It doesn't take a lot to be safe but you do need to pay attention to your surroundings. Supercoug is the kind of guy that will want to see a township and photograph what he sees there. In a prior post I suggested doing so in one of the Pretoria townships like Mabopane or Soshanguve instead of Soweto or the townships near Cape Town.
It doesn't take a ton of planning and forethought to travel safely.