's the gun crime capital of the world. It's not the place to go out on the piss in a strange town.

As long as he stays with the organised group he won't have any problems.

Exactly what he said.

Stay with the organised group. Do Not walk alone in Jo'Burg. DO NOT use black taxis (i don't mean a black cab......i mean don't use the minibus taxis that the blacks use)

Jo'Burg is an amazing place but you do need to be careful. If he can pick up a couple of Zulu words very quickly it can be a help.

"Kunjani Wena". Means "good morning friend" basically...........and can help get a better response.

Hawkman

05/01/2008 at 10:26

Despite what the media reports not everyone ends up dead, raped or mugged. If they're still in school they will be chaperoned most of the time. There is no public transport so they will be driven everywhere I'd imagine. Places like Melville and the big shopping centres around Joburg are where most things happen. I suspect if they're not staying in hotels there hosts will take care of the socialising side of things - most saffas (black and white) are very hospitable if you're a guest in their homes.

That said a bit of common sense goes a long way. You're in country where alot of people have fcukall and will take what they can get, so do your best not to look like a tourist. Don't go wondering around with a big camera, expensive jewellry etc in dodgy areas. Look like you know where you're going.

Oh, and be prepared for some hard rugby. We used to give english touring sides a good show when I was a school

R.A.T.6

Don't have a supermoto, now I need viagra.

Crashometer
2006

2005:

thats racing...

and black ice...
Crashometer 2004:

Crashometer 2003:

Storm29

05/01/2008 at 10:53

I thought Melville was great fun. Some cracking Bars round there.

londongal76

05/01/2008 at 10:56

Like the above said - you must just drum it into him that he must not wander around alone, no matter how rebellious it may be, or how much they want to sneak away for a night.

If he stays in the group he'll be fine. It's an amazing country and the different ways of life he'll encounter there will be a great experience for him.

A-I-S

05/01/2008 at 11:36

thanks all, some useful info there, on the zulu phrase side of things , do they speak swaheeli(no idear how to spell it, but strangely i know a few phrases)

Have you filled your GARAGE in yet?

moto748

05/01/2008 at 11:56

Swahili's not that part of the world.

A-I-S

05/01/2008 at 12:24

wasnt sure ,thanks

Have you filled your GARAGE in yet?

Hawkman

05/01/2008 at 12:30

Don't bother with the lingo other than for politeness sake. The last time I went back home I got told to "F off back to england" by a beggar because of my hybrid accent. Gave him a load of verbal in afrikaans much to his surprise.

R.A.T.6

Don't have a supermoto, now I need viagra.

Crashometer
2006

2005:

thats racing...

and black ice...
Crashometer 2004:

Crashometer 2003:

Storm29

05/01/2008 at 13:08

as-i-said wrote

thanks all, some useful info there, on the zulu phrase side of things , do they speak swaheeli(no idear how to spell it, but strangely i know a few phrases)

Zulu, Xhosa, Suthu....and about 6 other tribal languages plus Afrikaans.

In Jo'Burg i found that greeting blacks in Zulu just got a more helpful response. I was just trying to be polite, its not necessary but like anywhere in the world a little effort can go a long way.

I used to have great fun with Afrikaaners. They'd think that as i was English i wouldn't/couldn't understand Afrikaans........

Your say

Terms and Conditions | Code of Conduct

Email me when a response is made?

Bike reviews

Classifieds