South Africa
July 6 - August
1, 2002
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What a beautiful and multifaceted country! Yes, go! On this page I have included a summary of the trip, with a
number of recommendations for anyone who might consider a trip to this beautiful
land. There are also some of my favorite pictures shown as
thumbnails. A larger version of the picture can be accessed by a double
click. Our itinerary was:
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July 6 Depart Germany
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July 7 Arrive Windhoek, Namibia in the morning - late
afternoon connecting flight to Johannesburg, South Africa - Holiday Inn
Airport
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July 8 Pick up rental car and drive to Blyde River Canyon
area (419km)
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July 9 Blyde River Canyon and on to Kruger National Park
(264km)
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July 10-12 Kruger Park and drive to Swaziland (217km, 215km,
364km)
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July 13-14 Swaziland and drive back into South Africa to Santa
Lucia area (180km, 387km)
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July 15 Hluhluwe-Umfalozi National Park (218km)
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July 16 Drive to Durban (319km)
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July 17-18 Drakensberg Mountains (254km, 338km)
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July 19 Royal Natal Park and on to Lesotho. Return to
South Africa same day. (335km)
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July 20 Long drive to Addo Elephant Park (773km)
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July 21 Addo Elephant Park and drive to Tsitsikama National
Park (343km)
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July 22-23 Tsitsikama Park and drive to Knysna area (0km,
166km)
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July 24 Ouitshoorn (281km)
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July 25 Route 62 via Swellendam and Bontebok National Park
to Hermanus (542km)
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July 26-27 Hermanus and drive to Stellenbosch (98km, 103km)
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July 28-30 Cape Town area (193km, 110km, 122km)
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July 31 Visit wineries in Stellenbosch - afternoon drop
rental car at airport and board return flight to Germany via Windhoek (55km)
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August 1 Arrive Germany
In order to give a good impression of the trip and assist anyone
who may want to organize something similar, I will recap in various categories. These are:
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Travel
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Pre
trip concerns
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Accommodation
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Sights
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Recommendations.
Travel We
traveled solely via our Nissan rental which was booked in Germany prior to
departure. The car was new, with low mileage, and was a pleasure to drive. We found ourselves wishing for a 4WD type vehicle at times,
as the Nissan, with its low undercarriage, did not do well on many of the dirt
and gravel roads we encountered. The total driving distance was
6529 km over the 3 1/2 week duration of the journey, averaging around 280 km per
day. There was only one day when we did not use the car. In
retrospect we would have wished for more time, or would have limited our touring
area in order to enjoy the many hiking possibilities which South Africa has to
offer and generally stay longer at the places we enjoyed.
return to top Pre
Trip Concerns At the outset of the vacation, there
were three main things I was concerned about:
-
The issue of driving on the other side of the road (British
style) was really a non-issue. There was no problem getting used to
right hand drive.
-
Malaria - we picked winter in South Africa as not only are
the game sightings better, but the risk of malaria is also reduced.
This was indeed the case, as we saw only one mosquito on the whole trip and
it was in the Drakensberg Mountains. Consulting a pharmacist in
Jo'burg upon arrival, he recommended Doxycycline as the prophylactic of
choice for this area and suggested we use it even at this time of year to
add an extra ounce of protection. We also used mosquito repellent when
out in the evenings in the malarial areas of the eastern part of the
country.
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Crime in South Africa - generally throughout the whole trip
we did not feel threatened at all. That said, we took two precautions
which were to avoid the cities of Durban and Johannesburg (and parts of Cape
Town), and to generally do all of our traveling during the daylight. I
did have a greater feeling of unease the times we were out after sundown in
some areas, and had heard stories from other travelers of muggings and
robberies. This is an issue not to be taken lightly but appropriate
planning should keep any South Africa journey incident free.
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Accommodation
In order to make the first few days of the vacation hassle free,
we booked the initial five nights over the internet from Germany, but were
reluctant to book more as we wanted the flexibility of staying longer if we
liked a certain area. I have listed a number of our overnights which are
worth mentioning for various reasons:
Jo'burg - Holiday Inn Garden Court - Jo'burg Airport. This
Holiday Inn is located 3 km from the airport and has a shuttle service which we
used to ensure safe transport to and from. It was our most expensive overnight
on the trip, but considering the many concerns about Jo'burg, was well worth the
extra expense.
Graskop - Blyde Lodge - run by Pierre and Bertha - this was a
DB&B (dinner, bed and breakfast). This couple made our first real
night in SA a wonderful experience, with a barbecue (braai in SA) which included
local cuisine. They also gave us good travel advice.
Kruger National Park - Stayed at Lower Sabie Rest Camp on the
banks of the Lower Sabie River. An excellent location, with hippos,
hyenas, and lions roaming outside of the camp at night. We booked a self
catering hut there which included kitchen facilities, but no utensils. I
would recommend this camp, but the bookings must be made via internet or fax or
phone well ahead of time. It is generally not advisable to arrive at
Kruger and try to find space in a camp. At the time of our trip, it was school
holidays, and everything was full.
