Moving to SA - what should I expect?
Discussion
Hi there PHers,
In about a week and a half I am catching a flight from Heathrow to South Africa, to live with my ex-pat uncle for a few months. At the end of it I guess I'm going to have to decide where I want to live, whether I prefer it here or there. But anyway that's in the future.
I'd like to hear from some fellow car geeks what to expect when I'm over there. What are the roads like, what's the police presence and how harsh are they, what's the driving etiquette (I've heard you drive in the MIDDLE and simply move over when someone's passing you or coming the other way - madness!). All things like that. Any anecdotes or tips you'd like to share too are welcome!
I'm assuming my UK license will be valid over there for ages and that won't be a problem.
I'm moving to the Knysna area. Nice? Good driving roads are there? I have been before, but I was much younger at the time and obviously didn't fully appreciate these sorts of things...
If anyone's local it'd be great to meet up for a pint or something as I will be Billy no mates for a while at least.
Cheers,
Owen
In about a week and a half I am catching a flight from Heathrow to South Africa, to live with my ex-pat uncle for a few months. At the end of it I guess I'm going to have to decide where I want to live, whether I prefer it here or there. But anyway that's in the future.
I'd like to hear from some fellow car geeks what to expect when I'm over there. What are the roads like, what's the police presence and how harsh are they, what's the driving etiquette (I've heard you drive in the MIDDLE and simply move over when someone's passing you or coming the other way - madness!). All things like that. Any anecdotes or tips you'd like to share too are welcome!
I'm assuming my UK license will be valid over there for ages and that won't be a problem.
I'm moving to the Knysna area. Nice? Good driving roads are there? I have been before, but I was much younger at the time and obviously didn't fully appreciate these sorts of things...
If anyone's local it'd be great to meet up for a pint or something as I will be Billy no mates for a while at least.
Cheers,
Owen
Sounds like a laugh 
I look forward to some good mountain passes and other driving roads - was going quite spare here up until I sold my car as every damn road is plauged with speed bumps, potholes and speed cameras.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do car-wise though. I don't have much money to spare on a car - R10,000 at most unless I get some part time work over there or something - so I don't know what I would be looking at. I was hoping it might stretch to a beach buggy! I'd rather avoid being stuck in yet another boring FWD hatchback as I've had my fair share of those over here.
Any other tips would be welcomed!
I look forward to some good mountain passes and other driving roads - was going quite spare here up until I sold my car as every damn road is plauged with speed bumps, potholes and speed cameras.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do car-wise though. I don't have much money to spare on a car - R10,000 at most unless I get some part time work over there or something - so I don't know what I would be looking at. I was hoping it might stretch to a beach buggy! I'd rather avoid being stuck in yet another boring FWD hatchback as I've had my fair share of those over here.
Any other tips would be welcomed!
Well since posting this thread I've sold my car, packed my bags, flown over there, stayed 3 months, flown home, started a new job and paid off some debts and am now saving for a new car - so it's been quite a while since this thread was any use to me!
However feel free to carry on chatting in here if you fancy gents, be my guests
However feel free to carry on chatting in here if you fancy gents, be my guests
Even in the first post, I said I was only staying for a few months - that was always the plan.
Though originally I was intending to stay for 4 months rather than 3, but after 3 I had had enough - not so much with the place itself, which was great (in some respects), but just because I was sick to death of the relatives I was staying with! Turns out that surprisingly enough, our completely polar opposite personalities did not mesh well together when living in close proximity
Though originally I was intending to stay for 4 months rather than 3, but after 3 I had had enough - not so much with the place itself, which was great (in some respects), but just because I was sick to death of the relatives I was staying with! Turns out that surprisingly enough, our completely polar opposite personalities did not mesh well together when living in close proximity
Gassing Station | South Africa | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff