We are visiting South Africa with 2 kids 18 and 13 year old in Jan 25
We are visiting Kruger and staying 3 nights in a private reserve.
We are there in South Africa for 10 days in all.
Please suggest itinerary and places to visit.
South Africa Travel Suggestion and Tips
OzBKP on 07/06/2024 - 00:31
Comments
Thanks for the tip. We are flying Singapore Airlines to Joburg and returning from Cape Town.
South Africa Travel Suggestion and Tips
"Exercise a high degree of caution in South Africa due to the threat of violent crime."
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/south-a…
to Joburg
Friend and his family had a violent armed home invasion there about a year ago…
I am aware Joburg is notorious. Dont plan to stay outdoors after sunset
Cape Town is not much better (a myth that it's not as bad). Just stick to the main tourist areas and you'll be fine.
I grew up there. Although it's not a great place to live, it's an incredible place to visit.
Enjoy.
home invasion there about a year ago…
You don’t need to leave Melbourne for that… I know of two separate people that have had that happen in the past year.
You don’t need to leave Melbourne for that…
Next level and significantly more likely to happen in Joburg.
You don’t need to leave Melbourne for that…
Next level and significantly more likely to happen in Joburg.
South Africa has the third highest murder rate in the world.
Australia ranks at 165th.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention…
You are 52.4 times more likely to get murdered in South Africa compared to Australia…
Not good but this kind of thing is next level in SA compared to Melbourne.
No AK47s in Melbourne. Totally not the same.
Most of the game reserves are private. Are you staying in the Kruger plus three days in the private reserve? That doesn't leave a lot of time to do anything else than game watching.
If you're driving to KNP from Joburg, do so during the daylight hours…
Yes 3 days in Pvt game reserve near Kruger. I can change rest of the itinerary to suit our requirements . I will be flying to airport near KNP. return is drive back day time.
Not sure if you will have enough time as you will need to fly, but I would go to Cape Town - it is the most beautiful city in the world and there is heaps to see and do. You will need to fly though.
3 nights out of 10 is a lot to spend in Kruger unless you are really into animals. Personally I would miss Kruger and spend the whole time in Cape Town and surrounds and visit one of the local game reserves for a day
Re safety, you just need to be sensible, don't go go dodgy areas (especially at night) or do anything stupid, I was there for a month in Dec/Jan and did not feel unsafe (apart from the roads as people drive like maniacs)
Most things are really cheap, especially eating out if you avoid the tourist traps
Yes. We would love to watch animals in the wild and is the only reason to visit Africa. We are flying from JB TO Cape Town. Not booked internal flights yet
Game reserves in the Western Cape are theme parks compared to Kruger and other parks in the North and East.
I think the best is Hluhluwe–iMfolozi in Zululand. An incredible big 5 park but specialising in Rhino conservation. I witnessed a Leopard kill there - an incredible but haunting thing to see. Nearby you have the St Lucia wetlands which is a top place to see Hippos and Crocodiles.
Cape Town is a fantastic city but it's not really Africa - the most un-African place in Africa!
I respectfully disagree with you about Cape Town (unless one doesn't venture outside of their hotel and surrounds in the V&A waterfront)
I lived in Cape Town for 4 years (also spent time in Durban and have travelled extensively elsewhere in the world) and it is the most vibrantly multicultural place I have ever been do
Re the game reserves I guess it depends what you are after. If you just want to see animals in a natural setting you can do this in the Cape.
I have been to Kruger and Hluhluwe. The problem with the big parks like this is that it can be hit and miss. On my trip to Hluhluwe it was unbearable hot and humid and we saw very little wildlife in the 2 days, even on the guided ranger tours. At one stage we went hours without seeing anything at all. (We saw more animals at Weribee open range zoo!). If you have kids with short attention spans this can be trying.Seeing the leopard kill must have been amazing, but you were very lucky - the changes of seeing something like this are miniscule, let alone seeing any big cat even sleeping
I'm not disagreeing with you about Cape Town - it's a beautiful, happening city. Multiculturalism is nonsense but it is certainly a multiethnic city. A great place - just not very African. The most un-African city in Africa. Hluhluwe is in a humid part of Southern Africa - a bit like Northern Queensland weather wise and probably best visited in winter. Any game park can be hit and miss at times - nature moves to its own rhythm!
