Episode 10 The Travel Show

wish to be part of that future. Now on BBC News, it's time for The

Travel Show. For decades a pariah state, shunned and boycotted by

Michael the world. Then basking in the glow of a president is loved by

virtually everyone. This wild and beautiful country has had to earn

its place on tourism's top table. On my journey, I come face`to`face with

some fascinating characters, both human... And most definitely not.

They are actually quite magnificent creatures. He is really close to me

now. I will be driving along one of the most popular tourist groups ``

tourist routes and meeting the locals, from taxi drivers to shark

spotters. The people and places that make exploring this country such a

unique experience. Today, South Africa is setting out its stall for

the 21st century. A new chapter begins.

Table Mountain in Cape Town. 60 million years old and hundreds

millions more in the making. Over one kilometre high.

Wow. It is part of why climbers climb. For the spectacular backdrop

and, for that reason, keep town's climbers must be amongst the

luckiest in the world. We are seeing Cape Town at its finest. Robben

Island, the ocean, the harbour, the city centre.

That is a famous island. Tell me about it. Robben Island, very famous

for the reason that it was wet Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and

where many political freedom fighters were sent during the

struggle. They were looking at this mountain? And seeing it as a symbol

of something, Freedom? And hope for the future, on making it to the land

again to be free. Tourists, celebrities and politicians from

sugar place where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his life. Now they

are creating a national Mandela Trail, taking in museums, former

homes and even the village where he was finally laid to rest in

December. However, South Africa has also been

exploring its options beyond Mandela for sometime now. It's a country of

11 recognised languages, multiple creeds and colours and a population

of around 50 million. Last year, it welcomed 10 million international

travellers. And it's the country's cultural capital, Cape Town, that's

the main draw for tourists. Cape Town is celebrated for its

diverse city but the task now is to make good on the promises of the

rainbow nation and fuse all the disparate elements together. What

better way to do this than on a new bus service that promises to connect

communities that used to be worlds apart. This new route, for instance,

links the city centre and shanty towns with coastal districts, like

this one which has some of the most expensive real estate in South

Africa. And it's not hard to strike up a conversation with a stranger.

It is actually my anniversary today. It's your anniversary? The bus

network began shortly before the football World Cup here in 2010 and

now they are being rolled out across Cape Town. Nice to meet you. Enjoy

your stay in Cape Town. Thank you. Nice to be on in my city bus for the

first time. It may be intended as a symbol of a bright future at my city

bus could put people like this driver out of a job. `` but My City.

By replacing traditional minibus taxi services that, for decades,

have been servicing poorer parts of the city. This man works 17 hours a

day, seven days a week. Not that he is downbeat, far from it. For me, to

be honest, life is good. Before, we weren't allowed in certain places

but now Cape Town is for everybody. The best place to be in Cape Town,

you must just be yourself. It is the best city to be.

But on further investigation, there are still some parts of town

off`limits for his van. In terms of where we are going, where we will

drive past, they don't allow us taxis to go inside. That's the worst

thing that irritates me. But even worse than that is the

ongoing threat of violence. Rivalry over routes is spilled out into

armed clashes between operators. One estimate puts the death toll in big

taxi wars at more than 2000, in the past 20 years. One of the worst

things you have seen in terms of the violence? `` what are the worst. The

worst things I saw in the taxi wars was where a few individuals stopped

the taxi and started shooting the driver and the passengers. I think

four or six passengers died in that violence. It is the worst and I will

never forget it. Key has applied to be a bus driver and his hope is to

escape the threat of islands with his current job. `` he has applied.

He has passed the test with flying colours and has been promised the

job but has still heard nothing. These people are growing up in a

very different time, in a very different city to the one in which

he grew up. They represent the future of the place that the New

York Times recently declared the number one destination in the world.

These twentysomethings are known as born frees as they have only known

democracy in their lifetimes. And they are feeling largely very

positive. Do you know how beautiful this country is? Aside from the

negativity, we are so laid back, we enjoy life, we are trying to change.

We are literally only ten years old with the democracy, so we are

getting there one day at a time. This particular crowd are born free,

so the integration is a lot more seamless. My generation, we still

had the boundaries of... It in your mind and you can't break through it

and it's just there. It takes a lot of hard work. Whereas the born frees

are seamlessly intermingling and integrated. We still have

resistance. False bay, just outside Cape Town,

so named because the first Portuguese explorers in the late

15th century Mr Gittany southernmost point of Africa. Hence the warmer

waters of the Indian Ocean. But it is an incredibly rich and plentiful

marine environment. And a favourite for shark spotters. South Africa has

wildlife in abundance and we have a real think you about chasing

thrills, I getting up close and personal with dangerous exotic

animals. On land, hunting lions, specially bred for that purpose, is

proving controversial on the grounds of cruelty. Here, in the ocean,

there is one iconic creature that is more than willing to play the game.

The main attraction is the great white shark, the lion of the sea,

apex predator, as our two operator called it. In order for the shark to

pass the case, we have to attracted with the decoy. When the shark comes

into the area, it notices the head of the bait hook and notices what

the symbols `` what resembles a dead seal. It will attempt to go for it.

It is like a cat and mouse game. We will try to lure is as close as

possible. It is true this rocky island has one rich source of

nutrition. 60,000 seals live in this colony. This bait is called charm.

