South Africa (1 Viewer)

[funflair]

Didn't really know where to put this as we are not taking or even hiring a motorhome (lowers head in shame) but we are going on a "old farts tour" that what Mrs funfair call a SAGA holiday, we are going back end of March for just over two weeks and have not got a clue about the weather and clothes to take, in the motorhome we just have a bit of everything.

So any advice? starting Johannesburg then Kruger national park, Drakensberg, Durban, then flight to Port Elizabeth for a drive down the Garden route to Cape Town, Mrs funfair then want to go out to Boulder Beach to see the penguins

Wanting to travel fairly light so the correct choice of clothes would be good.

Thanks

Martin

 

[canopus]

Send Dazlin a pm Martin I think they may still be out there.

 

[Allan & Loren]

Enjoy your trip. My daughter worked there teaching English to children orphaned through AIDS for the summer when she was at uni. She loved it and is desperate to go back.

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[MC 55 FUN]

We highly recommend this place :

Link Removed

 

[DLT]

Hi We did the same tour with saga had a great time did a couple of safaris
we travelled in January the weather was warm but windy.Not much info
but you will enjoy DLT

 

[Derbyshire wanderer]

I was there last April and had daytime temperatures of 38deg but that was unusually high by probably 10deg.
Once the sun goes down though so does the temperature and I have had to scrape the windscreen in the morning
I take summer clothes and a good fleece

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[Robert Clark]

We've stayed here - brilliant

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel...e_Game_Reserve_Sabi_Sand_Game_Re.html?m=19904


Rovos Rail is also a great way to see South Africa
https://www.rovos.com/

Would highly recommend both

 

[funflair]

We highly recommend this place :

Link Removed

Thanks but this trip we go where we are taken, if we enjoy it we may go back under our own steam.

Martin

 

[jongood]

Hi Martin & jen

We loved south Africa, we went independent with an internal flight and hired cars. The stars for us were addo elephant park by PE, a private game reserve Pondoro next to Kruger and the wild coast ( can't remember name) halfway along garden route and actually lot s of other things. Sure you will see some of this and maybe bit more. Hope you have a great time

BTW we almost went to SA but plumped for NZ

BTW you can paddle in the water at boulder but you prob won't want to swim its great but them penguins do pong!

Jon & Sue

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[GeriatricWanderer]

We're down in PE at the moment. This has been our winter destination for the last 10 years prior to which I lived here for 17 years.
The back end of March is into Autumn, cooler evenings and mornings and earlier sunset.
While up in Jo'burg which is around 6000 feet above sea level it can get quite cold in the evenings so a decent fleece would be good. Also, that altitude, straight off the plane, can catch some people out - you may well be a little breathless at first, just take it slowly and you'll adjust quite quickly. Kruger can be cold at night too. Remember that Kruger is about the same size as Wales so you'll only see part of it in a short trip.
Once you get down to the coast from Durban onwards, there will be no frost and should be pleasantly warm days, just keep that fleece handy in the evenings.
It's a pity but I don't think that type of package tour includes a trip to Addo (30 mins drive from PE) but if you do get to be in PE for a day, rent a car and go see the elephants, up close, very close!
A pleasant ride along the Garden Route, just don't expect to see any gardens!
As previously mentioned, the penguins at Bolders do smell but worse in high summer so not too bad when you're there.
Most first time Saga type tourists I've spoken to over the years have enjoyed their first experience so much they came back the next year under their own steam.
If you want to know anything more just PM me and I'll do my best to help.

