Safety and Security in South Africa

A question that I've heard time and time again from friends and family back home is "is it safe?", both before I came and now that I've been here for 8 months.  I never really worried about security in Canada or the US but I was never stupid.  I didn't particularly worry about security in South Africa either.  I knew that I would be safe staying with the family I'm working for and that I would find somewhere safe to live.  I was worried though that I would never be able to leave the house after dark and if there were other things I wouldn't be able to do.

Before coming I was warned about the high walls, fences, and gates surrounding the houses so I was not surprised to see them around the house of my employers.  My employer assured me that the electric fence on top of the wall would not kill anyone (phew) although I'm not sure exactly just how much it would hurt.  In addition to the security around the house, there is also an alarm that is set every night in case there is a break in, a security door at the top of the stairs that is closed and locked every night (though I'm not positive if this is for security or to keep children from going downstairs), and video cameras around the premises.  All these measures are not uncommon, but the walls and fences especially are a common sight.

The layout of the complex where I live seems to be a popular layout for apartments in this area.  There are multiple buildings around the complex, all three stories high.  Walls surround the complex and there are gates to enter and exit the complex.  Residents enter through one gate and visitors through another.  The visitors have to speak to guards who then phone the resident they are looking to visit.  The resident must confirm that they would like the visitor to enter.  When leaving, visitors either need a code or they need to wait for the guards to let them out.  The guards have a right to search your vehicle if they are suspicious (I've never been searched).  You need to let the guards know when you are moving in or out, or even just moving any large items.  Additionally, any helpers (maids, au pairs, etc) of any residents who will be visiting on a regular basis need to fill out certain forms and provide ID photos. 

As for regular day to day security, I haven't changed much about what I normally do.  I was always cautious of my purse in public and that has continued here.  I certainly don't wear a money belt.  When driving alone, I keep my purse strap wrapped around my gear shift and in more dangerous spots under my legs (not very often).  I have seen the "hijacking hot spot" signs but I haven't seen anything particularly suspicious in those areas.  I've never been in those areas at night so I'm not positive if people would run red lights there or not.  I do go out at night and occasionally alone but usually only to visit friends and definitely only to places I've been to before.  I would always drive, never walk, at night.  I have walked around alone during the day, both in my neighbourhood and obviously in nature reserves.  I've never really felt unsafe, although a creepy old man once spoke to me when I was walking around my neighbourhood.  I just ignored him and he went away. 

So I've never felt particularly unsafe here but I am cautious and I have limited myself occasionally because of potential safety issues (like traveling alone for a weekend).

My apartment complex's gate

Gate at work

Pretoria Zoo

This weekend, a couple of friends and I went to the Pretoria Zoo.  I'm especially glad I had company for this because the drive in was a little sketchy.  The zoo, however, was awesome.  Much better than the Joburg Zoo.  It was better maintained, had bigger enclosures, and had nicer paths.  It also had a lot of areas for picnics.  It looked like a lot of people came not just for the zoo, but also to have a nice day in the park and a little braai. 

We started off at the reptile zoo and aquarium.  They had tons of snakes (I would guess literally) and lizards.  They also had a few crocodiles, alligators, and two komodo dragons.  The aquarium was nice. It clearly wasn't the main attraction but had a few interesting things like upside down jelly fish, sharks, sea horses, piranha, and eels. We also got to see one of the zoo employees feeding some penguins.  It looked like the fish she was feeding them though were much too big for their little mouths and bodies! 

We then headed off to see the rhinoceros and hippos on the way to "Australia" where they had a couple of really cute koalas and maybe a half dozen kangaroos.  Most of the rest of the animals were African (elephant, leopard, gorilla, baboons, zebra, lion, wild dog, antelope) with a few exceptions (tiger, Kodiak bear, and seal are the only ones I can remember right now).

My friends asked me what animals we see at zoos in North America.  I told them mostly the same, giraffe, elephants, etc.  They thought that was interesting.  Africa just has all the best animals I guess.

Rhino

Cute Koala

King Julian

Cath and Liza with the gorilla display

Me on the South Africa bench (springbok and flag)

Cool sundial in the zoo

Kgaswane Mountain Reserve

Yesterday I went for a hike in the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve near Rustenburg in the North West Province.  It was about an hour and a half drive there, past some of the mining area that has been in the news for quite a while (especially during the strike last year). 

I arrived at the reserve gate, paid my entrance fee, and then drove up most of the mountain to the "information centre" at the top.  I was quite confused since there was no one at the information centre, but they did have bathrooms and a "nature exhibit".  I didn't check out the nature exhibit though because the deserted information centre was creeping me out.

Since there was no information at the information centre, it took me a few minutes to find the start of the path I wanted to go on.  I did find it eventually though and started on my uphill climb.  The trail was quite steep and rocky (as my guide had warned) for the first 45 minutes to an hour, but after that, it thankfully got a lot easier and more flat.  There were tons of huge brown rocks on the mountain different from anything I've seen while on hikes closer to Joburg.  I finished the hike in about two hours and then headed back down the mountain in my car, stopping at a couple of the viewpoints along the way.  As I left the gate, the lady said "you made it!", I just smiled and said "yep I made it".  She said "I was worried about you".  I thanked her very much.  It felt good knowing that someone was looking out for me since occasionally during hikes alone my mind wanders to Aron Ralston and cutting off arms. 

Anyway, enough about cutting off arms, it was a great hike and great to get a bit farther out of Joburg to see more of this country!

Jean LeCastor on top of the mountain

Rock that looks like a cat

View on the drive down the mountain

Moyo Birthday Dinner

This Friday night my friends and I went out for my very belated birthday dinner to a restaurant called Moyo.  I was told it would be a traditional African experience.  It was definitely a lot of fun and very interesting.  It is always hard to tell though how traditional it really is, but as far as I know (since I don't know much), it was an African experience. 

We had a bit of an issue finding the place.  For the first time since I got it, my GPS steered me wrong!  As my friends driving with me will attest to, I was quite upset at the thing.  Anyway, we found it eventually with the help of maps on phones. 

They bring you some flat bread to start with.  It was round with a hole in the middle (like a really big, flat doughnut) and had a lot of dried herbs, some crushed peanuts, and fresh coriander (cilantro I guess... the waitress called it fresh coriander) on it, with oil on the side for dipping.  Very tasty.  Many of us ordered the Tequila African Sunrise to drink.  Almost the same as the American Sunrise, but used black currant syrup instead of grenadine.  Delicious. For dinner I ordered the springbok shank with an amazing gravy, apricot and almond relish type thing, and cous cous.  I think I've had springbok three times now and every time it has been delicious.  I will definitely miss that meat when I leave.  As you can see, my plate does not contain vegetables.  South Africans are mostly into their meat, not so much concerned about vegetables, at least not for dinner at restaurants.  One of my friends, Welma, said that in the Free State (one of the provinces) they eat red meat for their meat and chicken for their vegetables.

My springbok shank and cous cous

Part of the traditional experience included getting our face painted while waiting for our food and listening to some men walking around in traditional dress playing what I can only describe as steel drums hanging around their necks.  They also came to sing and play the drums for my birthday.  They sang a song traditionally sung at any celebration or even sporting event.  The song is called Shoshaloza (you can youtube it).

Getting my face painted

Welma and Roz after getting their faces painted

Eliza, myself, and Catherine after getting our faces painted