Why do you say most beautiful city ?
You need to spend a lot of time in the KNP to get the most out of the trip. I doubt you'd even make it to all the camps in that time, let alone spot many of the big 5.
There aren't any notable game reserves in the Western Cape unfortunately.
I will be in KNP for wildlife.
I was responding to @stickingly suggesting you visit game reserves in the WC, which is like going to Sydney for coffee😃
@GrandMaster: Couldn't have put it better myself!
Game parks in the WC are manufactured theme parks for overseas tourists who don't want to venture too far out of CT.
😃😃
Why South Africa and not East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.
Are you planning to do Victoria Falls?
I was trying to be a bit cautious about visiting outside of South Africa. Is Victoria falls good?
South Africa has the highest crime rate in Africa. I lived there for ~40 years and visited briefly last year. Couldn't wait to return to Oz.
Kenya is generally safer and the locals are a lot friendlier than those in South Africa. Prepare for a rude awakening when you arrive at passport control in Joburg…
Are you going to stay in a game reserve outside of the KNP and then do day trips into the park?
Is there anything I need to take care at passport control?
I am staying in game reserve outside KNP
ELANDELA PRIVATE GAME RESERVEWe were only planning to visit the KNP 1 day and the other 2.5 days to stay in the Private game reserve and do the daily morning and evening drives inside the pvt reserve only. Is that a better option or not ?
Personally, if I was visiting Africa today, I'd go to Botswana for the Okavango Delta, Zambia/Zimbabwe for the falls and Namibia for deserts, mental coastline and elephants.
Hey Mate, Saffa here and I can give you some of my thoughts.
I think you're right about spending 3 days at the Kruger - it is bloody huge, and you will spend your days driving around to spot the wild. You could easily do 100+ km per day. It's great fun and relaxing being in nature. Kruger is most popular in the winter though but would still be a memorable experience (just get mozzie repellant).
Are you renting a car to drive around at the Kruger?
You're also right to have Cape Town on the list, where I think the remainder of your time can be spent.
In Cape Town there are a few things you could do:
I'd suggest you take the red tourist bus (Google it) for a guided tour of Cape Town. It lets you get off at different attractions and catch the next bus when it comes by. It will give you a good overview of CPT. Some attractions on this route that I can remember is the District 6 museum (apartheid gov moved people there to free up land), a stop in Hout Bay at the harbour (wonderful place to have lunch), Table Mountain, V&A waterfront.In Cape Town there are a few must-do's in my opinion:
Table Mountain (on a day without clouds)
V&A waterfront (which also has a nice aquarium)
Visit the Castle of Good Hope with guided tour (1600's fort built by Dutch settlers)
A day trip around the mountain (Fish Hoek, Boulders Beach, Chapman's Peak, Llandudno, and Clifton (some of the most expensive RE in SA), up past Sea point and back to the V&A Waterfront.Optional:
Wine farms around Stellenbosch or
A trip out to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned during apartheidMaybe see if there are domestic flights from the Kruger to CT? I think the only unpleasant part of the trip might be the drive from KNP to Johannesburg.
With regards to safety, you'll be okay sticking to tourist areas. Just don't walk with your phone out in crowded areas, keep cameras with a sling around your neck, don't drive at night. Avoid the area around the Cape Town airport during the night and avoid entering informal settlements by accident.
Oh, and by te way there is a big tipping culture. In restaurants if you experienced good service you could tip up to 15% - that money goes directly to the waiter. Anything less than 5% is almost offensive!
Have fun, South Africa is an amazing tourist destination and the combo of KNP + CPT will have you coming back feeling like you've had a proper African experience
Fantastic. Appreciate the detailed information.