 

[funflair]

We're down in PE at the moment. This has been our winter destination for the last 10 years prior to which I lived here for 17 years.
The back end of March is into Autumn, cooler evenings and mornings and earlier sunset.
While up in Jo'burg which is around 6000 feet above sea level it can get quite cold in the evenings so a decent fleece would be good. Also, that altitude, straight off the plane, can catch some people out - you may well be a little breathless at first, just take it slowly and you'll adjust quite quickly. Kruger can be cold at night too. Remember that Kruger is about the same size as Wales so you'll only see part of it in a short trip.
Once you get down to the coast from Durban onwards, there will be no frost and should be pleasantly warm days, just keep that fleece handy in the evenings.
It's a pity but I don't think that type of package tour includes a trip to Addo (30 mins drive from PE) but if you do get to be in PE for a day, rent a car and go see the elephants, up close, very close!
A pleasant ride along the Garden Route, just don't expect to see any gardens!
As previously mentioned, the penguins at Bolders do smell but worse in high summer so not too bad when you're there.
Most first time Saga type tourists I've spoken to over the years have enjoyed their first experience so much they came back the next year under their own steam.
If you want to know anything more just PM me and I'll do my best to help.

Thanks for that, great information.

Martin

 

[funflair]

Hi Martin & jen

We loved south Africa, we went independent with an internal flight and hired cars. The stars for us were addo elephant park by PE, a private game reserve Pondoro next to Kruger and the wild coast ( can't remember name) halfway along garden route and actually lot s of other things. Sure you will see some of this and maybe bit more. Hope you have a great time

BTW we almost went to SA but plumped for NZ

BTW you can paddle in the water at boulder but you prob won't want to swim its great but them penguins do pong!

Jon & Sue

Hi Jon and Sue

Are you enjoying NZ

Martin and Jen

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[Adbt]

Sorry to be a party pooper but we went in 2007 and I vowed never to go back , beautiful country but a dangerous and violent powder keg .
No reports since 2007 have influenced me to change my mind tbh .

 

[DBK]

We went in October, prime time for the whales in Walker Bay (unforgettable) and the flowers around the Cape.
The whales come in very close to the shore so you don't need a boat to see them. Hermanus is the traditional place to for whale watching but it is mega-touristy. There is a modern town on the south end of Walker Bay which is better for whale watching IMHO but you can see them in other places plus dolphins of course. The sharks only eat a few tourists a year.

 

[Mel]

We spent Christmas & New Year 2014/2015 in and around Capetown & Wellington!
Cant wate to return hopefully for 12 weeks.
Never saw anything to give concern of danger.
Never met anyone that did not love it.

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[GeriatricWanderer]

We went in October, prime time for the whales in Walker Bay (unforgettable) and the flowers around the Cape.
The whales come in very close to the shore so you don't need a boat to see them. Hermanus is the traditional place to see them but it is mega-touristy. There is a modern town on the south end of Walker Bay which is better for whale watching IMHO but you can see them in other places plus dolphins of course. The sharks only eat a few tourists a year.

Number one son flies helicopters in and around the Cape, often over the coastal waters. He says if the surfers and kite boarders in the sea below him could see the Great Whites that he can see from where he is, they would switch hobbies to something like building sand castles.

 

[Wagoneer]

You will be visiting in their autumn. The northern part tends to be subtropical (rain in summer and dry in winter). The southern area tends to have a more temporate climate all year round, similar to a UK summer but probably warmer.

The climate in the Johannesburg area is probably the best I've ever experienced. It does get cold at night in the winter but is very warm during the day.

Best to visit the Kruger in September at the end of the dry season (foilage died down and animals concentrated at water holes). However, we've been there in January and seen plenty of game.

Arm yourself with a fleece and light weight windcheater and you should be good to go in any of the areas you intend to visit.

 

[jongood]

Hi Jon and Sue

Are you enjoying NZ

Martin and Jen

Yes great thanks, we are currently in a rented mh y in south island. Wonderful scenery, but weather not great 4 seasons in one day!

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[pollensabob]

The Midlands Meander in Kwazulu Natal is worth doing. Lots of very reasonable boarding houses and hotels en route. History, scenery in abundance. We picked up a hire car from Oribi Airport Pietermaritzburg.

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

Sorry to be a party pooper but we went in 2007 and I vowed never to go back , beautiful country but a dangerous and violent powder keg .
No reports since 2007 have influenced me to change my mind tbh .

