That you would do in 14 days?
 

i will go to sa, i need recomendation for capetwon, tours, excursions, places.thanks

Hello Ines2003,

A lot depends on the time of year you'd like to go, what your budget is, and the types of things you like to see and do.

Many of the people who post at the Fodors Africa forum love Africa's wild animals, and spend all -- or at least part -- of their trips on safari (travelling in the wilderness, viewing animals).

When folks are looking for something other than a safari experience in the part of Africa that is south of the Sahara, Cape Town is the most popular destination.

I see from your other posts at Fodors that you are from Colombia and that you are not entirely comfortable communicating in English.

A couple of your other posts seem to suggest that you tend to travel on a budget. I may be jumping to conclusions prematurely, but you did ask about New Zealand accommodation in exchange for work, and you did give another poster a link to a backpacker website.

The purpose of my following your previous posts is not to pry into your private life, but rather to enable myself to give you advice that will be as helpful as possible.

More in next post ......

Most of South Africa has a summer rainfall. The exception is the south western corner of the country, in which Cape Town is situated, which has a mediterranean climate (generally warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters).

It sounds as if you definitely are interested in including Cape Town in your trip. In that case, I think you would be well advised to avoid the southern hemisphere winter.

The best time to visit Cape Town is late summer / autumn (March / April / even into May).

The next best time to visit Cape Town is the southern hemisphere summer. Be warned, however, that accommodation is more expensive and less readily available during the South African summer school holidays (December and the first half of January).

The weather in Cape Town tends to be unstable during the southern hemisphere spring. You get lovely, sunny days, but you also get cool, wet and WINDY days in September / October / November.

Cape Town and its surroundings are beautiful. The city and its environs deserve AT LEAST 3 full days, not counting the days on which you arrive and depart.

Nearby are the lovely winelands (around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek). They can be visited as a day trip from Cape Town but, if you can spare the time, it's nice to stay in the winelands overnight, or even for a few days.

A pleasant seaside town to the east of Cape Town is Hermanus.

More ......

Still further east than Hermanus is the Garden Route. It stretches from Mossel Bay through George, Wilderness, Knysna Plettenberg Bay, Tsitsikama Forest, and Storms River Bridge to Port Elizabeth. It's a delightful coastline.

Inland from George is Oudtshoorn. Its most popular attractions are the Cango Caves and the nearby ostrich farms. The drive to Prince Albert through the Swartberg Pass is spectacular.

At the very eastern end of what usually is defined as the Garden Route, not too far from the city of Port Elizabeth, is an excellent game reserve called Addo Elephant National Park, where one can see all of South Africa's major wildlife species.

Addo has the advantage of being in a malaria-free zone. There are not too many game reserves in South Africa that offer as good a wildlife viewing experience as Addo does, that are as affordable as Adoo is, and that are outside of malaria-risk areas.

Cape Town, the winelands, Hermanus and the Garden Route could occupy a person very nicely for 2 weeks.

I'll tell you about South Africa's popular safari areas in my next post ......

The most popular areas for viewing wildlife in South Africa are the provinces of Mpumalanga, to the east of Johannesburg, and KwaZulu-Natal, the province in which the port city of Durban is located.

Substantial parts of these provinces are occupied by sub-tropical vegetation known as bushveld or lowveld, and these are the areas in which many game reserves are located.

Lowveld summer days can be hellishly hot and humid. Rain falls during the summer, usually in the form of short afternoon or evening showers. Winter days usually are sunny and mild, but winter nights are rather cool.

For the majority of travellers to South Africa who want to see both Cape Town and the Mpumalanga or KwaZulu-Natal game reserves, the climatic differences pose a problem. Summer is a challenging time to visit the bushveld, because it's so hot and humid, but it's a good time to visit Cape Town (albeit one may run into the South African school holidays). Winter is a good time to visit the bushveld, but it's a poor time to visit Cape Town.

A common compromise is to travel during the autumn or spring. I personally think that, of those two seasons, autumn is better.

More .......

thanks, how much do you think i will spend in this itineraty?

There are two types of game reserves in South Africa, the publicly owned national parks and private game reserves.

The national parks are more affordable. They do, however, require that you travel through them on a self-drive basis. Most of the accommodation in them is self-catering (although some of the accommodation camps in the national parks do have restaurants as well).

The largest and most famous national park is the Kruger National Park, which is located in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg.

The best known national parks in KwaZulu-Natal are Hluhluwe and Umfolozi.

On the Kruger National Park's western boundary are several private game reserves (Sabi Sand, Timbivati, Manyeleti, etc.). They are not separated from Kruger by fences, so wild animals move freely between Kruger and the private game reserves.

Within the private game reserves are small, exclusive accommodations known as lodges. Staying at a private lodge usually is an expensive proposition. But, in return for that expenditure, one gets luxury accommodation, gourmet meals and, even more importantly, morning and evening game drives in an open, 4x4, off-road vehicle. The vehicle is driven by a guide who explains the animals and the ecosystem. The maximum number of passengers in a vehicle is 6.

All of the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal bushveld is an area that is at risk for malaria, so a visit there necessitates anti-malarial medication.

I myself love the bushveld, and the anti-malarial meds are a price I am more than willing to pay.

More ......

There is a newish game reserve, Madikwe, that is free of malaria, and that is located to the northwest of Johannesburg. I visited that area before it was a game reserve. If I remember correctly, it was declared to be a game reserve in 1991. Since then, great strides have been made in re-populating the area with wildlife species. From what I've read, there now is a large variety of species at Madikwe, although the numbers within each species probably could do with another couple of years' worth of propagation. But that's just what I've read. As I said, I haven't been there since it's been a game reserve.

Here's a thread in which one of our regular posters, Selwyn, recommended things to do and see in Cape Town, the winelands, and along the Garden Route:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34477003

Here's another thread in which Selwyn recommended ways of travelling in South Africa on a budget:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34401255

Ines2003, it will be very helpful if you can supply more details about your interests and budget.

Hope this has helped you.

Ines2003, sorry I didn't notice that you had posted a further question in the midst of my many posts.

I can't say how much a trip to South Africa would cost you, because there are so many variables. You can stay at one of the higher end private game lodges for US$1,000 per person per night (if you're sharing a room with someone else) or a couple can share a furnished tent in the Kruger National Park for about US$40 per night per couple (this rate would give them a private tent furnished with beds, sheets, blankets and pillows, but they'd have to use shared bathroom and kitchen facilities).

If you are on a very tight budget, you may want to do a Google search for PARTICIPATORY SAFARI. This would be a camping experience in which guests would would travel in a bus or in a large truck (lorry) and would take turns assisting the guides in cooking, washing dishes, erecting and dismantling tents, etc. Friends of mine have done this, and have found it fun.

Also, if you're on a tight budget, and want to travel in South Africa on public buses, you'd find more information at the Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum. It's a forum that attracts more budget travellers than Fodors does.

I would not recommend travelling in South Africa in the very cheapest buses or "taxis." They cram way more people into them than are legally permitted, they are poorly maintained, they are poorly driven, and they basically are death traps (just my opinion). If you want to travel in South Africa on an extremely tight budget, you really need to do your research so as to do it safely.