South Africa Travel Answers

Please email me tomorrow and I will look up the name and email address of the travel agent that was used by the conference I attended in Cape Town 4 years ago - he booked my safari to Timbavati and Cape of Good Hope tour and also took us on a tour of wine country/beach/ostrich farm in the vicinity of Cape Town. And was very responsive to all email enquiries, unlike the travel company used by my recent conference in Chile.

Its a good idea to hire a car at Johannesburg airport and drive to Kruger Park- and yea, its better to have your own vehicle at the park. Gives more flexibility. There are numerous forms of accommodation at the park- and no guide is needed. Its about a 3 hour drive north of Johannesburg- good road and lovely scenery. No restrictions on type of car, and a small entry fee. I have a page about Kruger Park if you would like more info. (link is on my homepage (click on my name for that) Also - in Cape Town- easy to get around in a hire car, so much to see. And having your own transport will not confine you. Get to see the winelands , and do scenic trips along the coast and around Table Mountain, and Chapmans Peak . I have a page on Cape Town as well. It is where I lived most of my life. Please do not hesitate to email me if you need more info.

When I was in Cape Town last year we used African Eagle day tours for a couple of tours around the area. I thought they were really good. Website is www.daytours.co.za.

Unless you have a really good reason for getting a tour guide I would suggest doing some research on the locations you are visiting and explore yourself without a guide. Getting around is safe and easy.

I totally agree with EmmaN68 I do not think that a guide or tour is needed when visiting South Africa. The country is easy to navigate, transport is available, and yes- if usual precautions are observed- its safe. So unless the OP actually WANTS a guide, he could easily turn this into an adventure by doing research himself, and enjoy the possibilities.

Thank you all for your inputs. I prefer guided tours so I can know more about the country from the locals point of view and of course to be able to visit as many attractions in 1 day since they have planned routes to follow rather than doing the planning by myself. We all want to make the best of our trips and not to miss any must-see attractions. I could go on my own to these places and do my research, but will I know the stories more than a person who has been there many times and knows every interesting details about the place! Extra Q: Is there a company that provides a pick-up service from the airport?

For Cape Town, I have heard quite a bit of this guy: http://www.ilovecapetown.com/ and suggested him to a VT member who absolutely loved his guiding. In Kruger Park, ALL vehicles, including those used by guided tours, must stick to the roads, which are okay for normal sedan cars. Therefore, you can rent any vehicle to tour Kruger. However, a higher (taller) vehicle gives you better visibility. Only the park's own staff are allowed to drive at night and they do guided night-drives in their vehicles. You have to reserve seats on their vehicles sometimes months in advance.

> Is there a company that provides a pick-up service from the airport? I've just sent you Robin's email address. You can either ask him to arrange your pick up at the airport or use the taxi service at the airport to send you to your hotel (which was what I did)

> In Kruger Park, ALL vehicles, including those used by guided tours, must stick to the roads, which are okay for normal sedan cars. Therefore, you can rent any vehicle to tour Kruger. However, a higher (taller) vehicle gives you better visibility. If you go on an organised safari (which I did from a private lodge at Timbavati) you will be in a jeep which gives you height and very good visibility and the ranger/tracker will also be able to advise you on how to look out for well camouflaged animals in the bush (as often only their trained eyes can 'see' them) and, more importantly, what precautions to take for your personal safety e.g. the predators are oblivious to human presence if you are in a vehicle but even then any sudden movement in their presence can result in e.g. a lion charging at you and getting you on your vehicle in no time! It would also be inadvisable for you to be out of your vehicle if you are self-driving, I suppose! So, I (as a non-South African) would not self-drive though I did meet an English couple at the lodge, who self drove in Kruger but still came to stay at the Akuru Lodge in Timbavati after their self drive. It was a truly wonderful experience :-)

RE > ***If you go on an organised safari (which I did from a private lodge at Timbavati) you will be in a jeep which gives you height and very good visibility and the ranger/tracker will also be able to advise you on how to look out for well camouflaged animals in the bush (as often only their trained eyes can 'see' them) and, more importantly, what precautions to take for your personal safety e.g. the predators are oblivious to human presence if you are in a vehicle but even then any sudden movement in their presence can result in e.g. a lion charging at you and getting you on your vehicle in no time! It would also be inadvisable for you to be out of your vehicle if you are self-driving, I suppose! *** Firstly- in the park, it is clearly stated that no-one may get out of a vehicle while driving ( wether they are South African or from Mars)-this is common sense. And secondly- the animals are so easy to spot in the park that its not necessary for 'specially trained' eyes to point them out. In a normal car too, by the way. My South African 5c worth.

