Here in Cape Town it’s not hard to see the wealth.

The houses are bigger, the cars are shinier and the lifestyles could be those of the rich and famous.

But the other night driving home, it wasn’t the shiny Maserati’s and Ferrari’s that caught my eye.

It was the three men sleeping in the doorway.

You have to wonder how these poor souls get any sleep – not least because they have no more than a blanket to protect them from the elements but with the bright lights of the showroom ablaze there would be few but the weary who could rest here.

You can’t come to Cape Town and not be struck by the disparity between the rich and poor.

It’s everywhere you look.

At the traffic lights, outside restaurants and almost everywhere you go there are those asking for spare change to feed a child, to feed themselves or just to buy something to take the edge off.

You are advised not to give because it just perpetuates the cycle of dependency.

And yes, I understand, but we all could be in that same boat.

I don’t know what the answer is.

I haven’t been here long enough to pass any real comment on the politics of it all.

But it does seem to me that the end of apartheid has not brought about the promise of this country so rich in natural resources.

Why after 18 years is South Africa one of the most unequal societies in the world.

A recent Unicef report found that 1.5 million children live in homes that have no flushing lavatories and 1.7 million live in shacks, with no proper bedding, cooking or washing facilities.

Over the next few months I want to find out more.

I’m not going to preach and the blog will still include many of my exploits.

But I think it would be remiss of me not to comment on what stares at me every time I walk out the door.