Hello Vissie, I am not sure what the rules are for South Africans - Sil would be the best one to answer that, but I have a feeling that it is the same as Australians, and we have 90 days within a 6 month period that we can stay in the Schengen States. There is a thread elsewhere on the forum discussing this.
I gave up on the thought of applying for more than 90 days because, as a pilgrim, it is impossible to get receipts for accomodation in advance as we often have no real idea of where we will be. Sil, Omar, and I were all checking into this last year and we all got the same answer from different sources - unless you have receipts for every night (plus return ticket, money, health insurance too) they will not grant it. Both Omar and I have cut our itineraries to 90 days within France and Spain - although I think he is walking a lot further than me and so he will have to go a lot faster! Good luck with your plans and hopefully Sil will post all the relevant info for you. Cheers, Janet