BA304

Sounds good, anc-ord772. ^

I'm glad you went for Teremok Marine in the end.

It only takes about 15 minutes to go from Umhlanga to the airport so I suppose I'd probably leave at 1245.

Is the time of arrival definitely 1550? The published flight time is usually 1:10 (and about 50 minutes in reality).

LarkSFO

I know you have your schedule pretty well locked down, but wouldn't your new wife love to go cage diving among Great Whites?

Great White Cage Shark Diving Tours from Cape Town: White Shark Ecoventures invites you cage diving with great white sharks in the aptly named "Shark Alley", near the fishing village of Gansbaai, South Africa. Gansbaai, is famous for its dense population of Great White Sharks and as a whale-watching location, making it one of the best Great White Shark Viewing locations from Cape Town.

http://www.cape-town-sharkcage-tours...ge-diving.html

anc-ord772

I misquoted the departure time. It has now been corrected. SA562, depart 1440, arrive 1550.

Thanks LarkSFO. Funny thing, we haven't planned the excursions while in SA, just the logistics of getting to/from and around. I'll check it out!

deatrice

[QUOTE=kayleejean;16224931]We were there last Feb flew from toronto to heathrow stop over for 8hrs then flew onto Capetown but had to connect there from Jburg they said our bags would go direct to capetown but that wasn't the case at all when we went to check in for a BA Flight to Capetown we had to go all the way bag to baggage claim in arrivals small hiccup but make sure to pick up your luggage we weren't the only ones won't be the last ones either I would assume. We stayed in Capetown for one week which was great did the Cape Table mountain Robin Island (Book this online as they book way in advance. Then drove up to LLalabella game reserve brilliant carried on then to Port Elizabeth (not too impressed) drove to Durban 1 week there carried to Jburg hated that then went to Sun City stayed at the palace (on cloud nine the whole time) more than amazing. Enjoy we could have done another week[/QUOTE

I'm doing the same outbound flight Toronto-London-CPT. Did you stay at LHR, use the lounge, get a day use hotel room for the 8 hrs.

thijsseh

[QUOTE=deatrice;17872777]Just to comment on that (old) quote from kayleejean:
Your luggage will NEVER be transferred directly from an incoming international flight to a domestic one, even if it is labelled as such. The reason is that you (and your luggage) have to clear customs at the first airport in South Africa.
They usually announce this on the flight just prior to landing.
So you collect your luggage, take it through customs (they tend to do a lot more checks in the green channel then you may be used to!) and re-check it for your domestic flight. There is a rather inefficient transfer desk at JNB arrivals, it may well be quicker to take the luggage to domestic departures (not far and you can take your trolley on the escalators) and check in there.

wingzing

[QUOTE=deatrice;17872777]I have the same 8 hour layover on way to CPT. I believe the only day room is the Yotel near Terminal 4 (need to clear customs and immigration). 8 hours in the T5 lounges is a bit too much, so I am considering HEX or Picadilly line into city. Any other options?

anc-ord772

More focus on the Safari. I can feel myself getting smarter

Cape Town: 6 Nights - Catching a Mango flight to DUR. I don't think we will have much luggage and the price was great at R1366 ($162) for two. Anything I should know about Mango and LCC flying in SA?

Hluhluwe-Umfolozi: 2 Nights - We will take a car hire to the lodge we reserve, and we have a few options. There are so many lodges, and some of these accommodations are stunning! Boy do I wish we had a larger budget. Our preference is for full board, 2 nights including at least two game drives per day for no more than $1000 total. Does anyone have a good travel agent that would be willing to work with us to book the safari only? I would appreciate your thoughts on the following operators:

1. Bayete Zulu Boutique Lodge - Located in Mkuze, this lodge seems intimate with only 8 suites.
   
2. Ubizane Wildlife Reserve - Zululand Tree Lodge - A bit expensive for full board, but a fun experience to stay in a tree.
   
3. Leopard Mountain Game Lodge - Nine lodges total, plus 3 game drives per day included (probably a bit much)

Durban: 3 Nights - Teremok Marine for a few days. We depart on SAA (DUR-JNB) at 14:40, our scheduled arrival into JNB is 15:50 with our international departure at 19:25.

Thoughts on the updated itinerary appreciated!

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I have also reviewed the following helpful threads
1st Time Trip South Africa
Cape Town Advice - 6 days Okay
9 Days CPT 8 Days CPT Plus 1 Day JNB

anc-ord772

At this point, I think the accommodation and transit logistics are (mostly) complete. Phew, now I can begin to focus on the activities.

Cape Town: 5 Nights - Ended up moving a night to Durban, so down to 5 nights. Changing the Mango flight was easy and surprisingly inexpensive. Total cost ($162 + $88 change fees) for two. Anything I should know about Mango and LCC flying in SA?

Hluhluwe: 2 Nights - Chose Leopard Mountain Game Lodge. Still working on transit to the lodge, and then to Teremok. Probably rent a car and drive, but we are also looking at chauffeur options.

Durban: 4 Nights - Extra day at the beach! Durban will most likely just be a Zulu tour and chillaxing.

This will probably be my last post on the topic in this thread. Plenty of other threads more specific to Cape Town which I will utilize. Thanks again everyone, I would not have been able to get this done without FT help!

-------------------------------------------

I have also reviewed the following helpful threads
1st Time Trip South Africa
Cape Town Advice - 6 days Okay
9 Days CPT 8 Days CPT Plus 1 Day JNB

thijsseh

Mango is fine, nothing to worry about. It is the low cost arm of SAA and on the CPT / DUR route it actually code shares with SAA since the latter withdrew from this route. LCC' in South Africa are just like legacy carriers with paid meal service.

anc-ord772

Thanks thijsseh. From what I remember, no SAA lounge access with a Mango ticket. I've flown a handful of lcc, and it sounds like a better experience than Ryanair. My only worry is baggage. I don't know what we're going to a acquire while in CPT and carry with us.

Jamjaw

All - My life has been rather manic since this trip. All for good reasons - But I have now come back with a couple of points:

1) Simbambili is FANTASTIC - they have traversing rights over a fair few nearby lodges and we saw everything we wanted. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/7028954...th/6383665437/ for some pics. I think the pick is either
DSC_4751 by Jamjaw321, on Flickr

or


DSC_4170 by Jamjaw321, on Flickr

Lots of Leopards!

2) The advice I received here made the trip amazing - Thanks so much for all your help. The wife and I are hoping to head to South Africa again when our child (due in a few months) is old enough to appreciate it. Will be back for more tips then!!

Forrest Bump

Another Africa and South Africa addicted here.
Heading down now for the 3rd time, and enjoyed also the much despised here Johannesburg.
Great time, always, and no reason to skip altogether this city, which alone with Apartheid Museum and Soweto can grab visitor's attention for a full day.
Prejudices are not needed, even when it comes for cities visiting.

worldiswide

+1 for Johannesburg. We even spent a day in the
the CBd to see the open air sculptures near Anglo American hdqtrs, visited the brenthurst gardens of the Oppenheimer home and spent time at lilliesleaf farm in rivonia formerly an AnC operations hdqtrs now a terrific museum. There was interesting things to do in Pretoria diamond mine historic homes and buildings. There is more to southern Africa than animals alone.

Agree on no need for prejudice on cities. Best to travel with an open mind.


This was our first time to southern Africa. can't wait to return.

Alpha Golf

Awww... here, kitty, kitty!

Awesome!