greenham

Hi

I wonder if some kind soul out there will provide me some ideas-opinions-advice.I am planning a first-time trip out to South Africa with my wife and daughter (13 yr old) in Aug. We have maybe 8 days, 9 max only in SA.

Right now, can't decide to use J'berg or CapeTown as a launch point. We wld like to visit the Safaris AND spend some time in Cape Town but it seems they are far apart.

WLd appreciate some opinions on which city to use as launch pt, and if Aug or March is a better time to visit?

Thanks for your opinions!

santharamhari

Regarding wildlife sightings....august is much better than March. For your safari portion.....i would recommend any of the top lodges in the Sabi Sands game reserve. You can just do a search in the search box and come up with numerous options of where to stay.

You can then add on Cape Town to your safari. I recommend a minimum of 3-4 safari nights......

Hari

mkhonzo

Hari:
Why is August a better month for wildlife viewing in SA?

divewop

Greenham-
Not having visited S.A. in August yet, I was there in March of '04 and had wonderful wildlife viewing.

Even though it was "rainy season" and the grasses were a little high, I don't think the viewing could have been any better unless the animals would have fallen out of the trees into our jeep.

Whichever month you decide on, have a great time!

santharamhari

Mkhonzo,

Isnt august towards the middle of the dry season? whilst the bush is still thick in March? Anyways, i will leave it to you to answer that question, have lived in and guided in the Sabi Sands.......

I didnt say, March was a bad month to visit......just implied August was better. However, with your experience...i obviously stand to be corrected....
Hari

santharamhari

typo....i meant having lived in and guided in the SSGR

atravelynn

I'd opt for Cape Town, then to the Sabi Sands. In fact that is what I'll do in June of 2007.

In Cape Town you can do scenic drives on your own, with a group tour, or a private guide along the coast and enjoy the nature of the Cape of Good Hope. There are the penguins at Boulders Beach in Simonstown. You can take a boat to see Great White Sharks and whales. There is a walk with habituated baboons near Cape Town, but check on the min age required for this. Spiers is a winery with a cheetah outreach program where you can touch the cheetahs. Robbens Island is where Mandela was held prisoner. You can climb the beautiful Table Mountain or take a lift. Those are some of the activities in Cape Town.

There are almost hourly flights throughout the day between Cape Town and Joburg. You can then fly or drive to the Sabi Sands from Joburg.

There are many good camps in the Sabi Sands at various price ranges. The legendary one, for game viewing, seems to be Mala Mala. You have a couple of choices/prices of accommodations in Mala Mala. That is where I chose for 4 nights. But other less expensive lodges in the Sabi Sands would also be good too. Elephant Plains and Arathusa have been recommended.

I think August, dry season, is better, to answer that question.

Disclaimer: I have not been to SA myself. This is just from my research for 1st trip.

Continue to post as your trip takes shape and you'll get good advice from people who have done what you plan to do.

sandi

You'll be arriving in Johannesburg (JNB) from where you can connect to CPT for at least 3-4/days. Then, you can fly direct to Sabi Sands, private reserve at Kruger (don't recall which airline, but one of small internal carriers has a direct non-stop flight). Otherwise, as mentioned above, there are hourly flights between CPT and JNB (flight time about 2/hrs). Once in JNB, you can connect to a flight to Kruger - Hoedspruit or Mpumulanga airports (believe these schedules thought are limited... maybe in the morning only). If you get the first flight out of CPT, you can make this connection. Or, depending on budget, also from JNB, a flight direct to airstrip of the camp/lodge at which you'll be staying. You can also opt for renting a car (from JNB) and drive; about 5/hrs on good well-marked roads. Once at Kruger (the park itself or one of the private reserves - Sabi Sands, Manyeletti, other - spend the balance of your time on safari.

emdee

Hi we went to South Africa this summer(August).
Flew South african airways to Johannesberg ovenighted in a hotel in a casino to sleep off the lag and then flew to Sabi Sands - Londolozi for four nights. After four wonderful nights we flew in a very small four seater aircraft to Phinda where we stayed a couple of nights and then four nights in Cape Town.
It was a wonderful trip with great sightings which we will always remember.
We used ccafrica for the bookings and we were very satisfied. They booked us with a private car and driver for our visit to capetown, winelands and the Cape and that was also great.

Miriam

emdee

There is one thing I forgot to add
ccafrica has no single supplement and as we are also three in the family this was important . Stayed at the Holiday Inn ( sterile but convenient)and they do triples....

Miriam

greenham

Hi everyone,
thanks so much for the help and advice. Appreciate it...much to think about but definitely with better focus and directions given the inputs.

Got another question that I think I will start a new thread...

Thanks again!