Hi Fodorites:

I"m thinking about going to South Africa from May 25- June 10. I have a friend who lives in Jo-burg and he has kindly offered to let me stay at his place for all or part of my trip. I'm having second thoughts though.......am I crazy to go right before the world cup starts? Is it going to be total madness?

I would like to spend 2-3 days in capetown and I will need to get a hotel room while there. Does anyone know when the hotels start to jack up the rates in anticipation of world cup crowds? I would also like to drive the garden route and visit some wineries. No safari-I've been on two already in Kenya and Tanzania.

I was thinking I might take a 3-4 day trip to namibia (flying from Jo-burg) to see the dunes. Is late may early june a good time to visit the namib desert?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

Swanni

Be prepared to pay higher fares at taxis and rooms even shortly prior to the WC!

Some hotels and lodges are just going mad regarding their rates but as this affects only your CPT portion it's up to you whether to feed that greed. As the bookings are not so heavily flying in as expected by the hospitality industry you should negotiate!

Be also aware that ALL Southern African countries are extremely tempted to cash in during/shortly prior/shortly post WC!

Season is good for sossus but nights and early morning hours are going to be very cold but warming up rapidly towards midday.
Very good clear light for photography. Go early in the morning!

Generally speaking you should have a look at a thread regarding Namibian Ethics in view to hunting rare animals - just as an eye opener which environment you are travelling in and , in case you want to stay at a guest farm, you should be aware that many of those "guest farms" are hunting farms as well!

Happy travels!




http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...pards-2010.cfm

SV

Hi Swanni
Joburg is ALREADY crazy - it is madness in this city and has been since last year already... so if you are going to go to SA, I definitely would not recommend JHB as the place to spend too much time.
As is, Cape Town is relatively expensive, (Compared to most hotels in SA) and prices have gone through the roof during this time already, but, if you book early you might be lucky - as spassvogel mentioned bookings are not looking that great for them at the moment.

Namib a definite, perhaps as a second option if you want to cut down on your trip to SA add a few extra days to Namibia & go to one of the other many great area's they have, perhaps Swakopmund... Spassvogel is right about the hunting camps though, better to book at a proper lodge!
One trip we did in previous years to the Waterberg area and stayed at a 'Guest house' and even though they told us they did not do hunting, (which I actually dont mind) there seemed to be dead animals all over the place!! (Mounts) and on one game drive we came across a dead animal they had hung up in a tree to attract the leopard for one of their hunters,,mmm. But Namibia is a really great country with wonderful people and a definite must-see.

Postpone it to later on in the year or come back in 2011 - unless you're coming for the matches.

Agree with all above. Not a good time. But perhaps try to still do Namibia you will not be dissapionted.

Thanks for your replies. I've decided to reschedule the trip for next year *sigh*. a dream deferred....until next year anyway.