Canadian shipping bike to SA...

[Hayu Overthere]

Thanks for your comments.  I've travelled quite a bit and it's mostly common sense i guess.  I've had stuff stolen before if course but never worried about my personal safety.  I'll keep my back to the wall.
Should I be taking a quick look into Swaziland before I turn south again?

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[Amsterdam]

As you say, common sense is the right approach.  Don't worry anything beyond that as otherwise you will spoil the experience.  One of the interesting things I found when riding to Egypt a few years ago was that we received one bit of advice and one statement everywhere:
1 - Advice - You are alright here.  We (fill in country name) are very nice and peaceful.  But in (fill in the next country that you will be heading into) the people are very dangerous and you must be careful there.
2 - Statement - You are from South Africa?  Oh, it is very dangerous over there.

And yet somehow we survived our cross continent trip with just two incidents in Addis and I happily ride around South Africa on my own.  Enjoy your trip and come have a beer when you are in Cape Town.

[Hayu Overthere]

That's funny...and too true.  I rode from Alaska to Argentina...same thing!  " You'll be fine here, but the next country?  They'll kill you and steal your motorcycle for sure!"
Your comments are absolutely reassuring that it is the same everywhere .
I'd tell you to out a beer away for me in anticipation but like most riders, you are most likely a lowly backside and will have consumed it long before I arrive, and scramble for more 5 minutes before I'm due.  Fear not, I'll bring enough with me.  I'll look forward to your hospitality.  Cheers, Steve

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[NoRush]

Hayu,
I hope you are having a good time. Had a swim yet ? The south coast (south of durban) and north of Durban have some really nice places to camp and sleepover.
In our little country things happen very quickly and sometimes very slowly. The quick stuff is when you are planning a trip and for  unknown reasons the people
in an area go crazy about say service delivery or shortage of water. You could land up driving right into a riot. But like you say common sense prevails, my suggestion keep an ear to the ground
listen to news or ask a local about trouble in any direction you are going. I sincerely hope you are having a ball in South Africa.   

[Hayu Overthere]

[can I be honest here?  No disrespect meant and I apologize if I offend...but I'm freaked out about the security and crime rate issues here.  Don't walk here, don't drive there, "just be aware".  I'd heard about it and I've travelled a lot of places but other than Belize, I didn't think it could be like this in a 1st world country.  (Wow...I'm digging a deep hole here, I know...please forgive?)
I haven't gone swimming because I'm travelling alone and can't leave my stuff on the beach while I'm in the water.  There was a guy murdered here the other night in a botched carjacking.  The comments around the table at the B&B was that "he should have known better"!  I tried to bite my tongue but I just couldn't.  It can't become acceptable, can it?  Every home seems to be behind gates and barbed wire.
I'm not sure when it became accepted but it's got me checking over my shoulder all the time and constantly on guard, and not going where I'd like to go, when I'd like to go there.  (Canada is on the other side of the spectrum, I realize.  I don't even own keys to my house.  I'm sure I've got some somewhere but I haven't locked the doors in 16 years.  (That's not the norm.  I just live in a particularly quiet town). ...and don't ask for my address:-) but I could cry for you.  It is SO GD beautiful here!  I couldn't find a more ideallic place to live geographically, but if you made me King for A Day, I don't know what I would do to tackle the problem or where to start.
I had always wondered about the so called Brain Drain from SA.  (My dentist and Doctors are all from SA and I had always wondered.  Honestly?  Not sure I would want to raise my kids in this environment either.  I know not everyone can pull up stakes and abandon what they have achieved to date, but, but, but...?
Is there an answer in the future?  Will the pendulum swing back?  I'm only 3 days in, and still bikeless (today hopefully) and I'm hoping that I'm just not seeing things correctly, but? 
With apologies!
S.

[Amsterdam]

Don't apologize for your observations.  We have come to accept a lot of things over the years that shouldn't be the norm.  And for you coming from Canada it must be a bit of a shock.  I remember from my visit to Canada that people there have laws and rules and abide by them.  Here you will find a very different approach.  Right now all you see are warnings, once you have travelled around the whole country you will also find more beauty, friendly people and a sense of lawless freedom.  Many folks on this forum ride far and wide to lonely places.  Go do the same, enjoy it and don't buy into the paranoia too much.  But yes, don't go swimming and leave your stuff on the beach expecting it to be there when you come out.  Not nice but true.

[J-dog]

 

[IDR]

To add - this is not a 1st world country, though fairly well developed.  You sound very scared, and I'm saddened by your post...

I think hanging out in the cities would skew your perception a little.  Central Durban especially is a bit of a hole - and I imagine you would be spending most of your time near the harbour, which is especially bad.  It's a confidence game:  look like you know where you're going, don't flash cash or valuables, be vigilant not paranoid.  I guess not having transport would make things more difficult as well - Uber is safe, cheap and convenient.

Sure, like anywhere in the world, there are places that a tourist should avoid (around the harbour in Durban, for one ).  Hijackings happen, and "knowing better" is not always realistic.  We have crime, one of the highest murder rates in the world - and you will meet few people who have not been directly affected by crime of any sort. 