Swaziland - Meikle's Mount - This was a pleasant surprise -
cottages with fire place about 25 km outside of Mbane, the capital of
Swaziland.
Santa Lucia area - Riverview - Wendy's Country Lodge - our
favorite place to stay on the trip largely because of the efforts and
hospitality of Wendy and Tony who run this 6 room B&B.
North of Durban - Salt Rock - Nalson's View - Nice B&B with
a great breakfast. Wendy and Kelvin also go to great lengths to make your
stay enjoyable.
Northern Drakensberg - Leaning Tower of Pizza - a working farm
with nice rooms, a restaurant and a close location to Royal Natal National Park,
which has great hiking.
Addo Elephant Park - we stayed in the park in a very nice self
catering chalet.
Tsitsikama National Park - our other favorite place to stay -
self catering cottages at the water's edge. Nothing like waking up in the
morning to dolphins, whales and the sound of the incoming surf.
Ouitshoorn - our third favorite place to stay - Nico and Estelle
host a DB&B near the Kangoo Caves. A small, working ostrich farm,
where we were served a great dinner with ostrich caserole, and English breakfast
with ostrich sausages.
Hermanus - We stayed at the Hermanus Esplanade self catering
apartments. It was great to open the curtains in the morning, and be able
to look for whales right out of the bedroom or living room windows.
Stellenbosch - Orchard Lane - a B&B in a suburb of
Stellenbosch in the wine country. Good location within walking distance of
town center.
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Sights
The top destinations on our trip, and reasons for each are shown
below (your top destinations may of course vary, depending on the sightings,
weather, etc.):
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Tsitsikama National Park - good location, good hiking,
opportunity for dolphins and whales from July to November, and Nature's
Valley - a beautiful spot is close by
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Hermanus - almost guaranteed sightings of southern right
whales from July - November. We could have stayed here for a week.
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Kruger National Park - speaks for itself
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Royal Natal National Park - great hiking in the northern
Berg
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Hluhluwe-Umfolozi National Park - next to Kruger the best
game park with good scenery as well
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Santa Lucia area - numerous good to very good parks close
by; also diving, snorkeling, estuaries for crocs, hippos and fishing, and
much more
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Blyde River Canyon - great scenery
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Addo Elephant Park - no predators but with a good chance of
seeing lots of elephants
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Cape Town area - Cape of Good Hope, Simonstown, Cape Point,
Vasco da Gama Memorial, Waterfront, Table Mountain, Chapman's Peak, Hout Bay, a taste of South
Africa today - even with bad weather which occurs in winter, this is a must
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Ouitshoorn - ostrich farms, Kangoo Caves, Swartberg Pass
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Stellenbosch - the wine country
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The Karoo - a sometimes desolate countryside made for a long but
enjoyable drive through the interior of South Africa
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Swaziland - small kingdom between SA and Mozambique.
Some national parks are good for hiking and game drives
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Durban - some things worth seeing such as the Sharks Board,
the Dolphin Coast, and the drives into the tribal homelands near Valley of 1000 Hills
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Lesotho - perhaps a taste of the real Africa
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Recommendations
If we were to do the trip again (and another visit to South Africa
is
near the top of our list), there are a number of things we would suggest.
They are:
-
We would have preferred more time out of the car, and
because of the large number of kilometers, we missed things such as hiking,
snorkeling, diving, visiting townships such as Soweto, taking a full day
wine tour, visiting museums such as District 6 in Cape Town. For a 3
1/2 week trip a good option might be to cut the country in half, and only do
the eastern or western halves. If you have more time - such as
five/six weeks or more, then a trip like ours would be feasible. Seven
weeks or more could mean adding in Kimberley, Kalahari Gemsbok, the western
coast.
-
Stay in the national parks if you can. Get up early
and go on game drives starting as early as possible (6 am). The larger
animals such as lions which sleep during the day are active around dawn and
dusk. Take night game drives - you'd be surprised how many animals
also enjoy using the paved roads,
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Stay with families that have DB&B - for meals that give
you a taste of the local cuisine.
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Be careful if you have to drive at night. South Africa
has the highest accident rate in the world - and this is not only because of
the driving, but also because of the large amount of pedestrians and animals
that wander onto the roads (and highways) at night.
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In most of the country the water is drinkable. There
is no need to purchase large amounts of mineral water.
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Plan well ahead. Talk to many people who have been
there and get suggestions and advice. Book your first nights before you go.
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Inform yourself about malaria. Taking a prophylaxis,
although not fun, is a better alternative than getting the disease.
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Souvenirs - if you see something you like, and are willing
to pay the price, buy it. You may not see it again. Wood crafted
items are particularly plentiful in the Blyde River area.
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©2002 runkelf@yahoo.com
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