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This is probably a question that a lot of foreigners ask themselves when they think about traveling to South Africa. There is no shortage of media covering the recent xenophobia attacks, the high murder rates and the countless muggings that take places across South Africa every day. But is this any different that any other developed nation? Is it any different than any large metropolitan area in the United States?

I like to think that I have learned a lot during the 17 months I have been on the road. I have seen a lot, I have experienced a lot, I have read a lot, I have had many discussions with local people, and ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that the negative hype about a place by and large is just that, hype. In the case of South Africa, I had heard a lot about the crime problems here before I arrived and I tried my best not to let it develop into a negative stereotype about the country and for the most part, it has not. I kept on telling myself that the crime in South Africa can not possibly be as bad here as people make it out to be. Sure, there are plenty of places in Johannesburg and Cape Town that I would not want to walk in by myself or venture to after dark, but the same can be said for New York, Los Angeles or any other big city in the world for that matter.

In talking about crime and the concern people have for it in South Africa, I think I am experiencing the issue from a unique perspective: that of a traveler and a foreigner. Compared to a lot of other places I have been, I think people here in South Africa tend to talk about crime a lot more than people in other countries or cities with even higher crime rates. I have never been warned so many times about where I choose to go, who I chose to go with and what I chose to bring when I go out. At times, it almost seems like the people I go out with at night are expecting to get mugged. Maybe it is partly because the eyes of the world are looking on South Africa as they prepare for the 2010 World Cup. The last thing locals want is to see something happen to a foreign tourist, an incident that could bring into question beyond their actual structural preparedness, the ability of South Africa to host a successful international event.

Personally, I have felt pretty safe the entire time I have been here in South Africa regardless of how many private residences I pass with electric fences, or how long I have had to park the trucks in secured, underground parking because they are “prime targets” for criminals on the prowl. Maybe I have been pretty lucky and maybe it is just a matter of time before the law of averages catches up to me, but I like to think the people here are just being overly cautious when it comes to crime. But what is the line between overly cautious and paranoid? Believe it or not, they sell anti carjacking devices for your vehicles here in South Africa that actually shoot flames out at would be assailants and there are plenty of advertisements in the daily papers for how to electrify the perimeter of your property. That all sounds pretty bad ass, but it also sounds a little over the top.

Markings at the crime scene of a fatal shooting near my hostel

I guess some people might say that I am being a little careless with regard to the crime problems in South Africa. The bottom line is that there is crime here and it can happen right in front of you. A few days ago, South African Police Services officer Lukas Nell was gunned down literally 50 meters from the hostel where I am staying in Cape Town. It was close enough for us to hear the exchange of gunfire. Officer Nell was searching a suspicious individual who later pulled out a gun and fatally wounded him before fleeing on foot. It was a bit of a shock to everyone in the area because Tamboerskloof is known to be a pretty safe part of Cape Town. It was a bit of a shock to me as well because I have walked past that spot at night several times coming back from dinner, the internet cafe, or the bars just up the road. It is always a tragedy when someone who is serving the public and fighting crime dies in the line of duty and obviously it has been a main subject of conversation around here ever since it happened. Hopefully, officer Nell’s assailant will be apprehended and justice will be served. I also hope that this incident will not serve as a deterrent to people in a popular tourist area in a world class tourist destination, because regardless of what happened the other night, I still feel safe here.

Police, family and community gather at the scene of SA Police officer Lukas Nell’s death

It is hard to make light of the crime in South Africa when this is going on in front of you

However, Tuesday’s tragedy should not deter tourists from one of the best places in the world

One of the main messages I think that we want to convey during and after the course of this expedition is that anyone can do what we are doing. Sure, we are all exceptionally intelligent, sociable and good looking here at TWBR, but honestly, all it takes is an idea or a dream and the conviction to follow through with it and you too can find yourself halfway around the world on a trip many people thought would never even happen. A lot of people that we meet say that we are doing this at the right time in our lives. We are young, we do not have many family commitments, (i.e. no children or spouses) and we can always go back to our jobs later on if we so choose. I guess this is a pretty good time to do something like this, but then again, I think you can always find time to chase your dreams, no matter what age you are.

Case in point, while we were stuck in the Congo trying to sort out our Angola visa problems, we met Stewart and Annaliese. Stewart and Annaliese hail from Cape Town, South Africa and are in the midst of driving their Land Rover around Africa. On the surface, that may not sound that interesting because there are a lot of people driving a lot of Land Rovers around here in Africa. What makes Stewart and Annaliese a bit of an exception is that they both left well paying professional jobs in Cape Town, sold their home and basically everything they own and put it all into a trip they had been contemplating for quite a while. They did have to wait for their son to go off to university, but it just goes to show you that you can always find the time in your life to do something like this. Just like us, Stewart and Annaliese’s friends thought they were totally out of their minds for giving up all of the things they had worked for in life, but as they point out and as we have experienced, a lot of the people who thought we were crazy are the ones checking out our respective websites and wishing they were in the car with us. It was nice bumping into the couple because we all shared an understanding of the rigors of overlanding but more importantly, what it feels like to take a big, potentially risky, yet rewarding step out of our comfort zones. You can follow Stewart and Annaliese’s adventures on their website: Roots in Africa.

