South Africa Travel Answers

One of your main decisions will be on how to access Lesotho. Normal hire cars can't use the roads on the east side (rugged Drakensberg). The narrow bit of South Africa between Lesotho and the Indian Ocean was formerly known as Transkei, which is no longer politically correct, but still useful for google. (The more acceptable name is the Wild Coast). A number of people would advise to avoid driving through this corridor, but I personally feel it is not to be missed. Two or three nights at Coffee Bay would be the highlight of a South African visit for me. (Lesotho can be visited by pony from the east, or organised 4x4 day trip)

>>Is this achievable without taking any domestic flights or spending ridiculously long hours behind the wheel? Had to chew on this part a bit. The shortest route between Lower Sabie and Cape Town is about 2000km, which is about the straight line distance Malta to London. We would drive that over 2 days. You will be on holiday over 21 days and you are probably going cover 4000km with your meandering. Staying more than a day in a town means that some days you will need to cover 400km to 500km. These won't be unbroken, there should always be a couple of opportunities for relaxation, photos, refreshment, etc. (We often take a 3 week roadtrip, out of Cape Town and back again, 6000km is typical). Therefore, I wouldn't plan to fly any part. A lot of roadtripping tourists do however fly from Durban to Port Elizabeth to avoid the Wild Coast and I think they make a big mistake. If you really want to see true Africa with its tribal heritage, and see how Nelson Mandela was raised as a child, you have to drive that route. There are very few flush toilets for many kilometers, but if you plan your stops in Kokstad, Mthatha, Coffee Bay and East London, you are okay.

Having said all that, the other alternative to driving the Wild Coast corridor, is to go around the western side of Lesotho, with a 2-3 day stay in Lesotho at Malealea lodge. This would also qualify as true tribal Africa, arguably more so than the Wild Coast, but no green rolling hills and no beaches. So, back to the title of this thread "Pre-itinerary advice", I wouldn't make any more internal flight reservations and I would start looking what to do about Lesotho and the Wild Coast. . . . .

Bookmark (Not stalking, btw, just going too!)

That's why I don't do e-mails - I write for the stalkers :-)

Good advice from Gerald, who's our resident road trip expert. My only additional comment is that if you're hiring a 4x4, then you could do Sani Pass up into Lesotho from the east. If you aren't planning to hire a 4x4, then you could skirt the Lesotho border by meandering through the stunning Drakensberg, then drive into Lesotho from the west. From there, you could mosey around the Kingdom for a few days: it's small and you could hit the highlights in 3 days. If you do that western route, then I would recommend that you also consider visiting Bloemfontein and/or Kimberley, which are sort of on your way (well, you did say that you had 21 days!). Both are wonderful and sadly overlooked destinations for tourists who would like to gain an understanding of South African history. I am personally not a great fan of Transkei - as Gerald suggests, people either love it or they don't - but if you'd like your fix of green, rolling hills, then you could always look at northern KwaZulu Natal (I am particularly fond of the Eshowe area). Regards Cathy

Cathy, once you have spent a few nights at Umgazi, we can talk about our likes for that part of the world again ;-)

Hi Gerald I know that part of the world fairly well, but sorry, I'm not a fan (although I'll happily concede that the landscape - and the coastline in particular - are lovely). However, as ever, I'm happy to debate the issue over an Amstel or two ... my shout this time! Regards Cathy

Cathy and Gerald, the two or you are a good read. Hope the two of you are keeping track of the Amstels. Seriously your advice is admirable and I hope the recipients are grateful.

@Gerald_D - We won't be hiring a 4x4 so if we do go to Lesotho we'll have to access it from the west. I quite like the idea of driving the Wild Coast. Plotted a route on Google Maps and realised that if we stop at the four places you mentioned our longest leg would be from East London to Port Elizabeth which, at 300km, isn't bad at all. I'm inclined to pick Swaziland over Lesotho and do the Wild Coast but I'll discuss this with my travel buddy. By the way, 21 days is the amount of time we have to reach Cape Town from Kruger. On top of that, we'll be spending 4 nights in Kruger and another 6 in CT. I haven't booked any internal flights yet, not even the compulsory CT to Jo'burg one. @CatherineReichardt - Interesting alternative to what Gerald suggested. Will see if my travel buddy prefers a coastal or inland route and take it from there. @Canuck68 - Rest assured that I'm very grateful for all the help I'm getting from Gerald & Catherine. Which place do you guys find more interesting, Swaziland or Lesotho?

I am sure you are Mark. They go out of their respective ways to give very good advice.

The East London / Port Elizabeth leg is not part of the Wild Coast. The Wild Coast, seen from the Cape Town end, starts at the Kei river, just north of East London, and was thus named the Transkei.

Actually getting to the coast of the Wild Coast is not as easy as the name may suggest....it is not a scenic coastal drive by any means. The roads off the N2 to the coast are often in very poor condition. Port St. Johns has a fair quality road and Coffee Bay's road is also hard-topped but badly potholed in stretches. Coffee Bay has the better variety of walks, beaches, scenery and accommodation.

