South Africa in April '11

Krusty_Clown

Hi there, we're considering forgoing all of our holidays next year, and heading to South Africa for two weeks in April next year, with the kids (16/10yo), to coincide with the Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town on the 23rd April. This also overlaps with two of our milestone birthdays). Another objective is to climb Table Mountain, but obviously not on a date near the Two Oceans.

Just wondering what people might suggest:
Fly into Cape Town and spend the two weeks there (any suggestions on other things to do in Cape Town?)
Fly into another destination (Jo'berg) and spend some more time in a different city?
A week on safari, plus a week in Cape town?

I know it's early days, but It'll be an important holiday, and I need something to look forward to! I would really welcome any suggestions, also any recommendations on how to get there. Thanks a million.

cfitz

Can't help too much, but just to warn you, training while on safari might not work out unless you're in a fancy place with a treadmill. The wild animals would make the running just a little too exciting

I could recommend Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park but I think it's at the wrong end of the country for you. I've done a decent amount of personal research on southern Africa safaris though, so if you don't get the answers you want from others feel free to ask.

Krusty_Clown

Thanks cfitz. Outrunning lions doesn't feature in my plans! Maybe the safari idea is better left until after the goal race! I know nothing of these things. Is safari something that one might do for 7 days? Would that be too much? Too little? Would a teenager and child be bored senseless?

cfitz

I think a lot of people do about 3 or 4 days, but I'd happily go on safari for weeks. Regarding the kids - it probably depends a little bit on the park that you go to, but you can go a long time without seeing anything. I think I would have been bored as a teenager but now I can't think of a more interesting holiday. Also, there is a trade-off regarding luxuries - if you want to go to a true wilderness then you pay the price of less facilities (which can make a long stay more difficult). You can self-drive in a lot of the parks in South Africa if you have a rental vehicle - in my opinion, this makes it way more exciting.

Kgalagadi is the only park I've been to in South Africa. I was also recommended Kruger and Pilanesberg. Kgalagadi suited me because I wanted to see cheetahs and also I was looking for somewhere with very little human intervention. Pilanesberg is a smaller park where there is a certain amount of animal management to maintain the balance of stock etc. Kruger is supposed to be fantastic, huge density of animals and paved roads make the self-drive easy.

LaMer

Same with Cfitz, I'd happily go on Safari for weeks too.

If you want to go on safari (I'd love to go to Kgalagadi myself) but can't make it too far, I'd recommend driving the garden route as far as Port Elizabeth and visiting Addo National Park for a few days, it's a great park and is about a 2 day drive from Cape Town. IMO it's well worth it if you can't make it to a Northern park.

Plenty to do in Cape Town aswell apart from the Two Oceans and Table Mountain. There's a host of walks (if you're into that) around the Cape Peninsula, a quick google would bring up some good sites. April should also see the Stormers (local rugby team) host some games, always a great athmosphere and tickets are cheap, like 5euro per ticket. Outlying towns in the winelands are also well worth a visit for some history, and the villages around the city are nice, like Simonstown, Noordhoek, Hout Bay, Langebaans.

shanagarry

Will see you for the Two Oceans KC (well, a bit of it - hope to run the half)

You would probably find plenty to do in the greater Cape Town region if you're going to be preparing for/recovering from Two Oceans as well. But really it depends on the pace you want - doing stuff constantly or spending some of the time on the beach or by the pool. There is a whole host of things to do - Table Mountain, Lions Head (easier climb and better view imo), Robben Island, Township Tour, Cape Point and all the southern peninsula towns, penguins at Boulders, shark cage diving, adventure stuff like paragliding/sand boarding/absailing off table mountain/horse riding on the beach, various museums, aquarium, winelands. You could go off and spend a few nights around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek in the heart of the winelands (might be a bit boring for the kids tho?) or head up the West Coast which isn't as touristy as other places.

If you want to take off for a few days you could head down the Garden Route, which goes along the coast from Cape Town.

