You can almost see the expats in Perth rubbing their hands together with glee.

It’s clear that tensions between the South African and Australian governments are sky-high, with Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton’s comments about white farmers here in SA setting in motion some heated exchanges.

Ozzie travel advisory website smartraveller.gov.au has clearly decided to stick the knife in, and the advice they’re dishing out on behalf of the Australian government’s department of foreign affairs and trade is less than complimentary.

Via Times LIVE, here’s what some Ozzies are hearing when they consider a visit:

[The website] urges visitors to exercise a “high degree of caution” in South Africa and offers an extensive list of dangers under the heading “safety and security”.

“Crime‚ including violent crime‚ is a serious issue in South Africa. Most types of crime are increasing. Be alert. Don’t expect the same level of service from South African police as you would in Australia‚” warns the website…

“Avoid large gatherings and demonstrations as they can quickly turn violent… Spontaneous incidents of mob violence have been difficult for local authorities to control.”

…“You should be particularly cautious when using public transport. Avoid using minibus taxis due to safety and security concerns. Many of these vehicles are in poor condition‚ drivers are often unlicenced and almost invariably uninsured‚ drive erratically‚ and disputes between rival drivers may become violent‚” says the advisory.

It also warns of “excessive speed and poor driving skills” on otherwise generally good roads frequented by drunk drivers at night.

They forgot to add that we will humiliate their cricketers, and that they should bring their own sandpaper.

Must be talking about Cape Town drivers when it rains at the end there, because three spots of rain and everything goes to shit.

Of course many of those barbed insults hit the mark, and we can’t bury our heads in the sand and pretend otherwise, but the stern warnings have led to SA Tourism spokeswoman Thandiwe Mathibela expressing concern:

“Across the world‚ destination marketing organizations [sic] like South African Tourism rely on the travel trade to package and sell South Africa as the ideal leisure and business events destination. It’s not ideal for us when travel advisories are issued which creates the perception that the country is an unsafe travel destination‚” she said.

Mathibela added the organisation worked closely with all our stakeholders “to ensure that we create a safe environment for our tourists and visitors to enjoy our beautiful country”.

Scouring the news like we do means seeing your fair share of bad news, but wander around any of Cape Town’s premier tourist spots and you’ll see visitors beaming from ear to ear.

I think I saw a foreigner weeping with joy at Kirstenbosch this past weekend, although it may just have been a small domestic dispute.

Anyway if this story reaches Australia, via the wonders of the internet, I say this – play nice, ya bloody drongos.

[source:timeslive]