Effectiveness I believe is based on the person, location and the need. You see driving between Bela Bela and Vaalwater this morning you pass many little *padstaals* – (farms shops) some are really tiny and some are a tad large with more sign postings to get you into them and to warn you further ahead that one is coming up, very clever and effective.  Now as said some of these places really take trouble in getting people into their shop only to sell over priced crap and not take cards, cash only? I mean the Bushveld Bonsai place we stopped at had almost 2 dozen bonsai’s ranging from R500 to over R2000 – I mean seriously am I just so *new age* to card a card and not that much cash on me? How can you sell such over priced articles and not have an option for people to pay for them there and then? Lets face it Bonsai’s are expensive however the ones we saw this morning were horrendously over priced to say the least. The point on not been able to pay just compounds the in effectiveness of the store as a whole. Added to this there were a few tin and metal cars which would have ben great for the boys, they would have fitted into a kids sized shoebox and had a price tag of over R400 each, I mean it is just crazy, not as though they have this huge mainline high end store with rent to match, no they are a run down dirty little shop on the side of the road selling crap at prices that are clearly aimed  at a certain nice market I am not a part of. Makes me think, if their in effeciveness is so easy to spot have I had a decent look at my own operations? Certainly some work for me in the new year.

Having a look around the area this past week I am interested to learn that with the almost different way of life that is lived by people outside the city. You see apart for the crappy little shop this morning we have found some real gems here and value for money. The Thaba Kwena crocodile farm shows you around with an interesting tour for R20, we spent over an hour there. Then we caught a bite to eat and found a man sized burger and chips for R25. See there really are some gems around. Needless to say with my Nedbank chip card I again ran into problems, this time at the Blou Bull slaghuis (Butchery) , the card kept being declined – tried 3 different cards all with the same problem, the last attempt I held onto the device to see the error for myself – smart card error – the problem is not with the cards but the device itself. I indicated this to the butcher and was met with a blank stare by a guy who looks to night owl as a mechanic of sorts. I decided to leave it there and ask for the nearest ATM. I found myself in a little shop across the road with a small card device, I inserted my card and at completion I was handed a slip which I exchanged for cash with the check out person, amazing and such a clever concept, no need for the bank to send cash to a machine in the middle of no where, they sell electricity there so must have a high turn over of cash and by dispensing in in this manner they must reduce bank charges, very clever and something very efficient in rural Africa.

One thing I am blown away with on my first real visit to this side of SA are the options for accommodation, there are a plethora of options, from camping to 5 star luxury and tons in between. Many of the places have contact details and am fairly sure have websites as otherwise one would battle to find them and for them to stay in operation.