Found this fantastic site for people who want to start learning the new technology using either the Arduino or Raspberry Pi.
The tutorials are concise and easy to understand while you have fun learning the new age technology.
There are many fun projects, and most are for free. There are also some books you can purchase, or subscribe to paid tutorials if you wish to get more advanced.

Take a look at Randomnerds. Scroll down to see many free projects with clear instructions and explanations. Look around the web page to see what tickles your fancy.

All equipment is easily available at Mantech, simply place the part number or description of what you are looking for in the 'Product Search' window.
They have branches in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.