But Cape Town's shanties were a little close to home for Timana Tahu, writes Rupert Guinness.
THE first thing that strikes the visitor to Cape Town is the view, revealed as the plane dips to land, of a seemingly endless maze of shanty towns.
Many first-timers are shocked by the patchwork of makeshift communities made up of homes that range from dumped shipping containers to ramshackle shelters built from pieces of timber and sheets of metal, plastic and tarpaulin, through which a walled highway from the airport to the city passes.
The sight certainly touched Timana Tahu as he flew in with his Waratahs teammates for their Super 14 match tonight (3.10am Sunday, Sydney time) against the Stormers.
Tahu, half-Maori, half-Aborigine, admits he was taken aback by what he saw. But he also felt empathy.
The scene evoked thoughts of his mother Linda's upbringing in a mission in Bourke in outback NSW, where she was one of eight children who lived in a cramped, two-bedroom house not dissimilar to those homes in the shanty towns.
"Coming into Cape Town, just seeing those shanties, you realise how good you have got it in Australia," Tahu said. "I was talking to a cabbie. He was saying $7 a week is minimum wage. That much would only buy a coffee in Sydney.
"It's an experience seeing that sort of thing. Coming from a small town, and being an indigenous person with a background of Maori and Aboriginal, to see places like this … it is a bit sad.
"Back in Australia, everyone is starting to move forward and we are starting to see better things for the future. But you feel sad for them. It is harder living in South Africa. It is probably an eye-opener for me."
Tahu has seen how poverty leads to crime. In his youth, many of his peers fell foul of the law as he moved from his birthplace in St Kilda at the age of 12 to the country towns of Bourke, Wilcannia, Grafton and Byron Bay with his mother and stepfather, a policeman, who was constantly transferred.
South Africa's crime rate astounds Tahu, who left his mum at the age of 16 to live in an Aboriginal hostel in Dubbo and then Newcastle. It was there where his footballing life began and that he met his wife-to-be, Kasey, with whom he has three children - Leketa, 8, Tommy, 6, and Larni-Ann, 5.
In Pretoria, where the Waratahs played the Bulls last week, the former Parramatta league star - who, prior to switching to union, had not travelled further than New Zealand - was flabbergasted by the lawlessness.
"In Australia, you can be thankful you live in a safe place. Pretoria … every house is caged up [with] high cement walls, barbed wire or electric fences," he said. "It doesn't look like a place where you would want to rear your kids. You'd be worried about them every minute."
Tahu's only worry for now is fulfilling his role on the NSW bench for their game against the Stormers - his first match since being sidelined with hamstring problems in round six.
His enthusiasm is as strong as ever, despite the harsh lessons on South Africa's social issues learned and rigours of touring the Republic.
"Everyone said coming into this week, 'You might struggle a little with the sleep and time differences,"' he said. "But I am pumped. I'm pumped just to be in a different country. I missed out on a couple of tours and the World Club Challenge.
"So over in South Africa, I am like a kid in a candy shop mate. There is always something to see every day. Coming to a different world where no one even knows league, it's a different culture."
Tahu may be short of match fitness and the added union experience he would have accrued had his hamstrings held up, but in him, the Waratahs have a player accustomed to big-game atmospheres such as the one facing them at Newlands. A sell-out crowd of 49,000 is expected for the game. The second-placed Waratahs could drop to fourth on the ladder - or worse - should they lose to the Stormers, who are fourth.
So psyched is Tahu, who has played in the intimidating cauldron of State of Origin and the NRL grand final, he says he can't wait to confront a South African crowd baying for his blood at Newlands.
"I am excited about going to this stadium on Saturday night and playing against a ferocious crowd. I am loving every minute of it," Tahu said. "I will probably get a spray." When that moment happens, Tahu may hear it, but says he will block it out of his mind.
"If you make a mistake and are thinking about what the crowd's reaction is going to be, that's going to stuff up your game straight away," Tahu said.
"[But big-game] atmosphere, that is what I like. This is what you play for. I like playing in front of big crowds. They are a lot more ferocious over here in South Africa. [But] I will prepare myself for the worst."
And if the worst happens, Tahu will be more than happier for it - because the experience will only confirm to him that he made the right decision by moving to union last year.
"Rugby union is a world sport, and rugby league is an Australian sport," Tahu said. "This is probably the main reason I came over, the challenge of playing in different countries … Watching the South African teams on television, they look really massive, really big. But going to Pretoria and seeing the Bulls, there wasn't much size difference.
"The back line [on] our side was just as big as the Bulls back line. This is what I am pumped up about, being here in South Africa and getting to play these sides."
Not half as pumped should he be in a Super 14-winning Waratahs side on May 31.