> Firstly- in the park, it is clearly stated that no-one may get out of a vehicle while driving ( wether they are South African or from Mars)-this is common sense. My dear, Lynne, are you aware that common sense can be very uncommon?? FYI I'm only sharing with the OP (not anyone from ZA or Mars!) what I was advised by the ranger/tracker on my safari outings (we had 4). I have no experience of Kruger and FYI there were no such signs in Timbavati (perhaps coz it's a private reserve?) > And secondly- the animals are so easy to spot in the park that its not necessary for 'specially trained' eyes to point them out. In a normal car too, by the way. And, once again, I was only relating my own experience in Timbavati (not Kruger). They wer not eaasy to spot in my experience, I'm afraid, except for the ungulates like impalas and Kudus, off course, but we searched and searched for a leopard (which we never found) and didn't even see a buffalo. And the solitary rhino was hard to spot. Only herds of elephant were easier to spot, more easily at a water hole but there wasn't a single animal at the water hole on our first outing.. And we were radiod by the other jeep to see the family of lions feasting on a kill..

hi Mr. Emirates. I see you are about to set off on a wonderful trip to a great country. We had a rented car and advance accommodation booking throughout our stay. As to your last question: we booked a guided tour from the hotel we were staying at in a little town near Kruger Park. Right there on the spot, no advanced booking. There were various to choose from and we chose lucky: it was just us, the guide and the high 4WD. Kruger Park is big, we drove from 6 in the morning until late afternoon. The guide knows exactly at which times the animals come to drink and where. He knows where the animals have their favourite spots. He does not need to read a map. Also he knows what's safe. At one point we got very close to an angry elephant. Then it's good to know the guide is capable and can really take off quickly. I also agree you preferably need a bit of height to see more. So I'm just saying I enjoyed that safari very much because I felt we saw as much as there was to see and I felt safe. But there were plenty of normal cars driving around as well :-)

Mr Emirates, Robin Troup has not replied to my email and the last time I corresponded with him was 4 years ago. So, you might want to back up your plans by also taking a look at Gerald's recommendation? Also, you have not made any enquiries about accommodation?? Cheers!

ATLC You have totally convinced me to change my mind :D From your experience, I think it is better to be with someone who is familiar with the park than driving around for 1st timers. So, thank you :) Regarding pick-up service, I have found this company, randystours.com/transfers.ht... So, any feedback about their service or price is appreciated. I have looked at Gerald's website and I might consider that guide for some tours around Cape Town. Regarding accommodation, I use this website to look for the best deal hotelscombined.com/?a_aid=12... I will book my hotels once I have planned my full itinerary. I am traveling on the 21-Jan. Extra Q; The Garden Route, most of the tour companies provide 4/5 night packages to there, but I can only spare 1 night from my 5 nights in Cape Town. I am looking for some beautiful scenery areas. I was told about Knysna & Wilderness. All I want is some photos opportunities. Any idea?

> From your experience, I think it is better to be with someone who is familiar with the park than driving around for 1st timers. I agree, absolutely! :-) As an ignoramous foreigner (who doesn't really watch Animal Planet/do extensive online research before I travel/read Lonely Planet), I found the ranger's indepth knowledge of everything (especially my personal safety e.g. when going on a walk-about with the ranger and tracker, to identity the various flora and their traditional use, not just the fauna you see on game drives) especially educational and comforting. I personally paid 9000 Rands for my 3days/2nights safari ex Cape Town (4 game drives/return flight to Hoedspruit airport/transfers/lodging with full board included) and have no regrets! It was wonderful to have 6 chefs catering for 16 huts! And such an experienced and knowledgeable tracker and ranger. And to experience water disruption my second morning coz the elephants had dug out the water pipes! Seems they have a nose for water! That was such an endearing experience! :-) Also, when you are on a private safari like the one I had on Timbavati, the rangers can drive off the road and go right up to the animals (that's how I managed to get my lion pics and Lion King video - not very good though coz it was my first video attempt on my digital camera! LOL!) You can see some pics on my ZA pages but I must confess I've been very slow at adding tips/updating my pages :( But I do have an accommodation tip and Gerald did recommend a place for me to stay then (I checked it out yesterday and it looks very ethnic and wonderful!). I also made friends with a Cape Malay family I met while doing my morning walks from my hotel in SeaPoint (?) and they do have a flatlet attached to their home in the Malay quarters that they rent out to foreign students etc. I could enquire it's availability for you if you can give me the exact dates you'll be in Cape Town and they might be able to arrange pick up service for you, too. I can ask if you wish :-) You can see their pic, too on my ZA VT page! I still keep in touch with them via their daughter in law on FB! And almost stopped in Cape Town enroute my return flight from EZE end of Oct but the airline was going to charge RM2400 extra just to stop over, so I decided to go to somewhere I haven't been to before in S America (since it was my first trip there).

I found him on the net! Do check out:- wildlifesafari.co.za/index.p... southafrica.net/sat/content/...

A news article on Kruger Park published today: news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/... Note: "visitors to remain in their cars while game viewing and that no part of one's body may protrude from a window or sunroof", which is actually a simple enough rule.

Wow! Don't wanna lose an arm or a head! Argh!!