South Africa

quad_red

Hey guys,
Myself and the gf are heading to South Africa in May. We're flying into Capetown then planning to drive out 2 days later. We've got 17 days to drive the garden route then end up doing a safari. Would anyone have any advice?

In regards to vaccinations - what's the story? Every second site has a different opinion on what's needed.

Any tips as regards where's especially good to see on the route?

Any recommendations in regards to specific safari's off the garden route that you'd recommend?

Cheers!!
Quad

Happy Dragon

I was there over Xmas for 6 weeks, hired a car from Cape Town and dropped it in Durban. 18 days is very short period. S.A. is huge, very like Australia scenery wise and driving distances. Kruger National Park is rampant for Malaria, but it never seemed like that when I was there. Shop around Cape Town - Long St at various tourist info shops, they will help you with car rentals. P.S.- there is NO BUS TRANSPORT SYSTEM in the whole country, only in the cities. There is the Baz-Bus(like Australias version of Oz-Experience), but not cheap.

quad_red

Cheers Dragon,
We're just getting our heads around the distance now. Basically, we fly in Thurs the 3rd May and leave Sunday the 20th. We're gonna book a hotel for the Thurs & Fri nights in Capetown in advance. Then heading out on the Garden Route and getting accomodation on the way. It's off season, so it'd be pretty easy to pick up accomodation on the way.

Should we wait till we get to Capetown to organise car rental or should we book in advance?

Anyone recommend places to stay in Capetown? What were people's experiences in driving in SA?

Cheers
Quad

Zaph

OK, well first off if you're staying around the Garden Route area you don't need vaccinations. If you're heading up to Kruger or anywhere more northerly you will.

Both times I was there we booked our car in advance with local companies as they were cheaper than Avis, Hertz, etc. The only reason we booked in advance was that there was a group of us and we wanted to be sure of getting something big enough for us and our luggage. Unfortunately though, I can't remember the companies we used. As for driving there, it's not bad at all, although the locals to tend to drive very fast. The N2 (Cape Town to PE) is only single lane either way, so if you see someone flying up behind you just pull over a wee bit and you'll be fine.

If you're doing a safari around the Garden Route, I believe there's a park somewhere near Knysna that only opened about two years ago. It wasn't open when I was last there in 2003, but I have heard good reports about it. We went to Shamwari, near Port Elizabeth, which was very good but expensive. There's also Addo Elephant Park near PE which is a national park that you drive your own car around. It's much cheaper, but oddly enough we saw far more elephants in Shamwari.

Along the Garden Route itself, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay (Monkeyland, just outside the town is a must!) are the two most obvious places to stay, although I heard good things about George, but only passed through there on the way to the Kangoo Caves (well worth checking out). If you're looking for somewhere nice and quiet for a day or two, Wilderness, a couple of hours outside Cape Town is definitely recommended. It's got a beach miles long and with few people on it. If you go as far as PE and stay there, look for accommodation around the Boardwalk area only. There are planty of decent B&Bs there and it's safer than other parts of the city, if a bit touristy.

The other obvious place to go is the wine region. Stellenbosch is the biggest town, but Paarl and Franshoek are well worth visiting too. There are plenty of vineyard tours you can do. The other, not so obvious, place to go is Langebaan is a couple of hours north of Cape Town up the west coast, particularly if you're into wind or kite-surfing.

When you're in Cape Town itself, make sure you do all the really obvious stuff, Table Mountain, Robben Island and the Cape (with a stop off at boulders beach in Simonstown for the peguins). As for staying there, it really depends on budget and what sort of accommodation you want. We stayed in guest houses almost everywhere we went, and some of them were of an excepionally high standard, particularly in Wilderness and Plet.

whippet

driving in SA is handy enough, it's on the left side of the road. The only real differences are the 4-Way Stop signs instead of roundabouts and the rule is give way to traffic at the junction before you.

The roads are generally quite good and move at a steady pace in around the cities and towns. In the suburbs a bit of street smarts is needed (avoid dodgy looking blokes selling stuff etc) outside of the cities be wary of the buggies (hi-ace pick-ups and taxis) who bomb around the place with about 30 heads packed inside and generally don't observe the rules of the road !!

Its a great county and the garden route is beautiful .. accom at that time of the year shouldn't be a problem. Book your car hire when you get there, it will be cheaper not matter what the travel agents here will tell you.

I think I paid about €350 for a primera for 11 days .. be cautious of the included kilometers .. go over it and they can charge a fortune !!! generally about 200km are included per day

quad_red

Can't wait now.

Checked out Shamwari, Zaph. Wow! That's bloody expensive. Gonna have to weigh that up. Fair dues, it's some experience but not sure the funds will hold out to that.... Will try and see if I can identify the newer park. If you remember the car company you went with, throw it my way. The big car rental companies are totally fleecing it. Wilderness sounds fantastic

Also, where'd you rent from whippet? And 4-way stop signs are sure to be an eye opener :eek:

So, if we stick to the garden route and only really venture inland to go on a safari, should we get vaccinations?

Zaph

Don't know about now, but it was possible to do day safaris in Shamwari quad, which is what we did, and a friend did a day/night safari there which he said was brilliant. The budget definitely didn't stretch to staying there!

I've been thinking about the car hire firms and while I can't remember which ones we used, I know I checked out Argus and Imperial, and also try carhire.co.za. Actually I have a funny feeling we may have used them second time round.

If you're going to Wilderness check out this place http://www.sa-venues.com/gr/thedune.htm. The house is at the top of the dunes and all the rooms overlook the sea.

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, Wilderness is a bit further from Cape Town than I may have suggested, it's actually closer to Knysna. And another great place to check out is Storms River Mouth, near Plet. Make sure you follow the signs to the mouth, and not just to Storms River. It's very rugged and really beautiful, and there's a place called Nature's Valley near there which s pretty stunning. There's not much accommodation in either, but they're only a short drive from Plet for day trips.

EDIT No. 2: If you're staying in Stellenbosch the Power House Lodge is right beside the university and a short walk to the town centre. It was the best value place we found there and was a nice place to stay.