But it's not all doom and gloom - and you'll come to realise this for yourself - South Africans are extremely friendly and helpful.  It's a case of a very small minority who are spoiling it for everyone else.  There is immense poverty here - unemployment is RIFE, and those pigs that are in power are doing their utmost to prevent the situation from improving by lining, nay, stuffing their own pockets.  People are fed up, so perhaps there might be a simmering underlying anger as well, that we are ALL feeling.  Change is afoot though, so there is hope.

There's some cool stuff to do and see in Durbs:
Kwazulu-Natal Sharks Board (http://www.shark.co.za/) in Umhlanga
uShaka Marine World (http://www.ushakamarineworld.co.za/) - bit commercial
One of the best bunnies in Durban close to the harbour (https://oflocal.co.za/durban/victory-lounge).

And just you wait until you see the rest of the place...

[Hayu Overthere]

Thanks for your insight.
I wouldn't say "scared" exactly, but so wary that it's tainting my enjoyment and changing my behavior...tainting my usual outgoing demeanor.
  Cities are always the least enjoyable for me.  As soon as I get the bike and I can get out of town, I'm sure, no, make that positive, that all will become well.
Thanks for your reassurance.

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[IDR]

Thanks for your insight.
I wouldn't say "scared" exactly, but so wary that it's tainting my enjoyment and changing my behavior...tainting my usual outgoing demeanor.
  Cities are always the least enjoyable for me.  As soon as I get the bike and I can get out of town, I'm sure, no, make that positive, that all will become well.
Thanks for your reassurance.

No worries.  I don't think it's that serious that it should prevent you from enjoying yourself, and, especially, taking in the culture - and you can do that yet still be vigilant.  I guess it would be a shock for you, where it's almost second nature for us.

Where are you staying?

[J-dog]

Fact is that hijackings, murder, rape and pillaging is part of normalise in SA.

Very unfortunate and must be scary for visitors.

I know,because I get a lot of foreign tourists in my guest house, and quite a few of them are shit scared. Rightly so. Can't put lipstick on a pig. 

[Hayu Overthere]

Near the port in Durban.
Just got confirmation that I'll have the bike this afternoon! 
Heading over to Ryder Motorrad to schedule a service for later and then I'm off.
I though an easy run to St. Lucia first, just to get my road legs back.
Will post a pic...

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[IDR]

Excellent!

Head North on the M4 instead of the N2 at least so far as Umdloti - it's way prettier.  You can then either head into Umdloti and carry on or turn left to get onto the N2 (which you need to do eventually anyway).  There's a GREAT restaurant right on the beach in Umdloti, called Bel Punto.

If you're planning to arrive in St Lucia at night, be careful on the way in (between the N2 and town itself) for animals and stuff in the road - rest of the trip would be perfectly safe at night.

[Hayu Overthere]

Awesome...thanks for the tip!  Much appreciated.  I'm going to name my first beer after you.  😄

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[IDR]

Awesome...thanks for the tip!  Much appreciated.  I'm going to name my first beer after you.  😄

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Post pics!

[Hayu Overthere]

Sprung the bike from the clutches of bureaucracy and the shipping sharks...
Tomorrow St. Lucia...perfecto.  easy way to slide back into the life on the road that I enjoy so much.
Any and all suggestions gratefully received.

Big celebration...beer and pizza.  (All I can afford now that the sharks are finished with me. 

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[NoRush]

Hayu Overthere,

Glad to see you have your wheels. On your way to St Lucia, look out for the cheese factory on the right.
About a kilometer from the main road, real good food at good prices. They make cheese from goats milk, and offer a tour (certain times)
Its a dirt road but nothing you could not handle. Sorry for the somewhat dark picture some of us paint
but rather a heads up than hospital time or worse. I really hope you enjoy the traveling and meet some great people. Caution for the St Lucia road,
plenty of cagers and animals and a bit of roadwork as you turn towards St Lucia going thru Mhtubatuba. 

[Hayu Overthere]

Animals such as chickens and pigs or animals such as ones that eat you, instead of the reverse.  Could you be more specific🤔?  Thanks for the suggestions and the heads up...S.

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[IDR]

Animals such as chickens and pigs or animals such as ones that eat you, instead of the reverse.  Could you be more specific🤔?  Thanks for the suggestions and the heads up...S.

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St Lucia is surrounded by a large estuary in a protected game reserve.  There is something of everything, but I suspect the only thing that you may come across that may kill you in a one-on-one is a hippo, but those will only be roaming around at night.  Other things that may kill you are things in the road which you can't see while hurtling along - cattle, donkeys, other large game, etc.

There is only one rule about driving / riding in Africa at night: Don't do it.  Obviously, in cities, on freeways and main routes would be OK, in South Africa only.

EDIT: Domino's??? REALLY??   Have you had a bunny yet?

[Hayu Overthere]

Domino's...yuch...but the only food place within safe walking distance of my B&B.  I'll be glad to get out of the city!  Yes...one Bunny but not the best.  Now that I have wheels my universe has grown exponentially. Thank goodness.
Incidentally,. Any advice on insurance?  COMESA?

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