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Facts* and Words of Wisdom

South Africa is considered one of the 10 friendliest countries in the world! That alone is a superb reason to retire to this beautiful land.

It is easy for a Retiree to feel at ease and at home here. Below, we discuss answers to questions you may have about the country.

First of all, Why ZA? The Dutch East India Company first established a “refreshment station” at Cape Town in 1658. Afrikaners (the people) and Afrikaans (the language) are the result of that initial inroad into the southern tip of Africa. The name of the country in Dutch is Zuid-Afrika – abbreviated ZA. It is used as the internet country code for South African websites –

.co.za

Holland and England historically were rivals for trade routes, power, etc. along the South African coast. Britain’s eventual ascendancy occurred in 1806 when they permanently occupied Cape Colony. Today’s modern systems still resemble British systems as implemented over the last 200 years.

The US has States; South Africa has Provinces, 9, to be exact. Since we ourselves have retired to Western Cape Province, our personal knowledge is based on this Province. Here is Cape Town at the tip of Africa. Here also is Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. At 34%S, Cape Town is approximately similar to Atlanta’s 34%N latitude.

It is very cosmopolitan. Many Europeans vacation here. The population is multinational. People walk about in Bermuda shorts, thobes, slacks, long flowing dresses, short skirts, jeans, just about anything.

We haven’t noticed discrimination based on looks.

People:

People have mixed here for centuries. Portuguese sailors, Dutch and English settlers, Indian workers, native Xhosa and other African ethnic groups have mingled to produce people of all sizes and shapes, all shades of color, and all persuasions. As a result, we have found that mutual consideration reigns.

Religion:

Since the Dutch and English have been the dominant governing parties for the recent 350 years the major churches are Dutch Reformed and Anglican.

There are multitudinous other religious options and gathering places for worship.

Measurements:

As in Europe and the UK, measurements are in meters and liters. Distances, for instance, are in Kilometers. When I was a teenager, Dad told me that 100 kilometers equal about 60 miles. So, ever after, I’ve simply guesstimated. A speed limit of 100km means approximately 60 mph; a distance of 35km is about 21 miles. My system works fine for me – I really have no need to be exact, especially now that I’m retired !

Petrol is of course sold in liters. My suggestion is to not be bothered by that, just pay what you’re charged. Go with the flow. If you care to use a mathematical formula, you will find that a gallon costs about $4.75 (January 2025).

At the grocery store/supermarket, jars and cans are sold by measurements that I find difficult to figure out. I’ve given up trying to match a SA jar price with a US jar price. Again, I say, go with the flow. Jar or can sizes are slightly smaller here than in the US; don’t stress over it, just buy two. You are here to relax and not to be stressed.

Word of Wisdom: Businesses are not open 24/7 as in the US. Keep track of closing times, esp. petrol stations and grocery stores.

Money:

As you can see in the photograph, Rand notes vary in size and color for ease of use. They come in 10 green, 20 tan, 50 burgundy, 100 blue, 200 orange denominations. Often you see people hitch-hiking, not with a thumb out, but with a note in their hand to pay for petrol. A R10 green note indicates that the desired lift is a short distance, perhaps to a neighboring village. A R100 blue note obviously indicates a longer journey, You don’t have to be bothered to learn the small coins. Only the two-tone 5 rand coin is of much use.

Word of Wisdom: You should keep some R5 coins handy to tip the service station attendant for cleaning your car windows or the parking lot attendant for watching your car. At the date of this writing, the exchange rate fluxuates around $1 = R17. Thus, some things are cheaper for us and many are about the same. Nothing seems to be more expensive than in the US.

Language:

Best of all, English is spoken here. Afrikaans and Xhosa are also spoken by locals who often mix languages when speaking among themselves. However, this is no problem for you since everyone you meet can understand and speak English.

I find it interesting to see how much I can figure out myself. If you have even a smattering of German or are a European traveler, you can pretty much figure out what is meant by signs or headlines. Dutch is after all a Germanic language, as is English. Here is a Traffic Police car with English on one side and Afrikaans on the other.

Transportation:

Cars are easily rented at airports or online. If you are here for a matter of months to test your happiness in South Africa, it might be a good idea to rent a car by the month to get a better rate. Roads are clearly marked using a system of national routes (N1, N2, etc.) then regional and provincial routes (R21, R22, etc.) and in urban settings metropolitan routes (M1, M2, etc.). Distances, speed limits and road signs are clear and helpful.

This seagull is monitoring the beach car park

A minor glitch in your level of joy at first – driving on the “wrong side” of the road. Again, the British system in evidence. It really doesn’t take long to figure out that one drives in the same direction as everyone else and navigates roads or parking lots correctly by watching painted arrows on the road surface. People use their turning signals mostly and will usually let you out into traffic flow if you’re stuck. One fascinating difference is the method of moving to the left to let cars pass.

