South Africa for students [closed]

I've planned to travel to South Africa this year, around August. I've joined a group of six friends of mine and actually we're in the dark about everything that concerns security, prices and guides in South Africa. To be honest, we like adventure, so we'll never join a pre-built tourist tour (the ones that cost over $1,500 for two weeks) and we'd rather:

rent a car
hire a local guide
have our accommodation in camping sites along our journey

We are all university students, so we'd like to save as much as possible (we're not renting a Mercedes-Benz full optional off road jeep) and we kindly ask for your suggestions about:

the cheapest way to have a journey in South Africa?
how to get in contact with local guides?

Best Answer

Car wise, look at services like "rentacheapie", much cheaper than your usual rental agencies. Another option is the bazbus (Google it). Public transport is useless in South Africa, but there are systems in place to transport tourists.

Secondly, I would not rent a local guide in South Africa, most people's knowledge is very limited to their local region, and those who know more will not be guides, so basically if you get a guide, you'll be getting a conman telling you stories that he's making up as he goes along. Crime is real in South Africa, but millions of people live there without losing their lives.

South Africa is huge compared to European countries, so you need to decide what you want to see. It really is an amazing country, and I hope you enjoy your trip.

If you're the adventurous type, have you looked at couch surfing?