treeucla

Hi. I'm traveling with my family to South Africa in late March-early April 2007. We want to drive from J'burg to Swaziland to Lesotho and then down to Cape Town. How long will it take to do this? We only have about 2 days in each place (with a week in Cape Town). Any suggestions would be great. I was thinking of driving from J'burg to Kruger National Park for a day, then down to Swaziland for 1-2 days, then to Lesotho for 1-2 days then to Cape Town. Feasible? Thanks.

mkhonzo

Yes that is feasible, but not advisable.
It would be better to spend at least two days in the kruger, a day & a night from there into Swazi. second day travelling to exit.
Another day to get from Swazi to Lesotho.
Spend two full days there, much to explore and some sincerely stunning geography. I would suggest three full days if you can make the time, head for Sani pass, source of the orange and then golden gate.
From there a full day drive to the Cape, which you could break mid-way through the Karoo, perhpas, head down to Oudtshoorn and check the caves and ostriches, before going over the outeniqua pass for a glimpse at the garden route...

Since you are then that side, I'd suggest stopping at Gansbaai, overnighting for an early morning shark dive...

Kavey

Treeucla, some of the distances are vast and whilst the National motorways/ main roads are in excellent condition I think you might be underestimating how long some of these journeys will take. Swaziland roads are terrible (or were in 2004) and it took us much longer to pass througb than we'd expected.

I couldn't quite tell from your post - how many days/ nights do you have in total, including travelling time?

treeucla

I have a total of 6 days to get from Johannesburg to Cape Town. So I figured I could drive to Kruger and do a day there, then drive to Swaziland and do 1-2 days there, then drive to Lesotho for 1-2 days then drive to Cape Town.

kurt_a

You could (blasphemy, I know) skip Kruger and drive to Swaziland (1 or 2 nights), Hluhluwe (1 night), Lesotho (2 or 3 nights, per mkhonzo's sound advice), Oudtshoorn (1 night) and the Garden Route in to Cape Town. Alternatively, see Kruger and skip Swaziland. You're going to do little more than drive otherwise, as Kavey said.

On one point I do, however, want to respectfully disagree with mkhonzo on is shark cage diving, but that's a topic for another thread...

HTH

Kurt

http://afrikatourism.blogspot.com

Kavey

Ouch! That is a lot of driving for 6 days. I agree with Kurt's suggestion to skip Kruger and safari in parks that are already on your route.

Ithala was one of our favourites on our 2004 trip (though game viewing was sparse it was such a stunning landscape and very few fellow visitors too). We also really enjoyed Hluhluwe and Imfolozi (neighbouring parks that you can, for all extents and purposes, treat as one). Both are on your route. Once in the Cape another option is Addo which we also enjoyed.

mkhonzo

respect or noe respect, disagree all you like, this board is about opnions...

What is the issue with the shark diving?

kurt_a

Off topic tangent on shark diving:

Throwing blood into the water to enrage sharks so they attack humans in cages may be a thrilling thing to watch, but it hardly seems like ethical treatment of animals, much less ethical tourism.

There is mixed evidence that the cage diving industry is causing increased shark activity nearer to areas where humans are in the water, but that concern aside, consider an analogy to a safari that involved depositing hobbled springbok near a pride of lions in order to watch them kill and eat it: is this a meaningful wildlife experience? It reminds me of children throwing stones at a lion in a zoo in order to enrage it just so they can hear it roar.

Sharks -- or any animals -- shouldn't be treated as if they were our playthings. If you want to go see sharks, that's fine with me, but the practice of chumming should be illegal.

Kurt

http://afrikatourism.blogspot.com

treeucla

Thanks for all the great tips. I'm living in Tanzania where we have tons of safari parks, so skipping Kruger won't be too much of a loss. Any idea on the driving distance/time between Swaziland and Lesotho?

mkhonzo

Well then you agree that stopping in to dive for sharks is OK.

I appreciate your preservationist attitude on managing sharks, pity that the rest of the world doesn't, check the stats on daily mortalities and you might just start to appreciate that the practice of chumming ultimately raises awareness of the species & is in fact of great benefit to their survival afterall......think about this cooment before you respond.

You should also know that "throwing blood in the water to enrage sharks to attack" is not quite as dramatic. Sharks unlike lions/leopards etc do not habituate, consequently there is no association with chum and humans and where you get the notion that the sharks are enraged for human enjoyment is pathetically niave.

As a promoter of tourism, you really have done yourself and your colleagues an injustice: I would encourage you to take the trip to gansbaai for the experience and by all means poste your comments on your own blog, it will improve your credibility.

kurt_a

not going to take your bait, mkhonzo. Chumming the waters in Fodors forums is as unethical as in Gansbaai.

Ply your trade as you see fit. And I'll express my opinion as well.

Kurt

http://afrikatourism.blogspot.com

mkhonzo

What trade do your refer to?
Chumming the board implies that I am enticing a reaction, perhaps you have a crystal ball? Or are you the enraged shark not rising to my bait?

My intention is only to help those who seek assistance on travel tto Africa, which by and large I think that I do.

My candid reply was not inteded to bait you, merely to disagree with you in so much as I fail to see the where shark diving and its nuances pose any threat to the shark or human population.

Now I would say that anyone who posts here and offers thier own web adress is having a shot at chumming, ou swaer!