Souvenir shops everywhere: "Souvenirs" South Africa Shopping Tip by TheWanderingCamel

If carved wooden animals and people, African stools and drums, wooden bowls and walking sticks, are the sort of thing you are looking for, you're going to be spoilt for choice. Every sight-seeing stop along the way will have a whole row of stalls selling souvenirs, outside every town you drive through practically there will be more. Shopping centres in the middle of towns and the huge, secure shopping malls will all have their shops too and when you get to the airport there'll be more. The choice is endless. It's up to you whether you choose to buy from a company store or someone along the roadside, who may be working for themselves and thus being reasonably rewarded for their work - but then again they may not. The stalls at the main tourist sites are usually leased out and controlled fairly as local employment initiatives.
Needless to say, quality can vary hugely - as can prices - but there truly is something for everyone - and there cannot be a single plane leaving any aiport that doesn't have a veritable menagerie of animals on board along with the paying passengers. Personally, I think there's probably more wooden animals in South Africa than live ones.

Theme: Local Craft