South Africa is a large and diverse country, but here in the Western Cape Provence, I can not help but feel like I am somewhere else. I do not know exactly where it feels like I am… maybe Australia, maybe Central Coast California, but it definitely does not feel like Africa. I guess that it part of the beauty of the African continent. Not only is there a wide range of cultures and languages, the natural landscape of Africa is also extremely diverse.

The mountains near Nysna

The highest bridge in Africa (also the highest bungy jump!)

Cape Town waterfront

View of Cape Town from Table Mountain

Cape Peninsula

Cape Town’s landmark: Table Mountain

Mountains cradle the winelands in Franschhoek

The amazing scenery makes tasting some of the best wines in the world even more pleasurable

The Garden Route is one of the most spectacular drives in the world

I have to admit, after crossing the Sahara Desert in blazing temperatures and slogging through the soggy jungles of west and central Africa, the cool air and mountainous surroundings here in the Western Cape are quite refreshing and remind me a lot of home… both California and Colorado. As always, pictures really do not do a location like this any justice, so in addition, you will have to take my word for it that this part of the country, and the continent, is one of the most beautiful places on earth and Cape Town is one of the most picturesque and attractive cities in the world. Even though the Western Cape is in Africa, if you look around, you might as well be thousands of miles away.

If you ever find yourself in southern Namibia, you must stop by the Quivertree Park just north of the South African border and outside of Keetmanshoop. Some friends of ours in Windhoek had recommended the Park for an overnight stay on our way south and it actually makes the pages of Rough Guides and some other guidebooks. However, until you have seen this place with your own eyes, you have no idea what to expect and no description can really do the place any justice. The bottom line about the Quivertree Park, is that it is just plain Jane weird.

Not exactly the entrance to the Hilton

We arrived at the Park just after dark, which made driving down the long, lonely gravel path even more strange. The actual campsite is about a kilometer off the main highway and along the way, your imagination starts to run wild with images from horror movies like Wolf Creek or the Hills Have Eyes as your headlights illuminate some of the other residents of the park lingering along the road. There are absolutely no lights on around the campground and all of us were getting a little bit nervous about our choice of campsites that night. We finally ran into some other campers who assured us that the place was in fact a campground, the other residents were well behaved and that as far as they knew, we would make it through the night without getting murdered. This place was definitely like no other campsite I have ever bedded down at.

The Quiver Trees are unusual in and of themselves

You are never alone while camping at the Quivertree Park

In the morning, you rise to find yourself in the middle of a large stand of Quiver Trees, trees unique to the region and aptly named, and realize that you are also in the middle of a very large collection of unusual art. You also realize that you had plenty of company throughout the night. The Park residents have been assembled in consultation with and are the brainchild of a 78 year old woman who runs the place. She actually lives in the next town these days, but has been putting together the strange and unusual artwork at Quivertree for many, many years. Honestly, I do not know what the overall objective of the Park is… maybe it is some sort of recycling project, maybe it is a display of unique art, or maybe it is just the tangible extension of a crazy old lady’s thoughts. Whatever the case may be, the Quivertree Park is definitely worth a visit, and if you do decide to stop by, make sure you arrive after dark… it will make the experience even more bizarre.

A fellow overlander

Park manager

Not sure where they were from, but they appear to be having a good time

I got nothin…

Sweet ride

Not sure what the old lady was thinking on this one

You try knocking on the door of the “park office” at night and see what your imagination starts to do

TWBR crew and our new Quivertree friends

In the United States, you may not have heard about the driving the “Cape to Cape” run . I guess there may be some scenic drives or highways that go from Cape A to Cape B, but the Cape run I am talking about is the drive from North Cape, Norway to Cape Agulhas, South Africa. It is a drive that overlanders dream about and only a handful actually complete in their lifetimes. There are obviously more direct routes to drive from the northern most point in Europe to the southern most point in Africa, but for us, the journey covered roughly 17,000 miles, spanned about 110 degrees of latitude, took us through 29 countries and lasted approximately 6 months.

Six months ago, we were in the far northern reaches of the Arctic

As we made our way to Cape Agulhas, instead of reindeer, we were on the lookout for turtles

Although chilly, it was a bit warmer at 34.5degrees South latitude

The marker in Norway was nicer, but where else can you swim in two oceans at the same time!

We are not the first people to drive the Cape to Cape run, but it is definitely a small number of people, mainly Europeans… I can probably extrapolate a bit further, hedge a bet from our experiences and say that most of the members of the Cape to Cape overland family are either Dutch, Scandinavian or South African. Now add some nutty Americans to the group. I am fairly certain that we are the first Americans to complete the Cape to Cape run as part of our overall expedition. We received a lot of support and encouragement along the way. In fact, some South Africans we met in Angola shouted enthusiastically “finally, some Americans with some balls,” when we stopped on the side of the road to chat. The road was very tough at times, but we made it and looking back it was well worth it. We still have a good portion of the trip left, but this was a major segment of the expedition and one that we anticipated would be one of the toughest. I am sure South America will hold some surprises in store for us, but our experiences here in Africa will help us to prepare for what the next continent throws our way.