mcfiddish

We flew from Erie, PA to JNB on Air France on May 19. We missed the connection in Paris and had to wait 12 hours for the next flight to JNB. I would advise anyone never to connect through Paris, and if you have to, allow at least three hours! It's a terrible airport for connections.

It took about two hours to get through immigration and baggage claim, then walked over to the domestic terminal at JNB. We got to CPT and were met by our airport transfer (from Ilios Travel, which we also used for our day tours) and checked in at the Westin Grand near the waterfront.

Everybody warned us not to walk around after 6. They made it sound as if vampires start running wild! (I had just read "I Am Legend" on the plane …). With all of the concern over crime in South Africa, it’s remarkable how friendly and jovial Africans are. I would have expected the opposite. We had dinner at City Grill on the waterfront, then took the shuttlebus back and were in bed by 8:30.

mcfiddish

The next morning we went on a tour of the winelands about an hour outside of Cape Town. We went to three wineries (Tokara, Moreson, and Seidelberg) and had lunch at Seidelberg. The wine tour at Moreson was very interesting and the weather and scenery were beautiful, particularly at Seidelberg. On the way back, our guide asked if we wanted to be dropped off at Table Mountain. Since this is #1 on the must do list at Cape Town, we said yes. It was after 5 PM, and the last cable car comes down off the mountain at 6. Even then, there was a huge line to buy tickets, but guides can go into a shorter line to buy tickets. So we quickly got our tickets and only got to spend 10 minutes at the top before we had to come down again. The view was really spectacular, but we couldn’t have stayed longer anyway since the sun was going down.

We took a cab to Bukhara, an Indian restaurant, and came back to the hotel after dinner. We didn't make it much past 8:30 tonight either! This was a very fun day.

mcfiddish

We next day we took a day tour to Cape Point. It was a little cloudy but the views were beautiful anyway. This is another “must do” for Cape Town. At Cape Point itself there are wild baboons, so there are also people employed as baboon monitors. They carry big sticks and chase the baboons away, since the baboons know that people will feed them.

In the afternoon we went to Kirstenboch botanical gardens, which is very nice too. We just had an hour here as the sun was going down. Then we went to Mama Africa on Long Street for dinner. The food and music were very good.

mcfiddish

On our last full day in Cape Town we did a half day township tour. A township tour never appealed to me too much. For one thing, I didn’t really want make a special trip to see poverty, particularly on vacation. On the other hand, I can’t very well stay in a nice hotel in Cape Town, then go to a safari lodge, and then tell people what South Africa is like. Also, you can buy crafts and souveniers in the townships so at least you know the local artists are getting paid. One of the couples who was on the winelands tour had gone and said a township tour was worth doing.

We spent much of the morning in Langa. They’ve got artists who teach the locals ceramics, painting, and dance. We picked up a couple of paintings. The kids in particular were very sweet. Some of them were playing jump rope, and when they saw my wife, they just wanted to hold her hands and kiss her. The tour was a good experience, although it still felt awkward. After the tour we went to the Canal Walk Mall, which is just a typical shopping mall but we didn't find any souveniers that we liked.

In the evening we went back to the waterfront to get some souveniers and had dinner at Balducci’s.

mcfiddish

We took a direct flight from Cape Town to Kruger Mpumalanga and then a little prop plane to the Arathusa Safari Lodge, where we spent three days. Everything was just superb. We enjoyed every minute! We arrived about 2 pm on Sunday, had lunch, and then a game drive in the afternoon. The usual routine is a knock on the door at 5:30 AM, leave at 6 for a morning game drive, stop at sunrise for a cup of tea, and back at the lodge by 9 for breakfast. Lunch is at 2, and then an evening game drive at 4. We were back at 7, dinner was at 8, and then we'd be in bed by 10 at the latest. The weather was just perfect, sunny but not too hot. There is a watering hole at the lodge, and there was generally a hippo or two sleeping in the water, and we saw lots of antelopes, baboons, warthogs, and elephants come by for a drink. The only major animal we didn’t see on the drives was a male lion.

The night before we left, just after we went to bed, I heard something outside. When I looked through the front door, it took a moment to realize there was an elephant outside. It was so close I didn’t take it in at a single glance! Two of the rangers chased it off, surprisingly. They grabbed some branches with leaves and shook them around. The elephant seemed startled and left. The rangers know the individual elephants that live in the area, and they knew what they were doing (I hope!).

I had never been on a safari before, but if we could afford it, we would definitely make it a regular event! On our return, we took a little prop plane to Kruger-Nelspruit airport, and flew over the lodge. I got a good picture of three elephants at the watering hole.

