cynstalker

Thanks for the photos Bob! The Flat Stanleys with the leopards were so cute. And I chuckled out loud at the blurry 5:25AM watch shot - I remember feeling exactly that way. The leopard toroise looked so purposeful - makes me wonder where he was going. Looks like you had great wildlife sightings.

Have fun in BKK!

Cyn

rhkkmk

i'm back from thailand, and now it's christmas time...

i have no real thoughts about the SA trip except to say that i came away with an enhanced appreciation for south africa and its people....the beauty of the countryside is exceptional and varied....for the first time ever on a trip abroad we were able to see tons of colorful wildflowers dotting the landscape, and not just flowers, but whole bushes of protea....and wild whales--what other kind are there??-- farm raised?? getting so close to "wild" animals for the first time outside of a zoo was a real thrill... 6 leopards in 24 hours was amazing....the big 5, what can i say... we saw just as many animals on our own in kruger as we did in the expensive private park, but we loved the private park experience also... we never really had an outstanding meal in SA, but we had several good ones and lots of average ones...

the grace of the people, both black, white and colored is memorable..
i fear however that the country is a real tinder box and relucktantly suspect that trouble is in the future...

our weather was fantastic and the lack of leaves on trees, etc was a boom to animal sightings---for this reason i endorse october as a time to visit SA...

now for a larger question....would we return?? maybe....especially to the garden route areas along the coast line....we loved our time in plett and hermanus and could see a seaside vacation there in the future....a hang out and relax type vacation.... airfares are high to get to SA so this is a deterant as well...
we did not visit the vast interior of the country or other parts which undoubtably hold sights to see...

driving was very easy and i would not hesitate to drive again..

how are they going to survive the big games next summer? that is a huge question....they will survive, but there will be many unhappy visitors i suspect.... the infastructure is just not in place---the airports???? (although we had no problems)... the hotels.... but as we were told before we went the best lodging is in the B&B's...

we enjoyed the other fodorites we met in SA and thank them for their hospitality....

so i guess this concludes my report....

rhkkmk

this might give some a pointer or two

rhkkmk

ttt for koh samui friends

wildwings

Thanks for the interesting trip report, RHKKMK. The World Cup has come and gone, time to look at some of your most recent comments on South Africa:

"i fear however that the country is a real tinder box and relucktantly suspect that trouble is in the future..."

People have been saying this since Apartheid days, and especially in the run up to the 1994 election. We are 16 years on and there is no trouble. My views on SA remain very optimistic. It is sad to hear that this is your conclusion after your wonderful trip.

"how are they going to survive the big games next summer? that is a huge question....they will survive, but there will be many unhappy visitors i suspect.... the infastructure is just not in place---the airports???? (although we had no problems)... the hotels.... but as we were told before we went the best lodging is in the B&B's..."

This was the theme of most of the foreign press coverage before the world cup. A lot of doubt and negativity. Well it seems that South Africa survived the big games and exceeded everyone's expectations. Sepp Blatter gave it a 9 out of 10. The infrastructure was there, there were no major incidents, and we did not see the crime and violence that some were expecting. Granted, there was one hiccup at one of our airports, apparently caused by foreign VIPs and their private jets clogging up the airport in Durban, delaying several flights and causing several fans to miss the semi final. Other than that, only a few minor incidents were reported and most of these were caused by foreigners not by South Africans (the most famous incident was probably the English fan who got through security and ended up in the dressing room!)

I do hope that you return to South Africa in a few years, if only to see that we continue to make progress as a nation and are not about to go up in smoke.

starrs

Enjoying the trip report.

christabir

ww - thanks for the update. The negative nellies seem to be silenced. South Africa was the real winner of these games!!

rhkkmk

wild---is it unfair for me to report how i felt from my short visit? i think not.... many locals (whites) with whom i spoke continue to be nervous about the future, but neither they nor I fell danger there, just an unusually high uneasiness...

i thought the capetown airport was totally unsuitable for a huge influx of happy customers for the world event....i'm glad it all went well... the number of hotel rooms is unsuitable for large gatherings, imo.

sorry if i offened you by my observations

Ozarksbill

Just now reading over the report of last year and comments. We are older travelers enjoying a S.A. trip a couple of years ago when son was teaching at Univ. of Wits. We did enjoy the safari in Kruger and also a week at Plett Bay (in a castle on a cliff no less). Also we were in Cape and N. of Jo'burg to Blyde R. Canyon etc, but also glad that we did visit Apartheid Museum and Soweto. My report was posted on Fodors. Yes, beautiful country...but how safe? That is a concern in some places everywhere and we can only hope problems with crime and unemployment and immigrant can be addressed in S.A. But then I'm not so sure about some problems in U.S.A. right now.

Bill now in Boston

kimssouthafrica

Well just arrived at this posting and Sa was most definitely the winner here. People had an amazing time and many will return. The Cape is beautiful but there are many places such as Kwazulu Natal, Clarens, Wild Coast etc that get no publicity and should be a must on any SA visit
www.kimssouthafrica.blogspot.com

rhkkmk

It's happening. We are returning again in Oct., 2019

HappyTrvlr

Lucky you!

hawaiiantraveler

I hope we have the leopard luck you had in your first trip. Looking forward to this.

Aloha!