"SOUTH AFRICA" South Africa by B_Caro

South Africa Travel Guide: 14,798 reviews and 27,492 photos

South - Africa

In November'95 I went to South Africa for 3 weeks, together with some friends (we were 8).
We organised this tour ourselves.
We planned to rent a minibus and wanted to make a tour in South Africa, a tour I think most tourists follow.

The preparation for this trip started about 5 months earlier.
The only things we fixed in advance were the reservation for the minibus and the lodgings in the national parks of Krüger, Hluhluwe and Tsisikama. We were told that there aren't that many possibilities to stay in the National Parks, so it is better to arrange it in advance to be sure to have accommodations.
So we did a lot of reading and talked about the places we wanted to visit.

Finally we mapped out the tour we wanted to make. This was just a guide. Once in South Africa, there were some changes in our planning, depending on the tips we got from South-Africans or other tourists we met, or simply depending on the weather.
It were mostly tips like "Stay away from these areas" because off too dangerous, or just suggestions on what we should visit.
Most of the overnight stays we booked a few days beforehand when we had a final planning for the next days. Therefore we contacted a tourist office most of the time. We didn't have a lot of problems to find lodgings.

Our tour started in Johannesburg. Actually we arrived in Johannesburg by plane, picked up our minibus and left town. Everybody we spoke to advised us to keep out of Johannesburg because it is too dangerous. So we followed this advice and went East.
Our first stop was Lower Sabie where we stayed a couple of days.
From here we made trips to the Blyde Rivier Canyon, Pilgrim's Rest, Bourke's Holes, the Falls,….
The next stop was Kruger National Park.
For our next destination, we crossed Swaziland to get to the Hluhluwe National Park.
In Durban we only stayed half a day.
According to our original planning we would had followed the coast to Port Alfred. But in Kruger we met some people from Cape Town who strongly advised us not to pass transkei & Ciskei for our own security.
So we headed the North, to the "Drakensbergen" where we stayed one day.
After a 2 days drive (passing Bloemfontein) we arrived in Port Alfred where we had a break for 2 days and took things easy.
Then we followed the gardenroute to Cape Town. We stayed 2 days in the Tsisikama National Park (really marvellous).
In Oudtshoorn we visited the Cango caves, a cheetah farm, an Ostrich farm,…
The last days of our holiday we spent in Cape Town.
And in Cape Town we took our flight back home to Belgium.
For the must see activities, photos and travelogues of the Cape Province, I refer to my Cape Town page.

We had a really great time in this beautiful country.
Hope you enjoy this page too.

Caroline

Last visit to South Africa: Nov 1995
Intro Written Sep 11, 2002
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Reviews (12)

HLUHLUWE /UMFOLOZI PARK,
two... - South Africa

HLUHLUWE /UMFOLOZI PARK,
two... Things to Do (5)

HLUHLUWE /UMFOLOZI PARK, two of Africa's oldest game reserves, both founded in 1895. They are famous for the large... more travel advice

TSITSIKAMA Things to Do (5)

please look at my Cape Province page. more travel advice

BOURKE'S LUCK POTHOLES.
This... - South Africa

BOURKE'S LUCK POTHOLES.
This... Things to Do (5)

BOURKE'S LUCK POTHOLES. This is an extra-ordinary example of river erosion. more travel advice

DIE DRAKENSBERGE - Amfiteater - South Africa

DIE DRAKENSBERGE - Amfiteater Things to Do (5)

Impressive views. It is a perfect area for hiking trails; We planned a walking trip to the Tugela Gap. But that day it... more travel advice

Travelogues (4)

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Comments (113)

croisbeauty Mar 2, 2006 at 1:29 PM Report Abuse

beautiful pics and trully nice page
myriam_c Feb 22, 2004 at 1:57 AM Report Abuse

Onze route is +- dezelfde dan jullie gedaan hebben (Westkaap). Het programma zit wel heel vol, dus ik zal wat moeten schrappen. Als je tijd en zin hebt, kijk eens op mijn Western Cape Prov page wat absoluut wel/absoluut niet de moeite is. Groetjes!
Nobbe Feb 8, 2003 at 1:57 AM Report Abuse

South Africa looks fabulus!! Hope to go there one day!!
matcrazy1 Jan 24, 2003 at 4:28 PM Report Abuse

FANTASTIC page with many amazing pics in travelogues and tips! Panorama route in East- Transvaal is just "a must drive" for me now!
dedeckerm. May 27, 2002 at 4:15 AM Report Abuse

Excellente pagina !!
Jaco_Emmen May 25, 2002 at 9:44 AM Report Abuse

Nice information :)
Krumel May 13, 2002 at 2:11 AM Report Abuse

Wonderful page. I`ll make SA next on my list!
DanielF May 6, 2002 at 3:41 PM Report Abuse

Im marveled by the beautiful pics & the well written text: Th
bronek May 3, 2002 at 12:30 AM Report Abuse

magnificent page!!!!
Bill_Steg May 1, 2002 at 10:22 PM Report Abuse

Great page, good info...