Hi I find Lesotho much more interesting than Swaziland because the scenery is more dramatic and there are more interesting things to do (particularly pony trekking and hiking). But I have worked there on and off in the past, and have a great affection for the Basotho people. Swaziland is fine in a pretty, sleepy way and probably less challenging for a tourist, but I don't think it's as interesting. I am also a little concerned that there is periodic civil unrest in Swaziland as the population gets increasingly disillusioned with the king's antics (he is the last absolute monarch in Africa and is under great pressure to effect social and legislative reform, which he is emphatically resisting). By contrast, although Lesotho has a disappointing habit of changing government via coups rather than the ballot box, these have very limited influence outside of Government circles and it's a very peaceful place. We did a three generational road trip across Lesotho this January, so you may find it useful to have a look at my Lesotho pages to get a better idea. Regards Cathy

Agree fully on Lesotho over Swaziland. The scenery in Swazi is no different to what you will see around it. The political tension is palpable with armed soldiers/police about and roadblocks to check your papers. Having said that, I would have no hesitation driving across Swazi to get from Lower Sabie to the Kwazulu-Natal coast if I was in a hurry. (Parts of that road are like an aircraft runway, but beware of speedtraps) Lesotho also has its roadblocks, but a friendly greeting normally sees you through. (Do stop at the stop sign, 50 meters before the official, and wait there until beckoned)

Gerald, your comment reminded me of the time that I drove my parents through Swaziland and we got stopped at a roadblock, where they identified that my licence disc had just expired (it was the beginning of the month). Not that it actually mattered to them, as it was a South African registered vehicle, and thus violated South African traffic law - and not Swaziland's - but they gave us a bit if a hard time. My mother was on Lariam malaria medication at the time and was reacting badly to it, and this experience catapaulted her into a series of anxiety attacks which certainly didn't add to the peaceful quality of that particular trip!

Does this route make sense? Are the roads we'd need to use in good condition? Day 1 - Lower Sabie to Ficksburg to enter Lesotho ~600km Days 2/3 - Lesotho Day 4 - Lesotho to Coffee Bay (where should we exit Lesotho from?) ~350Km Day 5 - Coffee Bay Day 6 - Coffee Bay to Port Elizabeth ~525Km The tourist visa for Lesotho will cost me €100 so it had better be worth it :) Thanks again.

I've just realised that day one's journey is closer to 700Km. Should we divide it over two days? Where could we stop for the night?

Quite frankly, If you are going to try and do both Lesotho and Wild Coast, that is too much rough/slow driving and you will miss a lot of other good stuff. That's why I started off in this thread by suggesting that your biggest decision is to decide which one of the two you want to do. I would not have bypassed KwaZulu-Natal (even though I agree on missing Durban) €100 visa will keep me out of Lesotho, just on principle. PS. the names of towns, particularly up north, are in a state of flux. All roadsigns near Lydenburg will say Mashishing instead. Umtata is now Mthatha.

What passports are you and your partner using? Check visa requirement at foreign.gov.ls/services/defa... I wonder if a organised day visit up Sani Pass needs a visa . . . . Maybe that €100 can rather be spent in that way. . . . We are rather fond of http://www.sanilodge.co.za/ and the village of St. Lucia on the KZN coast. Just throwing these random names at you to see it it suits your style.

Catherine and Gerald have both given great advice so I'll just add my 2 cents from my side, being a Durban resident I choose to ignore all comments about Durban :) I would tend to agree with Gerald on this 1, having been to the Transkei quite a few times and having driven to PE and Cape Town on a few occasions the drive through the Transkei is great, it's a complete different side to South Africa compared to the cities, just so long as you are very alert while driving, so as to dodge the pot holes( I have unfortunately bent a rim or 2 on the drive down) and the live stock, cattle and goats tend to wonder onto the road every now and again so I definitely wouldn't drive this route at night, I think that goes without saying... Lesotho definitely offers more than Swaziland, in fact Swaziland isn't really anything to write home about... AsGerald said, you might want to look at spending a few days in the Transkei at a few of the resorts and lodges, there are also back packers the whole way down, depending on your budget and preferred accomodation preference... I'm sure it'll be a memorable trip! Enjoy!!

@Gerald_D - Thanks for making me aware that the route I proposed wasn't reasonable. I have a Maltese passport and my friend is from Hong Kong. I've confirmed that I need a visa for Lesotho and my friend needs one for Swaziland. I don't think that taking an organised trip would eliminate the need for a visa. We'll skip both Lesotho and Swaziland and head straight to the Wild Coast from Lower Sabie. In other words we'll stop at Kokstad, Mthatha, Coffee Bay and East London as you suggested in an earlier post. The journey from Lower Sabie to Kokstad is 900Km so we need to break it into at least two parts. Where do you suggest we stop? @fezzly - Thanks for your input. We don't intend to do any driving after sunset. Yes, as I stated above, we'll be stopping at Kokstad, Mthatha, Coffee Bay and East London,