We first came here (RSA) in 1970 (job assignment) and were told by friends and family in the UK that there was a blood bath looming.
I've watch it here for those 47 years and still waiting for that blood bath.
Sure it can be unwise to venture into some areas of a few big cities but those who do must be naive or blind.
I was here in the dark days of apartheid and any threat to the person was far far more likely then than now.
Generally people of all races, and there are many, now mix easily together though as in any country of mixed races people still prefer to live close to their own kind.
Although apartheid and segregation are long gone, when it comes to work and jobs there is still much discrimination based on skin colour.
One of those places where it's difficult to predict the future, a bit like the EU.
One thing is for sure, as far as national cricket and rugby teams are concerned, you will never find any that play with more national pride and enthusiasm - all skin colours.

 

[Cat53]

Love, love, love South Africa. Fantastic scenery, wonderfully friendly helpful people, brilliant weather, the most fabulous wildlife, flora and the food and wines are just superb. Treasure your first visit. It's a joy. You won't see whales at the time of year you are going, they arrive about July and leave around November. Layers are the key to clothing. Enjoy.

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[PhilandMena]

Martin, Mena and I done SA in 2010. Two weeks is not enough !
We done Cape Town. Robben Island, Table top Moutain. Guided tour in one of the shanty towns. Flew to Durben picked up hire car and visited Losoto, Drakensburg mountains, Iswandlana, Roukes drift, Two game drives, Drove back along the Garden route, Whale watching at Hermanus, Got shitfaced in Stellenbosh and watched the penguins on Bolder beach. Amongst other stuff. You will love it, but two weeks is simply not long enough.

 

[Wicketter]

Love South Africa, been twice now. Going again and have booked through the Camping & Caravanning Club for October. Starting in Jo'Berg and heading up through Kruger into Botswana and back through Namibia to Cape Town. Went for a 4X4 with roof tent this time. Let's home me and my husband are still friends at the end of it! Don't forget your malaria tabs, on offer in Asda through the pharmacy no prescription and they were reduced!

 

[PhilandMena]

Whoops! I'm loosing it Martin it was 2005 not 2010.

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[funflair]

Martin, Mena and I done SA in 2010. Two weeks is not enough !
We done Cape Town. Robben Island, Table top Moutain. Guided tour in one of the shanty towns. Flew to Durben picked up hire car and visited Losoto, Drakensburg mountains, Iswandlana, Roukes drift, Two game drives, Drove back along the Garden route, Whale watching at Hermanus, Got shitfaced in Stellenbosh and watched the penguins on Bolder beach. Amongst other stuff. You will love it, but two weeks is simply not long enough.

I know its not long enough but we have to be back for Chester and we are not going to Spain as we thought we couldn't leave Jens Mum for 6 or 8 weeks so much longer in SA would/could also be a problem, nice photo's Phil or at least two of them anyway

Martin and Jen

 

[MattR]

I spent 3 months in SA in 1991; it was fun but eye-opening. I've traveled in much of C, E, N & S Africa and have never seen the issues that I found in SA. It may have changed but take care. Your trip @funflair does seem rushed; you may not have time to go everything justice - can't you extend it at all?

 

[funflair]

I spent 3 months in SA in 1991; it was fun but eye-opening. I've traveled in much of C, E, N & S Africa and have never seen the issues that I found in SA. It may have changed but take care. Your trip @funflair does seem rushed; you may not have time to go everything justice - can't you extend it at all?

We could get the hotel space to extend it but not the flights home without upgrading to something ridiculousy expensive (£2400 each for one way) we could go back again for that price.

Martin

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[faraway]

Don't walk around looking like a tourist with jewellery on show, fancy camera around your neck etc. If you are driving, keep your doors locked and try not to stop or park in such a way that you cannot drive away quickly if required. If you would not visit seedy areas of big towns in the UK, don't do it in another country. Try not to walk in quiet areas on your own. SA is a fantastic country, but you do need to take care.