We are staying at Elandela Pvt Game reserve in KNP. We plan to visit KNP just 1 day and the other 2.5 days just do the pvt game reserve.
We are taking a flight from JB to KNP and on return I want to hire car back (preferably no self drive) from KNP and stop over 3 places on the way and reach JB.
Stay over in JB for 2 nights. We plan to visit some rhino / leopard safari / hospital and few other attractions around JB.Then take flight from JB to CT and spend rest of the time there.
I would say try to do:
Cape Town - do table top mountain and drive down to Cape of Good Hope, see penguins, etc
Safari - KNP sounds good
Potentially drive garden route Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (lock car doors) and also do self drive of Addo Elephant National ParkSpend as little time in Jo'burg airport as possible
I actually flew J'Burg to Port Elizabeth, then drove to Cape Town and flew home from there. I found it a great choice other than constant unease whenever driving
I note that someone else also mentioned about JBurg airport. Will be careful.
garden route did not excite us … the pics on google seems like traveling within australia :-)Just curios to know why Addo Elephant park ? wont we be seeing enough elephants in kruger ?
I found Addo cool because I could self driven which was fun after having been on guided safari for week prior
I know this is a little old, but I had some thoughts…
Flying to KNP – for the 3 days is the right length, anything less and you wont have a good chance of seeing lots. It will be very hot.. be prepared. But it can also be cool early morning game drives in open vehicle – so bring a layer for that.
3 days in a private game reserve will be a great introduction to game viewing – you get a lot of info on the animals from the guides and it will be an amazing experience. You mention you are also going into Kruger – if that is self drive, it is quite fun to try to spot animals on your own, particularly after having had a guide with you for a few days in the private lodge. Within the KNP itself, often the good sightings are found because there are lots of cars parked around it.. while they are amazing, it can be all about getting your car in a good spot. Sometimes diminishes the experience – but if you’re watching a pack of wild dogs and a leopard, you don’t care. You could see if you can find a night extra within KNP, if being inside without a guide interests you (e.g Skukuza rest camp - check SANParks, it has restaurants and accom is decent, you can also go on SANPark organised guided morning/evening game drives if you prefer). Rental car needed to get into the park though.
You mention you want to hire a car on the way back – you could either drive Blyde River Canyon and visit yourself, or organise a tour from Hazyview/Nelspruit. Look into the Blyde River Canyon https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g312628-d31… you could spend a day here, and overnight https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g312628-i10525-k116…
I kind of agree that Capetown isn’t really Africa – but you could easily fill your time there and it would be interesting – red bus tour, tour to Cape of Good Hope (penguins at Boulder Beach), Robben Island, Table Mountain. Depends if all this interests you. The wine regions is definitely worth visiting if you like wine (and very different scenery from Australian wine regions, food is amazing too) but with kids in tow its not fun for them. But – instead of Capetown you could try the northern part of the Garden Route – fly into George or Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha?) then head to Tsitsikamma National Park (wilderness) for some adventure (e.g. zipline) and hiking with the kids (storms river suspension bridge). Head to Addo Elephant Park, Oudshoorn for Kango Caves. There are some beautiful mountain passes in the area too. Be careful planning to much, you always want to make sure you are not driving at night - just to be on the safe side. Potholes can be very bad, so you need to drive very carefully.
If your main attraction is wildlife – sure Botswana and Kenya are great options, but can be expensive compared to SA, and if you’ve already booked the SA private game reserve then you’ll spend too much of a fairly short holiday in airport time as you’d have to fly back to OR Tambo to get anywhere I believe. I think Kruger area is a great intro. But if you are only coming to Africa once, then definitely go big and head to Bots/Kenya!
If you hire your car via an Australian website they are usually unlimited KMs. Obviously take precautions – don’t leave your vehicle with visible luggage (if possible).
Thank you. This was the info I was looking for
I assume you are on Qantas 63 and 64. My tip is choose a seat on the port side outbound and starboard side inbound in case they choose a southerly route. Keep an eye out for Antarctica.