Emergency numbers and help in South Africa

The numbers

• 112 from a mobile reaches an emergency call centre which transfers you. It works with no credit and on any network.
• The private ambulance numbers, 084 124 and 082 911, are the ones locals actually dial and they arrive faster. Your travel insurance will cover the cost.
• Save both a state and a private number. Response times differ enormously by area.

After a crime

• Lay a charge at any police station and insist on a case number in writing. No insurer pays without it.
• Do not resist a robbery. Hand over the phone, the wallet, the car. Injuries happen when people argue.
• Cancel cards immediately from a safe place.
• A stolen passport means SAPS first, then your consulate. Most consulates are in Cape Town and Pretoria, not Johannesburg.

Medical

• Go to a private hospital. Netcare, Mediclinic and Life Healthcare are the three groups and every city has one.
• Have your insurer's 24 hour number to hand, because it is what authorises admission without a large card payment.
• In a game reserve, tell the lodge first. They coordinate the evacuation and know the helicopter landing points.

On the road

• Automobile Association roadside assistance: 0861 000 234.
• In a breakdown on a highway, stay in the car with the doors locked and phone for help rather than standing beside it.
• After a collision, do not leave the scene, and get a case number from the police for the rental company.

Worth saving now

• Your accommodation's address and phone number, and the name of the nearest big cross street.
• Your insurer's assistance line and policy number.
• South Africa's country code is +27, and mobile numbers drop the leading 0 when dialled from abroad.