My sister-in-law and I are going to S Africa for the 1st time - March, 2010 & we have much to figure out, plan & reserve. We'll fly in and out of Johannesburg on 3/11 and 3/23 (departing 9:00PM). We need to figure out the gaps in between.

We're in our upper 50's & have done several trips to other countries, always traveling independently but planning for this trip is a bit overwhelming. Since we arrive in Johannesburg on 3/11 about 5 or 6PM, we'll spend the 1st night at the Hilton Sandton. We thought we'd pick up a rental car at the airport and later return it there before flying to the Capetown area for our 2nd part of the trip. We wanted to do some game drives, see Capetown, the beautiful scenery, and visit a winery or two, along with all the "mandatory" viewing when in Capetown.

We have a week stay at Mabula Game Lodge near Bela Bela. Why there? A free week courtesy of a family member, including game drives. Also, a malaria free area sounded good. At 1st blush, with a limited # of days and so much to see in S Africa, I thought maybe we might not spend the full week at Mabula so we could head down to the Capetown area, or see other sights. Or are there places we do could day trips from Mabula? Are there nearby places where we could do a game drive while we are staying at Mabula?

When I look at a map, I see 2 "nearby" places that catch my interest - Pilanesburg National Park and Sun City. I don't think I want to spend time in Sun city but am curious to see it. As for Pilanesburg, I've read good things about it. How long of a drive are these places from Bela Bela, and then back to Jo'burg? Would this make sense......leaving early in the morning one day from Mabula, driving to Sun City and then on to Pilanesburg area to spend the night......do a morning game drive the next day, then returning back to our lodge?

What is a good website for S Africa similar to Mapquest or Mappy.com? What S Africa travel websites would you recommend we use in our planning for these areas of S Africa?

What rental car company would you recommend? Should we get a 4 wheel drive? Is it possible to get a automatic transmission rental vehicle? That's been a challenge for us sometimes in other countries.

Re: wineries, I though it might be good to spend 1 or 2 nights there, along with some nights in the Capetown area. Haven't figure out the specific area yet.

Are there day trips we could/should do from Capetown?

So many questions, so many possibilities & so little time....... so your answers & suggestions are welcome!

13 days in Sa, is that correct? Break it in to two trips: Game Park already established, stay the week at Mabula, why do Pilanesberg if you are already staying at a private reserve. Sun City, you could spend a day there (90 min from Mabula), not that exciting just a big holiday resort with a Casino. The next 5 days spend in CT, 3 days in Ct doing Table Mountain, Boulders Beach (penguins), Robben Island, Cape Point, V&A Waterfront, Simonstown etc and 2 days in the wine farms, STellenbosch and Paarl or Franschoek. www.kimssouthafrica.blogspot.com

Ps no 4x4 not necessary, travelling on good roads all over SA.www.kimssouthafrica.blogspot.com

So many possibilities--you are right there.

Let me address just 2 of your questions from the perspective of a foreign visitor:

<i>"Are there day trips we could/should do from Capetown?"
"mandatory" viewing when in Capetown.</i>

Simons Town is 40 minutes by car or there is a train. It is where I based myself for these activities (that may also be of interest to you)

*Great White Sharks and Seal Island in False Bay--but March is not the best time to see the sharks breaching.

*Penguins at Boulders Bay

*Baboon Matters baboon walks

*Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve --a full day should be devoted to this breathtaking location

*Not far from Kirstenbosch Gardens, which are between Cape Town and Simons Town. These are renowned like Buchardt and contain flora unique in the world.

Mandatory in Cape Town
= Robben Island for a guided prison tour. This is where Mandela was held and the tour guides are former guards or prisoners. You take a ferry from Cape Town's water front.

= Table Mountain and Chapman's Peak drive--no personal experience because these were not accessible during my visit

hi jmbklj,

the only bit that I can help you with is the section in Cape town , where we spent 3 whole days, but would have liked more!

we found that all the trips people have mentioned were easy to do from Capetown - no need to stay in Simonstown, which was nice but not a hub of activity.

the first day, we went up Table mountain and then spent the afternoon in Kirstenbosch gardens. it may be worth altering your plans to make sure that if the "table cloth" [the pall of cloud that tends to hang over the mountain and hinders sightseeing] is in evidence, you do something else and aim to go up TM another day.

the next day, which got progessively wetter, we did a tour of the city - there's more than enough to see by way of museums, Robben Island [an unpleasant boat trip if it's rough, apparently, booking obligatory] and the aquarium at the V&A waterfront.

our final day, we drove down to the Cape via boulder's beach [we spend an hour or so inspecting the penguins] and then back via Chapman's peak, ending up there just about at sunset, along with loads of other people.

you could do these trips in any order, depending on the weather.

we visited the winelands on the way out of Capetown so perhaps didn't give them the attention they deserved. Certainly Franshoeck looks a very nice place to spend a couple of nights, possibly longer if you are really wine-buffs.

Have agreat trip,

regards, ann

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I'm taking good notes. I'm actually thinking of cutting my weeks stay at Mabula short by 1 or 2 days to have more time in Capetown.

We've had 3 7-10 day stays in Cape Town. My favourite city to date. And we will be going back. Just so much to see and do. We're not really interested in spending nights in the Winelands - wd much rather spend the time in Cape Town. Although did enjoy a surprisingly fab picnic at Verglegen.

We've stayed a couple of times in apartments alongside Company's Gardens and it is fascinating/shocking watching the homeless stashing away their worldly possessions every early morning.