Very detailed Africa travelogue with lots of information for anyone planning a trip. Indexed for easy reference. 11 Countries over 3 months.
3 months in Africa -- detailed travelogue, travel tips, indexed
Larry2006-05-27 03:11:54
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The roads contain no "Bot's Dots" (bumps separating the
lanes), so you have no physical warning (in terms of driving over bumps) if
you start to stray over the lines -- though as an extra reminder to drivers,
when a designated passing area is about to end, the broken lines in the road
will have arrows indicating to get back into your own lane before the line
turns solid.
Speed is the one area that South African drivers need to watch though:
there is a vigorous anti-speeding campaign because of the high number of
deaths attributed to it each year, and you'll often see signs along the
highway saying "DON'T FOOL YOURSELF -- SPEED KILLS. ARRIVE ALIVE."
Occasionally, there will be a board showing the percentage of people NOT
speeding the previous month, along with an all-time percentage record of
law-abiding drivers. In some areas, there are signs indicating automatic
cameras (used to detect and trap speeders), and every once in a while,
you'll see a patrol car waiting to catch one (though interestingly, the
police often don't give pursuit: instead, they'll wave a speeder down, and
he'll just be expected to stop). The general highway speed limit is 120kph
outside of cities, and 80kph in town, though this can vary depending upon
the area and type of road. Airbags are not required by law in South Africa,
and the automobile companies have yet to voluntarily include them in their
cars: none of the three cars I wound up driving (two Honda Ballades and a
Toyota Camry) had an airbag -- not even for the driver.
One nice feature about African roads are all the rest stops you'll pass
every few minutes -- little pullouts (usually with a picnic table and trash
can, and often, a tree) where you can rest, have a drink, eat a picnic
lunch, or just give yourself a break from driving. There will always be a
sign 1km
...
See photographs from:
Botswana Gallery
,
Cape Verde Gallery
,
Kenya Gallery
,
Lesotho Gallery
,
Malawi Gallery
,
Mauritius Gallery
,
Swaziland Gallery
,
Tanzania Gallery
,
Zambia Gallery
,
Zimbabwe Gallery
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I just thought it might be helpful for you to know how i am finding your system.
Thank you
Susan J, 2008-01-28 14:00:20