ragsi

I bought an converter/adaptor for South Africa....it can be used everywhere in Africa except S.A.

Is the plug for Australia the same used in S.A.? One for New Zealand and Australia was included in the set. thanks

Gardyloo

No, South African plugs are unique (a couple other African countries notwithstanding.) They most closely resemble older UK 3-round-prong plugs (but aren't the same.)

If you don't get one before arriving in SA, they can be purchased at JNB or CPT airports or can be had at most hotels.

ragsi

Thank you.

stormygirl

we bought ours in SA at a grocery store

ArthurSA

S.A. plugs are in fact the British standard, before they introduced the rectangular pins. Our colonial heritage.

Gardyloo

<i>S.A. plugs are in fact the British standard, before they introduced the rectangular pins. Our colonial heritage.</i>

I thought so too, but I compared an old (70s era) UK round-pin plug in my possession to a current SA plug and the SA plug is significantly bigger - bigger diameter prongs and larger spacing.

atravelynn

For someone going to South Africa and Zambia, do we take a variety pack of adaptors and converters?

stormygirl

The SA adapter was not a part of my kit

ArthurSA

Gardyloo, there are two &quot;B.S.&quot; plugs. (I think I have a website link somewhere that gives the B.S. numbers and all the detail.)

The smaller one is much smaller. And the only reason that I can remember that one is because I'm so old! It's been literally decades since I saw the smaller one for purchase. It's only the larger one these days, although I do have at least one buried somewhere at home. As well as the adaptor that accepted one large and two small plugs.

If you measure between any two of the pins of the large one using one of our metric rulers, it's 25.4 mm. Because that's one inch.

I can remember that in the 70's it looked as if we were introducing the current rectangular-pin British plug. And new buildings had those sockets. I don't know whatg happened, but it didn't take off, so we still have the old one.

A good site for plugs in general is linked from this page: http://kropla.com/electric.htm. Although the &quot;Type M&quot; plug shown there for S.A. is much much larger than the more modern versions. Not the pins of course, but the rest of it.