On highways, extra lanes are marked with a yellow line between the driving lane and what we used to call the berm. It is expected that a slower vehicle will move onto that space and allow you to pass, still traveling in your own lane.

On smaller roads, if a driver notices that you want to pass, he will move as far left as he can so that you have room to pass safely. Safe and unsafe passing zones are marked exactly as in the US with dots and solid lines down the middle of the road.

Word of Wisdom: Not everyone is a good driver, nor are all vehicles capable of going uphill at speed. Sometimes you may find yourself doing 65 and closing rapidly on a vehicle going 30 or less. Just be awake !

Word of Wisdom: People stand on and even walk or run across highways. Don’t panic, Keep driving.

The country is large and the best way to get across it is by plane. Major city airports are as modern and efficient as anywhere; we have never had any trouble with them. Do not count on taking a train. They are very few and far between. Buses are the primary mode of travel for people without the means to fly. They connect the major cities several times a day.

Safety:

You already know how to keep yourself safe. You never walk around unfamiliar neighborhoods by yourself at dusk. Hopefully you wouldn’t go into inner-city bars at midnight. You lock your car doors and house doors and keep windows closed when you’re not at home. You don’t leave valuables visible in your car. You don’t dally in the inner-city.

Crimes make big headlines, but they are not the norm in either country. You may have heard or seen that all homes have walls around them. The walls are both for privacy (curtains are rare and windows are usually open in the daytime) and as a deterrent to petty theft. You are no more likely to be murdered in your sleep here than you are in the US.

Your safety is guarded in the parking lots of restaurants and shops by men in colored vests. They will guide you to a parking slot and aid your maneuvering into and out of it. They also stay put in allotted areas which deters anybody’s thought of looting. Keep handy some 5 rand coins to tip these men. Usually 1 to 2 coins depending upon the area.

Police cars are well marked. There are multiple categories of police listed on their vehicles: Regional Police, Metro Police, Provincial Police, Law enforcement, Traffic Services, and probably more that I haven’t noticed. There are also private security companies who will alarm or drive by your house. Truly, the only type police you are likely to encounter are the traffic people who set up stops to pull over random cars for license and passport checks.

Word of Wisdom: Keep your license and passport handy when you drive.

Banking:

There are many South Arican banks to choose from. They all will receive “inward payments” from your American bank. My own US bank charges $25 for a wire and my SA bank charges a small fee based on the amount being received.

Word of Wisdom: Government law requires you to “accept” the incoming payment and designate the purpose of the money coming into the country.

This is done by the bank sending you an email or text which asks you to accept the current exchange rate and check the purpose of the wire from a list of suggestions. We learned this the hard way. Naively I thought they were notifying us of the incoming money and did not respond. After two months, the money was returned to my US bank account – minus charges at both ends.

All banks have credit and debit cards. There are ATMs everywhere, they take American cards as well as SA cards. Just be aware that you pay an exchange fee for use of a non-South African card.

Shops and restaurants allow you to insert or tap your card to their machine.

Word of Wisdom: Check that your credit card company doesn’t need to be informed when you will be out of the US.

Plan to spend at least an hour in a bank office in order to open an account. Unlike at home, you can actually walk into a branch here to see a banker. You just have to sit and wait your turn ! Then you will need your passport, proof of a local address, your mother’s blood type. and the secret password for your gym at home – just kidding, of course. But it is a long drawn out process with many forms to fill in. For me, an impatient person, it’s frustrating. For husband, a calmer sort, it’s time to chat and even joke while the work is being done. In either event, everyone is quite pleasant and helpful.

Real Estate

Housing prices have drastically risen since we began looking a couple of years ago. We had actually made the decision to buy and where and which house. We contacted a broker about a mortgage (called a “bond” here) only to make the distressing discovery that all loans are overseen by the government and the government says no loans or mortgages can be given to people over 75 ! We are in our 80’s ! Needless to say, that cast a damper.

Houses are available to rent and apartment buildings and complexes do exist, You will have to decide whether you prefer urban or rural, large for family visits or small for just yourself. Real Estate agents abound and signs are attached to buildings. (N.B. the person with a place to offer “Lets” whereas the person wanting to rent “Rents”)

Food

Delicious is the best description. Even scrumptious. This was a banana smoothie and an amazing chocolate cake with the form of a fork done in cocoa powder. Husband chose scones with jam.

