Letters to the Travel Editor

Negative critique Dear Sir, I endorse the comments made in [last week’s] edition of Travel by Mike Beal.

We have recently endured the ridiculous situation of obtaining a South African visa. One gets the impression that they do not want Kiwi tourists in their country. If we’d known how much work was involved with the visa, we’d have travelled somewhere we felt welcome.

On the day we went for our interviews, a young woman sat crying as she had just been informed there was no way she would be going to South Africa in the next week as there was at least a 20-day wait for visas. They held our passports for 35 days so there was no chance of popping over to Australia or anywhere else if we spotted a good deal. The interview was conducted in a condescending way and while the woman sat there we were asked to fill in a critique form — I imagined any negative comments would result in a visa refusal. To pay $180 per person and to be put through the third degree is too much to ask especially if one is elderly and/ or easily stressed. Anyone intending to travel to South Africa needs to apply at least two months before travelling — and expect to have a long wait for that visa. Shirley Kittelty The Travel Editor replies: There’s bad blood between the passport-checking folk over there and our ones over here. Honest travellers are the losers. Seeking direction Dear Sir, I enjoy reading your Travel magazine, but am often frustrated by the lack of detail in the maps that accompany the articles. Why can they not include a scale? This would make it easier for readers to understand what they’re looking at. B Jones The Travel Editor replies: Thanks for your kind words. The maps are intended more as a graphic element than a navigation aid.