South Africa Lesotho and Swaziland - James Bainbridge

...guidebook for Namibia, Lesotho and South Africa in one. Unfortunately Lonely Planet do not have such a guide but their South Africa guide also included Lesotho (and Swaziland) which meant that rather than take two books for these two countries I was able to take them in a single volume.

The one problem I find with some Lonely Planets is that they become very bulky for a large country like South Africa - and unless you are really travelling ...
...domestic tourism for poorer non-white South Africans - brandishing a Lonely Planet just draws further, unwanted attention to yourself - the book is therefore not something you should really brandish in public, unless you want the attention it brings you. I would personally pay extra to have the individual provinces in thinner paperback booklets - that way you could carry them and look at them without fear of attracting the unwanted attention.
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For my recent trip to Southern Africa, I ideally wanted a guidebook for Namibia, Lesotho and South Africa in one. Unfortunately Lonely Planet do not have such a guide but their South Africa guide also included Lesotho (and Swaziland) which meant that rather than take two books for these two countries I was able to take them in a single volume.

The one problem I find with some Lonely Planets is that they become very bulky for a large country like South Africa - and unless you are really travelling throughout a country, it is almost worth only taking the pages that you need. As being white shows you up as being a tourist in a lot of places - there is little by way of domestic tourism for poorer non-white South Africans - brandishing a Lonely Planet just draws further, unwanted attention to yourself - the book is therefore not something you should really brandish in public, unless you want the attention it brings you. I would personally pay extra to have the individual provinces in thinner paperback booklets - that way you could carry them and look at them without fear of attracting the unwanted attention.

Nowadays I really do most of my research on the Internet prior to the trip and the guidebook is only something that I take with me because I do not wish to rely on Internet-based information when I essentially like to enjoy being "off the grid" when I head out of Europe. However, given the fact that the tourist information provision on the Internet was minimal about Lesotho, I was very glad to not step out of the plane at Moshoeshoe I International Airport completely green and without any information.

I have my own particular test for Lonely Planet guides.which is to show the highlights section to locals - and to see what there reaction is. Admittedly the highlihgts will always be a subjective matter - after all personal choice is very much a subjective issue. There are always one or two of the choices which invoke a laugh or a dismissive comment - and usually I ask them what they would suggest that is similar to that and better - you get some great suggestions that way. And the guide to SA, Lesotho and Swaziland was no exception in that there were a few tips which were met with such remarks.

The timing of this latest edition of the book - the 8th edition released in August 2009 - in far from by chance. It is clearly, without being branded as such, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Edition - from checking against a previous edition I can see what has been updated, and there is an awful lot that has been updated with a focus on the impending World Cup.

For me the advantage that the Lonely Planet presents over other publications is that it is not so in-depth of particular places within South Africa - other than Cape Town and Johannesburg, there are no special chapters for cities - e.g. Durban is included in the KwaZuluNatal chapter - even though it is a city of 3.5 million people. It breaks up the book nicely into the provinces, with the Provinces indexed on the open side of the book to assist rapid reference.

The guide scores well on the number of maps it has, although if you intend to travel by car around South Africa, they are not likely to be sufficient - a good road atlas would be an essential. However, since certain places are not really that safe to walk in - e.g. the townships, and the maps are not detailed enough in this respect, the guides therefore do rather push you towards taking organised tours everywhere.

The guides are well-written and researched - and I find excellent reading for the time you spend at the airport waiting for a flight to leave. Whilst there are some ready-made suggested itineraries, I have never used them, partially because I have always had a very finely tailored itinerary to allow me to fit in a variety of activities in a very short time (I usually only head down to South Africa for a fortnight at a time). There are some very interesting sections - e.g. a brief colour session on wildlife and various boxes about the history of the country, aspects of life in Southern Africa.

Because of their comprehensive nature, and widespread coverage, I am unlikely to ever read the guide cover to cover - instead using it to focus on the places I want to go to, rather than reading up the entire country per se. However, for someone who is going to try to "do" all of South Africa it is a value reference guide to take with you - but just don't flash it about - it can draw unnecessary attention to you! 

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