Living between 2 oceans, there are good seafood restaurants. We recently ate with friends at a restaurant specializing in ostrich. Indian immigration means curry on almost every menu. Native stews, English fish and chips, french fries, vegetarian and vegan options abound. Everyone braais at home. A braai is what we’d call barbequing. Supermarkets sell braai packs of meat which are usually assortments of sausages, chops, and steaks to be flame-grilled and eaten together with friends or family.

Supermarkets are large, like American ones. They offer many of the same items, albeit different brands and differing options. For instance, we’ve seen 2 or 3 brands of baked beans but no company has more than one variety…no Bush’s many-varieties. On the other hand, this country produces olives and olive oil so the shelves are full of olive options. Every food store or bakery offers daily fresh breads and rolls. Their pastries can be to die for. As I mentioned before, just ignore trying to figure out how much things cost. They cost what they cost.

We eat out often. Mainly outside, both winter

and sum-mer

I suggest finding out if there’s a Saturday Market in the town where you will live.

Not only are they fun to attend but you will find fresh veggies, live music, small craft stalls, light lunch meat pies and samosas, a book stall or an animal rescue table.

Worth the effort to find out.

Wild Animals

No to worry, The last lion was shot in Cape Town in 1858. The only wild animals we’ve seen are the occasional baboon family along the road or a springbok grazing in a field. If you want to see wild animals, there are several wild animal farms with short “safari” experiences. Kruger, the famous National Park, is on the far side of the country and would require a separate trip plus malaria shots.

A not-so-wild animal enjoying our neighbor’s lawn ! Haven’t seen her since. I guess her owner eventually caught up with her.

Services

Water gets scarce only if the summer is exceptionally dry (as it is in 2025/2026) despite US news reports sounding like we are in a constant state of drought. 2024 was very wet. Whatever caused electricity load-shedding a few years ago has been solved. Often electricity is purchased at supermarket checkout counters (yes) where your receipt shows a long row of numbers which you must then enter into your own electricity meter on the wall of your house. Fiberoptics is available even in small towns. Cell phones are ubiquitous. Adding international service to your US phone is expensive and unnecessary. Free WhatsApp is universally used for everything.

Word of Wisdom: Purchase your cell phone here.

Astonishingly, there is no longer postal service. I tried for months to purchase postcard stamps from the only Post Office I could find (in a neighboring city). There were none to be had. When I asked when they might be in, the clerk replied, “We’ve been waiting for them too”. She hadn’t had any in months. Courier services and DHL, etc. have taken up the slack.

Weather

Obviously, the fact that we’re in the Southern Hemisphere means the seasons are reversed. 2 oceans and Antarctica just south of us influence winds and weather patterns.

In the Western Cape a freeze is pretty much unheard of, but it does get cold in winter. Around 40 degrees Fahrenheit at night, so a “puffy” coat at night and a fleece jacket is necessary in the daytime when it may reach a high of 65 degrees.

In summer, there may be a couple of 90 degree days in a row, but generally the temp hovers between 75 and 85. There is always wind, which on occasion can gust to 20 kph or more.

Word of Wisdom: Rain comes with HIGH winds, so umbrellas are not effective.

Economy

Being a first-world country, tech companies and shipping/logistics firms and manufacturing businesses abound. They are mostly centered around major cities, like Cape Town. Mercedes, Toyota, BMW, Ford, and other cars are manufactured in South Africa. Farming and Tourism are very important.

This is our favorite Bed and Breakfast. Elianthe in Swellendam. Click to visit their site.

In the interiorof the country, you see olive, apple, and citrus orchards and vineyards. Click to visit the vintners in our beautiful area – Botrivier Wine Route

All wineries have wine tasting rooms where you can sample their own wines and purchase a bottle, or a case, of the wine(s) you like best.

Once out of Cape Town and suburbs, there are also huge fields of crops like corn, rapeseed, and hay as well as herds of cattle and sheep.

The rapeseed crop is especially beautiful when whole fields turn a bright yellow. The Canola Oil produced from these plants is exported worldwide.

The Land

This country has breathtaking scenery to discover.

A boy enjoying the rocks at Kleinmond Beach

Rocky coast lines stretch along about 2/3rds of its border.

Spectacular mountains and mountain passes

Polo

Vast spaces and gentle valleys.

Vistas

Things To Do

Visit coffee houses, art galleries, shops, bars, museums, soak up history

Attend sporting events like football (soccer), cricket, rugby, horse races, cycling races, or sit & watch bowling on the green.

K3 is the longest zipline in the world at 3.2 Kilometers.

Horseback ride, hike, swim with sharks, bicycle, zipline, hang glide at the beach, birdwatch, whale watch, swim in the ocean, at least once dip your foot into the Indian Ocean.

Driving along we suddenly saw two paragliders come off the cliff.