TRAVEL

Arguably the biggest potential star on the African continent, South Africa should be on anyone's must-see destination list. With its breathtaking scenery and wildlife, its boutique wine and cheese industry and its unbridled nationalistic pride shared by every citizen, South Africa promises to impress any visitor; however, the small agrarian state faces several potentially crippling challenges that threaten to prevent it from galloping triumphantly into the 21st century.

    These threats include deep rooted political corruption, poor transportation and energy infrastructure, rising inflation due to sky-rocketing natural resource prices, and wide-spread crime - mostly as a result of the large influx of refugees via its ill-guarded borders in the north. And what makes it even more interesting is that South Africa will be in the world's spotlight as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2010 - which may or may not actual happen.

    South Africa has two core destination cities in Johannesburg (locally called "J-burg") in the north-central region and Cape Town on the southwestern tip. Pretoria, which plays host to most of the government functions, is a suburb one hour north of J-burg. As a traditional tourist destination, Cape Town stands out on its own in safety and comfort - both Pretoria and J-burg are amongst the worst crime cities in the world - although it is important to note that crime is aggressive anywhere in the country. While the popular outsider view is that the crime is related to Apartheid and racial tension, most crime is conducted by the 'have-nots' against the 'haves' - regardless of race.

    Economically, South Africa is attempting to leapfrog from an agrarian economy to a service economy, trying to avoid the traditional progression as an industrial economy. This progression is evident in the fact that South Africa has lost its reign as the world's leading gold producer (replaced in 2008 by China) and is discouraging large scale manufacturing development. This is an important move for South Africa as there is a current squeeze on the white middle and lower classes, who are immigrating in large numbers to Ireland and Australia - two countries who are actively recruiting skilled labor South Africans. Moving quickly to a service economy would theoretically increase the employment opportunities for this abandoned white middle class and the newly emerging black middle class. But alas, the country is void of any practical mass transit, forcing the labor force into disparate geographical silos.

    And as South African is known for its opportunity, many immigrants are illegally entering South Africa and setting up shanty towns everywhere. There are popular rumors that the government has been rounding up immigrants from other parts of the country and transferring them to Cape Town as punishment for Cape Town's liberal political views. Travelling in from the Cape Town airport, you will see thousands of people living in these shanty towns - most of which have no electricity or plumbing. There are actually opportunities to visit and even do a homestay in some of the shanty towns, and I would highly recommend that everyone partake in this unbelievable experience (any tour guide center and/or hotel can arrange this for you). WhereAnything.com recommends the homestay provided by Vicky's Bed & Breakfast in Khayelitscha (contact her directly: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

    Shark diving. You've seen this on the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" and it is everything you can imagine and more. Shark diving occurs nearly three hours east of Cape Town, so the whole experience will take an entire day, but it is worth it. This is one of the only places in the world where the Great White Sharks will actually jump out of the water to attack their prey (generally the seals on that congregate on nearby Seal Island). The best time of year to view the sharks is late July through September (when they are most active), but you will still have the opportunity to see the sharks up close any time of year. You can find plenty of operators online, but the best tip is to find the smallest boat possible - as fewer passengers means you each get more time in the water. While its all called "cage diving", you don't necessarily need to know how to scuba dive as you are only floating at the surface of the water (with no scuba gear). The reason for this is that all the action occurs at the surface of the water. Cages are attached to the side of the boat and passengers rotate through the cages after every few shark sightings, with up to four people in the cage at any given time. Note that sea-sickness always strikes several people - usually as they go into the cabin to change into the wetsuits. Also be aware that in order to attract the sharks, the boat will chum the water (pour chopped up fish and blood into the water), so the water will not smell or taste very good. We strongly advise going into the cage first because you are guaranteed to see sharks (if you go last and the shark activity dies down, you could potentially miss seeing the sharks from the cage). Also, you don't have to go into the cage and can just watch from the boat, but try to overcome any fears as you will not regret it!