This is just a random list of strange things we have seen or information that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
Men jogging in 30.C heat with full length jogging pants and a touque.
News we heard on the radio while driving the other day. Huge taxi wars going on in Durban (apparently this is quite common) they are actually shooting each other. There are two main companies fighting for business. One guy was shot the other day when he quite one company and went to work for the other.
We met a couple at a backpackers that are from South Africa. They went on holiday to Zimbabwe a month ago during a major fuel shortage here. This is a whole other issue we had to deal with while traveling here. The company they were flying with did not have enough fuel to get the plane back to South Africa. They could have purchased some from a different company that had some, but they could not use credit. It had to be paid in cash, which they did not have. The guy we met literally went around collecting money from passengers since everyone really wanted to get home. It worked out to about 50 U.S. dollars per person. They managed to gather up enough money and purchased the fuel to get home.
We have seen many ladies walking around with make shift garbage bag coats and skirts when it is raining.
We found out about an adventure sport we have never heard of. It is called Kloofing and is quite popular here. You follow a river gorge. You do what ever is necessary to make your way through the gorge. You have to drop off cliffs down into the water, and float or wade in the river waters when you can. You wear a wet suit throughout the trip. Any stuff you need to take with you floats along and is dropped off the cliffs too in water proof bags.
Going into public bathrooms in a mall in some places to discover there is no toilet paper provided. Not that they are out, they do not provide any. Come on people this is civilized South Africa, not Turkey!
We just recently learned that over 50% of South Africans that are driving do not have a license. This would explain a lot about the driving here!
Driving here in a lot of places can become a two person task. Going down roads at 100km an hour trying to watch out for goats, cows, people, massive potholes and cars straying from the oncoming traffic lane can all be a bit too much for the driver alone to watch for.
Most everything here is done on African time.
We saw a proper made government sign along side some construction workers. It was on a main highway. It read PLEASE DON’T KILL US! At least they get right to the point here.
The province of Eastern Cape has its own area, as well they have a circle of their province that is inside the province of Kwazulu Natal. It is right in the province completely separate from the other part of it’s larger land mass.
Power outages are very common here, especially in the last few months in the Cape Town area. It seems they are having problems with their nuclear power plants. No one wants to hear this. Don’t worry it is not a leakage problem. Or at least thats what they say. They have to do something very soon though, they can not keep up with the power demands of the expanding area.
The first heart transplant in the world was done in South Africa.
The average person here can not afford a phone in their home. It is run by one monopoly company and is outrageously expensive. Most people use cell phones as their main communication, as it seems is the case in most places we have traveled in Africa.