KingPete2010

Hey all

I’m coming to South Africa for 3 weeks for the world cup and have booked several things in Kruger Park, Drakensberg, and Jo’burg. I’ve been scouring this forum for all sorts of advice for the remaining parts of my trip (Garden Route) and it’s been great. Based on input I’ve read online and in books, I’ve developed an itinerary that I would like feedback on for certain sections in the Garden Route portion of the trip (QUESTIONS IN CAPS, sorry if that’s annoying). The Garden Route itinerary we have is perhaps too aggressive, but its world cup match based, and accommodations have been booked and paid for. Thanks in advance.

Cape Town 4 full days, depart day 5 to Hermanus

Day 1
Table Mountain – HOW LONG DOES THIS TYPICALLY TAKE TO DO?
The Company Garden
World Cup match at night

Day 2
Robben Island (11am-230pm)
Explore V&A Waterfront

Day 3
District 6 Museum
Castle of Good Hope
Half day tour to Stellenbosch – GOOD TOUR RECOMMENDATIONS?

Day 4
I want to see Simon’s Town / Boulders Beach / Cape of Good Hope – BETTER OFF TO RENT A CAR AND DO SELF GUIDED TOUR or CAN SOMEONE RECOMMEND A TOUR WHICH WE GET TO GET OUT AND EXPLORE AND NOT DRIVE PAST THESE SIGHTS

Day 5 (CT to Hermanus)
Drive to Hermanus – might stop by Stellenbosch if we don’t do the half day tour
Whale watch. Walk around harbour/cliff paths. ANY CAN’T MISS SUGGESTIONS (DINNER, TOO)?

Day 6 (Hermanus to Knysna)
In Knysna, we plan to check out the Lagoon; perhaps the cruise if it’s worthwhile. ANY CAN’T MISS SUGGESTIONS?

Day 7 (Knysna to Jeffrey’s Bay)
In Jeffrey’s Bay, we plan to just bum around, maybe surf. ANY CAN’T MISS SUGGESTIONS?

Day 8 (JBay to Port Elizabeth)
We haven’t planned much in PE yet, except for the world cup match we are attending in the afternoon. Perhaps Bayworld museum complex. The boardwalk, etc. ANY CAN’T MISS SUGGESTIONS?

Thanks in advance!
Pete

willit

Table Mountain – HOW LONG? Very much depends a) how long you want to be up there - I am presuming you are going to be taking the cable car rather than walking up.

The real problem is time of day and number of people. If you take the first car up, and only want to spend a 30 minutes looking around, then you would probably get a cablecar down quite quickly. If you go up in mid afternoon, andd it is a nice day, you may have to queue for 2 hours to get back down.

There is another huge IF here in that if the mountain has a "tablecloth" , then it is pointless going up. Ditto if there are high winds and the cableway isn't operating.

"I want to see Simon’s Town / Boulders Beach / Cape of Good Hope" Easily done with a hire car. I am presuming you are from the UK (based on your timing between CT and PE) so driving on left is no issue. The only bit I would recommend someone else driving is the Camps Bay /Chapmans peak route - not difficult, but if you are driving you are concentrating on the bends in the road rather than the spectacular scenary.

Knysna - nice little "arty" place, lots of craft shops - the cruise is worth doing on the lagoon as very pretty. Mitchells brewery used to do a tour which was worth doing if you've never done a brewery tour before.

Knysna to Jbay - If you are surfers, then it is good - if not, no point in visiting. From Knysna it is well worth sopping off at Storms river mouth/Tsitsikamma resrve are both well worth a trip if only for the scenary.

Port Elizabeth. Boardwalk is basically a casino and shops around an artificial lake. PE really isn't my favourite place and I am struggling for recommendations - Addo Elephant park maybe.

living4safari

I agree totally with most that Willit said/recommended. How long do you plan on staying in the PE area? Addo might be a good option, but then there is also Shamwari not too far away which is wonderful - you will need at least one night at Shamwari. If you need more info on Addo, please give a shout - been there enough to be able to give you some pointers. PE isn't my favourite place either, but seeing that you are in the area, you want to make the best of it.

KingPete2010

thanks for the input willit.

actually, im not from the uk, but my family is so i cheer for england. no experience driving on the left...

for PE, we're there for 2 days, 2 nights, leaving the 3rd morning.

we're already doing a game reserve with a friend, and kruger, so we'll pas on shamwari. addo might be an option. nothing much in town tho?

willit

Driving on the "wrong side" is not a real hassle (but I wouldn't try Chapman's peak as my first attempt).

I am serious in my puzzlement about PE. My In-Laws live there, so I am a reasonably regular visitor, but I am pushed to suggest anything to do. The beach is OK, but it is winter so you may not be that keen.

There are a couple of decent bars and restaurants on the seafront but I doubt they will be able to cope with the large numbers expected. You might be able to do a boat trip out from the harbour - either just a scenic or fishing trip. There are a fair number of watersport places, and a couple of excellent golf courses.

As a UK football fan, I am seriousy worried about PE as a potential flashpoint. The stadium is a long way from the majority of the hotels, the transport links are not great.

living4safari

Hi there

About Addo: if you feel that you've already got enough game viewing/game reserves in your intinerary, then maybe you should skip Addo too. Addo is really well known for large numbers of elephants, but personally (and this is really just personal taste/preference) I don't much like the vegetation in Addo and I'm usually done with Addo after a morning of driving around. However, if you don't see many elephants during your other wildlife excursions, Addo is the place to go. Are you into extreme sports such as bungee jumping? One of the highest bungee locations in the world (if not the highest) is quite close to PE - the Bloukransriver Bridge. That could keep you occupied for a while . Personally I love going to oceanariums etc., because it really is the only way to learn more about the marine world unless you go diving - so Bayworld may be a really good option for you guys and should keep you occupied for quite a while (sorry I missed this when I first read your posting).
Just a word of advice: Port Elizabeth is known in South Africa as "the windy city" - don't plan too much outdoors stuff because if the wind is nasty, it can really be seriously unpleasant to be outside.
Kind regards

spassvogel

You have already got very good advise here. I couldn't add except the plea to NOT VISIT ANY LION CUB PATTING/WALKING venue!

Those lion cubs fall victims to the trophy hunting industry! As they are hand raised they are habituated to humans and cars and therefore easy targets for those sickos.
PLEASE DON'T VISIT! Those venues are all over the country but the Eastern Cape, Free State and also North West province are the most rogue provinces in that regard.
Any venue which offers CLOSE ENCOUNTERS is abusive and cruel! No picture justifies to support that exploitation!

Regarding Shamwari: They auctioned white and black rhino recently of which the auctioneer states they are going to Professional Hunters etc. So that would also not become an option for me personally as breeding for the hunting industry is equally unethical. Despite they neglected - there still is more than just a shadow of a doubt whether the rhinos went to become trophies.

Thank you!

You will have a great trip and extraordinary experiences - sure!

SV (@))

KingPete2010

thanks guys. ended up booking a half day private wine tour in stellenbosch. everything in cape town is sorted, except for cape of good hope. Not so sure I want to drive it myself, but I also don't want to be herded around with dozens of people and miss all the penguins and hiking in the park; so i'm still researching tours.

SV - i'll avoid those venues you have suggested.