Africa - renting car jnb to kruger, safe?

Is it safe to rent a car in jnb and drive to Kruger? Do you go thru the city or is it all highway?

Is it safe to rent a car in jnb and drive to Kruger? Do you go thru the city or is it all highway?
Sure, we've done it several times. You don't go through the city, and yes, it's all highway to a point. Depending on where in KNP you're headed, the last 100 - 150 km will be on two-lane roads with a lot of pedestrians walking along the side of the road, and plenty of other cars and minibuses pulling out and pulling in, so you'll need to be alert. South Africa has a particular set of highway customs that you should try to learn, e.g. the use of lights-flashing when overtaking, or pulling onto the shoulder when being overtaken; adding a small tip to attendants at service stations, etc. Also watch for potholes on some of the smaller roads; conditions can be quite variable.

Note it's quite a long drive, so be careful if you're at all jetlagged when setting out. You also don't want to drive after dark, mainly due to people and livestock in the roads. "Kruger NP" covers a big area, and if you're going into the park, or to one of the peripheral game reserves, you'll need the better part of a full day to get to your accommodations.

Thanks. We booked a automatic and should get a upgrade to a SUV (elite). We arrive at 5am or so from Perth but I'll get sleep on the plane and make use of the arrivals. We chose the car as its some 1\8 the price of the flight there. We are going to kapama south camp which I read is nice as there is a watering hole some few feet from the rooms. Some of the driving customs are similar to Poland (hazards to thank, flashing to pass, etc) so I should do ok. I was just worried as everywhere I read that jnb is very dangerous for drivers in terms of car jackings and I wouldn't want to risk it. I'd rather head north to Pretoria and rent there then drive thru the city but if there's no city driving then we should be fine

It's highway straight out of the airport and JNB is on the Kruger side of the city so there's no need to drive around Johannesburg but, as pointed out above, none of the roads are entirely hazard-free anyway.

We did this about 2 years ago. Food was one of the biggest issues unless you like bad burgers at the wimpy or steers at the rest stops. The drive out of the airport is no big deal and there are a few places on the highway that are a little more seedy than others. (There are signs that say"hi-jack hot spot" :D )
Overall the drive is fairly easy, but relatively boring and long. I might suggest an overnight rather than doing it all at once.

We did this about 2 years ago. Food was one of the biggest issues unless you like bad burgers at the wimpy or steers at the rest stops. The drive out of the airport is no big deal and there are a few places on the highway that are a little more seedy than others. (There are signs that say"hi-jack hot spot" :D )
Overall the drive is fairly easy, but relatively boring and long. I might suggest an overnight rather than doing it all at once.

(my bolding)

But good milkshakes to compensate. :D

.. Some of the driving customs are similar to Poland (hazards to thank, flashing to pass, etc) so I should do ok. ....But South Africa is right hand drive, not that makes a difference to the way some people drive.

But South Africa is right hand drive, not that makes a difference to the way some people drive.

Give me enough beers and I'll even drive backwards :D
Yeah it will be tricky to get used to left sided street driving bit I think I will manage. My brother will be wide awake keeping an eye on me. :)

I was just worried as everywhere I read that jnb is very dangerous for drivers in terms of car jackings and I wouldn't want to risk it.I know I am repeating myself here for the umpteenth time, but carjackings and other crime are not what you should be worried about (assuming you want to worry at all, which I really cannot recommend). I do not have the latest figures to hand, but well over 300 foreigners are killed on the roads in SA every year, as opposed to only a handful in the course of a crime. That should not stop you from driving to Kapama, but staying alert enough to react to the crazy things that drivers, pedestrians and animals do would be a good idea.

Johan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
This list of countries by traffic-related death rate shows the annual number of road fatalities per capita per year and per vehicle-km in some countries in the year the data was collected.

South Africa is up towards the top of the table

South Africa
33.2 road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants / year
208.8 road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles / year

Poland
14.7 road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants / year
28 road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles / year

United States of America
12.3 road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants / year
15 road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles / year

Well we made it out to the private gaming park. No worries in driving.it was all highway, though there was plenty of road construction. I did stay alert and you have to watch out on people crossing the road and some animals but that wasn't to hard. Neither was driving on the left. A lot easier than I expected.
I would say driving in Mexico is harder than in south Africa as not only you have to watch out for people and animals you also need to watch out for those speed bumps which can be too big to cross straight on.

That list shows almost every African country is dangerous to drive in.

SA RTA statistics are notoriously unreliable. Probably up to a third of fatalities go unreported.

Johan