Hi100 would make my eyes water too! I still think that you should check with the tour operators about taking an organised trip up Sani Pass for the day. They literally just take you to the top of the Sani Pass, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the visa requirement is waived for this. The journey up and down the pass really is a spectacular experience and also allows you to have a beer in the highest pub in Africa, and if it's a full day tour, you may even get to do a short pony trek from the Sani Top chalets. Well, well worthwhile. The majority of tour operators who offer the Sani pass tour are based in Underberg in the Southern Drakenberg, which is an utterly gorgeous place in its own right, with lots of things to see and do - have a look at my Underberg page to see for yourself. Nearby Himeville is also a charming timewarp sort of place. From there, you could then continue south to do the Wild Coast/Transkei thing if that appeals. I am getting to know KwaZulu Natal better because I have had to go there fairly often on business over the last few years. The Drakensberg is utterly fantastic, and I am very fond of Hluhluwe/uMfolozi - which gives a very different bush experience to Kruger - as well as lovely Eshowe, and it's also very close to the iSimangaliso wetland (still usually known as St Lucia). Hell, I'm even growing to quite enjoy Durbs-by-the-Sea! Isn't choice a terrible thing??? :) Regards Cathy

Catherine, I just checked out some tour operators' sites and quite a few of them mentioned visa requirements (e.g destinationsza.com/tour-dest... and thabatours.co.za/lesotho.htm.... Are any of these towns/cities worth stopping at on the way from Lower Sabie to Kokstad? Driefontein, Newcastle, Ladysmith.

I will suggest an itinerary over the weekend, but I am still trying to figure what interests you and what your style of travel is. For example, British history buffs would spend a while in "Zululand" where epic battles were fought....I somehow don't think that interests you. (Don't get too excited about Kokstad, except that it has the last presentable toilets before the Transkei)

I am not expecting much from the Lower Sabie to Kokstad journey - it's more of a 'necessary evil' than something we're doing by choice.  We'll only be stopping over for the evening/night so as long as it's a safe town/city with decent accommodation and a place to have dinner we'll be fine. It would be nice to drive through traditional villages and perhaps pass by a river / lake just for the sake of having something to look at other than the road. My friend is interested in "having drinks by the sea in the shade" but she'll have to wait till we reach the coast for that :) Apart from that, she likes cities and buildings / architecture so perhaps Newcastle would be an ideal place to stop.

For my thinking this weekend, from your research, are there any towns/sights between Kruger and Cape Town that grabbed your interest? How many days roughly do you plan for this part? There is nothing wrong with "rushing" the first part of this journey and slowing between PE and CPT. (Personally, I wouldn't even make PE a must do, rather try Grahamstown, Addo or Jeffrey's Bay in the general area)

That's a pity, because KZN - particularly the northern part - is really very nice, and your friend could certainly fulfil her ambition on the beach in the iSimangaliso/St Lucia area. If you don't want to fall foul of visa requirements, I would bite the bullet and drive around (rather than through) Swaziland and get some good kilometres under your belt. Newcastle really doesn't have much to recommend it, and Ladismith isn't that great for tourists either unless (as Gerald says) you've got an interest in the Zulu wars. Just beware of major roadworks in this area: we got caught out on the Ladysmith-Ermelo road in January and it added 1.5 hours to our trip. On your journey south, I would rather consider staying at one or two of the KZN national parks in the area (which are different to the national parks, such as Kruger): Google 'Ezemvelo' to see the range of locations and accommodation they offer throughout the province. If you can't do Lesotho, I would still strongly recommend a brief foray into the Drakensberg, as they are utterly unlike any other mountain range you're likely to see. You're going to be spending a lot of time tracking the coast on the rest of your journey, and it might be a nice contrast to see the very different inland environment. Regards Cathy

Avoid Newcastle and Ladysmith if possible unless for accomodation purposes you have to stay there, they both really do not offer much... Seeing as you have 21 days for this 'road trip' I would definitely also recommend going to the Drakensburg, there are many resorts and camp sites to stay at, ranging from rustic and simple to 5 star, and it would offer some variety to what you will encounter once you reach the cape... From the Berg you can then make your way to the Transkei coast...

@Gerald_D - I'm not thinking as far as Cape Town for the time being as that would be too overwhelming. I want to get the Kruger > coast section out of the way and then move on to the next section. I want to get to the coast from Kruger in about 4-5 days. I spotted the towns/cities I mentioned in my previous post simply by taking a look at Google Maps. They seemed relatively large so I assumed they would have something to offer but evidently I was wrong. @CatherineReichardt - It's tempting to go to iSimangaliso or St. Lucia from Kruger and then drive along the coast all the way to CT but that would make the trip purely a coastal one (no mountains). The Ezemvelo parks between Kruger and Lesotho are all located just outside Lesotho from what I've gathered. Are the accommodation prices quoted on their website per person per night? My friend doesn't seem that keen on going to another nature reserve after Kruger but I'll see if I can convince her. If she agrees, we'll head to Drakensburg for a night or two after that. This is the route Google Maps suggested and it's clear that we'd need to break the trip from 'A' to 'B' and 'B' to 'C' in two parts http://goo.gl/maps/9crI Any recommended overnight stops? @Fezzly - Thanks for the 'warning' on Newcastle and Ladysmith. We'll avoid them.