Check out
http://www.factory7.co.za for all your gear...
Personally i would recommend buying a board from either Rossi or ATD, they are both local companies and they don't cost an arm and a leg.
As for fins...i use the T2 by Hydrofin, they have a super soft foot pocket and a firm blade.
Vipers are rated as the best and they do perform, but they tear the hell out of feet and you have to be prepared to lose a few pounds of flesh while using them...
Also you could look into a local product...Cphynz swim fins, they're reasonably priced and apparently do the job quite well.
Check the review Sean Tickner gave them
click here for the review
As for wetsuits also try local...to start off with try Reef wetsuits, i always trust them because they're made in South Africa by South Africans for South Africans...and i never hear the end of complaints about customer care from my friends who have forked out a fortune on the more expensive forgein brands.
If my Reef tears or some of the seams go, they fix it no problemo.
This is all just my opinion...
but a mate and i wana start... he did bodyboard a while but not long ago....
