The best place to begin would be the pinned threads on this Real Estate and Landlording section of this forum.
There is a list of books there. See what you can find at your local library. See if you can find some good recommended books that specifically deal with South African real estate. Read. Read some more. And go back and read the good books again. Gallinelli's book is particularly good at teaching how to run the numbers to determine if it's a good investment or not, though be sure to double check it against SA laws.
A quick google search shows there are Real Estate Investment Associations in South Africa. There appears to be some sort of real estate investment summit (conference) in November of this year. Get active with any group you can. Lots of good info and contacts there. Ditto if there are any SA-focused blogs or websites.
Third, recognize that buying a home to live in is not the same as buying a home as an investment. If you buy a home at a retail price to live in, you are merely lucky if you can rent it at a profit while you are still paying your mortgage. You have to run the numbers up front - before you buy - in order to make money.
In your case, you're expecting to pay off your mortgage and then rent it out. Yes, you can make money that way. But, could you make MORE money if you sold the property and bought stock instead? Or bought one or more properties that were more suitable for investment?
Example:
In my town, I can buy and fix up a house for $50k. It becomes worth $80k after I do that. I can rent it out for $800 a month, with an annual expected profit of $4800 after expenses, vacancy reserve, and a sinking fund for big repairs.
I own my old home free and clear. I could sell it or rent it. If I sell it, I could buy 3 and 1/2 houses like the ones I detailed above. If I rent it, I can make maybe $9600 a year, or just 2 smaller houses worth.