As for safari, 7 days might be a bit much alright with the kids. Pilanesberg might be your best bet as its non-malarial (if you don't want to give the 10yo anti-malarials) and only about 2hrs drive from Joburg. Or else you could go to Kruger, which is either a 5-6 hr drive from Joburg or else you can fly there from Joburg or Cape Town. If you go to Kruger I would definitely recommend self-driving as mentioned above. Just hire a car and drive yourself around and stay in national parks accommodation which will work out much much much cheaper than private lodges. The website is www.sanparks.org.za. Some of the camps have swimming pools etc to keep the kids entertained. Just be aware that your trip overlaps with easter holidays so kruger will book up early, so don't leave it too late if you want to go there.

As for getting here, your two main options are to either come through one of the main European hubs or else through the Middle East. The former is quicker, the latter is usually cheaper. The other choice is to come via Joburg or direct to Cape Town. You have more flight choices to Joburg but personally I prefer to avoid the hassle of changing plans again in Joburg.

If you have any more questions just ask - I've been living in CPT for nearly three years now so know it pretty well.

Krusty_Clown

Brilliant stuff folks, and exactly the kind of information I needed. Many thanks!
Shangarry, my plan is to run the ultra, while my wiser other half will likely take on the half marathon too (don't tell her, but it's my main reason for visiting!).

I think with the big race, some lounging and taking it easy may well be warranted. So for the time being, a suitable broad plan might be to:
Thursday 21st April - Arrive Cape Town - Take it easy for two days (Rugby and fun!)
23rd Two Oceans ultra/half marathon
24th Recover (eat drink and be merry)
25th Visit Table mountain
26th/27th Head down the garden route (self-drive)
Next three or four days Port Elizabeth / Addo National Park

Then <drive back to CPT> or could one leave a rental at Port Elizabeth, and fly/transfer from there (spending a few more days in the area)? I'm not trying to nail down every detail, just looking for a loose plan so I know what I should be planning. Thanks!

shanagarry

Apologies, work has been mental.

I would definitely allocate a few more days for Cape Town itself - there is plenty to keep you occupied. Realistically, you probably won't get too much done the first two days. I don't usually survive the day I land without an afternoon snooze after the night flight, and then friday you've to go to the expo (v well organised so v quick) and will need an early night given it's such an early start.

I would also try and take more time driving down the garden route. It's a long drive and you don't want to spend all your time sitting in a car. This is a link to another post I did previously about things to do on the Garden Route. If you need to save a few days, you could maybe cut the Addo time. It's predominantly an elephant park, so the kids might get bored after too many ellies!

I'd definitely fly either to or from PE (it might be an idea to fly there and drive back, give yourself more recovery time before lots of driving). It happens all the time and the one way car hire fee is between R0 and R400 afaik.

I don't know if you have thought about accommodation yet, but this crowd have some lovely apartments to rent. My friends stayed in one when they came to visit last year and found it great value. I've no affiliation with them, just their recommendation.

dermothickey

I recomend the garden route too, Its beautiful go all the way up to addo national park and back again maybe through the little karoo and visit the kango caves.

Krusty_Clown

Hi Guys, many thanks for all of the advice (and apologies for reviving an old thread). Flights, accommodation all booked for April, so just a two months wait. Capetown for 5 days, then down to Hermanus for two days, Prince Albert in the Karoo for two nights, Knysna for three days, and then onwards to Addo Elephant Park for the remaining three days. So I took everyone's advice on board!

Couple of questions if you don't mind:
Mobile phone coverage: I'm sure phone coverage is fine in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, but is there phone coverage along the Garden route? Should we get Irish Vodafone Live pay as you go subscriptions, or just pick up new Pay as you go sims in Cape Town?

Repeatedly getting advice to avoid salads, shellfish, ice in drinks. That's probably a little bit paranoid, isn't it? Particularly as we are largely staying on a well-beaten tourist route.

Anything else to avoid?