John Smith wrote:

Hello,
I am planning to drive round Southern Africa starting at Cape town, up
through Botswana, Zambia (briefly) and back to the cape through Namibia. I
plan to use the major routes to camp at sites and visit parks along the way.
This will be a touristy adventure as opposed to a "get off the beaten track
into the african wild" adventure.

Can anyone help me with vehicle recommendations and the best places to get
one in Cape Town (budget will be around UK£5000 ) ? I plan to sell the
vehicle at the end of the trip approx. 9 months later. Is there anything
special I should know about registration, border crossing or insurance ?

Do you mean 5000 GBP for the car?

Here's a good place to check on car prices:
http://www.ananzi.co.za/catalog/Moto...ips/index.html
and this might be the best site among those for your needs:
http://www.autotrader.co.za/

5000 pounds will get you about 53,000 SAfrican rand at today's
exchange rates. For check the exchange rates, use this site:
http://www.absa.co.za/ABSA/Exchange_...,3298,,00.html
and use the column 2nd from the right: BANK BUYING NOTES/ T CHEQUES

If you do the calculation (GBP or USD, or whatever into rand) then
subtract another 1.5%.. this will tell you how much you will REALLY
get when you change your foreign currency or traveler's checks.

Yes, it's true that some forex companies do not charge commission
for changing TC's.. but their exchange rates are lower to start
with.. so this page for the ABSA bank rates is a perfect way to get
the best idea of what you will receive. It changes daily.

What can you get for 50,000 rand? A 5 or 6 year old VW Citi Golf..
the smallest model. Cars are (compared to the US, at least) very
costly in South Africa. You can register it, even as a non-resident,
but whether you can do it without a permanent address, I don't know.

On the other hand, if your budget for the entire trip is 5000 pounds,
it's unlikely you can get a roadworthy car that will make it.