Cricket fans coming to South Africa for the IPL tournament from 18 April - 24 May and rugby fans for the British Lions matches 30 May - 4 July, should understand that they have a good chance of being confused and lost if they attempt to navigate their way around SA. This is due to the abundance of new names for certain provinces, town & cities.
Firstly, the former four provinces that make up South Africa are now divided into nine. Some of the changes include:
Transvaal / Gauteng, Northern Transvaal / Limpopo, Eastern Transvaal / Mpumalanga.
South Africa's northern neighbours, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana are all across the mighty Limpopo river, which gives its name to the northern province in South Africa. In this area lies the Mapangubwe World heritage Site which yielded gold figures some thousands of years old. The rain queen, Modjadji, also is to be found in these interesting region. She is thought to have the power to be able to bring rain to her people.
To add to visitors' confusion, many of the towns and cities now have new names, as the following alphabetical list shows:
Warmbaths / Bela-Bela, Durban / Ethekwini, Louis Trichardt / Makhado, Nabomspruit / Lephalale, Nystroom / Modimole. Potgietersrus / Mokopane, Ermelo / Msukaligwa, Messina / Mussina, Pietersburg / Polokwane, Pretoria / Tshwane.
"To avoid making costly and time consuming mistakes when travelling, one should make use of a reputable transport company or tour operator. Thinking that you can merely hire a car and start driving around is not the way to go as the maps you read are quite likely to show old names and directions. A much better plan is the study the geography of SA on the internet before you travel and use operators who know the country and the customs."
The IPL matches are schedule to be played in eight venues: Bloemfontein (Free State Province), Cape Town (Western Cape), Durban (Kwa Zulu Natal), East London (Eastern Cape), Johannesburg (Gauteng), Kimberley (Northern Cape) Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape) and Pretoria (Gauteng) and teams are: Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knightriders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers.
As tickets are limited, it is also advisable to book your match tickets and tour packages as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Opinion by Robert Wilson
CEO, Magic Marketing.co.za & Travel in South Africa.net
Specialist Tour and Transport Operators, Johannesburg, South Africa
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_John_Wilson
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