The roads here are in good condition, considering the horror stories about African buses! I was fortunate enough not to have to rely on public transport. In fact, most of the locals drive cars in the cities of South Africa, so buying a cheap car was first on my agenda.
Now I ALWAYS name my cars. I met a local guy called Johan (he's Afrikaans, which actually means 'African', even though he's white). I mentioned that I was looking for a name for my new car in one of South Africa's 14 local languages.
After brainstorming car names which would reflect a local flavour, we decided to call him 'Oupa' the Opel! So meet, Oupa, which means 'Grandfather' because he's so old! Oupa (like, 'oh-par') will be assisting me with my travels around Cape Town for the duration of my trip, precluding the need to test out the African roads - I don't care what the guidebook says, I'm not taking any chances!!!