Has anyone been to South Africa?

[Pinky166]

We are thinking of going at some point next year but not sure yet. I want to do Cape Town and maybe the garden route, Kruger National Park, Sun City.

Anyone been and would share your experiences or do you have any suggestions/tips etc?

Thanks in advance.

Claire

 

[carolfoy]

yes have been, went to Joburg, suncity, the kruger, a lot of private reserves etc
in my opinion its the best country in teh world, absolutely loved it! and the Rand is v good value at the mo.

personally I'd drop Kruger and have a shorter (but unfortunately more expensive ) stay at a private reserve rather than in the kruger, just because you can safari off road and and do walking safaris etc rather than be cooped in a truck all day and have to keep to the main tarmacked routes.
sun city is great fun if rather tacky, I stayed at the palace and as such had access to all the grounds, if you stay at other hotels you can only access the main beach area, i really liked the cabanas though (the self catering style accomodation) and don't forget you can safari out of sun city in the malaria free pilanesburg range.

any questions please ask away or you can call me in work, just pm me for my number

 

[nannyj]

I lived out there for many years and the garden route, near which I lived, is really beautiful. Johannesburg is a very busy place as far as I can remember. All in all it is a fantastic place to visit but I don't think I would go back to live.

 

[Pinky166]

yes have been, went to Joburg, suncity, the kruger, a lot of private reserves etc
in my opinion its the best country in teh world, absolutely loved it! and the Rand is v good value at the mo.

personally I'd drop Kruger and have a shorter (but unfortunately more expensive ) stay at a private reserve rather than in the kruger, just because you can safari off road and and do walking safaris etc rather than be cooped in a truck all day and have to keep to the main tarmacked routes.
sun city is great fun if rather tacky, I stayed at the palace and as such had access to all the grounds, if you stay at other hotels you can only access the main beach area, i really liked the cabanas though (the self catering style accomodation) and don't forget you can safari out of sun city in the malaria free pilanesburg range.

any questions please ask away or you can call me in work, just pm me for my number

Thanks for this Carol ....we are in the very early stages of planning at the moment, trying to gather lots of information. I was surprised to hear that the Kruger is tarmacked! I have done game drives in the Serengeti and some others in Tanzania and imagined it to the same (off roading/dirt tracks).
I will certainly look into the private reserves aswell now.

Did you book seperately or a package? Did you drive over there? What did you think of the Palace? That is where I really want to stay but it is very expensive. What are the game drive like in the pilanesburg range?

Thanks again for your help....I am sure I will bombard you with questions over the coming months!

I lived out there for many years and the garden route, near which I lived, is really beautiful. Johannesburg is a very busy place as far as I can remember. All in all it is a fantastic place to visit but I don't think I would go back to live.

Thanks Nannyj. I have wanted to go there for a few years and hopefully next year will be our chance.

I you have any recommendations of places to definately see or things to do then I would love to here them.

 

[carolfoy]

yes the kruger is tarmacked roads, rather like longleat without the fences thats why the private reserves are a more 'real' safari experience. haven't safariied in pilanesburg but they do have the big 5 there.
the private reserves are more expensive but i'd prefer 2 or 3 days on one of these than a week in kruger as they are nearer to the kenya/tanzania thing. (have done both myself).
the palace is fabulous as long as you take into account its pretty much 'plastic' africa, not a very real experience
personally if you're heading for the garden route unless you've got 3 or 4 weeks to spare, i recommend to my clients an itinerary similair to this:

fly to cape town, have at least 5 days there, time to do robyn island, table mountain, teh markets, get out to the beach (can't remember the name but will look it up) where the penguins are people friendly and like to play.
then drive to somewhere like mossel bay (perfectly safe to drive IF you stay on the main roads and don't divert, make sure you have plenty of gas etc).
stay there a couple of nights, maybe whale watch
drive to knysna area, again a couple of days relaxing
there are private reserves along this area so you can enjoy the whole safari experience here, some specialise in, say, cheetahs or elephants but some are big 5 friendly
move on to port elizabeth or durban
you can fly home from here or perhaps then go to joburg, a city thats definitely advisable to stay in the tourist areas, the mining tours and the apartheid museum are def the things to do here.
Sun city is a further hour or sos flight or a road transfer of, i think, about 5 hours (can't remember to be honest as i slept!)

if strapped for time i'd drop Sun city altogether, its great but not worlds apart from the same experience as say animal kingdom lodge, has a man made beach and water stuff like typhoon lagoon but not as good, has casinos and entertainment but unless theres a really big name playing, i don't think its worth the extra time and expense and the beaches on the cape are fantastic anyway.

hope that helps

 

[Pinky166]

yes the kruger is tarmacked roads, rather like longleat without the fences thats why the private reserves are a more 'real' safari experience. haven't safariied in pilanesburg but they do have the big 5 there.
the private reserves are more expensive but i'd prefer 2 or 3 days on one of these than a week in kruger as they are nearer to the kenya/tanzania thing. (have done both myself).
the palace is fabulous as long as you take into account its pretty much 'plastic' africa, not a very real experience
personally if you're heading for the garden route unless you've got 3 or 4 weeks to spare, i recommend to my clients an itinerary similair to this:

fly to cape town, have at least 5 days there, time to do robyn island, table mountain, teh markets, get out to the beach (can't remember the name but will look it up) where the penguins are people friendly and like to play.
then drive to somewhere like mossel bay (perfectly safe to drive IF you stay on the main roads and don't divert, make sure you have plenty of gas etc).
stay there a couple of nights, maybe whale watch
drive to knysna area, again a couple of days relaxing
there are private reserves along this area so you can enjoy the whole safari experience here, some specialise in, say, cheetahs or elephants but some are big 5 friendly
move on to port elizabeth or durban
you can fly home from here or perhaps then go to joburg, a city thats definitely advisable to stay in the tourist areas, the mining tours and the apartheid museum are def the things to do here.
Sun city is a further hour or sos flight or a road transfer of, i think, about 5 hours (can't remember to be honest as i slept!)

if strapped for time i'd drop Sun city altogether, its great but not worlds apart from the same experience as say animal kingdom lodge, has a man made beach and water stuff like typhoon lagoon but not as good, has casinos and entertainment but unless theres a really big name playing, i don't think its worth the extra time and expense and the beaches on the cape are fantastic anyway.

hope that helps

Thank you so much Carol.

I have PM'd you.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

If it helps I've spent a lot of time in the Centurion area in the Gauteng region, between Jo'burg and Pretoria on business and know the area reasonably well.

We spent a few days at the Bakabung Lodge at Pilansberg National Park which was reasonably good. The weather was really poor (rain/mist) so our opportunities were limited in terms of Safaris. We didn't need malaria precautions for this area however.

The Bakabung was pretty good (a good carvery) but the safari was a bit of a let down to be honest and not just because of the weather.
It's a decent place for Sun City also but I'd agree this is more of a place to say you've been.

We were a 4 hour drive from Centurion, so about 5 hours from Jo'burg is about right.

You might want to stay a little out of Jo'burg and travel in during the day, the centurion area is a reasonable base with good places to eat. It depends on what you want to do around Jo'burg really.