There may be 3000 sharks in the water but only 480 have been spotted

like this over the years. Up to 5000 tourists go cage diving with sharks

every week. It is big business in Cape Town now but surfers and

environmentalists argue that in doing sharks into shallower waters

and giving them no food puts both the sharks and local swimmers and

surfers at risk. The shark cage diving operators beg to differ on

offcourse. We are in an area where sharks naturally range to hunt

seals. The island itself is naturally attracting the sharks.

There have only been several attacks reported in the past year in the

whole of South Africa, so it's important not to exaggerate the

problem. But you can still see, carved into this surfer's feet, the

reason why sharks and people don't necessarily mix. One jaw on the

site, the other on that side. It was like that. I was on my stomach. It

was like this. It bit me like that and then went down.

He was lucky. He was rescued by another surfer and his feet survived

the ferocity of the fight. He blames the shark viewing industry for the

attack. Now that people are using it as a tourist attraction, obviously

it is increasing the population of sharks especially here. I am on a

journey to the how South Africa is evolving post` Mandela and would

experience it will offer for travelers. Time now to get out of

the city and head east into a more rural landscape. This is just off

the garden route about three hours from Cape Town. It is the ostrich

farming capital and claims to have the largest population of the bird

that can famously not fly. But I am not here to meet them. No, this is a

world's first experience. Never been opened into the public until

recently, I am told, which is... Reassuring. The owners seem pretty

chilled out today. As do the alligators. Snacking on meat does

not seem high on their priority list. They are actually quite

magnificent creatures. If you look closely, they are actually

remarkably beautiful, really. They lived to 120 years old. But when

they snap, you get very scared. They snap. Craig has worked at the ranch

for 12 years and this is that unlike sharks, rocket Isles the humans as

prey. Sharks you have to go quite deep to find them, even though there

have been some bite in shallow waters. Crocodiles are unforgiving

and they will take you out on the river edge. They will sneak up close

to the water, especially when it is murky and they can get very close

without their prey even knowing that they are there and then they can

grab them and pull them back in. So it is from the crocodile's mouth and

into the lion's Dan, well, a bus with a bunch of human backpackers.

`` den. Most people who travel here use their own transport, but if you

want to be with adventurous travelers come up there is only one

way. On a bus. Every year this bus takes more than 100 backpackers,

stopping at all the major towns and beaches on the route. It is the

United Nations of a cluster with people from everywhere. You started

out at nine o'clock this morning? That's right. They have been

stopping at every large picking up people. I must confess, it has been

an incredible ride, meeting people from all over the world. All of

these youngsters. It is just amazing. And to our final stop. This

resort town is a popular hiking paradise on the Western Cape and

thanks to its Mediterranean climate it is surrounded by lush scenery.

The properties here are among the most expensive in Africa. But peace

here has been rudely broken in recent times. I am in the hills here

now looking over the town and I am about to enter a luxury residential

complex. As you might imagine, they are very into security here and have

been cracking down on intruders in recent years. But the intruders are

not human, a R baboon 's. `` they are baboon. Three troops of baboons

are the main hope Ritz, wreaking havoc on the estate `` culprits.

This man is in charge of operations to repel the invasion 's. They are

like a little strikeforce. They attack, grab and run. Before, they

would not move, they would sit there and they were not scared of you. My

goal was to get them back to being scared of people and seeing us as a

predator and not hanging around. Basically, being more baboon. Each

troop is led by an alpha male who calls the shots. The renegade

dethroned alpha males are causing trouble as is the propensity of

people not disposing of rubbish properly. He has the counterattack

down to a fine art. My goal was to control the alpha males and I became

a baboon. I think like one and I am the alpha male of the whole estate.

I have monitors and they are also classified as alpha male. All of the

others will submit to myself and my helpers. And one of those monitors

is Emily. She walks 20 km a day on patrol and her job is to react to

any reports of break`ins. They are capable of opening doors and windows

and are blessed with excellent site and the smell. What do you think

about them? Are they like humans? How do you regard them?

But the operations against the public enemy number one have been

very successful. In 2011 there were 36 raids, down to 28 the following

year and a zero in the past wealth months. Since work started, house

values have tripled and homeowners are very happy indeed. However, down

in the town there are no patrols and problems persist. They gained access

over here... This man came back from his short holiday to find his

customized dream home had been rated. They ripped the curtains

down, they removed most of the soft furnishings, he urinated on the

couch and went into the kitchen and pantry area and raped every bit of

food out of the cupboards. It was scattered all over the floor. If

they didn't do this, would you think they are cute animals? I still think

they are. We South Africans love animals and I think guys in certain

parts of the world would go and shoot them but we do not do things

like that in South Africa. Of course, what they need is a man like

this who can intimidate a baboon like no other top yellow basically,

I try to be like a baboon, you know the noises. It would frighten

anyone. So as they reached the end of my all too brief encounter with

post` Mandela South Africa about what have I learned? Well, first of

all this is where you should head if you love the great outdoors and

natural beauty. Everyone here certainly seems to, much more than

in any other country I have visited. From stunning mountain peak

abuse to natural wildlife in abundance on land and in the sea,

this is a godsend for adventure lovers and in the Buddhist of the

2010 World Cup and the Mandela legacy factor, the future looks

promising for South Africa. I would certainly come back for more `` in

the shadow. Issues surrounding apartheid and inequality remain and

you would be a fool not to notice or acknowledge it. It will take

generations for that to work itself through what I do think that more

international tourism will speed up the process.

It was a fairly gloomy and wet end to the working week. There will be

sunny spells, but it is a mixed bag. It will be blustery in the south and

there will be showers