I just got back from a trip to South Africa and would make the following observations:
- Jo'burg (and probably Pretoria) seem far more dangerous than other parts of S.A. In Cape Town and its environs, people seemed to take reasonable security precautions, but nothing that seemed particularly over-the-top. We felt safe exercising reasonable and prudent security measures and staying to areas that we were confident were fairly secure.
- I can't really see any reason to stay in Jo'burg for any lenght of time. Soweto is worth seeing, but other than that there seemed to be very little unique about Jo'burg. Other parts of the country have a lot more going for them.
- I highly recommend a visit, and would gladly go back.