Back in Johannesburg, passing through passport control, we met the only grumpy South African of the whole trip. We were standing in line at a counter, and the next counter over became free. The lady sitting there looked at us, and sternly told us to move, while shooing us away with her hand. We were confused, so we moved back to the other line before the counters. She then yelled at us that she was calling us to her, so we went to her line. While checking our passports she kept grumbling about something or the other.

mcfiddish

This was our first time in Africa and first safari experience. We really loved it. If we could afford it, we would definitely come as often as we could!

The Fodor's forums were a great help! Thanks to all of the posters here ... if anyone has any specific questions about anything, please ask!

LynnieD

Thanks for the report. I'm heading to Cape Town soon and looking at some options for winelands and Cape Point. Were your tours expensive?

mcfiddish

LynnieD - we took the full day tours to the Winelands and Cape Point through Ilios Travel. The cost was 520 rands for each of us, and we booked it directly through them. I don't know if there is a discount if you book through a travel agent. We were happy with them, and my wife and I were either alone or with one other couple on the tours.

Since our time in Cape Town was limited, we just wanted to hit the highlights and doing organized tours was perfect for that.

atravelynn

I've been waiting for an Arathusa report. Thanks for sharing it and the rest of your trip. Glad you had such a good time and hope you will be able to return again since you enjoyed it so much.

nwschlei

HI mcfiddish! I am going to a meeting in Cape Town and am interested in going on a couple day safari. Could you send specific information? Also, I'm a woman and will be traveling alone. Will this be an issue?

mcfiddish

nwschlei - Arathusa is a lodge near Kruger, which is on the other side of the country from Cape Town, a 2.5 hr flight.

There were a couple of singles at the lodge, all women, and they didn't have any trouble ... it will just cost you more!

I booked my Cape Town tours through Ilios Travel, and my Kruger safari through go2africa. I had very good experiences with both and would definitely recommend them.

I also corresponded with Rhino Africa and CC Africa before going with go2africa, and all three were very helpful and responsive. Others have had good experiences with other travel agencies, so search the forums for advice.

We found South Africa to be a very tourist friendly place. I know that you will find something which suits exactly what you want to do. The planning stage is *almost* as fun as the trip itself!

peyton18

Who did you book the township tour with & what was the cost?

sealstep

What did you think of the Westin Grand? We were thinking of using points to book a couple of nights there next year and would love some feedback.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

sealstep.

The Westin Grand has an excellent location in Cape Town especially if you are participating in a conference at the Cape Town International Conference Centre. The business facilities (fax, inetrent, phone system etc) at the hotel are very good and even though it is a relatively expensive place to stay at, with you redeeming miles this should not be an issue for you to contend with.

An irking factor at the hotel is that it is very pedestrian in its operation and looks. You always hear bells going off calling for staff or visitors while the staff themselves are uniformed like airline staff. The furnishings in the hotel are similar. All of this has resulted in the hotel being nicknamed "the airport" by many in the tourguide community. To this I must add that the the room living conditions at the hotel are good To this I might add that if your were not paying your way in miles then I would have suggested another place to stay mainly because of the relative value for money that can be attained at many other establishments in Cape Town.

Hope this helps.

Also hope that you enjoy your stay in our great city and wonderful country.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

sealstep

thanks Selwyn. I probably wouldn't look at it if we weren't going to be using points. If this doesn't work and we have to pay for a place, my choice would be An African Villa. At least the location is good and it would be fine. We're staying at the AKadamie Street Guest Houses in Franschhoek, so at least we'll have a more charming place there.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Sealstep.

Both An African Villa as well as the Akademie Street guesthouses are wonderful places to stay. Dont worry too much about The Westin Grand because you probably will only sleep at the venue in that there are so many other activities that will keep you so occupied in our city that you just wont see the hotel for anything but bed and a good breakfast..

Sounds like you are going to be enjoying a great Cape Town time. Have much fun doing so.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

mcfiddish

Hi Sealstep - Selwyn's advice is right on. We used points to stay at the Westin Grand. It was a very big, comfortable room with a nice view. It's an easy walk to the Waterfront but everybody will advise you to take the shuttle at night. The convention center is right next to it with ATM machines in the lobby. They have a very nice complimentary breakfast too.

We were out most of each day and just slept there at night. I would definitely recommend staying there. We booked our stay five months in advance and even then didn't get our first choice of nights, so book it as soon as you can.

My only complaint was that they have free wireless internet, but they didn't tell us that when we checked in. I ended up paying for it the first night but was able to get my money back.